Strange American sayings from an English Perspective
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I can't believe this thread is still going!! Well my lovely new friends it's 11pm here so I'm off to sleep and I'll look forward to reading more daft comments in the morning. G'night all x0
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in view of the impending season...
'it's brass monkeys out there'!0 -
In a bit of turnabout I would like to point out that the English phrase "taking the piss" is completely baffling to Americans.0
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In a bit of turnabout I would like to point out that the English phrase "taking the piss" is completely baffling to Americans.
Added to this is "going out on the piss"0 -
They snicker at you if you order a "Scotch" in Scotland.
Cheeky buggers.
What do they call it over there? A whiskey?
Why would you ask for Irish or American whisky anyway? Asking for scotch whisky is a tautology. :drinker:
Not a fan of Irish whiskey, but there are some damn fin American bourbons out there to match anything from Scotland. A different experience to be sure, but the quality is there.
I'm happy to take your word for it
Now, where's my Glenfiddich?
There are some incredible bourbons, and honestly bourbon and Scotch are two different drinking experiences. I'm a big fan of Woodford Reserve, for example. The area where Scotch really differentiates itself though, at least for me, is with the heavy peat notes in whiskeys like Lagavulin, Oban, Talisker, and to a lesser degree, Highland Park. Those are in their own special, and rarified, world.0 -
Winter is coming.in view of the impending season...
'it's brass monkeys out there'! 0 -
twerk team0
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Doesn't that just mean "teasing/putting someone on" and "going out on the piss" means "going out drinking"?In a bit of turnabout I would like to point out that the English phrase "taking the piss" is completely baffling to Americans.0 -
Doesn't that just mean "teasing/putting someone on" and "going out on the piss" means "going out drinking"?In a bit of turnabout I would like to point out that the English phrase "taking the piss" is completely baffling to Americans.
I thought it meant "beat the ish out of you".0 -
Doesn't that just mean "teasing/putting someone on" and "going out on the piss" means "going out drinking"?In a bit of turnabout I would like to point out that the English phrase "taking the piss" is completely baffling to Americans.
I thought it meant "beat the ish out of you".
That would be braying someone, kicking the ish out of them, or hammering them. Which is also as a term for drinking "getting hammered".0 -
This thread has been very educational :laugh: thanks
Doesn't that just mean "teasing/putting someone on" and "going out on the piss" means "going out drinking"?In a bit of turnabout I would like to point out that the English phrase "taking the piss" is completely baffling to Americans.
I thought it meant "beat the ish out of you".
That would be braying someone, kicking the ish out of them, or hammering them. Which is also as a term for drinking "getting hammered".0 -
This is a fun read! :laugh:0
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twerk team
I have no idea why that struck me so funny but I just legit spit beverage across the room. :laugh:0 -
I love many, many British expressions: "Done and dusted" is one. Anybody know where that one came from?0
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They snicker at you if you order a "Scotch" in Scotland.
Cheeky buggers.
What do they call it over there? A whiskey?
Why would you ask for Irish or American whisky anyway? Asking for scotch whisky is a tautology. :drinker:
Not a fan of Irish whiskey, but there are some damn fin American bourbons out there to match anything from Scotland. A different experience to be sure, but the quality is there.
I'm happy to take your word for it Now, where's my Glenfiddich?
There are some incredible bourbons, and honestly bourbon and Scotch are two different drinking experiences. I'm a big fan of Woodford Reserve, for example. The area where Scotch really differentiates itself though, at least for me, is with the heavy peat notes in whiskeys like Lagavulin, Oban, Talisker, and to a lesser degree, Highland Park. Those are in their own special, and rarified, world.
Woodford Reserve is fantastic!0 -
I
British expressions...and people. I do! I have an obsession with the BBC and British television in general. Because I love to hear them speak. So wierd I know. 0 -
Well, to be fair, that expression is used in the local idiom in a surprising number of cultures (from Scandinavia through Europe to southern Russia), given that distillation of alcoholic beverages is a relatively recent phenomenon in human history. Before then we had to get by what the yeast could do for us. Not that I don't love a really delicious beer too!I was very impressed the first time I learned the term uisge beatha. Any culture that calls whisky the water of life has got their sh1t together.
would love to hear more about southern Russia culture and its local idioms re water of life ))0 -
I love many, many British expressions: "Done and dusted" is one. Anybody know where that one came from?
one suggestion is it refers to writing with dip nibs when they used to use pounce after blotting the ink to ensure it's quite dry. So for example, lawyers relied on long written documents, copied out by their clerks, so the deal was complete when the legal documents had been "done and dusted".
ETA sorry, forgot to explain, pounce is a white powder, bit like talcum powder, not quite as fine I think. The clerks and scribes would sprinkle the powder on the page when they'd finished writing, than dust it off after a minute or two. Calligraphers still use it today. I have some!0 -
heard one the other day on a bastion of cheap TV set somewhere oop North where the only entertainment was going out, bingeing and getting trollied. Except they called it 'getting mortal'. Even within the UK there are many and varied local idioms!0
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heard one the other day on a bastion of cheap TV set somewhere oop North where the only entertainment was going out, bingeing and getting trollied. Except they called it 'getting mortal'. Even within the UK there are many and varied local idioms!
LOL
I have absolutely no idea what you just said!0 -
heard one the other day on a bastion of cheap TV set somewhere oop North where the only entertainment was going out, bingeing and getting trollied. Except they called it 'getting mortal'. Even within the UK there are many and varied local idioms!
Yeh if you're 'mortal' then you are completely off your face drunk. You could also say you were $hitfaced!!
This thread has been such a laugh0 -
heard one the other day on a bastion of cheap TV set somewhere oop North where the only entertainment was going out, bingeing and getting trollied. Except they called it 'getting mortal'. Even within the UK there are many and varied local idioms!
LOL
I have absolutely no idea what you just said!
Basically our language varies from city to city and what means one thing is the south can mean something completely different up north! ha x0 -
Oh. I got that was her point. I just don't know what she SAID! :-)heard one the other day on a bastion of cheap TV set somewhere oop North where the only entertainment was going out, bingeing and getting trollied. Except they called it 'getting mortal'. Even within the UK there are many and varied local idioms!
LOL
I have absolutely no idea what you just said!
Basically our language varies from city to city and what means one thing is the south can mean something completely different up north! ha x
It's the same thing in the US.0 -
I British expressions...and people. I do! I have an obsession with the BBC and British television in general. Because I love to hear them speak. So wierd I know.
I love watching the public broadcasting station on Sat. evenings for all of the British sitcoms.0 -
Don't people also say "to get small"? I agree. I love this thread. I don't understand xenophobes. Learning about the ways other peoples/nations/cultures do things is fantastic!heard one the other day on a bastion of cheap TV set somewhere oop North where the only entertainment was going out, bingeing and getting trollied. Except they called it 'getting mortal'. Even within the UK there are many and varied local idioms!
Yeh if you're 'mortal' then you are completely off your face drunk. You could also say you were $hitfaced!!
This thread has been such a laugh0 -
яковита, which Google Translate gives as "Jacobites", which is funny all on its own in the context of this thread. I think Ukrainian listed it as оковита and I also saw аковитая. All of which clearly arise from "aqua vitae". But you live in Moscow, so I'm sure you have more direct access to info about it, right? Tеперь мне нельзя пить, к сожалению, кроме немножкo кваса, может быть.would love to hear more about southern Russia culture and its local idioms re water of life ))
(edited because my Russian spelling is horrendous!)0 -
Doesn't that just mean "teasing/putting someone on" and "going out on the piss" means "going out drinking"?In a bit of turnabout I would like to point out that the English phrase "taking the piss" is completely baffling to Americans.
I thought it meant "beat the ish out of you".
Yes, taking the piss means teasing,mocking, making fun of..
It doesn't mean beating them up
Going out on the piss means going out drinking.0 -
You do actually know that the brits have some very odd sayings / food names as well right? for example (for the record I do not hate anyone and this is not ment as a hate statement..just a example) If you smoke a *kitten*, you are not going to jail for it for a long time. And if I would serve something called a spotted **** to my family, I would get in all sorts of trouble!0
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in view of the impending season...
'it's brass monkeys out there'!
What does this mean?0 -
heard one the other day on a bastion of cheap TV set somewhere oop North where the only entertainment was going out, bingeing and getting trollied. Except they called it 'getting mortal'. Even within the UK there are many and varied local idioms!
LOL
I have absolutely no idea what you just said!
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Basically our language varies from city to city and what means one thing is the south can mean something completely different up north! ha x
[/quote]
Oh. I got that was her point. I just don't know what she SAID! :-)
It's the same thing in the US.
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sorry.. there was a cheap-to-make (ie reality tv) programme on called 'bouncers' (do you call them bouncers too? chaps who stand outside a club or pub and make sure there is no trouble/check IDs etc - or as you'd say 'card people'), and the Northern youngsters were describing the act of getting ratted / drunk / whatever / as 'mortal'. new one on me.
Lots of phrases for going to the loo for a no. 1 too in the UK, most not for polite company!
- going for a slash
- going to water the horses
- going for a wazz
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