UK vs North American Cultural Differences

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  • CLFrancois
    CLFrancois Posts: 472 Member
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    Bloody Hell vs. F-bomb
    I love using it even though I am from the US.

    calling someone a w@nker is the most fun known to mankind

    When I was dating my husband he called the store I was working at and (as a joke without me knowing who it was) asked for Wanker Beer. I knew, at that moment, this was the man I was going to marry.
  • perfekta
    perfekta Posts: 331 Member
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    Bloody Hell vs. F-bomb
    I love using it even though I am from the US.

    calling someone a w@nker is the most fun known to mankind

    When I was dating my husband he called the store I was working at and (as a joke without me knowing who it was) asked for Wanker Beer. I knew, at that moment, this was the man I was going to marry.

    lol, I see why! Also their pronunciation of something like, "Butter". Squee!
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
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    string cheese is just mozzarella

    Couple cute UK terms jumpers for sweaters aweeeee! Trainers for sneakers and knickers. Aweee British people say the cutest things and when you hear a little kid speaking in Brithishnese it just melts your heart.
  • iysys
    iysys Posts: 524
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    string cheese is just mozzarella

    Couple cute UK terms jumpers for sweaters aweeeee! Trainers for sneakers and knickers. Aweee British people say the cutest things and when you hear a little kid speaking in Brithishnese it just melts your heart.

    i say trainers for running shoes. sneakers for street shoes.

    my have relatives that moved from essex to knoxville, tennessee and their kids were about 5 and 6 at the time. it was hilarious a couple years later to hear their crazy mash-up uk/southern us accents.
  • AZ_Gato
    AZ_Gato Posts: 1,270 Member
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    You guys drive on the wrong side of the street.
  • perfekta
    perfekta Posts: 331 Member
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    i say trainers for running shoes. sneakers for street shoes.

    my have relatives that moved from essex to knoxville, tennessee and their kids were about 5 and 6 at the time. it was hilarious a couple years later to hear their crazy mash-up uk/southern us accents.

    I just had that convo with a Brit about what we call tennis shoes that aren't really for sports, but just more stylish. I was stumped.
  • jello1369
    jello1369 Posts: 36 Member
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    I coudln't believe the size difference in just about EVERYTHING when I went to England. It's safe to say that everything here in the US is just bigger. WAY bigger.
    But I have to say, I loved the people, the mushy peas, Liverpool and the clothes. Fashion here is "****E" compared to over there!
    One more thing, many of the white people seemed REALLY, REALLY, REALLY white to me. Seriously... I did a double take a few times because some were white as paper. I was in awe of the whiteness... hahaha. (good awe, not bad awe..)

    We're a bit cramped over here so we have to downsize accordingly lol
    I think the average 3 bed house is about £250k ($380k) where I live which I'm sure would buy a helluva lot of real estate in the US. By 3 bed house I mean a house where only two of the bedrooms will be big enough to take a double bed and you can forget a games room!

    The further north you go in the UK, people get progressively paler - we're planning on having summer on a Tuesday this year :)

    Cost of housing depends on where you live here in the US. Here in the Los Angeles area you might be able to find a small townhouse for $380k. Prices have gone down over the last 5 years, but $380k will still only buy you a cardboard shack in Malibu.
  • iysys
    iysys Posts: 524
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    I just had that convo with a Brit about what we call tennis shoes that aren't really for sports, but just more stylish. I was stumped.

    that's certainly what i call sneakers. thinks like chuck taylor all stars, vans, pumas, and the like. things you would wear as every day shoes in an urban environment. i wouldn't dream of wearing trainers if i wasn't actually AT the gym.
  • iysys
    iysys Posts: 524
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    Cost of housing depends on where you live here in the US. Here in the Los Angeles area you might be able to find a small townhouse for $380k. Prices have gone down over the last 5 years, but $380k will still only buy you a cardboard shack in Malibu.

    come on now! there is NO way you could get a cardboard shack for $380K in malibu. you can't even buy a parcel of land large enough to turn in a circle on for that price!
  • dlegros
    dlegros Posts: 162 Member
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    a cup is an actual measuring device not just a random cup.

    Ah, but a cup is not always a cup... :smile:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cup_(unit) lists 5 different sizes of cup; metric, Imperial, US customary, US legal and Japanese
  • dlegros
    dlegros Posts: 162 Member
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    I live in the US, and read a lot, including lots of British literature. I often spell things the British way, and would get marked incorrect in school for that. I just think grey looks more like the color than gray (maybe because ray is sunshine?). And I keep the u in, instead of deleting it like Americans do. So I have to go back and "correct" my spelling later.

    Oh, courgette is French for zucchini which is Italian. I was surprised to see a French word used in British English!

    I strongly suggest you track down "Mother Tongue" by Bill Bryson. Great look at the divergent evolution of our shared language.
  • HappilyLifts
    HappilyLifts Posts: 429 Member
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    If you walk on the pavement in the UK you're in the right place, if you walk on the pavement in the US you could get run down :smile:

    I used to use the word 'nought' for zero. Got teased relentlessly for that when I attended junior high for a year when we lived in Michigan. Everyone, maths (or should I say math!) teacher included, wanted to hear me say 'nought'.

    We say "zed" for Z, you say "zee".

    I also like US ladies clothes sizes, I'm a 14-16 in the UK but a nice small 12-14 in the US.I know, it's all psychological, but I like it!
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
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    BUMP to read later, it seems an enlightening and humorous read :)
  • perfekta
    perfekta Posts: 331 Member
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    If you walk on the pavement in the UK you're in the right place, if you walk on the pavement in the US you could get run down :smile:

    I used to use the word 'nought' for zero. Got teased relentlessly for that when I attended junior high for a year when we lived in Michigan. Everyone, maths (or should I say math!) teacher included, wanted to hear me say 'nought'.

    We say "zed" for Z, you say "zee".

    I also like US ladies clothes sizes, I'm a 14-16 in the UK but a nice small 12-14 in the US.I know, it's all psychological, but I like it!
    haitch for H!
  • dlegros
    dlegros Posts: 162 Member
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    the beer is generally not cold, which was weird to me.

    If anyone tried to chill my best bitter, I would go ape****. What y'all call beer ain't beer ;) Real beer's meant to be served at room temperature.


    NOOOOOOOOO!

    It should be served at cellar temperature which is about 10-12C
  • Aello11
    Aello11 Posts: 312 Member
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    Cost of housing depends on where you live here in the US. Here in the Los Angeles area you might be able to find a small townhouse for $380k. Prices have gone down over the last 5 years, but $380k will still only buy you a cardboard shack in Malibu.

    come on now! there is NO way you could get a cardboard shack for $380K in malibu. you can't even buy a parcel of land large enough to turn in a circle on for that price!

    you can buy the shack for 380k but you have to move it because the ground it sits on is $1 million :)
  • ShreddedTweet
    ShreddedTweet Posts: 1,326 Member
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    Americans always seem to be overly mushy and tend to overshare...We don't do that either, it's a bit cringeworthy and uncomfortable and not in-line with the European stiff upper lip!
    As an aside, I'm not from the UK, I'm Irish and the US can't pour a proper pint of Guinness, they pour it straight up instead of letting it settle and then topping it off. That bugs me!
  • yamsteroo
    yamsteroo Posts: 480 Member
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    Cost of housing depends on where you live here in the US. Here in the Los Angeles area you might be able to find a small townhouse for $380k. Prices have gone down over the last 5 years, but $380k will still only buy you a cardboard shack in Malibu.

    come on now! there is NO way you could get a cardboard shack for $380K in malibu. you can't even buy a parcel of land large enough to turn in a circle on for that price!

    Sounds like anywhere inside the M25! Parking spaces probably cost as much as my first house.

    M25 = Circular Motorway (freeway?) that surrounds London. Most people in England work out how much of a pain a journey will be by working out if the M25 figures anywhere in the travel plan; either on it, near it or inside it. We have smaller cars so they can fit the maximum number of cars onto it at rush hour when it becomes stationary for long periods of time for no apparent reason.

    Of course when we think of travel in the USA we picture miles of deserted highway and some cacti growing by the roadside - well I do, don't spoil it for me!
  • perfekta
    perfekta Posts: 331 Member
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    Americans always seem to be overly mushy and tend to overshare...We don't do that either, it's a bit cringeworthy and uncomfortable and not in-line with the European stiff upper lip!
    As an aside, I'm not from the UK, I'm Irish and the US can't pour a proper pint of Guinness, they pour it straight up instead of letting it settle and then topping it off. That bugs me!

    We're soppy like that.
  • ahviendha
    ahviendha Posts: 1,291 Member
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    i love their term "rocket greens"

    if we had such fun names for vegetables then perhaps americans would eat more of them :P

    i agree what someone else said about how huge america is and how each region is vastly different from another. west coasters, east coasters, south, up north, and the various sub sections of culture in each region. makes it very fun to travel, i always find something new or interesting that i've never seen.

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