Strange American sayings from an English Perspective

rml_16

Also, to what goes on Pasta I believe the proper term is Mariana. I call it "Spaghetti Sauce" regardless of the use for it, even if put on pizza, its still spaghetti sauce.

The sauce on pizza is NOT the same as the sauce on pasta.

It is if I make it. Call me weird all you want. I love taking a good Hunt's meat Spaghetti Sauce and using it for the sauce on a pizza.

No no no! You are doing it AAAAALLLLLL wrong!!!

My grandmother would beat you with her walker for that. :laugh:

I don't like Pizza Sauce though

It's OK. I put oregano in my marinara. My grandmother loves my marinara. She insists oregano does NOT belong in marinara, under any circumstances. lol

somerisagirlsname

I didn't read everything so this could have been stated, but I heard fanny-pack was completely strange for English people. Is this true?

SpeSHul_SnoflEHk

Spaghetti Sauce does not belong on pizza. I will forgive you because you are from Utah, and probably think the pizza from the Pizza Factory is delicious.

True story. Pizza sauce had better be sweeter, thicker, more highly spiced, and with no chunks in it! It also sometimes has the parm already stirred in.

I didn't realize how disgusting Happy Joe's pizza was until I went back for a visit a few years ago and got all nostalgic. Y'all go nuts for "taco pizza" up there too and that is not OK.

Yeah. NO! Happy Joes is something I don't understand. People here treat it as if it is the bombdiggety greatest pizza in the world. I say, meh. The first night I moved into Iowa, someone took me to Happy Joes. I was not impressed. People do rafve about their taco pizza and, I think it's nasty. Unfortunately, here in the Quad Cities, there is no good pizza.

I grew up in Chicago, and there they have good pizza. Iowa City has a few joints that are pretty good too. Other than that, you have to go to New york to get good pizza.

Kimdbro

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

What do they call it over there? A whiskey?

You order by name.

Lagavulin, neat.

Or Glenmorangie, pronounced correctly or they beat you with a stick.

For those that are wondering Brian Cox helps folks out with a whole set of youtube's videos on proper pronounciations of various Scotch (I googled this awhile back, as I drink Glenmorangie from time to time, and people kept saying in like "Glen MoraNG Jee" and I could not imaging that being right at all, so I found this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5ZwgGB1Lr4

rml_16

Spaghetti Sauce does not belong on pizza. I will forgive you because you are from Utah, and probably think the pizza from the Pizza Factory is delicious.

True story. Pizza sauce had better be sweeter, thicker, more highly spiced, and with no chunks in it! It also sometimes has the parm already stirred in.

I didn't realize how disgusting Happy Joe's pizza was until I went back for a visit a few years ago and got all nostalgic. Y'all go nuts for "taco pizza" up there too and that is not OK.

Yeah. NO! Happy Joes is something I don't understand. People here treat it as if it is the bombdiggety greatest pizza in the world. I say, meh. The first night I moved into Iowa, someone took me to Happy Joes. I was not impressed. People do rafve about their taco pizza and, I think it's nasty. Unfortunately, here in the Quad Cities, there is no good pizza.

I grew up in Chicago, and there they have good pizza. Iowa City has a few joints that are pretty good too. Other than that, you have to go to New york to get good pizza.

You can get good pizza outside of NY (I assume you mean state and not city, because there is excellent pizza all over that state)and Chicago. This is especially true because so many people leave those places and move elsewhere and open pizza places.

There are some FANTASTIC pizza places in south Florida and Jacksonville.

mariposa224

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?

Both 1 & 3.

hmaddpear

snip

I guess this is more of a Canadian thing, to put gravy on your fries. Because we actually DO mean GRAVY, not ketchup. After all, they are potatoes, right? and you put gravy on your potatoes, or maybe you don't! (No poutine involved, either - that's a French-Canadian thing.) Anyway, I didn't realize it was not done all over until I was visiting my father and his American wife and I asked for gravy on my fries at a truck stop restaurant. The waitress was totally okay with it as she must have had lots of Canadian truckers there, but my step-mother was astounded! When I explained the gravy/potato thing, she allowed as how that made sense!

Gravy on chips is a very North of England thing to do*. I wonder if it travelled through the strong North England to South Eastern Canada connection?

* That is, if you're like me and don't like mushy peas. I know, I know, I'd've handed in my 'Northern' card, but I don't hand anything over for nowt.

FrauHaas2013

Ahhh some more(not as good):-

"You don't know squat" "YOU DON'T KNOW JACK ****"

"Fanny pack" ..... that ones ssooo funny!! QUITE THE FASHION ACCESSORY, TOO, I MIGHT ADD!

"I'm doing the math" ....it's "Maths" not "Math"

"Vacation" .... no it's not it's a holiday! FOR US, A VACATION IS ANY DAY YOU CHOOSE TO TAKE OFF; A HOLIDAY IS A NATIONALLY-RECOGNIZED DAY OFF LIKE LABOR DAY OR CHRISTMAS

"He was pissed" ..... In England this would mean he was very drunk

Somebody previously mentioned "butt hurt." I hear this ALL the time, especially from anyone under 20.

ShaSimone

This reminded me of the people who say "should of, could of, would of" rather than "should have, could have, would have."
[/quote]

Try
shoulda, coulda, woulda

Fullsterkur_woman

There are some FANTASTIC pizza places in south Florida and Jacksonville.

These "fantastic" places in Jacksonville must have appeared within the last 15 years, because there was no real pizza to be had when I lived there! :laugh: Of course, I also had to drive clear to Tallahassee to get my Ched'r Peppers and Dr. Pepper blended float fix because we had no Sonic either. I think they've since rectified that situation. Good for them!

I was happy to be able to find decent Mexican food there, though I don't know if it's still around... Cyclone Anaya's (in... Neptune Beach, I think, maybe Jax Beach).

Fullsterkur_woman

Gravy on chips is a very North of England thing to do*. I wonder if it travelled through the strong North England to South Eastern Canada connection?

* That is, if you're like me and don't like mushy peas. I know, I know, I'd've handed in my 'Northern' card, but I don't hand anything over for nowt.

There's a lot of cool Scottish culture up there too. If only it didn't snow...:sad:

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?

It's an off ramp =]

Access road... and the off ramp is only part if it as there is a road that parallels the highway.

We've always called them frontage roads

Edit to fix: I confused myself momentarily. Still tired.

The notion of a frontage road may be foreign to many people, because they don't exist in many states.

I've traveled quite a few states, but not nearly all of them. Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada, California, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico. None of those states did I see many, if any frontage roads. I live in Oregon and cannot think of one at all.

It seems most every freeway (Controlled Access Highway) in Texas that I saw had a frontage road, but I hardly traveled all of Texas. I remember them in many places in New York and Florida.

So based on my limited travel experience, I would conclude that frontage roads are more of an eastern/southern thing.

This is true, my husband is from Seattle, and he would be so confused with the service roads at first. IN Washington, if an exit sign said "Baker Street Exit", that exit would take you directly to Baker Street, and not a service road where you turn onto Baker Street. I have never been, so I can't speak from experience, but it was interesting watching him learn how to drive in Texas.

Fullsterkur_woman

This is true, my husband is from Seattle, and he would be so confused with the service roads at first. IN Washington, if an exit sign said "Baker Street Exit", that exit would take you directly to Baker Street, and not a service road where you turn onto Baker Street. I have never been, so I can't speak from experience, but it was interesting watching him learn how to drive in Texas.

Oh, yeah, I remember being bewildered when I was driving in Seattle, now that you mention it! I was like, stop lights on on-ramps and off-ramps?! It's nutty!

DavidC1857

This is true, my husband is from Seattle, and he would be so confused with the service roads at first. IN Washington, if an exit sign said "Baker Street Exit", that exit would take you directly to Baker Street, and not a service road where you turn onto Baker Street. I have never been, so I can't speak from experience, but it was interesting watching him learn how to drive in Texas.

Oh, yeah, I remember being bewildered when I was driving in Seattle, now that you mention it! I was like, stop lights on on-ramps and off-ramps?! It's nutty!

Driving in Seattle is insane for most people, including those who live there.

I once made 4 right hand turns in downtown Seattle (trying to "go around the block"), and didn't end up in the same place I started.

mariposa224

The notion of a frontage road may be foreign to many people, because they don't exist in many states.

I've traveled quite a few states, but not nearly all of them. Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada, California, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico. None of those states did I see many, if any frontage roads. I live in Oregon and cannot think of one at all.

How the hell do you get on and off the highway then?! /envisioning the ensuing carnage

On/off ramps connect directly to most of the roads that need to access the highway/freeway, at least that's how it's done here in Ohio. We do have some access roads/service roads, but it's more common for the highway exits to actually exit onto the street.

BeachIron

Spaghetti Sauce does not belong on pizza. I will forgive you because you are from Utah, and probably think the pizza from the Pizza Factory is delicious.

True story. Pizza sauce had better be sweeter, thicker, more highly spiced, and with no chunks in it! It also sometimes has the parm already stirred in.

I didn't realize how disgusting Happy Joe's pizza was until I went back for a visit a few years ago and got all nostalgic. Y'all go nuts for "taco pizza" up there too and that is not OK.

Yeah. NO! Happy Joes is something I don't understand. People here treat it as if it is the bombdiggety greatest pizza in the world. I say, meh. The first night I moved into Iowa, someone took me to Happy Joes. I was not impressed. People do rafve about their taco pizza and, I think it's nasty. Unfortunately, here in the Quad Cities, there is no good pizza.

I grew up in Chicago, and there they have good pizza. Iowa City has a few joints that are pretty good too. Other than that, you have to go to New york to get good pizza.

You can get good pizza outside of NY (I assume you mean state and not city, because there is excellent pizza all over that state)and Chicago. This is especially true because so many people leave those places and move elsewhere and open pizza places.

There are some FANTASTIC pizza places in south Florida and Jacksonville.

The best PIzza I have had outside of NY (beside's Sally's in New Haven, which I understand is now closed), is in Cocoa Beach, Florida.

There is no pizza in Chicago . . .

Fullsterkur_woman

There is no pizza in Chicago . . .

I know! What is up with that four miles of crust they got goin' on?!

kwcast11

The funniest one for me was when I said to an English co-worker that someone was dogging on another coworker. For me, it meant he was saying something bad about the other person. Apparently in England it means something TOTALLY different LOL!

rml_16

There are some FANTASTIC pizza places in south Florida and Jacksonville.

These "fantastic" places in Jacksonville must have appeared within the last 15 years, because there was no real pizza to be had when I lived there! :laugh: Of course, I also had to drive clear to Tallahassee to get my Ched'r Peppers and Dr. Pepper blended float fix because we had no Sonic either. I think they've since rectified that situation. Good for them!

I was happy to be able to find decent Mexican food there, though I don't know if it's still around... Cyclone Anaya's (in... Neptune Beach, I think, maybe Jax Beach).

There's a place called Al's Pizza that used to be fantastic, but it was not very good the last time I had it. Last time I was there, we got pizza from another place (can't remember the name) that was really good.

And someone from my home town moved there recently and opened Picnic Pizza (NY style, previously only found in Chemung County, NY). My best friend had it and said it was better than the original and then that night the place burned down! lol I don't think they're reopening.

There is a Sonic in St. Marys, but I don't know when it opened.

And what Beach said about Cocoa -- I had a calzone and tomato soup and an Irish pizza place there that was TO DIE FOR. But I didn't have pizza there, so I can't comment on that specifically.

I've had excellent pizza in Estero and Ft. Pierce, too.

MadameLAL

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?

Both 1 & 3.

American here. Entrance or exit ramp.