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Demisemicenturian 
"Four ever European"
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 Posted - 01/12/2007 : 16:39:24
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Just 'chips' really, not 'potato chips' and 'French fries' can be used but only for the thin ones apparently made out of polystyrene. I've never heard 'hall floor' and another thing I've learnt on this site is that in the U.S. 'storey' can be written 'story', which it cannot here. Rubbish can also be 'litter', but only outside. 'Twat' is the same here too, though I get the impression that some people don't know what it originally means, since its use to mean a fool is much more common.
Here a 'bathroom' is a room with a bath in it, not a room with (just) a toilet in it. It will feature 'taps' rather than 'faucets'. Similarly a 'roommate' is someone one shares a room with, a 'flatmate' a flat, a 'housemate' a house - see, there's a crazy system there somewhere.   |
Edited by - Demisemicenturian on 01/12/2007 16:40:42 |
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BaftaBaby 
"Always entranced by cinema."
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Posted - 01/12/2007 : 16:46:59
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quote:
Originally posted by Salopian
Just 'chips' really, not 'potato chips' and 'French fries' can be used but only for the thin ones apparently made out of polystyrene. I've never heard 'hall floor'
Just shows you don't get out much, Sal  Potato chips IS used outside the big smoke; hall floor is a common property description in Bristol for one. But hey, what do I know, I've only lived here for 40 years     
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ChocolateLady
"500 Chocolate Delights"
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Posted - 01/12/2007 : 16:52:08
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One of my favourites is the diaper nappy/napkin, serviette conundrum. We also have the squash/courgette and eggplant/aubergine problem.
By the way, do you go to the cinema to see films or do you just go to the movies?
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Demisemicenturian
"Four ever European"
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Posted - 01/12/2007 : 17:06:39
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quote:
Originally posted by BaftaBabe
Potato chips IS used outside the big smoke; hall floor is a common property description in Bristol for one.
Well, I've lived in numerous places in Britain and I've never heard 'potato chip' be anything other than American for 'crisp'. 'Hall floor' must be a Bristol thing then. (I think this must be the case - the only results I could see on Google that did not mean the floor of a hall were from Bristol.) |
Edited by - Demisemicenturian on 01/12/2007 17:08:24 |
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Demisemicenturian
"Four ever European"
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Posted - 01/12/2007 : 17:10:41
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quote:
Originally posted by ChocolateLady
One of my favourites is the diaper nappy/napkin, serviette conundrum. We also have the squash/courgette and eggplant/aubergine problem.
Which do you use out of 'couch/settee/sofa' (assuming you don't use 'Chesterfield')?
quote:
By the way, do you go to the cinema to see films or do you just go to the movies?
Definitely 'cinema' and definitely 'film', though I quite like the older places that are still called 'Picture House' or 'Picture Palace'. |
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ChocolateLady
"500 Chocolate Delights"
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Posted - 01/12/2007 : 17:25:52
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quote:
Originally posted by Salopian
quote:
Originally posted by ChocolateLady
One of my favourites is the diaper nappy/napkin, serviette conundrum. We also have the squash/courgette and eggplant/aubergine problem.
Which do you use out of 'couch/settee/sofa' (assuming you don't use 'Chesterfield')?
quote:
By the way, do you go to the cinema to see films or do you just go to the movies?
Definitely 'cinema' and definitely 'film', though I quite like the older places that are still called 'Picture House' or 'Picture Palace'.
'Chesterfield'? Oh dear!
By the way, I used to put silverware (or flatware) on the table but my husband prefers to put out the cutlery. He's probably right - none of my cutlery is silver or flat!
And come to think of it, when we go to bed in the winter, my husband gets under the duvet while I get under the comforter. I put my head on a pillow and he puts his head on a cushion.
Don't forget the different spellings - my husband says that Americans are "u"sless at spelling!
(HEhehehe.)
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lemmycaution
"Long mired in film"
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Posted - 01/12/2007 : 17:47:00
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quote:
Originally posted by Salopian
quote:
Originally posted by ChocolateLady
One of my favourites is the diaper nappy/napkin, serviette conundrum. We also have the squash/courgette and eggplant/aubergine problem.
Which do you use out of 'couch/settee/sofa' (assuming you don't use 'Chesterfield')?
'Davenport' is used in some places in North America. Not here in Toronto, thank God.
I thought 'dustbin' was the British equivalent of the NA 'garbage can'. |
Edited by - lemmycaution on 01/12/2007 17:47:28 |
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Demisemicenturian
"Four ever European"
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Posted - 01/12/2007 : 18:02:24
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quote:
Originally posted by lemmycaution
I thought 'dustbin' was the British equivalent of the NA 'garbage can'.
It is, but only a large one outside (I assume the same applies to 'can'). Normally one would just 'bin' for any. But one of the right type in the right place could be a 'waste paper basket' - do you use that? |
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Demisemicenturian
"Four ever European"
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Posted - 01/12/2007 : 18:04:39
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quote:
Originally posted by ChocolateLady
he puts his head on a cushion
I've only ever heard that used for ones on seats. |
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randall
"I like to watch."
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Posted - 01/12/2007 : 18:08:28
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DT, I think World Cup-style football is far more exciting, at least as a spectator, than the sport that uses the same name in America. For one thing, the action never stops, unless a goal is scored or one of the players decides to give everybody a rest by feigning an injury. Compare that to American football's glacial pace, made even slower by ridiculous "TV timeouts" that only incense the people who are actually there. A burst of action, wait wait wait. Another burst of action, wait wait wait. Yes, it's more violent ["soccer" can be violent as well, and those guys don't wear pads], but not a whit more graceful.
Baseball is another thing altogether. It's a pastoral sport that doesn't have a time limit, or even a limit in the number of innings that can be played if the score's still tied. That to me is lovely. Watching a baseball game, either on TV or in person, is a relaxing experience that still delivers action and especially suspense.
Beckham has done the right thing by coming to LA. If he's by now a step or two behind the great world-class players, he'll still be an on-field superstar in MLS. He might even raise the level of the other players, and inspire a few kids in the bargain, to increase more US interest in the world stage. [I saw a marked spike of interest in the USA's participation in the most recent World Cup over the last few times, and that's before Beckham.]
Then too, it won't hurt Posh a bit to live in the epicenter of the music business. Smart move for both of them. |
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Demisemicenturian
"Four ever European"
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Posted - 01/12/2007 : 18:14:56
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quote:
Originally posted by Randall
Then too, it won't hurt Posh a bit to live in the epicenter of the music business.
She's given up on all that. She wants to get into fashion now - I'm sure she'll be flying over to New York all the time. |
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Downtown 
"Welcome back, Billy Buck"
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Posted - 01/12/2007 : 18:14:58
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| World Cup-style soccer was the basis of my essay. I've never watched an MLS (Major League Soccer) match in my life, and the local squad here has made it to the conference championship three years in a row. I don't think you'd have an easy time finding many other Americans that actually watch MLS, either. We're all much more familiar with the World Cup. |
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randall
"I like to watch."
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Posted - 01/12/2007 : 18:15:52
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quote:
Originally posted by ChocolateLady
He can do what he likes, but he'll never make "soccer" a popular sport in the USA for any player over the age of 12, and their mothers who go to oogle the coach.
I try to avoid "never," Chocky. One day, you might have to eat that word...but chocolate-covered crow might actually taste nice! Becks will be all over American pop culture by summertime, when he starts. You never know what such a wave might just trigger. Wait, I said "never"! |
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randall
"I like to watch."
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Posted - 01/12/2007 : 18:21:27
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quote:
Originally posted by Downtown
World Cup-style soccer was the basis of my essay. I've never watched an MLS (Major League Soccer) match in my life, and the local squad here has made it to the conference championship three years in a row. I don't think you'd have an easy time finding many other Americans that actually watch MLS, either. We're all much more familiar with the World Cup.
Right. I got ya. My point, though, was that Beckham may just help kindle interest in MLS. Won't you at least watch the first Beckham MLS match you can, just out of curiosity? I know I will, and I guarantee I won't be alone. Whether it can retain our interest beyond the first try is the $64,000 question. Or I guess the $250 million one. |
Edited by - randall on 01/12/2007 18:22:46 |
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randall
"I like to watch."
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Posted - 01/12/2007 : 18:25:22
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quote:
Originally posted by Salopian
quote:
Originally posted by Randall
Then too, it won't hurt Posh a bit to live in the epicenter of the music business.
She's given up on all that. She wants to get into fashion now - I'm sure she'll be flying over to New York all the time.
Watch and wait. This whole US deal was done by Simon Fuller. |
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Topic |
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How much British/U.S. culture confounds MERPs?
