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Sorry, I'm British!: An Insider's Guide to Britain from A to Z
They’re just across the pond but they’re a strange bunch. Explore the oddities of the British psyche with this witty illustrated book. A perfect companion to British behavior, get to grips with everything from small-talk to superiority, from “the stiff upper lip” to hooliganism, from cricket to condiments, and curry to class. This hilarious A-Z guide will take you through the realm of all that’s British – its culture, its institutions, its humor, and its people. Ben Crystal has worked in tv, film and theatre. He is author of several books on Shakespeare for Penguin. Adam Russ is an actor and writer who lives in London. Ed McLachlan's is an acclaimed British cartoonist.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
15 people are currently reading
287 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
August 13, 2016
Aah, Britain. Good old Blighty. Home to a population of mildly ridiculous, over-apologetic, self-effacing, tea-addicted eccentrics. Or drunken, jobless layabouts whose only aims in life are to procreate with extreme prejudice and make at least one appearance on the Jeremy Kyle show. But if there's one thing we all really excel at, it's poking fun at ourselves. Which is probably for the best, really.
I picked this book up in a secondhand bookshop recently, after the blurb on the back managed to raise a knowing smirk. It's a (mostly) humorous guide to all things British - from our obsession with insisting on clinging to imperial weights and measurements, driving on the lefthand side of the road and observances of queuing etiquette, to fish & chips, beers with peculiar and vaguely suggestive names, chavs and morris dancing (to name but a few).
By no means an inexhaustive list (there are lots of very typically British oddities that I'd hoped would get a mention, but didn't); it's still a bit of fun, though probably only particularly amusing if you're actually British, or some sort of extreme Anglophile who's spent too much time here and has started to goa bit strange native.
I picked this book up in a secondhand bookshop recently, after the blurb on the back managed to raise a knowing smirk. It's a (mostly) humorous guide to all things British - from our obsession with insisting on clinging to imperial weights and measurements, driving on the lefthand side of the road and observances of queuing etiquette, to fish & chips, beers with peculiar and vaguely suggestive names, chavs and morris dancing (to name but a few).
By no means an inexhaustive list (there are lots of very typically British oddities that I'd hoped would get a mention, but didn't); it's still a bit of fun, though probably only particularly amusing if you're actually British, or some sort of extreme Anglophile who's spent too much time here and has started to go
August 7, 2014
I've spent 30 years watching British films and British tv and reading British books, and "Sorry, I'm British" is STILL the first time I've heard of Builder's Tea.
I am now rethinking my entire life thus far.
I am now rethinking my entire life thus far.
March 1, 2015
I guess I would disagree on a number of issues in a conversation with the author (his attachement to monarchy being too strong for my taste amongst other matters), but I liked the book nevertheless. It is funny, witty, informative and simply useful.
November 9, 2023
✤ Entries: Informatively Random
✤ Humour: Wryly British
✤ Illustrations: Sometimes better than the text
✤ Punchlines: Everywhere except for the serious entries
Of all countries in the world, no other could beat the UK as the melting pot. As Dr. Johnson jeered, ‘When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life.’ The flipside of this diversity hinges on the darker episodes of the British Empire. So much explored, too little appreciated.
I hope one day I will set foot on Dartmoor, reading a fun guide and plucking some fungi. The next day catching the obstructed service of a Sunday train, I might resort to a Welsh rarebit nearby, or a Sunday roast should my replacement bus pick up in Yorkshire, which eventually would take me to the sight of both Highland Games and Nessie, if chance allows.
Until that day, the hallucinatory effect of a ‘quick’ drink might pass for an express ticket to Shetland.
✤ Humour: Wryly British
✤ Illustrations: Sometimes better than the text
✤ Punchlines: Everywhere except for the serious entries
Of all countries in the world, no other could beat the UK as the melting pot. As Dr. Johnson jeered, ‘When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life.’ The flipside of this diversity hinges on the darker episodes of the British Empire. So much explored, too little appreciated.
I hope one day I will set foot on Dartmoor, reading a fun guide and plucking some fungi. The next day catching the obstructed service of a Sunday train, I might resort to a Welsh rarebit nearby, or a Sunday roast should my replacement bus pick up in Yorkshire, which eventually would take me to the sight of both Highland Games and Nessie, if chance allows.
Until that day, the hallucinatory effect of a ‘quick’ drink might pass for an express ticket to Shetland.
November 10, 2013
This book was okay. Both authors try to tell us more about British people and British in general, from the point of view of British people. Quite entertaining in some parts, quite boring in another parts. If you want to get an insight on British lifestyle, you might have a look at this book. However, don't expect that all Brits look like what's been described in this book. If you need some doses of fun, you also can read this book. You will laugh, I believe, especially if you've ever spent some times in your life living in Great Britain. Don't take it too seriously, really.
I bought this book over a year ago and I picked this book honestly just because its cover. I knew that I won't find this kind of book outside UK, so I decided to just buy it. Now, it becomes a souvenir for me.
To sum up my review, despite all of those stereotypes, I just wanna say that British people are nice and warm. This is a humble opinion from an international student who once studied there for a year. :)
I bought this book over a year ago and I picked this book honestly just because its cover. I knew that I won't find this kind of book outside UK, so I decided to just buy it. Now, it becomes a souvenir for me.
To sum up my review, despite all of those stereotypes, I just wanna say that British people are nice and warm. This is a humble opinion from an international student who once studied there for a year. :)
March 30, 2014
As this is essentially an encyclopaedia of British things (though some of them are also American, a fact that the writers perhaps pointedly overlooked in an attempt to be Britishly ironic), there is no way to rate this in the same fashion I have approached other books on my read shelf.
I shall be succinct for once. This book is entertaining, a quick read, and will probably be more thoroughly appreciated by those familiar with British (or more specifically English, but also Welsh, Irish, or Scottish) culture. I read this mainly during long flights and it helped me pass the time amiably enough.
Mostly, this was a personal pick. I bought this book at Foyles on Charing Cross Road in London shortly before I left, as a possible remedy for what I anticipated would be severe homesickness for the UK. It has served its purpose, but I am happy also to say that I am not so blinded by Anglophilia to think critically on what is and is not included in this little collection.
I shall be succinct for once. This book is entertaining, a quick read, and will probably be more thoroughly appreciated by those familiar with British (or more specifically English, but also Welsh, Irish, or Scottish) culture. I read this mainly during long flights and it helped me pass the time amiably enough.
Mostly, this was a personal pick. I bought this book at Foyles on Charing Cross Road in London shortly before I left, as a possible remedy for what I anticipated would be severe homesickness for the UK. It has served its purpose, but I am happy also to say that I am not so blinded by Anglophilia to think critically on what is and is not included in this little collection.
June 20, 2014
Really easy to read through as it's chunked into encyclopedic portions of information in alphabetical order. A good portion of the entries are things a lot of people have at least vaguely heard of, but there are also entries on subjects that aren't particularly mentioned (at least in the United States). It was really helpful for not feeling completely foreign during some conversations I've had when I could at least acknowledge I knew what on earth they were talking about.
July 21, 2012
Absolutely hilarious! Wry, sarcastic - and ultimately very funny indeed, even if you are British. In fact, it may even be funnier to read if you are British, because you recognise the stereotypes.
July 15, 2012
an amusing alphabetical introduction to the peculiarities of the British. Actually, as a British person I know all this, but it was fun anyway. And it points out that Yorkshire Pudding is practically nectar of the Gods.
July 15, 2012
The entries differ quite a lot in style, if not quality. The latter is fine, the former is perhaps a little inconsistent, with pride-showing understatement cropping up every now and again, then pages of fairly neutral fact-giving. «insularity» should not really be missing under «I»…
September 7, 2013
An alphabetical introduction to all things British (from apologising, Doctor Who and Oxbridge to queueing, superiority and zebra crossings) - a humorous and lighthearted book that was quick to read and that left me amused!
June 26, 2014
Very much what I call a "Toilet book".
It's essentially an A-Z of being British. It's quite short and easy to pick up and put down, hence the toilet reference :)
It's quite humorous and I've certainly read worse.
It's essentially an A-Z of being British. It's quite short and easy to pick up and put down, hence the toilet reference :)
It's quite humorous and I've certainly read worse.
May 27, 2011
Fun and silly. This was a great book just to have on hand when I wanted a giggle or when I was missing England.
December 15, 2011
Fun, amusing and perfectly true. Well worth a read to tickle your fancy!
May 21, 2015
Humourous sometimes but informative and fun to read always. It provides a useful insight to Britain, especially for a foreigner like me.
July 31, 2012
A fun read to discover how the Brits are perceived to be!
April 20, 2014
Brilliant
April 10, 2014
Very enjoyable! Lots of fun to read!
October 18, 2014
Fun facts, good humour.
September 27, 2015
A humorous breakdown of the British from A-Z this book addresses everything from dating and gift giving to the differences between theBritish and American meanings behind "quaint" and "quite". It was both informative and very funny. As a lifelong Anglophile, I feel that I learned many things I hadn't previously known and became better informed about others. It was well written with entertaining illustrations. A very fun book!
April 4, 2016
This book used a dictionary type style of writing with a very British feel to it. This is a very humorous book in which I enjoyed a lot. I believe many people would enjoy this and would recommend this to anyone who needs a good laugh or two.
February 27, 2013
Fun trivia.
April 10, 2020
Well... it was quite good. (somewhere between the British and the American "quite" ;) ).
I expected to laugh a bit more and read not really interesting texts a bit less.
Surprisingly, I would love to have more illustrations in the book. I didn't like the style at the beginning, but now I think that the book would be way better with less text and more of those funny, ironic but also loving pictures!
I expected to laugh a bit more and read not really interesting texts a bit less.
Surprisingly, I would love to have more illustrations in the book. I didn't like the style at the beginning, but now I think that the book would be way better with less text and more of those funny, ironic but also loving pictures!
November 24, 2017
Funny, typical English.
I do envy you people could make such jokes and comments on society.
Long live the queen!
I do envy you people could make such jokes and comments on society.
Long live the queen!
July 29, 2018
A very amusing book - so enjoyed reading it!
April 21, 2018
I enjoyed this quite (this word is used in the American sense 😁) a lot, laughing often and sniggering at times. I read a lot of books by British authors and this book does help to explain British culture quite a bit (just take it with a pinch of salt more often than not!). What's really interesting too, for me, is how much my country (Singapore was a tiny but very important British colony from the early 19th century to the 1960's) has emulated Britain.
March 24, 2016
This was funny in parts and I actually learned things from it which I didn't expect to. For example the O2 arena was originally the Millennium Dome. Other than that, the middle seemed to drag on for ages and some of the definitions seemed completely random.
June 20, 2025
I was surprised at times, astonished at others, laughed out loudly, frowned,in fact I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.
Highly recommended reading to all Britons and the rest of the world, too!
Highly recommended reading to all Britons and the rest of the world, too!
August 21, 2016
Wouldn't agree with everything but good for a chuckle.
November 24, 2016
Entertaining and enlightening.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews