Strange American sayings from an English Perspective
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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:0 -
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.
Vinegar is another popular option, or at least was when I lived there.We put ketchup on our fries.
"Gravy" must be those wacky Rhode Islanders, then. They also drink "coffee milk", so whaddaya gonna do...?
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.0 -
Who puts marinara sauce on French fries???
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.
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!Northeast and Midwest are TOTALLY different places, culturally speaking! I grew up in the Northeast (upstate NY).
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...0 -
WTF would you order? Just "whisky", and it's assumed? Do you have to specify single-malt? Inquiring minds want to know!!They snicker at you if you order a "Scotch" in Scotland.
Cheeky buggers.
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:0 -
Yep, we're celebrating the diversity of our fair language as it is spoken the world over. :happy: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. :-)0 -
Damn my fanny pack is stuffed so tight I can barely fit a camera in it.0
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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?0
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Das gay and No homo are strange Urban American sayings'0
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WTF would you order? Just "whisky", and it's assumed? Do you have to specify single-malt? Inquiring minds want to know!!They snicker at you if you order a "Scotch" in Scotland.
Cheeky buggers.
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.0 -
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.To me, gravy is two things: the thick brown stuff people put on mashed potatoes or the thinner juices from a turkey.0 -
Yes. I hate them with a purple passion.Das gay and No homo are strange Urban American sayings'0 -
Giggity.Damn my fanny pack is stuffed so tight I can barely fit a camera in it.0 -
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 =]0 -
Oh yeah. That would be gravy, too. I don't see it as often, but I would call that gravy.
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.To me, gravy is two things: the thick brown stuff people put on mashed potatoes or the thinner juices from a turkey.0 -
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.0 -
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.0 -
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!).Who puts marinara sauce on French fries???0 -
Purple passion is a reaaally cheap drink... for 16 year old girls. LOL!
Yes. I hate them with a purple passion.Das gay and No homo are strange Urban American sayings'
Well, that's when I had it... but this sounded bad, so edited. >.<0 -
I never heard "lane road" the whole time I was there! But my whole family uses "warshrags" instead of "washcloths".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.0 -
Some people in the US do put ketchup on pasta. EEEEWWWW!!!
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!).Who puts marinara sauce on French fries???
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.0 -
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.
Yes, the Midwesterners that need grammar lessons again. They also say Missouri pronounced mizz-o- uri0 -
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.0 -
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!).Who puts marinara sauce on French fries???
What Fullsterkur meant was some eastcoast people call marinara sauce "gravy". But it gets confusing because "gravy" is known by most of the world as the brown stuff :laugh:
ETA: Brown gravy +mozzarella+fries=bomb.com0 -
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.
It's all the same to me... off ramp.0 -
I knew about the gravy/sauce thing. But he asked about what we call the stuff we put 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!).Who puts marinara sauce on French fries???
What Fullsterkur meant was some eastcoast people call marinara sauce "gravy". But it gets confusing because "gravy" is known by most of the world as the brown stuff :laugh:0 -
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.
Vinegar is another popular option, or at least was when I lived there.We put ketchup on our fries.
"Gravy" must be those wacky Rhode Islanders, then. They also drink "coffee milk", so whaddaya gonna do...?
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.
Growing up, I always put salt and vinegar on my fries. My dad was New Hampshire born and raised. It was also what was put on everything in Scotland.
I have never been a fan of ketchup. It was however, a staple where I grew up.
In Idaho, they had "Fry Sauce" It was prepackaged, and came from all the fast food restaurants. It was a ketchup and mayonnaise conglomeration.
These days, I either eat my fries plain, or I use Worcestershire sauce, or if not available, A1 steak sauce as a condiment.0 -
Frontage road. We're all French and fancible down here in Texas.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?0 -
Who puts marinara sauce on French fries???
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.
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!Northeast and Midwest are TOTALLY different places, culturally speaking! I grew up in the Northeast (upstate NY).
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...
I have dipped fries in marinara. *guilty*0 -
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.
Here, supper is a lighter meal... Around here, if lunch is a lighter meal than dinner it would be called supper. Same with the vice versa.0 -
I work with a lot of English and Scots. One of the things that I didn't really notice but they picked up on right away was the American misuse of the phrase "out of pocket". It is intended to mean that something is going to cost you directly. I hear it often used to describe someone that is not available, e.g. "Ron will not be on the call, he is out of pocket."
The fanny, *kitten*, aluminium arguments aren't really sayings; just colloquial nuances.0
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