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In anticipation of a wonderful fresh burst of Good Omens fanfiction, in the wake of upcoming Season 2: here are some suggestions intended to be helpful to creators from outside the UK. I am in awe of all the subtleties already grasped by the fandom's talented authors, from all around the world. So these tips are purely meant as fine-points for those writers who genuinely enjoy obsessing about the tonal details!
In the end, absolutely nothing here is in the least bit important, compared to the wonderful storytelling of the GO community. So please do treat this as a resource lovingly offered, to those completists who would genuinely like to know.
I have adored reading thousands of GO fics over the last three years. As Crowley and Aziraphale are depicted, in both book and show, as (at least currently) quite anglicised, here are the things that most often jump out at me as non-UK usages. (I have avoided all the really obvious ones, like sidewalk and store, and the most well-known different US spellings.)
Things we don’t generally say in the UK
1) the symphony
- We instead would talk about attending a concert, or a classical concert, or a recital
2) top off (as in a glass)
- We would say top up
3) dropping the end off the name of a street eg Regent
- We would always say Regent Street, Oxford Street, Old Compton Street
- Likewise we would say St James's Park, especially as St James's is an area in itself, separate from the park
4) on the street (eg on the street where you live)
- We would say in the street
- Although someone who is homeless would be said to be living on the streets
5) freeway or highway
- We would say motorway eg the M25 is a motorway
- Smaller roads (outside of cities) are numbered A roads and B roads eg the A259
6) stoop, curb
- We would say doorstep/front-step(s), and kerb
7) curse words, swears, cursing
- We would say swear words, and swearing
8) bugger, critter (eg in the sense of a small creature)
- Bugger is a swear word, with quite a specific original implication!
- And critter isn’t really said at all
9) British accent
- There isn’t such a thing, instead there are English accents, Scottish accents, Welsh accents, Northern Irish accents
10) Vest
- We say waistcoat
11) Ascot, necktie
- We say cravat instead of ascot (although not technically exactly the same thing)
- And we would say simply tie
12) The Holidays, on Christmas
- The expression The Holidays isn’t used because we don’t have Thanksgiving, to make it a string of holidays
- Instead, we would just say Christmas, and New Year (not New Year’s), or possibly the Festive Season
- And at Christmas, rather than on Christmas
13) SoHo
- Unlike South of Houston Street, Soho isn’t an abbreviation
- And one wouldn’t say Soho, London, because to UK residents Soho is a very famous part of London. The title-card in the show was more used to help international viewers
14) Go eg go find, go eat
- We would say go and find, go and eat
15) Gotten
- We would say got
16) Visit with
- We would simply say visit
17) Quit eg quit stalling
- We would say stop eg stop stalling
18) Yell, yelling
- We would say shout, shouting
- It’s not that yell isn’t said at all in the UK, but it isn’t the default
19) Is all
- We would say that’s all
20) Anyways
- We would say anyway. (This one, anyways, really sticks out like a sore thumb to the UK ear)
21) A ways eg a ways off
- We would say some way off
- Way is singular
22) Snagged
- We would say grabbed
23) I guess, I figured
- We would say I suppose, I thought
24) Mad
- We would say angry, or cross
25) Sick
- We would say ill, unwell, not well
26) Home Office
- We would generally say Head Office
27) A lick, as in a lick of sense
- We would say any. (This idea of a lick just isn’t used in the UK)
28) Say, to start a sentence eg Say, didn’t you have a flaming sword, or Say, what was the name of that book
- No real equivalent in the UK
29) Plenty, as in I think you’re plenty cool
- No real equivalent in the UK
30) Cozy
- We use cosy in the UK
31) Already, as in get to the point already
- No real equivalent in the UK
- Perhaps hurry up and get to the point
32) Make a plate eg to make a plate for someone
- No real equivalent in the UK
33) Block as in it’s three blocks from here
- We would say perhaps it’s three streets away, or it’s five minutes’ walk from here
- UK cities are in the main not laid out in a grid system, but instead have grown from much older and more organic origins