Strange American sayings from an English Perspective

Alluminati

Ok I'll concede
on the math question, but come on they ain't sneakers they're TRAINERS

Nope. I'm Canadian and I call them runners.:flowerforyou:

On the EastCoast we call em "kicks"

I'm in Maine. They're called sneakers. Lol

Even up and down the Eastcoast it's culturally different :laugh:

rml_16

We put ketchup on our fries.

Vinegar is another popular option, or at least was when I lived there.

"Gravy" must be those wacky Rhode Islanders, then. They also drink "coffee milk", so whaddaya gonna do...?

Vinegar on fries is very regional. I think it's a New England thing? I can't remember. But in NY we grew up putting ketchup on our fries.

I know a few NJ peeps who call marinara sauce "gravy." Hearing that makes my stomach turn! lol

To me, gravy is two things: the thick brown stuff people put on mashed potatoes or the thinner juices from a turkey.

rml_16

Northeast and Midwest are TOTALLY different places, culturally speaking! I grew up in the Northeast (upstate NY).

That's gotta be it then! His grandpa's family is out of Buffalo, and it was kinda home base for a lot of years... Thank goodness I didn't pick that up the year I lived there!

Here's one. Does anybody call that red stuff you put on pasta or the other stuff you put on french fries (or chips, if you prefer) "gravy"? I can't remember if that one came from WNY or Rhode Island...

LOL. I had two Italian friends who had an argument over this. The one from NJ called it gravy, the other from Virginia said calling it gravy was lame and not really Italian. It's supposed to be called sauce or marinara. I called it delicious.

Who puts marinara sauce on French fries???

BeachGingerOnTheRocks

They snicker at you if you order a "Scotch" in Scotland.
Cheeky buggers.

WTF would you order? Just "whisky", and it's assumed? Do you have to specify single-malt? Inquiring minds want to know!!

I was told to ask nicely for whiskey and if I were judged worthy, I'd be given the good stuff. If not, I'd be overcharged for the low end.

Which is why you order by name and don't water it down. If you must, get a glass of water on the side, stick your finger in it and flick it into your whisky glass.

Or order a Jameson. :flowerforyou:

Fullsterkur_woman

When you stop calling it a "bonnet" and start calling it a "hood"...AND...when you start driving on the right side of the road, then you can start correcting us.

Um, no correcting is really going on. Just lighthearted discussions. :-)

Yep, we're celebrating the diversity of our fair language as it is spoken the world over. :happy:

ldrosophila

Damn my fanny pack is stuffed so tight I can barely fit a camera in it.

Holly_Roman_Empire

Here's another one. The road next to the highway/interstate, do you call it: 1) access road 2)feeder road 3) service road or 4)something completely different?

rich347

Das gay and No homo are strange Urban American sayings'

Lupercalia

They snicker at you if you order a "Scotch" in Scotland.
Cheeky buggers.

WTF would you order? Just "whisky", and it's assumed? Do you have to specify single-malt? Inquiring minds want to know!!

Yeah, you order a whisky. You can ask for a single malt, and the bartender or waiter will make suggestions (cause there are all sorts), or you can call your whisky by brand name if you know it.

Fullsterkur_woman

To me, gravy is two things: the thick brown stuff people put on mashed potatoes or the thinner juices from a turkey.

I'm more likely to think of white cream gravy speckled with lots of good black pepper, for chicken fried steak and fries or mashed potatoes and Texas toast. However, we had white gravy growing up in the midwest too. I think it's 'cause we were poor.

Fullsterkur_woman

Das gay and No homo are strange Urban American sayings'

Yes. I hate them with a purple passion.

Fullsterkur_woman

Damn my fanny pack is stuffed so tight I can barely fit a camera in it.

Giggity.

Liss_Bee

Here's another one. The road next to the highway/interstate, do you call it: 1) access road 2)feeder road 3) service road or 4)something completely different?

It's an off ramp =]

rml_16

To me, gravy is two things: the thick brown stuff people put on mashed potatoes or the thinner juices from a turkey.

I'm more likely to think of white cream gravy speckled with lots of good black pepper, for chicken fried steak and fries or mashed potatoes and Texas toast. However, we had white gravy growing up in the midwest too. I think it's 'cause we were poor.

Oh yeah. That would be gravy, too. I don't see it as often, but I would call that gravy.

rml_16

Here's another one. The road next to the highway/interstate, do you call it: 1) access road 2)feeder road 3) service road or 4)something completely different?

Access or service road.

SpeSHul_SnoflEHk

they ain't sneakers they're TRAINERS

I sometimes stumble when tryin gto figure out what to call those. I've lived in places where they have been called, gym Shoes, Tennis Shoes, sneakers, tennies, athletic shoes and trainers.

I have the same issue with dinner/supper. In some places I have lived you eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. In some others you eat breakfast, dinner and supper. In others you eat breakfast, lunch and supper.

I get confused as to what I need to call each meal in conversations sometimes.

I call them tennis shoes... It's breakfast, lunch and dinner. But here in the wonderful Midwest, the farm folk call it supper. They also call a drive way a "Lane road" and add an r to wash. WTH is that about?

That's rural talk. I'm midwest, and everyone here call them driveways, and only the rednecks talk about warshing the place or going to Warshington.

Fullsterkur_woman

Who puts marinara sauce on French fries???

Nobody! That's why I said, or that other red stuff you put on fries. I wouldn't want people thinking we go around putting ketchup on spaghetti here! No... that joy is to be experienced only in Russia (I hope!).

Liss_Bee

Das gay and No homo are strange Urban American sayings'

Yes. I hate them with a purple passion.

Purple passion is a reaaally cheap drink... for 16 year old girls. LOL!

Well, that's when I had it... but this sounded bad, so edited. >.<

Fullsterkur_woman

That's rural talk. I'm midwest, and everyone here call them driveways, and only the rednecks talk about warshing the place or going to Warshington.

I never heard "lane road" the whole time I was there! But my whole family uses "warshrags" instead of "washcloths".

rml_16

Who puts marinara sauce on French fries???

Nobody! That's why I said, or that other red stuff you put on fries. I wouldn't want people thinking we go around putting ketchup on spaghetti here! No... that joy is to be experienced only in Russia (I hope!).

Some people in the US do put ketchup on pasta. EEEEWWWW!!!

My grandmother is full-blooded Italian and her father was a chef, so we are very picky about our Italian food in my family.

My cousin's GF was at their house one day and making pasta and they were out of sauce, so she decided she'd just put ketchup on it. And then someone found a jar of sauce (better than ketchup, not as good as homemade, of course!) and she STILL put the ketchup on it.

We should have kicked her out of the family then. lol They're married now. We are shamed.