Twinkle0927

I can usually spot them quite easily. Something about their facial expression and mannerisms. As a teenager in Germany I remember waiting to cross a road and there was a young couple in the other side also waiting to cross. I thought to myself "they look British" and sure enough when we passed in the middle of the street I heard them talking and they were British. Since then I've always been able to spot them.

At the DMV closest to us, there are always dozens of Russians. Even before they start speaking I can tell they're Russian. They just have a certain similarity in their faces. Plus they wear real fur in the winter.

Twinkle0927

I would have said that picture sums up what British girls all look like (those awful boots and messy hair) but the picture wasn't taken in the U.K. The traffic is on the wrong side of the road and the street signage isn't British. So this species exists elsewhere too

scot47

The photograph was taken on a planet in orbit round Epsilon Centauri

Steerpike

Forget about spotting Brits ... what's this I see ... Octang Frye back after a many year absence, and ... '... the wife ...' that sounds like a new development! . Still stockpiling weapons or are you relaxing, now that you have a president who isn't going to send the United Nations into your home for your guns? . Welcome back!

yellowroom

Yes. Not just Brits though, I think if you've travelled a bit or been exposed to other cultures, you can get quite good at it. Helps while away time in airports, and have quite a good success rate at major European nationalities and Antipodeans as well as Americans. Kind of reflects where I've done most of my travelling!

Octang Frye

Very nice of you to say, Old Chap. Yes, got married. Mellowed. Not stock-piling gubs. Gardening. Traveling. Have fallen in love with Cambodia. Obsessed with Africa - just not the food. Learned to dirt-bike, got Scuba certified. Dogs (Leonbergers), ducks, chickens are my life now.

How are you?

Octang Frye

Someone else nailed it:
there's a slight awkwardness/fussy-ness/quirkiness/slightly timid/eccentric aspect.

yellowroom

I'd add "earnest" to that list.

scot47

I have often played the game of "Spot the nationality" Good sport when travelling. The best bit is when one of us gets the job of determining nationality of the person spotted, but is not allowed to ask a direct question.

kimilseung

I used to hear phantom British accents. Walking past people talking I'd think I spotted a Brit, and was embarrassed to hear American accents on actually talking to them.

Even after realizing I was falling for phantom accents, I heard them for a few years after arriving in America, I learned not to approach people, but to eavesdrop a little before deciding if they were British or not. Although I no longer care if someone else is British now, and feel no need to acknowledge our common origin.

I remember one couple, I asked them "Where are you from?", they were locals, but as she was Asian looking, I have a feeling my question was interpreted as being one of those questions prying at ethnic origin rather than place of residence. I just slunk away.

Wintersong

I'm going with yes on this one. British dentists just don't seem to have the same hardcore attitude towards cosmetic dentistry.

yellowroom

my American colleagues probably think I have bad teeth but are too polite to mention it, legacy of issues from my youth. The teeth and gums are healthy, and I've not got a mouth like a row of broken gravestones! just not a Hollywood smile. I've discussed work with my dentist to improve the appearance, his advice to me was not to do it as it would be painful, expensive, shorten the life of my teeth and would require ongoing maintenance.

It seems to me that British dentists operate under a philosophy of preserving a patient's natural teeth as long as possible, whereas the US philosophy is for perfection as all costs. Like a lot if people if my generation I associate a mouth of perfect white even teeth with old people and dentures. Two of my mums teeth were slightly crooked, and to my mind she lost part of the character of her face when she ended up with perfect false teeth.

anotherlimey

You know in your heart the teeth thing is true!

Whenever I see a white person, sunburnt, without the right clothes; i.e. no had, no sunglasses, no sleeves etc; I know it's a Brit.

I keep wondering why they think they don't need to follow anyone's advice about covering up. Like they think their skin has magical powers of protection from years of summers at Blackpool beach.

Steerpike

It's because they hardly ever see the sun, so when it does come out, they just can't possibly cover themselves up because that would be 'wasteful' .

My mum used to visit me often in CA, and refused to even wear sunglasses because she felt she had to soak up as much of the sun as possible. Only when I lived in Scottsdale did she finally admit she was 'too hot', and covered herself up, very reluctantly.

Wintersong

Yep, you hit the nail on the head.