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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.
It's six of one and half a dozen of the other[/b] - no difference which alternative you choose.
In my family, we've shortened this to, "Six and two threes," and naturally we get very strange looks. I still use "petrol" instead of gasoline because in England, if you say "gas," you mean the kind that you cook with.
Other phrases I've used in the past or heard:
Let's bin this = let's forget this
Jack it in = don't bother/give up
Sorted = taken care of
In my family, we've shortened this to, "Six and two threes," and naturally we get very strange looks. I still use "petrol" instead of gasoline because in England, if you say "gas," you mean the kind that you cook with.
Other phrases I've used in the past or heard: Let's bin this = let's forget this
Jack it in = don't bother/give up
Sorted = taken care of
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?
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?
Recycling bin, or the garbage bin/can, trash bin/can. We have 2 - one for trash, and one for recycling.
A "canister" is just a container for holding something.
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?
I'd call it a recycle can, or a recycle trash can. My wife, who has a different American lexicon than I do (even though we grew up in the same state), would call it a recycle bin.
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.
I hear 'olds and ends' from time to time from Americans. I think most Americans would know what it meant.
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'.
I've heard it both ways, but I do hear 'alley' more often..
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.
I don't think it's extremely offensive, but it can suggest that women are less than men. If you went into a meeting and you said, "Hello boys and girls" depending on how well they know you, they'd think nothing of it, they'd think it was funny, or they'd think that you were talking down to all of them. But if you say, "Hello men and girls" then that makes it seem like you're obviously talking down to the women, because you used the grown-up term for the 'boys' but used the young term for the 'girls.'
Never tell anyone you will put an appointment in your 'diary'. You have to use 'calendar'.
Ha ha. That does make it seem very intimate. "I will go home and write all about this in my diary."
Don't use 'trolley' in the supermarket. You have to use the word 'cart'. I still can't get used to that one.
Depending on where you are in America, it could be 'buggy.' There may be a couple other names for it as well.
Anybody else got any phrases that people comment on or get you funny looks?
Quote:
Originally Posted by PacoMartin
The funny thing is that Americans generally believe the Brits are very formal, but in many ways they are just the opposite. I believe Brits are much more comfortable with diminutives of Men's names (Harry, Archie, Andy, Jack) where most Americans are horrified by them in a business meeting.
One that Eisenhower commented on what was mean by "table this". Table (v.) in parliamentary sense, 1718, originally "to lay on the (speaker's) table for discussion," . But in U.S. political jargon it has the sense of "to postpone indefinitely" (1866).
One of the bugaboos even for Americans in different regions is "quite". Leaving for a minute the use of "quite" as an exclamation which some Americans believe from old movies that the British say every few minutes.
Sometime in the 13th century the word mean "thoroughly", then it meant "free, clear" and finally acquired the weaker sense of "fairly" in the mid-19th century.
1) Are you quite certain about this?
2) She did quite well at school.
3) “You’ve no intention of coming back?†“I’m quite sorry, but no, I have not.â€
Oxford dictionary lists #3 as AmE. There is always some debate if you say "I quite enjoyed the meal" if it is a strong compliment or a moderated response.
Whilst will almost always get a reaction from Americans, as it has almost entirely vanished from AmE. Queue is usually a technical term in AmE. Crisps is a common word not in AmE. Brilliant became more commonplace as Doctor Who was more widely seen in USA. Crikey became well know after Four Weddings and a Funeral.
I've used all the above blue words regularly in conversation, and I've heard them used by others, as well. "Let's table this for the next meeting" for instance. I also use 'whilst,' but I know that's far less common.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bamford
I am not a smoker but I should imagine 'Can I bum a f*g' - would probably confuse a few Americans.
Just like 'Don't Forget Your Fanny Pack' - might confuse a few Brits.
Ha ha. My friend lived in Glasgow for three years, and when she first got there, she decided she wanted a fanny pack to use while riding her bicycle. She went into a few stores and was totally confused by how store employees would look at her strange when she asked where their fanny packs were. When she got home and asked her roommate about it, her roommate cracked up (and told her why they were giving her funny looks).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cruithne
I have an Irish friend here who has been here about 20 years, but to use her own quote, still sounds like she "just got off the boat". She uses a ton of Irish expressions hilarilously in a really broad Irish accent, like "Mary Mother of GOD" or "Jesus, Mary and Joseph", to express surprise or frustration. Any night out or party is "a bun fight".
I've heard both of those, but I do think I'd giggle a little if I heard a lady with a very strong accent exclaim one of those, only because it seems so Irish, and it would be unexpected to hear it said, with a strong Irish accent, in America.
Quote:
Originally Posted by David Aguilar
I'd call it a recycle can, or a recycle trash can. My wife, who has a different American lexicon than I do (even though we grew up in the same state), would call it a recycle bin.
Cans can totally be plastic.
I've heard it both ways as well.
In general, something to remember is that America is a big place. Local language will differ from area to area (for instance, recycle can vs. recycle bin, or cart vs. buggy). So someone may live in one state or area where particular language sounds a little funny, then move to a new state where their language fits right in. I know I think it's funny when I hear someone say they want a 'pop' instead of a 'soda,' and yet pop is used often in parts of the US.
I also think an accent can easily throw someone off. The person sounds foreign, so the person listening assumes that what they're saying is foreign, too. For instance, 'bits and bobs' or 'fits and starts' - if said in a very good regional accent, then the person you're speaking to would probably figure out pretty easily what you meant when it's said in context. But because you're speaking with an accent, all of a sudden what you're saying is foreign, too.
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?
"Odds and ends" is actually very American.
"It's six of one and half dozen of the other" is also commonly used in America. Maybe it depends where you live.
I used to work with a lady from Great Britain, and when someone was flippant, she would call them "cheeky." She called an elevator a "lift," a restroom, "the loo," and a baby stroller a "pram." Instead of her picking up the American terms, we learned the British terms. LOL!
Yes, it is degrading to grown women to be called "girls" in the office by the boss...who is often a man.
The world's getting smaller by the day. The OP's list wasn't the best examples. All of them are either used in the States or fairly easy to follow.
Some words that might throw Americans are when common words have different meanings. An example would be 'pissed'. It doesn't mean drunk here in the US..So it might throw us off to hear a Brit use it.
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?
In BC where I live, I use and have heard all of these. Some more than others, but I don't think it would throw most people off, except " hit me for six ".
Speaking of " trolley" and " cart ", again here in BC, can't speak for all of Canada, but we used " buggy ". It's slowing losing out to " cart ' though, and I haven't heard anyone here use " trolley ".
I did get a strange look from an American tourist who was a friend of my visiting American friend, when I said " I feel a bit peckish".
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Phrases That Throw People
