Strange American sayings from an English Perspective

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Replies

  • cmay89
    cmay89 Posts: 337 Member
    A word I use way too frequently as a Texan/Southerner.... Y'all

    sayings I've been known to utter:

    "Dad-burn-it"
    "Dag-nab-it"
    "Hotter-n'-hell out here" (exactly as it sounds)
    "Devil must be whipping his wife" (raining while the sun is not hidden by clouds)
    "Possum run over your grave?" (when you get just that one shiver up your spine)


    and many many more.
  • fbmandy55
    fbmandy55 Posts: 5,263 Member
    My favorite phrase from across the pond...

    Bloody HELL!

    tumblr_mtl8alZ9SG1scf00po1_250.gif

    I say it all the time at home and my fiance thinks I'm nuts.
  • SpeSHul_SnoflEHk
    SpeSHul_SnoflEHk Posts: 6,256 Member
    FANNY

    tumblr_inline_mq314bm3gL1qz4rgp.gif
    edit:wrong gif

    Somehow, the picture of a little girl and the mention of a fanny is a little disturbing.
  • obrientp
    obrientp Posts: 546 Member
    "Sod that"

    The first time I heard my husband say it I thought he was talking about doing yard work.
  • dirty_dirty_eater
    dirty_dirty_eater Posts: 574 Member
    From my part of the world (Louisiana)

    "Useless as tits on a boar hog."

    BFE I got from the Navy. Also, "What the Fck" was always Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    LMAO

    A friend of mine just posted this on FB: http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/could-care-less#sthash.e5fMieT2.gbpl
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
    A word I use way too frequently as a Texan/Southerner.... Y'all

    sayings I've been known to utter:

    "Dad-burn-it"
    "Dag-nab-it"
    "Hotter-n'-hell out here" (exactly as it sounds)
    "Devil must be whipping his wife" (raining while the sun is not hidden by clouds)
    "Possum run over your grave?" (when you get just that one shiver up your spine)


    and many many more.

    I'm adding: Ustacould. As in: "I ustacould do something, but now I can't." I used this once when I was in the military, and all my non-Southern buddies about fell over laughing at me.

    Also: Calling a shopping cart a buggy. Please tell me I'm not the only one that does this!
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    Two come to mind for starters:-

    *kitten* hat???

    Butt Hurt??

    Are you guys really that fixated with your rear ends.

    Alright Lord Byron, tell me your thoughts on these:
    A coon's age.
    Fair to middlin'
    Piss up a rope
    Busier than a one legged man in an *kitten* kicking contest
    that dog won't hunt
    Take a gander at X
  • cmay89
    cmay89 Posts: 337 Member
    A word I use way too frequently as a Texan/Southerner.... Y'all

    sayings I've been known to utter:

    "Dad-burn-it"
    "Dag-nab-it"
    "Hotter-n'-hell out here" (exactly as it sounds)
    "Devil must be whipping his wife" (raining while the sun is not hidden by clouds)
    "Possum run over your grave?" (when you get just that one shiver up your spine)


    and many many more.

    I'm adding: Ustacould. As in: "I ustacould do something, but now I can't." I used this once when I was in the military, and all my non-Southern buddies about fell over laughing at me.

    Also: Calling a shopping cart a buggy. Please tell me I'm not the only one that does this!

    Yes!

    and fixin' to
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
    From my part of the world (Louisiana)

    "Useless as tits on a boar hog."

    BFE I got from the Navy. Also, "What the Fck" was always Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

    This also made me think of: Colder than a witch's t*tty in winter.

    From the Air Force: Charlie Foxtrot (cluster f***)
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    I always found people from across the ways saying "Can't be arsed" or CBA on forums pretty funny.

    My husband said he worked with a dude named Randy and all the Austrailians thought it was HILARIOUS that you'd name your kid something as racy as Randy.

    why is it racy?
    You must know what randy means!
  • dirty_dirty_eater
    dirty_dirty_eater Posts: 574 Member
    ...and then there's the regional differences between "soda" and "pop." Not to mention that in some parts of the south, if you ask for a coke, they'll ask you what kind you want...7 up, Dr. Pepper, or Coca Cola?
  • cmay89
    cmay89 Posts: 337 Member
    ...and then there's the regional differences between "soda" and "pop." Not to mention that in some parts of the south, if you ask for a coke, they'll ask you what kind you want...7 up, Dr. Pepper, or Coca Cola?


    yep... coke is synonymous with dr. pepper in my family
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
    I always found people from across the ways saying "Can't be arsed" or CBA on forums pretty funny.

    My husband said he worked with a dude named Randy and all the Austrailians thought it was HILARIOUS that you'd name your kid something as racy as Randy.

    why is it racy?
    You must know what randy means!

    Okay, I just looked it up. <giggle>
    I work with two Randys, so this is especially funny to me now.
  • RLDeShazo
    RLDeShazo Posts: 356 Member
    Ahhh some more(not as good):-

    "You don't know squat"

    "Fanny pack" ..... that ones ssooo funny!!

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

    "Vacation" .... no it's not it's a holiday!

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

    see, I never understood calling it "maths" instead of math. Why is it plural? Now, "doing the numbers" that fine. But not maths. It just looks wrong to me.

    because its short for mathematics

    Right. Which is why it is "Math" :drinker:
  • BeachIron
    BeachIron Posts: 6,490 Member
    ...and then there's the regional differences between "soda" and "pop." Not to mention that in some parts of the south, if you ask for a coke, they'll ask you what kind you want...7 up, Dr. Pepper, or Coca Cola?

    I laughed the first time I heard the word "pop" as a kid. The other one is "sneakers."
  • SpunkiMama
    SpunkiMama Posts: 70 Member
    Fixated with our rear ends? Nah. There are far more expressions for throwing up and masturbating (usually not at the same time :laugh: ) than just about anything else.


    LMAO :laugh:
  • darrensurrey
    darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member
    ...and then there's the regional differences between "soda" and "pop." Not to mention that in some parts of the south, if you ask for a coke, they'll ask you what kind you want...7 up, Dr. Pepper, or Coca Cola?

    What do I ask for if I want Columbian marching powder, then?
  • _TastySnoBalls_
    _TastySnoBalls_ Posts: 1,298 Member
    I.Love.This.Thred. Thanks OP. :drinker:
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    This thread made me realize I'm bilingual: English and American.
  • Fullsterkur_woman
    Fullsterkur_woman Posts: 2,712 Member
    A couple of things spring to mind:

    re: censorship - while watching the US version of Top Gear, I was amazed to hear the phrase "holy *kitten*" beeped out twice, yet the when the presenter said, in the very next sentence, "holy cr*p", that was not beeped. How does that work?

    re: "math" or "maths". The Americans treat "mathematics" as a singular noun, so shorten it to "math". The Brits treat it as a plural noun, so preserve the "s" when shortening. Hence the difference.

    re: the Irish. "Craic" is indeed funny, but I was particularly amazed at the prevalence of the word "Feck" in Ireland. When my ma-in-law first said it, I nearly fell off my chair...
    Well, "crap" isn't a swear word here. It's just slang. Shi-t is most definitely a (mild) swear word. Shi-te is far better to say in my opinion.

    If we shortened "genetics" or "physics" we would surely leave off the plural, so... "math".

    One of my Irish friends once explained it to me thus, when I told him how offensive the c-word is here. No swear word could be worse than another. If they found out that one word was worse than all the others, they would use it non-stop until it was leveled with all the others. I endeavor to shake it off for that reason now whenever I hear someone use it casually if they're from another country.
  • darrensurrey
    darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member
    Applications -> Apps.
  • SpeSHul_SnoflEHk
    SpeSHul_SnoflEHk Posts: 6,256 Member
    Do other people use the phrase the *kitten* hole of no where to describe, in somewhat derogratory terms somewhere small/out of the way/no where near anything interesting.

    We end the south use the phrase "BFE" or "bum f\/cked eqypt" to describe the middle of nowhere/small town.

    For example
    "where are you from in Alabama?"
    "BFE"
    "oh, so a pretty rural place, huh?"

    I have no idea where this phrase came from.
    Must be pretty specific to where you live. I know I'm a Yank and all, but I've lived in the South (rural Georgia and north Florida) for almost nine years and I know a lot of southerners, including half my BF's family. I have never heard that phrase.

    I heard it a lot in the Navy. Except it was "Bumble Fvck, Egypt".
  • salsera_barbie
    salsera_barbie Posts: 270 Member
    "Could care less..."

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om7O0MFkmpw

    this isn't an american saying, It's people not know how to say it correctly. It's the same as people using of in place of have. Or confusing then and than. It's not a saying, it's people being stupid.
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
    Kind of random, but I hate it when people don't finish their phrases, like:

    "When in Rome..."

    "If I had a dollar..."

    "Sticks and stones..."

    My husband is especially guilty of this.
  • jacquejl
    jacquejl Posts: 193 Member
    I was old by an Australian once that if someone was a "nerd" they were called a "full on wanker," lol!
  • k8blujay2
    k8blujay2 Posts: 4,941 Member
    A word I use way too frequently as a Texan/Southerner.... Y'all

    sayings I've been known to utter:

    "Dad-burn-it"
    "Dag-nab-it"
    "Hotter-n'-hell out here" (exactly as it sounds)
    "Devil must be whipping his wife" (raining while the sun is not hidden by clouds)
    "Possum run over your grave?" (when you get just that one shiver up your spine)


    and many many more.

    I'm adding: Ustacould. As in: "I ustacould do something, but now I can't." I used this once when I was in the military, and all my non-Southern buddies about fell over laughing at me.

    Also: Calling a shopping cart a buggy. Please tell me I'm not the only one that does this!

    I say Ustacould occasionally... ;) and of course fixinta and right quick.... but I have midwestern parents so I never learned or caught on to "buggy" as a shopping cart, though I do know plenty that say it.
  • humberstunner
    humberstunner Posts: 38
    Ok I'll concede
    on the math question, but come on they ain't sneakers they're TRAINERS
  • darrensurrey
    darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member
    I hate it when

    Now that's interesting, too.

    I thought Americans say "I hate when"?
  • darrensurrey
    darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member
    but come on they ain't sneakers they're TRAINERS

    I justify it in my head by thinking that you could sneak around in them or train in them. :D

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