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My mother, whose ancestors were Scottish and whose family was from southern Kentucky, grew up referring to the roadway as macadam. She doesn't use it often, but it confounds those who hear it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ameriscot
McAdam is the person who invented tarmac but my Scottish husband has never heard the road referred to as macadam.
Not exactly. In the 1930s, when original MacAdam roadways were deteriorating under the strain of automotive travel, they were stabilized with a layer of tar, a technique patented by Englishman Edgar Hooley in 1901, thus "Tarmac" short for tarmacadam.
My own very American kids refer to the boot, bonnet, and windscreen of the car, a remnant of their father's time in England. For them, the words roll easily and naturally off the tongue, but not for me. I suppose it's the same for my mother when she calls the roadway macadam.
The word macadam dates to1824, named for inventor, Scottish civil engineer John L. McAdam (1756-1836), who developed a method of levelling roads and paving them with gravel and outlined the process in his pamphlet "Remarks on the Present System of Road-Making" (1822).
Originally, road material consisting of a solid mass of stones of nearly uniform size laid down in layers; he did not approve of the use of binding materials or rollers. The idea of mixing tar with the gravel began 1880s. The word "Tarmac" was originally a trademark name, short for tarmacadam. By 1919, tarmac was being used generally in Great Britain for "runway."
In my town in Pennsylvania we have a "Macada Road" which dates back to the mid 19th century.
The word macadam dates to1824, named for inventor, Scottish civil engineer John L. McAdam (1756-1836), who developed a method of levelling roads and paving them with gravel and outlined the process in his pamphlet "Remarks on the Present System of Road-Making" (1822).
Originally, road material consisting of a solid mass of stones of nearly uniform size laid down in layers; he did not approve of the use of binding materials or rollers. The idea of mixing tar with the gravel began 1880s. The word "Tarmac" was originally a trademark name, short for tarmacadam. By 1919, tarmac was being used generally in Great Britain for "runway."
In my town in Pennsylvania we have a "Macada Road" which dates back to the mid 19th century.
Interesting. I've never heard anyone in Scotland use that term and neither has my husband who has lived here for all of his 65 years.
Skint: definition - (of a person) having little or no money available.
E.g. "Dude! can't go clubbing tonight cus I'm skint!"
Said this in front of my American cousins before... Jussst blank faces!
Skint: definition - (of a person) having little or no money available.
E.g. "Dude! can't go clubbing tonight cus I'm skint!"
Said this in front of my American cousins before... Jussst blank faces!
Really?
That's a common phrase in the American South.
But I've never heard that Macadam phrase at all - that was very interesting to read about that and tarmac.
But I've never heard that Macadam phrase at all - that was very interesting to read about that and tarmac.
Really? My cousins come from Washington State, and they're fairly young.
Here's a clip I found that shows words that are popular in America and words that are popular in Britain. The American girl has to define what the British words means, and then the British guy has to define what the American words mean. I'll start 0.55 mins in as it's a bit cringey:
But I've never heard that Macadam phrase at all - that was very interesting to read about that and tarmac.
Macadam pavement worked quite well for many decades, until automobiles with their rubber tires came into widespread use.
Horseshoes and the large diameter iron and steel tires of the wagons, carriages, carts, etc. of the time would crush the top surface. This crushed rock in combination with rain water formed a resilient surface almost like pavement – it was smooth and relatively dust free.
Automobiles have soft rubber tires that don't crush rock and bouncy (compared to the old wagons) suspension systems. Their use on the macadam roads caused a washboard surface to form. You can see this today on rural gravel roads.
This is when tarmac (tar+macadam) came into wide spread use. In the U.S., unless it is at an airport, tarmac is usually called blacktop or asphalt or (incorrectly) macadam.
Buying a sandwich is a totally different experience between the US and UK.
If you are in the UK and you ask for a cheese salad sandwich, you will be handed some variation of something close to this:
bread containing:
Most likely Cheddar cheese. That's proper white cheese, not what Americans call cheddar, which is orange and is more like Red Leicester.
Lettuce
Sliced Tomato
Cucumber
Possibly some mayonnaise
Possibly Branston pickle.
You will probably be asked if you want it on brown or white.
If you are in the US and you ask for a cheese salad sandwich, here's how the conversation will go:
"Can I have a cheese salad sandwich please?"
"What do you mean by 'salad' " (Quizzical look)
"Er like lettuce, tomato and cucumber"
"OK what kind of bread?
What kinds do you have?
"French roll, rye, wholewheat, sourdough, ciabatta, or bagel"
I'll have a French roll.
Ok, what kind of cheese?
What kind do you have?
We have Swiss, Pepper Jack, Cheddar, Mozzerella, Brie, or Monterey Jack.
Er Swiss please.
Ok what kind of meat?
I don't want any meat.
You don't want any kind of meat at all?? (Quizzical look)
No thanks
Ok what about onions?
Ok yes some onions then.
What about avacado?
Ok then yes that sounds good put some avacado on it.
You want Mayonnnaise?"
No thanks
How about Ranch?
Er no.
Mustard?
No.
You don't want any kind of dressing?
No thanks
That will be really dry. (More quizzical looks)
Ok what other dressings do you have?
We have Balsamic Vinaigrette, Pesto, Italian or blue cheese.
OK Balsamic then.
Pickle?
Er no, no pickle thanks. (Bearing in mind this is one of those disgusting long green pickles we are talking about)
These ordering-a-sandwich conversations can go on for a long time.
After you have done this a couple of times, you learn to be very specific about what you ask for.
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'Salad'
