Britishisms in Stories About Americans, and Vice-Versa

[Rustyoznail]

Got binned, gets binned, binned it ......

vs.

Tossed in the trash, trashed, thrown away.

Rubbish…

What a load of rubbish. The garbo wanders around early Monday to empty the rubbish bin.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

What a load of rubbish. The garbo wanders around early Monday to empty the rubbish bin.

And if you believe that, my old man's a dustman.

Not that you get proper steel dustbins any more, it's all wheelie bins. (Greek colleague: Why do you call them wheelie bins? Me, trying not to be condescending: Because... They've got wheels on? Turned out she'd spent five years thinking they were called willy bins and couldn't think how a penis was relevant.)

Some old-fashioned civil servants still reply to emails with 'WKB' - waste-paper basket, ie put it in the bin. Other rude marginalia died out with paper and Data Protection coming in. My favourite was 'CGSM' as used in Yes, Minister.

(Consignment of geriatric shoe manufacturers = a load of old cobblers. Cobblers' awls = balls = bollocks = talking rubbish)

 

[jaF0]

Not continent based that I know of, though many words and phrases created somewhere became universal.

In a school architecture class, I noticed WC on many floor plans. It was only explained to be 'water closet'. To me a closet was a place to hang clothes in storage, so it didn't really click. Then somebody referred to the old two piece toilets with the tank way up high towards the ceiling where water was sort of hanging off the wall in storage.

 

[HordHolm]

Not that you get proper steel dustbins any more, it's all wheelie bins.

They got rid of them in part because rioters kept using the steel dustbin lids as shields. And of course because the bigger wheelie bins fit in with the new design of dustcart, but I can't help feeling that was secondary...

 

[oggbashan]

Not continent based that I know of, though many words and phrases created somewhere became universal.

In a school architecture class, I noticed WC on many floor plans. It was only explained to be 'water closet'. To me a closet was a place to hang clothes in storage, so it didn't really click. Then somebody referred to the old two piece toilets with the tank way up high towards the ceiling where water was sort of hanging off the wall in storage.

Thre is an audio piece by Gerard Hoffnung about the misunderstanding of 'WC':

https://youtu.be/sq-q6TcbHLE

 

[KeithD]

Thre is an audio piece by Gerard Hoffnung about the misunderstanding of 'WC':

https://youtu.be/sq-q6TcbHLE

They understood WC well enough in the Washington, D.C., headquarters of my international news organization office. Once when I was being inundated with "what's happening now?" visitors when I was busy orchestrating the office handling of coverage of multiple international crises, I had a plaque saying "WC" hung on my office door and kept the door shut. It cut down significantly on the visitors.

 

[SamScribble]

They understood WC well enough in the Washington, D.C., headquarters of my international news organization office. Once when I was being inundated with "what's happening now?" visitors when I was busy orchestrating the office handling of coverage of multiple international crises, I had a plaque saying "WC" hung on my office door and kept the door shut. It cut down significantly on the visitors.

‘There are a number of things that help us date this building,’ the professor of architectural history told his class. ‘The first is GEO III – incised in the lintel above the principal door. GEO III for George the Third, suggesting that the building was built sometime between 1760 and 1820.’

‘Blimey, our place must be old then,’ one of the students said. ‘The khazi door has the letters WC. William the Conqueror. What’s that? 1066 to 1080-something?’

 

[MadeleineSinha]

‘There are a number of things that help us date this building,’ the professor of architectural history told his class. ‘The first is GEO III – incised in the lintel above the principal door. GEO III for George the Third, suggesting that the building was built sometime between 1760 and 1820.’

‘Blimey, our place must be old then,’ one of the students said. ‘The khazi door has the letters WC. William the Conqueror. What’s that? 1066 to 1080-something?’

Khazi
What a word.

Makes you proud to be British

 

[LoquiSordidaAdMe]

Question from an American, if I may. It's not about a story, but this seems like the right thread for it.

I don't understand the name of the TV show "Strictly Come Dancing". I've googled it. I understand the show and it's popularity, but I don't get the name. To my American ear, something is very uncomfortable about that combination of words. Am I missing something?

Is there a story behind it? Like, did the show used to be called "Come Singing & Dancing" but nobody liked the singing part so they chucked it and now it's strictly dancing? Is there some definition of one of those words that is obscure in America but common enough in GB that it makes sense? Is there some odd quirk of British syntax that I'm not familiar with? Is it all just some nonsense the producers came up with that got good response from market research? Or is it just me?

I don't get it and I want to get it. Please help. Thanks.

 

[SimonDoom]

Question from an American, if I may. It's not about a story, but this seems like the right thread for it.

I don't understand the name of the TV show "Strictly Come Dancing". I've googled it. I understand the show and it's popularity, but I don't get the name. To my American ear, something is very uncomfortable about that combination of words. Am I missing something?

Is there a story behind it? Like, did the show used to be called "Come Singing & Dancing" but nobody liked the singing part so they chucked it and now it's strictly dancing? Is there some definition of one of those words that is obscure in America but common enough in GB that it makes sense? Is there some odd quirk of British syntax that I'm not familiar with? Is it all just some nonsense the producers came up with that got good response from market research? Or is it just me?

I don't get it and I want to get it. Please help. Thanks.

I've never heard of that show but as an American I'm equally puzzled by that title. That combination of words makes no sense to me. It's the syntactical equivalent to my ear as a show entitled "Gently Fence Poodle."

 

[SamScribble]

I don't understand the name of the TV show "Strictly Come Dancing". I've googled it. I understand the show and it's popularity, but I don't get the name.

The name is a 'smash up' of Come Dancing, a BBC TV programme that I can remember from the early 1950s, and Strictly Ballroom, an Australian comedy movie from 1992.

 

[MillieDynamite]

In the movie Notting Hill, they had one scene where they split the difference, "My shop is over the street." In England and Australia it should be, "Over the road." Pops told me, when my mum came to the states, she'd say, "Who's that, over the road?" and he'd look out the window for the person floating over the street. Only, they'd be standing across the street. LOL

 

[LoquiSordidaAdMe]

I've never heard of that show but as an American I'm equally puzzled by that title. That combination of words makes no sense to me. It's the syntactical equivalent to my ear as a show entitled "Gently Fence Poodle."

I know, right? SO glad I'm not the only one! Thanks for the affirmation Simon.

The name is a 'smash up' of Come Dancing, a BBC TV programme that I can remember from the early 1950s, and Strictly Ballroom, an Australian comedy movie from 1992.

Now that I can work with. I get it. Someone should add that to Strictly's Wikipedia page. Thanks so much, Sam.

 

[ElectricBlue]

The name is a 'smash up' of Come Dancing, a BBC TV programme that I can remember from the early 1950s, and Strictly Ballroom, an Australian comedy movie from 1992.

Baz Luhrmann's first movie, now a classic of Oz cinema. Well worth a watch - sort of an Australian Flashdance.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strictly_Ballroom

 

[SimonDoom]

Baz Luhrmann's first movie, now a classic of Oz cinema. Well worth a watch - sort of an Australian Flashdance.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strictly_Ballroom

Or Dirty Dancing. But much better than either of those movies, which are both pure, unadulterated 1980s crap on a stick.

I remember after seeing Strictly Ballroom thinking we'd see more of Paul Mercurio, the star, but then he was in that godawful stupid movie Exit to Eden (the sole purpose of watching involved Dana Delaney and a pool) and that seems to have done him in.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Or Dirty Dancing. But much better than either of those movies, which are both pure, unadulterated 1980s crap on a stick.

I remember after seeing Strictly Ballroom thinking we'd see more of Paul Mercurio, the star, but then he was in that godawful stupid movie Exit to Eden (the sole purpose of watching involved Dana Delaney and a pool) and that seems to have done him in.

He was more a dancer and choreographer than an actor.

"Mercurio left the Sydney Dance Company in August 1992 to found the Australian Choreographic Ensemble which danced from 1992 to 1995, where he was the director, principal dancer and principal choreographer."

 

[RelentlessOnanism]

Are Americans familiar with the phrase 'dying on its arse'? Or presumably 'dying on its ass'? It means a thing that has seen better days; ie. 'Old Man Miller knew his grocery store was dying on its ass, as he hadn't seen more than a handful of customers in weeks’.

Or is it a purely British phrase?

 

[jaF0]

'Old Man Miller knew his grocery store was on its last legs ... '

'Old Man Miller knew his grocery store was getting long in the tooth ... '

 

[ElectricBlue]

Are Americans familiar with the phrase 'dying on its arse'? Or presumably 'dying on its ass'? It means a thing that has seen better days; ie. 'Old Man Miller knew his grocery store was dying on its ass, as he hadn't seen more than a handful of customers in weeks’.

Or is it a purely British phrase?

I'm pretty sure it's English English, not American English in that context. It's common in Australia too - you might fall on your ass, but the old car died in the arse and got towed away. Here in Oz both spellings get used; I think the Brits default to arse in all contexts. Sam will correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Rustyoznail]

I'm pretty sure it's English English, not American English in that context. It's common in Australia too - you might fall on your ass, but the old car died in the arse and got towed away. Here in Oz both spellings get used; I think the Brits default to arse in all contexts. Sam will correct me if I'm wrong.

I always thought "ass" was the American way to get around TV censors - like "Oh my gosh!"

 

[PennameWombat]

I always thought "ass" was the American way to get around TV censors - like "Oh my gosh!"

Nope. "Arse" has made some recent inroads in American English but is not 'native' to it. "Ass" is the word and wasn't adopted to avoid censorial objections and refers to both donkeys (the animals) and buttocks, depending on context. It's just one of those differences from Way Back When. I was in, I think, high school (late 1970s in the US) before I ever saw "arse" in print, it might've even been later than that.

An American would never say "don't ass about" but would say "get your ass in gear" (move!)

 

[jaF0]

What about 'box your ears'?


'If you don't straighten up, I'll box your ears!!'

 

[yowser]

What about 'box your ears'?

That's 'Boxing Day.'

 

[Handley_Page]

What about 'box your ears'?
'If you don't straighten up, I'll box your ears!!'

That's 'Boxing Day.'

A punishment not seen in the last 50 odd years, where a parent clips his errant kid round the side of the head (particularly the ear). Done right it can hurt. done wrong and it can cause permanent damage.

 

[VilHaMer]

I have some.

Brits quite often use the word "quite" instead of "pretty". So they'd say "quite often" in the UK and "pretty often" in the US.

Similarly, the word "rather" is used instead of "really". So it's "rather large" vs. "really big". Large and big are also worth mentioning there.

Brits also say "please" a lot more often, even when shopping. "Two Big Macs, please" is commonly used in the UK, while in America it's more something like "I'll have two Big Macs".