Lessons from Longbowmen

Well, I've been in Britain for a full two days now, and I've been shockingly productive. I secured a flat, walked around the entire city, got a British mobile, and made four friends in my first 24 hours. My feet are aching from walking on cobblestones, I got caught in a rain shower while traipsing between the Thames and a cow field with the most robust bovines I have ever seen, had cream tea with two lovely families of Scots, witnessed the degree ceremony I will be partaking in two years from now (conducted entirely in Latin, for "graduannes"), and had a few pints of cider at a variety of local pubs. All in all, a pretty successful start. I have thousands of more details that are delightful, but I thought I would first share 25 knowledgeable tidbits I've acquired over the past couple days, translating American to British English:

Your physical representation of the number two insults my history!

1. What we in the US call "private school," the Brits call "public school."
2. It's called the "pavement" in England, not a "sidewalk."
3. Raising your index and middle finger (so as to signify the number 2) is actually an insult, dating back to the wars between the French and the English when the French used to cut off the index and middle fingers of British longbowmen when captured in battle (so they could no longer shoot a bow and arrow). I learned this the hard way when a couple of Brits asked me how many days I had been in Oxford. Oops? 
4. It's a "mobile," not a "cell phone."
5. A "toilet" is a restroom outside of the home; a "bathroom" is what you call your lavatory at home.
6. "How do you do?" is a rhetorical question; it also signifies that you've gone to boarding school (i.e. are a member of the upper class).
7. Titled members of British aristocracy are generally "asset rich, but cash poor."
8. You can meet Prince Harry, if you go to the right parties in London.
9. You can also meet "the other Harry" (Harry Styles of One Direction), if you go to an East London bar called Birthdays during the week.
10. Chips = french fries; crisps = potato chips.
11. It's pronounced "toh-maw-toe," not "tum-eight-toh."
12. Cream tea is high tea but without the sandwiches (as Andrew's mom put it, "with only the good stuff!")
13. "Pudding" doesn't refer to actual pudding, but rather to the general category of "desserts."

    

    Wrong pudding, Bill Cosby.

14. Sticky toffee pudding is amazing (and, again, is not actually a pudding but a dense cake that you have to eat with clotted cream in order to dilute the sweetness).

    

    Right pudding (sticky toffee, that is).

15. An entire chunk of female British high society took a "gap year" in order to enter St. Andrews at the same time as Prince William. Sucks for them, in retrospect.
16. Speaking of Wills & Kate, Kate Middleton's family has done what perhaps no other British family has before: moved from working class (Momma Middleton was a flight attendant) to royalty in just two generations. 
17. Legal tender (aka the paper money known as the pound) is called a "note," not a "bill."
18. Rowing is a big deal. A really, really big deal.
19. It's called "petrol," not "fuel" or "gas."
20. It's called a "taxi service," not a "cab."
21. It's called a "hob," not a "stove-top," "range," or "burner."
22. It's called a "bin," not a "trash-can" or "garbage."
23. British refrigerators are midget-sized; freezers are called "ice-boxes" and are equally as tiny, if not tinier. 
24. Rugby is a gentleman's sport (of the upper classes), drinking is allowed and the crowd is intermixed. Football (i.e. soccer) is generally a more rowdy experience, the crowd is segregated and drinking is prohibited.
25. If someone is "minted," they're wealthy (or have a lot of money); if someone is "a chav," they're trashy.

Oh, good day, gentlemen of the 1899 British Rugby Team - how do you do?

Alright, that's 25. Enjoy, and I'll have another 25 for you next week...cheers!