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RE: British terms/American thangs

To: british-cars@autox.team.net
Subject: RE: British terms/American thangs
From: jeffreys_m_j@bt-web.bt.co.uk
Date: Tue, 7 Jul 1992 18:57:43 +0100
From:   NAME: Mike Jeffreys         [DAT31 ]
        FUNC: DAT31                           
        TEL: 0473-645609                      <JEFFREYS M J AT WEB AT WEBCS>
To:     british-cars@autox.team.net@unet


dstone@sc9.intel.com writes:


{   Also, lest we forget some other favourites;
     -pissed
     -wanker
     -??????

}

How about BOLLOCKS; I was in my home town of Brentwood when I saw a Porsche 
911 Turbo with a registration number (number plate...what's the US name):

        OBO 110 X, which is the UK standard format of

first letter no meaning,
second two letters is a semi secret code denoting place where the car was 
bought (in olden days when people stayed put, place of ownership),
3 meaningless numbers,
and one letter denoting year of purchase.

Actually, nowadays the numbers go:

        J 123 ABC

i.e. everything is swopped around, but another 20 odd years are available. 
The letters I,O,Q,U and Z are not used for dates, though Q is used for 
re-registered cars of dubious repute.

Also in the new UK, people can now buy their new number plates (the year 
change to K is this August). Typical expensive plates would be 

       K 15 SME staggered to give KISS ME, 

though don't take it seriously folks!

I assume people have worked out that OBO 110 X was staggered to say:

       O BOllOX  (Oh Bollocks, a term denoting exasperation).

Perhaps it was too obscure, though nowadays people a primed by the unusual 
'staggering' of the letters and numbers.

As we have now laws which allow photographs as evidence when speeding 
occurs, the police want to outlaw to a harsher extent (they used to turn a 
blind eye), the 'staggering' and partial obscuration of number plates. My 
bike rack that overhangs the rear of the TR7 does the latter, oops!


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