An American tourist joked he “nearly went to jail” in London after a simple mix-up over a word.
Nick Toteda was visiting his British boyfriend Anthony Cushion, when he ran into the problem.
The 25-year-old had booked an Airbnb in a central London block of flats and collected the keys from a lockbox.
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He headed to what he thought was the “first floor, door on the right” – exactly as the listing instructed.
But the misunderstanding that followed left him stunned.
The content creator with 451,000 followers filmed a video recounting the ordeal and has since drawn more than 345,000 views.
“British people, I just nearly went to jail because of your lingo,” he said.
“You’d think easy, right? Well, not so much,” Nick told What’s The Jam.
“Anthony wasn’t with me at the time, which was my first mistake.
“If he had been there, he would’ve translated the British floor system for me.
“I went up to what I thought was the first floor, found the door on the right, and started trying the keys.
“They actually fit, but the lock wouldn’t budge.
“So I’m texting the Airbnb host saying ‘hey it’s not opening.”
“And he’s telling me ‘Oh don’t worry, it’s just an old door, you need to give it a good pull.”
“So there I am, tugging and jiggling when the door swings open and out comes this very confused lady asking me what on earth I’m doing.”
Mortified, suitcase in hand, he blurted out: “This is my Airbnb!”
He said: “She just looks at me and goes ‘Love, this is my house.”
“That’s when she explained, in the UK the first floor is actually one above the ground.
“I apologised a hundred times, grabbed my bags, and ran upstairs, and of course, my key worked instantly.
“Later I told Anthony the whole saga, and he thought it was hilarious.
“I ended up sharing it online with my followers as ‘I nearly got arrested for breaking and entering because of British lingo.”
“Thankfully, the woman was very understanding, but it definitely taught me: when in London, the ground floor isn’t the first floor.”
And his Brit boyfriend found it hilarious.
Nick said: “He even told me I should go and apologise to the poor woman downstairs, but honestly, I think the last thing she wanted was to see me back at her door again.
“And I can proudly say that I now fully understand the British floor system: ground, first, second.
“Lesson learned.
“I came back home to London feeling just a little bit more British than before.”
He captioned the post: “Dear British people, explain yourselves…your lingo doesn’t make sense!”
Since, it has gained over 4,800 likes and 800 comments.
Hernando said: “Thank yourself for taking the opportunity to travel outside the US.”
Val added: “It’s very common all over Europe.”
Mini joked: “Wait until you hear about the lower ground floor.”
Kim said: “Same in Australia. We say ground floor!”
Pinkie added: “We say ground floor cos it’s on the ground and no steps are needed. It’s the norm dude.”
Nick says he’s learned his lesson – though he still insists the ground floor should count as the first.
Nick added: “My parents back home in North America were completely on my side!
“Meanwhile, all my British friends and of course Anthony thought it was absolutely hilarious.
“Overall, everyone found it really funny, and I love that my family had my back while my British friends still laugh about it.
“It’s become one of those stories that follows me around, but at least now I know: when in doubt, ground floor first.”
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