American in UK confused by ‘polite’ question she’s asked in coffee shop

An American woman living in the UK was left confused by a question she was asked by a barista in a coffee shop, but Brits have ensured her she was just being polite

An American woman in London has shared a peculiar phrase that a barista used, which she can’t seem to get out of her head. Relocating to a new country often comes with amusing misunderstandings and cultural surprises. One such American woman, now living in the UK, took to social media to recount an instance where she was left puzzled by an unusual question posed to her in a coffee shop. Leah Lamarr, strolling through the streets of London, filmed herself sharing this intriguing phrase with her 187,000 Instagram followers.

“I was just at a coffee shop in London when the cashier used a phrase that no one in America has ever used before,” Leah began her video, as she navigated the London streets. So, what was this mysterious phrase? She revealed: “She said ‘are you happy to pay?'”.

This question caught her off guard, as she found the phrase itself rather strange, unable to comprehend why anyone would be pleased to part with their money.

“Am I happy to pay? No, I’m not happy to pay, Henrietta,” Leah retorted. “I’ve never been happy to pay for anything in my life, in fact I’m sad to pay. I’m willing to pay, but am I happy to pay? No, absolutely not.

“In fact, is there an option? Because if so, I’m not paying,” she added.

However, this response hadn’t gone down well with the café worker, as Leah continued to explain: “Apparently it wasn’t an option, we just stood there for a second, she goes ‘will you be paying cash or card?'”.

Leah also headed to the comments section, where she revealed: “I’ve been confused so many times here.”

Despite Leah’s obvious bewilderment, numerous viewers flocked to the video’s comment section to explain that the phrase was simply a courteous way of asking if she was ready to settle the bill.

“So you didn’t realise you were being politely told to pay and leave?” one person remarked. A second viewer explained: “Translation: Are you happy to pay NOW or is there anything else you would like? It’s just British manners.”

Another commenter elaborated: “Happy in Britain sometimes just means satisfied or ok. Say when someone explains something and they say ‘happy?’ Meaning understood? Or ok? Or ‘I’m happy with that’ or ‘everybody is happy’ it doesn’t mean I’m ecstatic or everyone is jumping of joy, it just means sorted, or agreed, or ok.”

Nevertheless, this didn’t appear to be universal knowledge, as another viewer admitted: “I live in London for 12 years and I’ve never heard this. Or just didn’t notice?”.

“As a Brit, I have genuinely never heard this expression. Might be a regional thing,” another viewer commented.