words in england that mean something totally different in america!!
Options
Replies
-
Oh! Torch. For us a torch is something burning (like...physically on fire) on the end of a stick. The thing with the battery and little lightbulb is a flashlight.0
-
Oh! Torch. For us a torch is something burning (like...physically on fire) on the end of a stick. The thing with the battery and little lightbulb is a flashlight.
That's an odd one.... 100 years ago both sides of the pond called it a torch or electric torch. I'm honestly a bit curious now how that evolved....
I suspect there's something in the WW1/WW2 military lexicon that floated into American but not English.
1 -
Partner (needs further explanation in the U.S. i.e. squaredancing, business, lab, sex, workout, etc.)
Tea (in the U.S. means a cup of)
Mash (needs further explanation in the U.S. i.e. mashed potatoes, bananas, butternut squash, turnips, carrots, etc.)
Fizzy Drink (what the hell? Just smile and nod.)
Martini with lemonade (ordered by older British ladies in U.S. bars and restaurants. What they're talking about is dry vermouth with 7 Up or Sprite - ice optional. Tutoring necessary to avoid horrification.)
A partner can mean any of those things...its just somebody you do something with I suppose (or I guess!. Mash is something you mash down like potatoes become mashed potatoes or you can get carrot and swede mash where the two are mashed together(like partners!)..and fizzy drinks...drinks that are fizzy!0 -
We also call fizzy drinks..like coke..a bottle of pop. Do you say that in america?0
-
blueyandcrazee wrote: »We also call fizzy drinks..like coke..a bottle of pop. Do you say that in america?
Yes... in fact, in some places everything is a coke... pepsi, sprite, mt dew, root beer.
0 -
CoffeeAndContour wrote: »Bugger
I think the actual meaning of this is the same on both sides of the pond, it's just that Americans don't usually use it as an expletive.
I can think of another that has an extremely derogatory meaning in the U.S. but is slang in the UK for a cigarette. The original derogatory meaning was probably the same for both and referred to burning a certain segment of society during heretic burning times.0 -
stanmann571 wrote: »Oh! Torch. For us a torch is something burning (like...physically on fire) on the end of a stick. The thing with the battery and little lightbulb is a flashlight.
That's an odd one.... 100 years ago both sides of the pond called it a torch or electric torch. I'm honestly a bit curious now how that evolved....
I suspect there's something in the WW1/WW2 military lexicon that floated into American but not English.
This is a brilliant insight and I'll bet you're correct.0 -
In everyday vernacular, or labelling? That's not exactly wrong, but it's not a complete picture, either.stanmann571 wrote: »blueyandcrazee wrote: »stanmann571 wrote: »I was educated this week that juice means something else in England.
What was you told it meant?..having said that half the words the kids use here nowdays us older ones don't understand!
I was advised that juice could mean liquid fruit flavored non-caloric water additives and not just the product produced by pulping/juicing a fruit.
Legislation means that only 100% fruit juice can be sold as "fruit juice". Juice mixed with sweeteners, like Ribena, may be squash, "juice drink", high juice squash, etc.
But in practice, not everyone makes a spoken distinction between different products in everyday conversation. Basically, everything may get called juice unless they're talking about dilution drinks. (That's a safety issue- undiluted squash is lethal!)
You can read more about the distinctions here: http://www.britishsoftdrinks.com/Fruit-Juices0 -
CoffeeAndContour wrote: »Bugger
I think the actual meaning of this is the same on both sides of the pond, it's just that Americans don't usually use it as an expletive.
I can think of another that has an extremely derogatory meaning in the U.S. but is slang in the UK for a cigarette. The original derogatory meaning was probably the same for both and referred to burning a certain segment of society during heretic burning times.
I've never heard an American use bugger, as an expletive or otherwise... unless they had had cross cultural exposure...
It's amusing that the MFP *kitten* filter doesn't pick it up...
1 -
blueyandcrazee wrote: »First time I came to America on holiday(vacation!) I heard a woman ask her husband in one of the Disney parks if her fanny looked big! It just sounded so odd...and so wrong!
Oh yeah, holiday. For Americans it's a specific day of celebration, whether you go anywhere or not.
Christmas, Easter, whatever. And yes, we would call taking time off, especially (but not always) if we go away, vacation. 0 -
stanmann571 wrote: »CoffeeAndContour wrote: »Bugger
I think the actual meaning of this is the same on both sides of the pond, it's just that Americans don't usually use it as an expletive.
I can think of another that has an extremely derogatory meaning in the U.S. but is slang in the UK for a cigarette. The original derogatory meaning was probably the same for both and referred to burning a certain segment of society during heretic burning times.
I've never heard an American use bugger, as an expletive or otherwise... unless they had had cross cultural exposure...
It's amusing that the MFP *kitten* filter doesn't pick it up...
Right. Exactly. (Although I have seen the word used descriptively if in hushed tones here for sure. It is just that, again, it is not as common ...we have other words and word combinations we would tend to use instead.)
OTOH many people do have cross-cultural exposure.
But even so, "bugger" would be the extreme rarity.
However, my point was that it actually is a word on this side of the pond which has exactly the same original (very graphic) meaning for both.0 -
blueyandcrazee wrote: »Partner (needs further explanation in the U.S. i.e. squaredancing, business, lab, sex, workout, etc.)
Tea (in the U.S. means a cup of)
Mash (needs further explanation in the U.S. i.e. mashed potatoes, bananas, butternut squash, turnips, carrots, etc.)
Fizzy Drink (what the hell? Just smile and nod.)
Martini with lemonade (ordered by older British ladies in U.S. bars and restaurants. What they're talking about is dry vermouth with 7 Up or Sprite - ice optional. Tutoring necessary to avoid horrification.)
A partner can mean any of those things...its just somebody you do something with I suppose (or I guess!. Mash is something you mash down like potatoes become mashed potatoes or you can get carrot and swede mash where the two are mashed together(like partners!)..and fizzy drinks...drinks that are fizzy!
When Brits say partner it pertains almost exclusively to some vaguely defined sexual relationship. Also, when ordering "mash" in restaurants, they always mean potatoes. Fizzy drink? Yeah, I suppose that's at least a direct way of describing something, so I'll give them a thumbs up for that.
A partner is a word used to describe your other half(husband wife boyfriend girlfriend etc) . But not almost exclusively. It can be a tennis partner a dance partner a drinking partner..its used in many different ways0 -
blueyandcrazee wrote: »blueyandcrazee wrote: »Partner (needs further explanation in the U.S. i.e. squaredancing, business, lab, sex, workout, etc.)
Tea (in the U.S. means a cup of)
Mash (needs further explanation in the U.S. i.e. mashed potatoes, bananas, butternut squash, turnips, carrots, etc.)
Fizzy Drink (what the hell? Just smile and nod.)
Martini with lemonade (ordered by older British ladies in U.S. bars and restaurants. What they're talking about is dry vermouth with 7 Up or Sprite - ice optional. Tutoring necessary to avoid horrification.)
A partner can mean any of those things...its just somebody you do something with I suppose (or I guess!. Mash is something you mash down like potatoes become mashed potatoes or you can get carrot and swede mash where the two are mashed together(like partners!)..and fizzy drinks...drinks that are fizzy!
When Brits say partner it pertains almost exclusively to some vaguely defined sexual relationship. Also, when ordering "mash" in restaurants, they always mean potatoes. Fizzy drink? Yeah, I suppose that's at least a direct way of describing something, so I'll give them a thumbs up for that.
A partner is a word used to describe your other half(husband wife boyfriend girlfriend etc) . But not almost exclusively. It can be a tennis partner a dance partner a drinking partner..its used in many different ways
normally "my partner" either means someone I'm in a sexual relationship with, unless it means someone I'm in a business relationship with..
Which could lead to some very awkward assumptions1 -
I suppose you interpret it's meaning depending on the conversation you're having0
-
English belongs to the English so I'll always love them for giving us the most amazing language on this planet.
The majesty of English vocabulary and its unrivaled lyrical qualities make the beauty potential of poetry, literature and song transcendent when expressed in full. There's a reason why English is the most spoken language on the planet. It's truly amazing and has the potential for unparalleled refinement, unlike most other languages.
So I cringe when I hear the Brits, but the English in particular, butchering the English language. Veg, uni, mash, carer, etc. Please, please stop it. You're the true ancestral gatekeepers of your own magnificent language. Protect it and honor it or no one else will.
(Sorry to get all serious about it. Just a peeve of mine.)
English doesn't exclusively belong to the English and the language is constantly evolving and changing, including slang, in England as it is elsewhere. (And slang has been noted in virtually every society throughout history anywhere across the globe that has left written records.) The English can not "preserve" what changes constantly, generation by generation. NO language spoken anywhere is its own original form. Original English (so to speak, as even the word "English" is not its own original word) is unreadable to, I would bet, greater than 98% of the population - you'd have to have specifically studied it; Google to see what I mean.
English does not "belong" to the British; it is today an extreme evolution of an original already changing language that came, more or less, from (today's) Germany and combined with other languages. It has never been stagnant or stationery. Ever. And it has never been spoken "just" in England as its own evolution and changes made their way back and influenced today's German root languages as well.
Just my own pet peeve, as a Language Arts major. The "preserve dying societies" hypothesis was a 19th century construct from the German-born father of anthropology, Franz Boaz (who wished to "preserve" various NA cultures, some of which he did not realize were less than a century old, such as plains horse riders), and was within a few generations realized to be a fallacy as there is no way to trace an original anything...including language.
By the way, you use a lot of non-original, so to speak, English in your post right down to grammatical structure (for instance, adjective placement) and slang ("butchering" when used in a nonphysical context).
English is NOT superior, BTW, and does not have more potential for refinement than other languages; in fact, we are LESS specific and, if you will, refined in, for example, not giving genders to our adjectives, not giving different designations to extended family members based on which side of the family they came from, and gosh, many many many many other ways. I love English, it is my jam, but be real. 2 -
There are plenty of varieties of English in England alone...the language changes from the north to the south. I live in the most central city in England so I hear it all!2
-
Pardon. 'Excuse me' in the UK; what the Governor does to prisoners in the US.
Boot has already been mentioned. Bonnet is the hood of the car in the UK; in the US it's a hat.
Pissed. Drunk in the UK, mad in the US. I remember one of my English cousins seeing a t-shirt from here that read 'Jesus is coming and boy, is he pissed." Took on a whole new meaning!
Lift - Elevator in the UK; here it's either a verb or something Tom Cruise wears in his shoes. ;-)
0 -
blueyandcrazee wrote: »We also call fizzy drinks..like coke..a bottle of pop. Do you say that in america?
no; we're not weird.0 -
.... and memo to the Brits:
For God's sake, learn how to pronounce both: Aluminum & Vitamins
it's got to be embarrassing for all y'all.2 -
English belongs to the English so I'll always love them for giving us the most amazing language on this planet.
The majesty of English vocabulary and its unrivaled lyrical qualities make the beauty potential of poetry, literature and song transcendent when expressed in full. There's a reason why English is the most spoken language on the planet. It's truly amazing and has the potential for unparalleled refinement, unlike most other languages.
So I cringe when I hear the Brits, but the English in particular, butchering the English language. Veg, uni, mash, carer, etc. Please, please stop it. You're the true ancestral gatekeepers of your own magnificent language. Protect it and honor it or no one else will.
(Sorry to get all serious about it. Just a peeve of mine.)
English doesn't exclusively belong to the English and the language is constantly evolving and changing, including slang, in England as it is elsewhere. (And slang has been noted in virtually every society throughout history anywhere across the globe that has left written records.) The English can not "preserve" what changes constantly, generation by generation. NO language spoken anywhere is its own original form. Original English (so to speak, as even the word "English" is not its own original word) is unreadable to, I would bet, greater than 98% of the population - you'd have to have specifically studied it; Google to see what I mean.
English does not "belong" to the British; it is today an extreme evolution of an original already changing language that came, more or less, from (today's) Germany and combined with other languages. It has never been stagnant or stationery. Ever. And it has never been spoken "just" in England as its own evolution and changes made their way back and influenced today's German root languages as well.
Just my own pet peeve, as a Language Arts major. The "preserve dying societies" was a 19th century construct from the German-born father of anthropology, Franz Boaz, and was within a few generations realized to be a fallacy as there is no way to trace an original anything...including language.
By the way, you use a lot of non-original, so to speak, English in your post right down to grammatical structure (for instance, adjective placement) and slang ("butchering" when used in a nonphysical context).
English and s NOT superior, BTW, and does not have more potential for refinement than other languages; in fact, we are LESS specific and, if you will, refined in, for example, not giving genders to our adjectives, not giving different designations to extended family members based on which side of the family they came from, and gosh, many many many !any othernways. I lobe English, it is my jam, but be real.
It does indeed belong to the English. That's why it and they are called English. We have borrowed it along with everyone else who has borrowed it. It's theirs, they initiated and developed it and that's that. The glory belongs to them. And the criticism, where it's warranted.
No, indeed. It did not "belong" to the English from the beginning, as I have pointed out in the exchange of languages from its inception, going back (as we understand it; this is never directly linear nor universal; as I said "original" anything is a fallacy when it comes to anthropology) 1500 years+ but farther back than that in (modern-day) Germany, as well as having been "sent back," so to speak, to other nations during the very transitional early Middle Ages.
And no, the English are not called the English because they speak anything even loosely approximating the original (as far as we can tell) language of the continental European Angles, to wit:
They are called "the English" because of politics and timing, just as Britain isn't called Britain because it's Italian (Britain being a Latin word delivered by the temporarily victorious Romans).
If you want to talk about English "belonging to" the English you need to pre-date the accelerated spread of the language throughout the globe about two and a half centuries ago - even then it won't really be accurate but I'm reaching across the aisle here. Is that the "original" English you wish to preserve? Have you read any of it? Grammar, spellings, annoying excessive punctuation, slang of the day? Is that the cutoff for what Brits "should" preserve? Or is it some other time? What is it you hope to preserve here? Or is it just a specific annoyance for the word veg...or what?
The language is not called English because it permanently belongs to the English. It was called English at the time due to the Angle infiltration among others, with the Angles temporarily on top (and also due to the current inhabitants thinking they were all Angles just as later they would call most Scandinavians Danes), but they themselves were speaking a constantly evolving language. Original forms of English as we understand them, in England specifically are virtually unreadable to us...and guess what, they're virtually unreadable to Brits. The "owners" of that very language.
If you want to say the language shown in that piece of Beowulf shown above belongs to the English, you will be loosely right (very loosely as it was also being spoken in a somewhat modified format in, as I pointed out, parts of Europe).
English "belongs to" the people speaking it. NO language is an island and as I stated, every language evolves...including where it was "originally" (if you will) utilized.
And again. If it should be "preserved," what should it be preserved "to"? How far back? If you don't like "today's" slang in Britain you'll need to do a little etymological digging to see how many centuries back it goes (you'll be surprised).
But since you say it all belongs to the Brits anyway, then you have no cause, by your own "rules," to tell them what they can and can't keep, so the point is moot.
3
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.9K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.8K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.7K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 400 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.8K Motivation and Support
- 7.9K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.4K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 988 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.4K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions