Strange American sayings from an English Perspective
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And listening to Mel B. pronouncing "juggle balls" as "joogle bolls" is hilarious.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzXkGfNesms
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"Fanny pack" ..... that ones ssooo funny!! - No one below the age of 70 would either wear or purchase one of those hideous things, so pretty much not a real staple of American life.
It's not Americans wearing fanny packs that is funny. It's that a fanny means something completely different in the UK. My Brit friend delicately calls it a "lady's front bottom," and the word fanny is apparently almost as offensive there as the c-word is here. And the c-word is used pretty casually there.
but 'being a right fanny' means being a wuss or a sissy or a bit weak and has nothing to do with the c word. The c word should only be used in very special circumstances as its very rude0 -
"Fanny pack" ..... that ones ssooo funny!! - No one below the age of 70 would either wear or purchase one of those hideous things, so pretty much not a real staple of American life.
It's not Americans wearing fanny packs that is funny. It's that a fanny means something completely different in the UK. My Brit friend delicately calls it a "lady's front bottom," and the word fanny is apparently almost as offensive there as the c-word is here. And the c-word is used pretty casually there.
Thing is, he lived in Ireland for six months and he has watched far more British TV than I have. I would have thought he'd have known that word, but he didn't. He does now.0 -
"Vacation" .... no it's not it's a holiday!
Holiday for us Americans are days like Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, Valentine's Day, Halloween. Not a trip.0 -
One word: Bollocks.0
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"Fanny pack" ..... that ones ssooo funny!! - No one below the age of 70 would either wear or purchase one of those hideous things, so pretty much not a real staple of American life.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition0 -
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.
The first time I heard the phrase was from my brother when he came home from basic training after joining the Marines. That was in the 80s. I've always attributed it to the military.
As a military brat I had always heard BFE as well... and I use it quite often.
Also the boonies or the sticks mean the same thing... the middle of nowhere.0 -
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.
The first time I heard the phrase was from my brother when he came home from basic training after joining the Marines. That was in the 80s. I've always attributed it to the military.
As a military brat I had always heard BFE as well... and I use it quite often.
Also the boonies or the sticks mean the same thing... the middle of nowhere.
Bumf*** is one we use a lot.0 -
I was watching House Hunters International one time, and the buyers kept saying they wanted a really big garden for their kids to play in. I was like "Why would they want their kids to play in a garden? Aren't they afraid they will mess up all their plants and flowers?" Hahaha0
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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 s..." beeped out twice, yet the when the presenter said, in the very next sentence, "holy c...", 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...0 -
Dust? Anyone? Dust?0
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"Fanny pack" ..... that ones ssooo funny!! - No one below the age of 70 would either wear or purchase one of those hideous things, so pretty much not a real staple of American life.
It's not Americans wearing fanny packs that is funny. It's the name fanny pack. A fanny means something completely different in the UK. My Brit friend delicately calls it a "lady's front bottom," and the word fanny is apparently almost as offensive there as the c-word is here. And the c-word is used pretty casually there.0 -
"Fanny pack" ..... that ones ssooo funny!! - No one below the age of 70 would either wear or purchase one of those hideous things, so pretty much not a real staple of American life.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
No mate their staring at the fanny pack!0 -
I used to be able to make my niece laugh at dinner by offering her a piece of butt turd bread but then she grew up0
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That's not the correct expression. It is "couldn't care less."
I'm happy to see that you're learning so much about the U.S. from a British comedian.
Yes. I watched the video, and I have seen it before.
The people using "could care less" are uneducated.
And, by the way, I am an American.
No offense taken. We make fun of those idiots just as much as David Mitchell.
My own experiences with the English and Welsh are mostly from working with upper-class solicitors while living in Asia, so I understand that my own perspective is also probably skewed a bit. Good drinkers though. lol! :drinker:0 -
"Can I bum a *kitten*?" means something completely different on the other side of the Atlantic.
I had to laugh at a forum post I saw the other day (yesterday? Tuesday?) where someone said in the title that they were going to give up unhealthy things like *kitten*... I laughed when I realized it had to have been written by a Brit.0 -
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.0 -
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.
Na, not to specific... I live in rural North East Georgia and we say this all the time, except we add an East before it.
Our town is so "hidden" the people in the town 13 miles down the road from us rarely knows where it is...
So, we just got into the habit of when some one from Gainesville asks where we live, we reply East BumfVck Egypt...0 -
One word: Bollocks.
Bollocks to you, too!!0 -
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?0
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