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I have been pronouncing the 'H' in 'herb' here in America for almost 40 years. The only person who has called me on it is my mother. But she's Norwegian, what does she know?
I also remember using the expression 'kit 'n kaboodle' and having a Scot remark that I was picking up Scottish slang. As far as I know, Americans have been using the term for centuries.
It's used a lot more casually than it is in the US. Not a criticism of the UK, its just the way it is.
You are right that it is more commonly used in the UK than the US but I wouldn't say it is used casually at all. I have never used that word in my life and never would, and neither would anyone I associate with, not friends or family. There are only certain groups of people who would use that word. I'm sorry that you have had to associate with them. It is an extremely coarse word.
Having lived in the US now for 3 years I still get funny looks when I use a particular phrase, that to me makes perfect sense when I say it, but Americans have never heard of it.
I still get caught out all the time with this sort of thing.
Here are some recent ones I said, that gave cause for comment:
Phrases:
Bits and pieces or odds and ends - as in; "I have to go to the shops to pick up some bits and pieces". ie Groceries / toiletries / clothes / whatever.
Fits and starts - as in; starting and stopping.
Pick up the post - You have to say 'pick up the mail'. (You get a furred brow if you ask someone for the post)
at sixes and sevens - as in; "we are all at sixes and sevens" (in a muddle).
Right up my street - as in "something I really like" although some Americans use 'right up my alley'.
It's six of one and half a dozen of the other - no difference which alternative you choose.
Hit me for six - I was totally shocked and / or devastated.
Words:
Apparently it is also extremely bad form to refer to women as 'girls' especially at work.
Never tell anyone you will put an appointment in your 'diary'. You have to use 'calendar'.
Don't use 'trolley' in the supermarket. You have to use the word 'cart'. I still can't get used to that one.
Anybody else got any phrases that people comment on or get you funny looks?
I understood your phrases, although I wasn't sure with Hit me for six. I agree many Americans would not understand them. I have lived in this country not all my life, but the majority of it. Sadly I have found huge segments of the US population, have little to no interest at all in the world. It's very noticeable.
You reminded me of another one.
On garbage day I still say "put the bins out".
I think they are supposed to be referred to as garbage cans but to me they aren't 'cans' because they are plastic.
Maybe an American can help me out here. What do you call the enormous recycling bins on wheels that you put out on garbage day? We have 3 - a green one for compost, a blue one for recycling and a black one for ordinary rubbish, which as far as I remember is identical to what we had back home in the UK?
Cans are metal and round. Bins are usually made of plastic and in Australia square/rectangular.
Having lived in the US now for 3 years I still get funny looks when I use a particular phrase, that to me makes perfect sense when I say it, but Americans have never heard of it.
I still get caught out all the time with this sort of thing.
Here are some recent ones I said, that gave cause for comment:
Phrases:
Bits and pieces or odds and ends - as in; "I have to go to the shops to pick up some bits and pieces". ie Groceries / toiletries / clothes / whatever.
Fits and starts - as in; starting and stopping.
Pick up the post - You have to say 'pick up the mail'. (You get a furred brow if you ask someone for the post)
at sixes and sevens - as in; "we are all at sixes and sevens" (in a muddle).
Right up my street - as in "something I really like" although some Americans use 'right up my alley'.
It's six of one and half a dozen of the other - no difference which alternative you choose.
Hit me for six - I was totally shocked and / or devastated.
Words:
Apparently it is also extremely bad form to refer to women as 'girls' especially at work.
Never tell anyone you will put an appointment in your 'diary'. You have to use 'calendar'.
Don't use 'trolley' in the supermarket. You have to use the word 'cart'. I still can't get used to that one.
Anybody else got any phrases that people comment on or get you funny looks?
I am American and all those phrases are familiar except the last one. My inclination would be to read the last as a game phrase - perhaps originating from a card game? I think regional and historical British immigration and corporate interests in various parts of USA geography will influence the levels of understanding as well as socio economic levels of education i.e. breadth of reading.
As a youthful reader of A.C. Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie novels (and few other British writers) many of the vernacular / idiomatic phrases are familiar. For laughs a sibling and I would use the phrase "the game is afoot", as we had the board game 221B Baker Street in our youth and enjoyed it. We would be with a group or ourselves in a exploring / investigative / curious mood and both chime in unison, ala Holmes, "The Game IS A Foot" and raise one leg in an animated way like Groucho Marx
Also, watching Monty Python and Benny Hill comedy sketches and musicals such as My Fair Lady, Evita (at sixes and sevens with you, I had to let it happen I had to change...) had a linguistic acculturating effect.
A word I find myself using frequently in conversation, is the use of saying 'funny' to describe a peculiar or odd situation. I think it is because, being a two syllable word, it is easier to use than, say, irony. Which is not a pleasant word to pronounce. Say irony or ironic a few times, and you'll understand what I mean based on what it requires of ones vocal pronunciation skills and does to ones facial musculature.
It makes me think of those Abbott & Costello routines, where they'd take easily audibly misconstrued words, and mash them all up in some hilarious juxtaposition. I can imagine Costello responding to Abbott after hearing him use the word irony to say something like, "Abbott, the only ironing I do is when my pants get wrinkled!"
I am American and all those phrases are familiar except the last one. My inclination would be to read the last as a game phrase - perhaps originating from a card game? I think regional and historical British immigration and corporate interests in various parts of USA geography will influence the levels of understanding as well as socio economic levels of education i.e. breadth of reading.
As a youthful reader of A.C. Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie novels (and few other British writers) many of the vernacular / idiomatic phrases are familiar. For laughs a sibling and I would use the phrase "the game is afoot", as we had the board game 221B Baker Street in our youth and enjoyed it. We would be with a group or ourselves in a exploring / investigative / curious mood and both chime in unison, ala Holmes, "The Game IS A Foot" and raise one leg in an animated way like Groucho Marx
Also, watching Monty Python and Benny Hill comedy sketches and musicals such as My Fair Lady, Evita (at sixes and sevens with you, I had to let it happen I had to change...) had a linguistic acculturating effect.
"
There are obvious reasons the phrases and idiomatic usages are not "alien" to my ears -- it's from reading British Literature (I'm a great fan of Wilkie Collins as well and older writers as well as Christie, though she is a favorite) , from watching your BBC produced shows - some far superior to ours -- from serials to documentaries ( an older one I'd like to see again is " Danger UXB " ( from the 1980s)), and from living close to Canada... a day trip from here is Toronto or up to Kingston.
Everything is understood if you ask.... but hearing or reading and listening to meanings? Hands down, its the better way to learn.
Well, I'm an American in Britain and don't know those. Don't feel deprived either.
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