7 British things in Harry Potter that Americans really didn't understand

Sellotape, sherbert and perfect snogging

Published: Thursday, 25 January 2018 at 3:01 pm

Some American Harry Potter fans have been left stumped by the seemingly innocuous words and phrases used throughout the eight films in the franchise. It turns out that Sellotape, sherbert lemons and snogging are so very British that some moviegoers were left confused as to what they actually were.

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So Screen Rant decided to collate seven references they thought were so British that they flew over US audiences' heads faster than a Golden Snitch.

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It's just that, well, Screen Rant don't really know what half of this stuff is themselves. For example, they haven't really grasped the concept of Christmas crackers (they're not presents) or Boxing Day (it's not the first weekday after Christmas, FYI Screen Rant).

They also come a cropper with the phrase "mulled mead", which is used in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince when Harry Potter and co. pay a visit to The Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade.

After ascertaining that mead is "a fermented honey beverage", they then go about explaining the "mulled".

Apparently mulled is "just a fancy way of saying warm".

It's not.

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And don't get us started on the word "wizard". Because the way they think Brits use it is totally not wizard at all. Which will make sense once you've watched the video...

Authors

Frances Taylor wears a black open-necked shirt, is smiling and looking at the camera

Frances Taylor

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