Does antimoon really help...

Turns out to be an English word! It's new to me....

You Mick!

Doddle - something that's easily done "Easy peasy" in other words. Like the Americans say "it's a cinch". Doddle is not particularly Scottish - it's general British slang but we use it a lot.

I like all Scots pronounce doddle as 'd-awd-l The English say 'd-odd-l

Mick...for You read Yo!

So, you see, even native speakers of English learn new expressions here on Antimoon.

Some more informal British words and expressions for the day...
poppet
to throw a wobbly
to take the mickey

Damian,

We don't get much television programming from Britain. We get shows like "The Bill", "Inspector Morse" and one other that I can think of at the top of my head... set in a school (can't think of the name). What's more, is that all of these shows are only shown on one network (the ABC) and British movies are shown even less frequently. That probably explains why I hadn't heard "doddle" as we don't use it, unless I missed its rare use. However we do use "easy peasy" and "it's a cinch" amply.

PS: "poppet" - that's almost a foreign word to me! LOL

I can't say "poppet" is a word you hear all the time in the UK. In fact, I don't think I've ever heard it used outside my family. It just so happens to have caught my parents' fancy and now I also use it to call children.

Mi5 Mick,

Is there a wide offering of British books, especially British childrens' books, in Australia?

Poppet....I have never heard so that word before so I looked it up. Apparently it's a term of affection for a young child or something a guy calls his sweetheart! I'm amazed I've never heard of it before. It also says that it was a romantic word commonly used by guys in the RAF during WW2 in reference to girls so it was RAF slang mainly. I don't think anyone uses it now.

It has another meaning too, so it says....a poppet is a mushroom shaped exhaust valve in an internal combustion engine. Now that really is romantic!

Mick:

I like to watch The Bill when I can as I love all police programs. The Police have their own terms and expressions which are interesting. The Bill is set in the Metropolitan Police, which covers Greater London and is the world's largest police force. It has its own vocabulary and you may have heard a few of the terms in the series. I have a friend who is a copper in London so I get it all at first hand. I use some of the words myself.

I can't think which program is set in a school, Mick. Inspector Morse ended when the leading actor, John Thaw, died. There is another similar TV series called "Midsomer Murders". It's set in a small English village and every episode involves a murder in this tiny picture postcard place. Good entertainment but hardly reality.....that village must be the most dangerous place in England! Pretty soon there will be nobody left alive there.....except for the coppers. LOL

"The Office" has gotten pretty popular over here as of late.

Random Chappie,
I'd say so, though I'm not much of a reader these days when it comes to novels. When I was a kiddy at school, most of the books we were read in class were British. Enid Blyton comes to mind.

Damian,
I haven't been able to find the name of the program set in a school. It centres on the teachers, their professional relationships with one another and the students, and their sex lives outside of work.

According to my dictionary...

[Origin of "poppet" uncertain: perhaps from French poupette, literally "small doll".]

Well, that would make sense, since many RAF men (who weren't the best-behaved people) served in France during World War II. They probably mispronounced "poupette" and it ended up being "poppet".

"Moppet" is a similar word with the exact same meaning that appears to have an Anglo-Saxon origin.

[Moppet= literally "small mop", formed from obsolete "mop"= "doll, baby", earlier "fool".]

Neither word is romantic in the least bit. Both are more suitable for children than for lovers.

Antimoon forum is very helpful. We can learn English from native speakers directly.