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Post by susanb on Oct 1, 2012 16:05:21 GMT 1
the handbag/purse thing is another regional difference in the US....where I am, it is handbag!
Purse isn't much used, but you do hear coin purse....not many carry them, but they are still made
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Post by kunuma on Oct 4, 2012 21:14:36 GMT 1
Expressions are good - what is everyone's favourite (printable!!) expressions? Loved the Holy Crickets one earlier, which inspired the question.
Some of my faves, and very old fashioned now,
'Whatever Floats your Boat' 'Hells Bells and Buckets of Blood' 'Mad as a box of frogs' 'sandwich short of a picnic' she's an 'old besom' ( not sure why we call people brooms, but think it might have a witch connection??)
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Post by Claire on Oct 4, 2012 21:59:25 GMT 1
I love 'daft as a brush' which is used a lot up here - seems to be some sort of household cleaning motif going on here
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Post by kunuma on Oct 5, 2012 13:25:47 GMT 1
We have our own version of that - mazed as a brish!!
What do various countries and counties call holiday makers then? Down here of course they are grockles, and emmets in Cornwall.
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Post by Claire on Oct 5, 2012 14:39:56 GMT 1
What do various countries and counties call holiday makers then? Down here of course they are grockles, and emmets in Cornwall. Can't say what we call 'em here! ;D Actually there's not really a name for them in Yorkshire. And we don't get 'em in Tyne and Wear as no-one is daft enough to go on holiday there! Here is an interesting link for anyone wanting to know more about Yorkshire words. www.bbc.co.uk/northyorkshire/voices2005/glossary/glossary.shtml
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Post by rallycairn on Oct 5, 2012 15:55:35 GMT 1
I can't think of any fun expressions right now, but it occurred to me to mention (though it's probably been discussed before) that "pony book" is a British expression. We'd say "horse story" or "horse book." We just don't use the term pony much, more just to refer to small ponies rather than any children's mount. Of course, show classes would use the correct term of "pony" for small, medium, and large divisions, but in everyday useage we wouldn't use "pony" nearly as frequently. Kids would say "my horse" rather than my pony unless it's a small or possibly medium pony.
And also about what I'll call the "hybrid" books discussed, wherein editors decide to try to edit a book to make it seem like it's set in another country -- they've done it with the Janet Rising books I asked about in a recent thread. Like Claire, Maggie, and others said, it's so annoying because it just doesn't work! Although the Janet Rising ones have been done fairly well -- they even changed crisps to chips, and things like that -- still the 13-ish heroine and her friends always refer to their "ponies" which as I've said wouldn't be likely, they are able to ride to shows and events (very unlikely in America, we have to trailer even for local shows, it's just the sad sprawled-out with few public trails/paths/rights-of-way style of living here), and they have "sausage rolls" for lunch which just wouldn't be likely here, and give their "ponies" the apparently ubiquitous "polo mints." At least they've changed the names of school grades/levels and so forth, but you can still tell. And proper names are so very British/European -- not many Pias or Catrionas here, nor place names like "South Bassett."
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Post by susanb on Oct 5, 2012 18:36:16 GMT 1
Re favorite expressions, and following on "sandwich short of a picnic":
Not the brightest bulb in the chandelier Not the sharpest knife in the drawer
and one that I wish we had here, but don't: "wet"....it's soooo descriptive! I think it had a brief burst of popularity in the 50s, not by itself but in an expression "he's all wet", but it doesn't appear to have caught on.
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Post by garej on Oct 5, 2012 19:18:53 GMT 1
I once used the phrase "as useful as a chocolate teapot" to my long term Aussie online friend, and she had never heard of it! I was wondering is it used in the USA too or is it a British thing?
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Post by kunuma on Oct 5, 2012 19:46:50 GMT 1
I once used the phrase "as useful as a chocolate teapot" to my long term Aussie online friend, and she had never heard of it! I was wondering is it used in the USA too or is it a British thing? ;D I call my pup that all the time - another variation I heard once was chocolate fireguard!!
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Post by maggie on Oct 6, 2012 3:41:37 GMT 1
I once used the phrase "as useful as a chocolate teapot" to my long term Aussie online friend, and she had never heard of it! I was wondering is it used in the USA too or is it a British thing? It's a rare American who owns a teapot, much less knows what to do with one.
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Post by Claire on Oct 6, 2012 12:31:21 GMT 1
I once used the phrase "as useful as a chocolate teapot" to my long term Aussie online friend, and she had never heard of it! I was wondering is it used in the USA too or is it a British thing? It's a rare American who owns a teapot, much less knows what to do with one. Actually I dont think many of us Brits use teapots any more (maybe the posh ones ) except getting tea in tea shops. It does make a better cup of tea than just dunking the teabag in a cup tho. Is tea drunk much in America? I have heard that iced tea is popular but it makes me shudder to think of it! We use the chocolate fireguard expression round here. What about 'mad as a wet hen?' I actually dont hear it very often but my gran used it all the time - it refers to mad in terms of being angry not bonkers.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 6, 2012 13:49:01 GMT 1
Not heard of "mad as a wet hen" but have heard "mad as a hatter" supposedly from when hat makers used mercury in the process and it drove them mad.
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Post by kunuma on Oct 6, 2012 14:01:11 GMT 1
There's always hopping mad! Now is that connected to the box of frogs???
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Post by susanb on Oct 6, 2012 14:13:51 GMT 1
I've got....erm....four, I think....must be a freak ;D
Coffee is more popular, but there are lots of tea drinkers too. I drink more coffee than tea, but I do drink both (hot and iced). My grandmother drank tea almost exclusively, so I grew up on it. For myself, I think I drink less tea because it isn't done well in commercial (i.e. outside home) settings and, while a good cup of tea is delightful, a bad cup of tea is just revolting.
This is AMERICA, Claire.....we put ice in EVERYTHING.
I often think that what becomes traditional is based on what was available/useful way-back-when. When the first English settlers landed in America, they stayed in New England....long icy winters, hotter than h*ll summers....so you build ice cellers, chop ice out of the ponds in the winter to fill them, and voila, you've got a way to store food so it doesn't go bad when it's 100f out in July.
It's a short step from there to using ice to cool drinks on a hot day, or make ice cream. In fact, New Englanders today eat more ice cream in the dead of winter than people in the rest of the US do in the middle of summer!
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Post by tintin on Oct 9, 2012 17:46:10 GMT 1
I embarassed myself with my ignorance the other day.
I knew what Alfalfa was. I knew what Lucerne was. I just did n't know they were exactly the same stuff as each other, just with different names on opposite sides of the Atlantic. Oh dear.
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allyk
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Post by allyk on Jul 24, 2013 9:34:31 GMT 1
I once used the phrase "as useful as a chocolate teapot" to my long term Aussie online friend, and she had never heard of it! I was wondering is it used in the USA too or is it a British thing? Our version would be 'As useful as tits on a bull.' Is tea drunk much in America? I have heard that iced tea is popular but it makes me shudder to think of it! Sweet tea is divine! The secret is to keep adding sugar while it's boiling until it starts to precipitate out. I've heard iced drinks are practically impossible to get over there, or anywhere that's not the US really, which really boggles the mind. I guess if you pay per drink (which is another odd custom) you would want as much drink as possible, but I still couldn't do it. Maybe Americans will even learn to love Marmite. Probably as soon as Brits learn to love peanut butter
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Post by susanb on Jul 24, 2013 19:09:01 GMT 1
The British ex-pats living in the US that I know love peanut butter, they just don't like British peanut butter, so maybe it's just one of those home-grown things that aren't done well elsewhere (I won't eat sourdough bread outside of California, for instance).
Re sweet tea....bleh....have never taken to it, think it might be regional as well...I don't even put sugar in mine, just tea with slice of lemon!
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Post by Claire on Jul 24, 2013 20:38:53 GMT 1
I love peanut butter and I know lots of other Brits who do - we've just never taken to that revolting American concoction of peanut butter and jelly (jam) sandwiches!
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Post by susanb on Jul 24, 2013 20:43:39 GMT 1
Not even all Americans have taken to that.....even the thought of the combination makes my blood run cold I remember the first time I saw someone put peanut butter and jelly on an English muffin (crumpet to you), I said "how can you dooooo that? Ewwww!"
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Post by Claire on Jul 24, 2013 22:03:36 GMT 1
Lol susan I always wondered who first came up with the PBJ combination! Ah so an English muffin in the USA is what we call a crumpet - so what do you call the actual English muffins then....? ;D Example of English muffinBTW cream cheese on crumpets with lots of black pepper is yummy - also low in fat if you use the low fat cream cheese. Hmm funny how everything on here seems to lead to food at the moment!
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allyk
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Post by allyk on Jul 24, 2013 22:29:51 GMT 1
Lol susan I always wondered who first came up with the PBJ combination! I'm not sure, but it must have been the work of a staggering genius. By itself, a peanut butter sandwich is too dry and sticky. The jelly (jam) adds just the right amount of 'lubrication' to help it slide right down. And a little bit of sweetness doesn't hurt either Ah so an English muffin in the USA is what we call a crumpet - so what do you call the actual English muffins then....? ;D These are actual English muffins, so I don't understand your question I'm still curious about iced drinks. Any thoughts on why they aren't popular elsewhere?
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Post by Claire on Jul 24, 2013 22:49:16 GMT 1
This is getting complicated! What we call crumpets: What we call muffins or English muffins: What we call American style or sweet muffins (tho we also just call them muffins to add to the confusion) Our muffins are cut in half, toasted and spread with butter or whatever (looks like the pic you posted ally), crumpets look different, they have lots of little holes in, they are not cut in half just toasted the way they are and spread with butter or jam. The 2 are completely different. Maybe you don't actually have crumpets in the USA and susan is getting mixed up with our English muffins? Must go and eat something now!!! ;D
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allyk
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Post by allyk on Jul 24, 2013 23:04:20 GMT 1
What we call crumpets: Don't have these What we call muffins or English muffins: English muffins What we call American style or sweet muffins (tho we also just call them muffins to add to the confusion) Muffins Maybe you don't actually have crumpets in the USA and susan is getting mixed up with our English muffins? We don't have crumpets apparently Now if you want to thoroughly confuse yourself, what's the distinction between a muffin and a cupcake?
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allyk
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Post by allyk on Jul 24, 2013 23:15:44 GMT 1
the handbag/purse thing is another regional difference in the US....where I am, it is handbag! It's definitely purse here. Some interesting dialect maps(Starting at #49 they get to different word choices as opposed to just pronunciation differences)
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Post by susanb on Jul 25, 2013 0:07:51 GMT 1
We DO have crumpets here....only the prepackaged kind that you find in the supermarket (if the market does enough business in international foodstuffs), but still. My confusion was that I'd never seen what you call a muffin and we call an English muffin IN ENGLAND! I assumed they didn't really exist and that what we called an English muffin was an American version of a crumpet! Are muffins/English muffins just not about much in England any longer? Maybe, a tourist, I just wasn't ever in the kind of place that had them? So odd! Re peanut butter.....only dry if you use that chemically "enhanced" stuff....it's all natural Teddie PB for me....nothing in it but peanuts (and salt, if you're so inclined...I'm afraid I am ). There are other all natural brands on the market, but Teddie was first and for me, it's my local brand (after the whole salmonella scare I was even happier knowing that they shell/roast/grind/package their own nuts under one roof...one that is disease free ) However, if you like your treats really enhanced, there is nothing in the world like a toasted English muffin with just the tiniest bit of butter, then the all natural chunky peanut butter on top....ambrosia. Seriously, the Gods had NO IDEA.
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allyk
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Post by allyk on Jul 25, 2013 0:36:04 GMT 1
Re peanut butter.....only dry if you use that chemically "enhanced" stuff....it's all natural Teddie PB for me....nothing in it but peanuts (and salt, if you're so inclined...I'm afraid I am ). I've tried the 'all-natural' stuff . . . and let's just say I'm a Skippy gal
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Post by tintin on Jul 25, 2013 0:46:30 GMT 1
Just to enhance the confusion crumpets are known as pikelets in some areas, though sadly this is dying out as there are fewer and fewer bakeries so they are all labelled the same
Ally ice drinks freely available all over UK - though many Americans find it odd when they are asked if they want ice (I remember two US gents I took to a pub being horrified at the very concept of cola without ice)
There used to be a joke there were no sausages so bad the British would n't eat them and no ice so bad Americans would n't put it in their drinks
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Post by susanb on Jul 25, 2013 2:21:00 GMT 1
have been reading through the regional difference map ally, really interesting. I knew about sneakers, but was startled at soda and SHOCKED at Aunt!
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Post by susanb on Jul 25, 2013 2:27:26 GMT 1
LOL, tintin, I can imagine it's about true too re the ice!
I'm about half and half....I don't tend to use ice in something that's already been refrigerated (it just dilutes the drink), but don't generally object if it's just served that way. The only thing I draw the line at is pouring good single malt over ice......sacrilege!
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Post by rallycairn on Jul 25, 2013 3:35:03 GMT 1
ally, I'm Skippy all the way, thanks to DH. I was raised on Jif and now can't stand that stuff -- more sugar than pb. But Skippy tastes of peanuts without the separation/need for mixing of the oily natural stuff.
And I do love pb and j! But now instead of grocery-store grape, I get fun preserves and jellies at country stores and farm markets and the like. Right now I have jalapeno jam and cinnamon apple pear jelly open, with FROG jam (Fig Raspberry Orange Ginger) waiting in the pantry.
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