British-American Humor: "Effingpot" House of Uniting Cultures

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The discussion revolves around the differences in British and American slang, with participants sharing various terms and their meanings. A link to a site that explains British slang is shared, prompting conversations about specific words like "bin men" (garbage collectors) and "couch" versus "sofa." Participants express amusement at the misunderstandings that arise from these language differences, highlighting terms like "pacifier," which is known as "soother" in Canada. The conversation also touches on regional dialects within the U.S. and Canada, such as "y'all" and "you-uns," and includes humorous exchanges about food terms like "doughnut holes" and British dishes like "bubble and squeak." Overall, the thread showcases the playful exploration of language and cultural nuances between the UK, the US, and Canada.
  • #51
George Jones said:
I haven't heard it. I guess it comes from "you all'.

From where i am, if say some one from management addresses a gathering of employes with (how are you all), it is a mild insult.
 
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  • #52
Canadian English: pencil crayons meaning coloured pencils. :biggrin:

I've heard both soother and pacifier used but assumed that "binky" was some sort of specific-to-one-person slang, much like euphemisms for genitals that are taught to children.

Edited to add: to this day it cracks me up that we call our one dollar coins "loonies". On the Wikipedia site it said that we call our two dollar coins "doubloons" but it's lying. We call them "toonies".
 
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  • #53
GeorginaS said:
Canadian English: pencil crayons meaning coloured pencils. :biggrin:

I've heard both soother and pacifier used but assumed that "binky" was some sort of specific-to-one-person slang, much like euphemisms for genitals that are taught to children.

Edited to add: to this day it cracks me up that we call our one dollar coins "loonies". On the Wikipedia site it said that we call our two dollar coins "doubloons" but it's lying. We call them "toonies".

We used to have many different names for our coinage/paper money but
since decimalisation it has to my knowledge died out.
 
  • #54
All y'all looky here, especially Moonbear...pancakes are pancakes, NOT flapjacks. Cookies = biscuits, pissed = really mad, truck = just about anything that's not a car, a pickup is what Walker Texas Ranger drives, highwaters is when you wear pants (not trousers) that are just a little too short unless you are a girl and then they're capris or gauchos, flip-flops are those sandals that slap your heel when you walk and are sometimes called slaps or shower shoes, jelly is actually BAMA grape jam, nose = snot-locker, the excretory orifice can be called many things, rusty starfish, wrinkled grommet, turd-cutter(my fav), I've never called them sneakers because they are tenny(tennis) shoes, lips can be called soup-coolers.

Then there's the military jargon/slang but I'm whipped and going to sheet lane.
 
  • #55
Here in Maine, out-of-staters are said to be "from away" if you're being polite, and "flats" (contraction of flatlanders) if you're not. Even if you have lived here for years, if you came from another state, you're "from away" for life. There is an old joke about a mother that brought her baby to the General Store to show him off. She said "Bob and I have lived here for 5 years, and we're still 'from away', but Bobby Jr was born right here and he's a real Mainer." Over at the checkerboard, an old-timer said "Just because the cat had her kittens in the oven, that don't make 'em biscuits."

Tourists from Massachusetts have a well-deserved reputation for needlessly aggressive driving, and when they offend, they are generally called M*******s. Seagulls can be called "dump ducks", "flying rats" are rock pigeons, and moose are "swamp donkeys".

edit: the aggressive drivers from Massachusetts are called MassXXXXX, a reference to a bodily part that the filter wouldn't let through. Is there a filter that will deny "holes"?
 
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  • #56
selfAdjoint said:
y'all provides a plural third person pronoun; a very useful thing, and something that so-called "standard English" sorely lacks.

Although not a pronoun, isn't a British equivalent to y'all, "you lot"?
 
  • #57
wolram said:
With great british bulldog spirt i have surfed the web without rest to find this
site, now there will be no excuse for misunderstanding.

I be a Yank. From our side of the pond, for the following, I hadn't a clue.

bubble and squeak
twiglets
cawl
saveloy
plonk
toad in the hole
bangers and mash
 
  • #58
Ouabache said:
I be a Yank. From our side of the pond, for the following, I hadn't a clue.

bubble and squeak
twiglets
cawl
saveloy
plonk
toad in the hole
bangers and mash

I have never heard of a (cawl), bubble and aqueak is yummy as is toad in the hole, i dare say i am an expert in the cooking of it. :smile:
 
  • #59
A dictionary for Americans to understand other tongues...

Reminds me somewhat of the guide for Americans traveling abroad:
• Think as big as you like but talk and act smaller. (In many countries, any form of boasting is considered very rude. Talking about wealth, power or status - corporate or personal - can create resentment.)

• Listen at least as much as you talk. (By all means, talk about America and your life in our country. But also ask people you're visiting about themselves and their way of life.)

• Save the lectures for your kids. (Whatever your subject of discussion, let it be a discussion not a lecture. Justified or not, the US is seen as imposing its will on the world.)

• Think a little locally. (Try to find a few topics that are important in the local popular culture. Remember, most people in the world have little or no interest in the World Series or the Super Bowl. What we call "soccer" is football everywhere else. And it's the most popular sport on the planet.)

• Slow down. (We talk fast, eat fast, move fast, live fast. Many cultures do not.)

• Speak lower and slower. (A loud voice is often perceived as bragging. A fast talker can be seen as aggressive and threatening.)

• Your religion is your religion and not necessarily theirs. (Religion is usually considered deeply personal, not a subject for public discussions.)

• If you talk politics, talk - don't argue. (Steer clear of arguments about American politics, even if someone is attacking US politicians or policies. Agree to disagree.)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/mai...ur16.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/04/16/ixworld.html

:biggrin:
 
  • #60
wolram said:
I have never heard of a (cawl), bubble and squeak is yummy as is toad in the hole, i dare say i am an expert in the cooking of it. :smile:
If I find myself in your neck of the woods, I wouldn't mind sampling those tastey recipes..:-p
I hear tell, cawl is a Welsh soup..

ref
Leeks and cabbage... forms the basis for what is virtually the national dish of Wales: cawl. There is no exact translation for cawl; the word in Welsh signifies 'broth' or 'soup', but it is much more than that, a classic one-pot meal, originally cooked in an iron pot over an open fire, containing all the goodness of the land: fat home-cured bacon, scraps of sweet Welsh lamb to flavour the stock, cabbage and orange-tinted swedes, tiny marble-sized new potatoes, and slender, thin leeks, added to the pot only at the very end so that they are still raw and crunchy and peppery. Recipes for cawl vary from region to region, house to house, and from season to season, depending on what vegetables are available. While cawl can be eaten all together, in many houses the broth is served first and the meat and vegetables follow afterwards.
swedes? i didn't spot that one.. i thought they are folks from sweden..
 
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  • #61
Ouabache said:
If I find myself in your neck of the woods, I wouldn't mind sampling those tastey recipes..:-p
I hear tell, cawl is a Welsh soup..

ref

swedes? i didn't spot that one.. i thought they are folks from sweden..

Swede is a good substitute for mashed potato, mash it add a knob of butter
season.
 

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