language

An easyJet flight attendant has revealed the ‘secret language’ that cabin crew use to communicate with each other while on board a flight

An easyJet flight attendant has spilled the beans on the covert language they use to communicate while onboard. An anonymous member of the budget airline’s cabin crew popped up on their Instagram feed to spill the secrets.

She clarified that, due to the sheer number of passengers on a plane and the length of an aircraft’s fuselage, cabin crew can’t always communicate verbally with each other. This means they have devised a ‘secret language’ for communication.

Interestingly, it is not a spoken language, but more akin to sign language, with various gestures signifying different things. She revealed: “While I’m here on my own I’ll let you into a little secret.

“As cabin crew you may be aware but we do have a secret language on board, a way of communicating to each other when we want food items and with over 200 passengers on board the plane is very long so you may have noticed that if you would like a ham and cheese sandwich we do a croque monsieur, a chicken wrap, and a calzone pizza but don’t tell anyone I told you.”

Whilst mentioning the croque monsieur, she mimicked a crocodile with her hand. For the chicken wrap, she extended an arm out like a chicken wing before rolling her hands together to signify a wrap. Lastly, for the calzone, she placed the heel of her hands together before bringing her palms and fingers together, presumably to illustrate the folding together of a calzone.

READ MORE: BBC Antiques Roadshow vase valued at £2k sells for £165KREAD MORE: Sole Air India crash survivor describes survival in deadly disaster as ‘miracle’

People in the comments section were impressed, with one saying: “Absolutely iconic!”

“We were just talking about this after our flight last month,” said another, while one person said: “I saw a crew member do this to another crew member, I realised it was internal sign language!”

“I often watch the crew doing this trying to work out what they’re on about lol,” one person said. Another said: “Ha ha my Mrs worked a few out on our flight back to MAN from AGP last week.”

GEN Z are killing off terms like ‘grub,’ ‘sarnie,’ and ‘pop’ – in favour of ‘scran,’ ‘sub,’ and ‘soda.’

A poll of 2,000 adults has revealed how younger adults are driving a generational shift in food language – from breakfast to dinner.

5

5

Using ‘tea’ to refer to the evening meal, ‘nosh’ to talk about food generally, and ‘cuppa’ for a hot drink are also out of favour among under-29s, along with ‘squash.’

While the term ‘sandwich’ is also in decline, with younger adults adopting American-inspired terms such as ‘hoagie’ and ‘hero’ Instead.

A spokesperson for McDonald’s UK&I, which commissioned the research to mark the launch of its new RSPCA assured pork patty Sausage Sandwich on the Saver Menu, said: “Language is constantly evolving, and food slang is no exception.”

The study also found the biggest influence on Gen Z’s food language is their family, which holds greater sway than the local area they grew up in and social media, which came second and third respectively.

Interestingly, more than any other age group, 49% of Gen Z also believe they use a greater number of regional food words than other generations do.

With nearly half (49%) claiming to use them ‘very often’ or ‘often.’

Across all ages, the main barriers to using regional slang include not hearing it enough in conversation (28%) or believing others won’t understand (17%).

However, 40% are curious to know what unfamiliar regional food terms mean, with 18% looking them up online.

Overall, the research, carried out through OnePoll, found 70% believe regional food terms – whether they relate to breakfast, lunch, dinner, or specific foods or drinks – should be preserved as part of cultural heritage, even if they are declining in popularity.

One of the biggest regional variations was what people call a bread roll.

5

While the term was number one for all regions, ‘cob’ is popular among those living in the West and East Midlands (21% and 42%).

And ‘Barm’ is commonplace in the North West (26%), with Fam‘teacake’ frequently used in Yorkshire and Humber (18%).

The spokesperson for McDonald’s added: “Our Sausage Sandwich is already sparking its own naming debates – burger or sandwich.”

Although the research suggests a strong preference – when shown an image of this menu item, 76% of those polled described it as a ‘burger,’ with just 24% opting for ‘sandwich.’

5

5