What words are only understood by those who went to public school? Some examples…

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tmstms@reddit

I was at a state school and we used 'prep' and 'off games' - Saturday afternoon detention was SAD because we had school on Saturday mornings anyway. Exeat and Gated did not apply since it was a day school, but everyone knew what they meant.

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chris5156@reddit

My state school had prep and exeat too.

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According_Sundae_917@reddit (OP)

Did your state school have Saturday lessons?

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chris5156@reddit

No, thankfully! But we did have a farm.

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According_Sundae_917@reddit (OP)

I thought exeat was a weekend off for Saturday school ?

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chris5156@reddit

Ooh! Maybe we didn’t have it, in that sense anyway. Our sixth formers had a certain number of free periods where they were allowed off campus and that was referred to as having an exeat.

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According_Sundae_917@reddit (OP)

Ah well perhaps exeat just refers to generally being off site - so in our case the weekends not at school were referred to as ‘exeat weekends’. We just shortened it to ‘Exeat’

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ProfessorYaffle1@reddit

Exeat is Latin meaning 'let him/her go out' so yes, it's simply permission to leave.

You see it in stage directions (usually 'Exeat Omnes' and it's used in the Catholic church too, I think ususally when a Bishop is agreeing for a priest to move parishes

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According_Sundae_917@reddit (OP)

Great that’s interesting !

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tmstms@reddit

I think of them more as older terms than as necessarily private school ones.

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djnw@reddit

Xmas present suggestions for OP: a dictionary.

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Accurate_Prompt_8800@reddit

Do you mean ‘public school’ to be posh private school or state school?

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scorzon@reddit

This is AskUk so public school means private as far as I know.

Very confusing for our US friends.

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WitShortage@reddit

It's different in Scotland. "Public school" isn't really used much at all, schools are either "private" or "local," but if you say "public school" in Scotland (in my experience at least) a Scot will assume you mean "state."

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scorzon@reddit

Ooo teachable moment, I like it, TIL.

Every day is a school day, public or otherwise!

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Accurate_Prompt_8800@reddit

Yeah I’ve heard all of them and I went to a private school but it isn’t a traditional ‘public school’, the definitions are all used interchangeably it appears!

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scorzon@reddit

I'm a secondary modern lad from a northern mill town, I know nowt.

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According_Sundae_917@reddit (OP)

You’ve learned to type on a smart phone keyboard though so well done!

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scorzon@reddit

Thank you my lord, much appreciated.

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According_Sundae_917@reddit (OP)

Haha I got downvoted for that act of condescension. (That means talking down to someone)

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scorzon@reddit

Oh I took in the spirit of good natured banter that I'm fairly sure you meant, downvotes be damned.

Thanks for explaining condescension for me by the way - I see what you did there and I like it.

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maccon25@reddit

public school is a type of private school

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Accurate_Prompt_8800@reddit

Yes I said ‘posh private school’, like Eton, Winchester College, St Paul’s etc.

I went to a private school myself so I’m aware of what it is lol. But my school is not a public school.

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maccon25@reddit

haha yeh hence why i clarified it for you?.. public school meaning state school is an american term i believe

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AussieHxC@reddit

Yeah but a surprising amount of people use the term public when they mean state schools.

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maccon25@reddit

goive

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According_Sundae_917@reddit (OP)

What’s that?

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maccon25@reddit

hmm you might say “its goive” ie unimportant

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According_Sundae_917@reddit (OP)

Interesting, is there an origin to that phrase you know of?

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maccon25@reddit

no idea sorry haha

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Lammtarra95@reddit

More boarding school than public school, many of which are day schools now.

And my comprehensive school had a tuck shop, although probably nowadays in this post-Jamie Oliver world, education authorities take a dimmer view of selling Mars Bars and Pepsi to children.

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wistmans-wouldnt@reddit

Individual public schools tend to have their own words for things. There are some examples at the bottom of this page.

https://academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Public_school_%28UK%29

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According_Sundae_917@reddit (OP)

That’s brilliant thanks

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seeyoujim@reddit

Fonging

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According_Sundae_917@reddit (OP)

Translate?

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seeyoujim@reddit

Honestly I’m not sure myself, I have a ex-public schoolboy colleague who often threatens us all with a fonging if we don’t behave.

I think it involves poking thumbs into ribcages with force

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According_Sundae_917@reddit (OP)

Hopefully you never find out for certain

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172116@reddit

You don't have to have gone to private school to understand any of that, just to have been utterly obsessed with boarding school stories as a kid.

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According_Sundae_917@reddit (OP)

Fair enough - which ones?

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172116@reddit

The Chalet School was my absolute favourite, but there was plenty of mallory towers, Marlow's, St Clare's, naughtiest girl at the school, and anything else the library happened to have in stock! And it wasn't just books - I LOVED the (original!) St Trinian's films.

There's a reason I have a massive soft spot for the (objectively terrible) film Wild Child.

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Any-Blackberry-387@reddit

M.P.S.I.A.

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According_Sundae_917@reddit (OP)

Don’t know this one…

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Any-Blackberry-387@reddit

Minor public school I’m afraid

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Smiley_Dub@reddit

Toad in the hole

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According_Sundae_917@reddit (OP)

That a game or dish?

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Smiley_Dub@reddit

Believe a game played at night after lights out

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Throwaway_6543867@reddit

Soggy biscuit?

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According_Sundae_917@reddit (OP)

Knew this one was coming

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HenshinDictionary@reddit

hsm

I know what High School Musical is.

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According_Sundae_917@reddit (OP)

Can’t get anything past you

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lxgrf@reddit

Mine wasn't a public school, but we had exeats, saturdays, prep, being gated. The Venn diagram of public schools and schools that offer boarding isn't quite a circle.

Pretty close though, I'll grant.

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According_Sundae_917@reddit (OP)

The San! Forgot that one. And of course tuck…

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