englishrose Posted October 27, 2007 Share Posted October 27, 2007 Gasp! It's quite tasty. Absolutely awful for your arteries, though. A friend of mine came up here from San Diego, and wouldn't go anywhere near it. I should fly to Montréal just to try their poutine... Yeah, cholesterol alert...lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babspanky Posted October 27, 2007 Share Posted October 27, 2007 Isn't there anything that American's say that confuses foreigners? We really are a boring people. The thing is, we get so many American TV programmes and films that we have a fair grasp of the differences, although I am sure that there are many more that I can't think of right now..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Posted October 27, 2007 Share Posted October 27, 2007 Wait, has anyone mentioned that over here, when we're drunk we say we're pissed, and other countries take it to mean we're mad? We use it in Holland too. Actually 'pissed' means drunk and 'pissed off' means mad. But some people say they are 'pissed' when they mean they're mad (which can be confusing indeed). There is a Dutch equivalent for 'pissed of' too - we say 'pissig' for mad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RosinaKiwi Posted October 29, 2007 Share Posted October 29, 2007 well according to my father he got called a limey (unsure of the spelling) over in California, by some Americans Conversation: A) "I know where you come from" N) "do you?" A) "yeah your a limey" N) "whats a limey?"................. My question to you Americans.....whats a limey? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
backflip_76 Posted October 29, 2007 Share Posted October 29, 2007 well according to my father he got called a limey (unsure of the spelling) over in California, by some Americans Conversation: A) "I know where you come from" N) "do you?" A) "yeah your a limey" N) "whats a limey?"................. My question to you Americans.....whats a limey? I must say, I've never heard that term used before. But I just found this on Wikipedia: Limey is an old American and Canadian slang nickname for the British, originally referring to British sailors. The term is believed to derive from lime-juicer, referring to the Royal Navy and Merchant Navy practice of supplying lime juice to British sailors to prevent scurvy in the 19th century. The term is derogatory in the sense that the British would be allegedly more preoccupied with the savings of limes over lemons which were traditionally used to prevent scurvy. The term is thought to have originated in the Caribbean in the 1880s. Interesting. At any rate, whoever told your father that he was a limey seemed to think that he was British, but he was wrong since you're from New Zealand... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lollipop_monkey Posted October 29, 2007 Share Posted October 29, 2007 Here's another one - my fiance's parents were talking about how when he was a toddler, they'd put very milky tea in his bottle. They swore this was common practice in the UK. So, for those who live there - would you agree with that, that parents often give their toddlers tea? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah_Lollipop Posted October 29, 2007 Share Posted October 29, 2007 Here's another one - my fiance's parents were talking about how when he was a toddler, they'd put very milky tea in his bottle. They swore this was common practice in the UK. So, for those who live there - would you agree with that, that parents often give their toddlers tea? I never heard that before! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted October 29, 2007 Share Posted October 29, 2007 Here's another one - my fiance's parents were talking about how when he was a toddler, they'd put very milky tea in his bottle. They swore this was common practice in the UK. So, for those who live there - would you agree with that, that parents often give their toddlers tea? I don't know about toddlers, but Lily Allen's gran likes her tea milky. http://youtube.com/watch?v=HxuhWNZ8Mw4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juju27 Posted December 17, 2007 Share Posted December 17, 2007 moi je voudrais bien etre ajouter what if we can say i love mika en trois langue? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkullyRox Posted December 17, 2007 Share Posted December 17, 2007 Has anyone seen this? The American guide to speaking British Some of them are hilarious! Here's another one - my fiance's parents were talking about how when he was a toddler, they'd put very milky tea in his bottle. They swore this was common practice in the UK. So, for those who live there - would you agree with that, that parents often give their toddlers tea?Most of the toddlers I know have milky tea-some have milky coffee.I know all my family used to do it-and it's not uncommon to see kiddies out and about with a bottle with it in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kk448 Posted December 17, 2007 Share Posted December 17, 2007 The only thing I can think of off the top of my head was when I was talking to a foreign exchange student at my school who was from Norway. She didn't have a ride after school so my dad and I took her to her host family's house. My dad asked me who made the basketball team and I said, "No one's been cut, yet," meaning everyone was still on the team. The poor girl thought that the girls literally were cut (like with a knife) if they weren't good enough. I noticed that she looked horrified and asked what was wrong and she said, "What do they cut the girls with? Can they do that?" And then I had to explain. I guess that's just a way that we use a verb not in it's literal meaning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guylainem123 Posted December 17, 2007 Share Posted December 17, 2007 I think that in France they call McDonald's "MacDo." At least that's what my French teacher told me, and she's from France. we call it mcdo in quebec as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guylainem123 Posted December 17, 2007 Share Posted December 17, 2007 Cookies and biscuits. Biscuits are the things that are made out of bread dough, and you stick them in the over, then take them out, cut them in half, and put butter on top. Cookies are the things with chocolate chips, peanut butter chunks, and oatmeal. because hubby speaks english, i know the difference between biscuits and cookies... however, to make matters worse, in french (which is what i am) biscuits means cookies ... see why my kids are completely messed up, poor things!!?? hahaha:naughty: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guylainem123 Posted December 17, 2007 Share Posted December 17, 2007 Ah yes thats a misunderstanding.. We dont have kangaroos roaming around everywhere (theres some up where I live, nearly hit one once, Canberra has lots etc) but mostly its certain places. Rural places mostly. The suburbs and the metro area doesnt have any apart from the zoo (and we dont ride them to school or have them deliver our mail, though we spread the rumours ) i remember asking the same question to a friend of mine that lives in perth, he explained it like this... it is just like our deer and caribous.. they are not everywhere, but can be hit when travelling. oh and by the way, we do not live in igloos in canada lol i've never really seen one ;o) (i used to get asked that question when i had penpals in my teenage years Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guylainem123 Posted December 17, 2007 Share Posted December 17, 2007 Another one I just learnt. 3/4s..as in jeans that sit about halway up the calves. Everyone I know calls them 3/4....I only rarely hear them called capris like the americans call them And another thing thongs in australia = flip flops. Not g-strings (which can lead to interesting conversations if you don't clarify that you're talking about shoes) lol i knew that one... my friend had told me! i though that was so funny! he had sent me a care package from aussie, in exchange for one from canada. i sent him maple syrup & he sent me vegemite!!! OMG that stuff is.. i don't know ... very hard to describe! i'm sure it takes an acquired taste! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guylainem123 Posted December 17, 2007 Share Posted December 17, 2007 I should fly to Montréal just to try their poutine... mmmm poutine!! we have all kinds now... italian poutine (which is with spaghetti sauce), chicken poutine, poutine with hotdogs in them etc... myself, i prefer the regular poutine... once in a while, not too often though! i prefer good old french fries with mayo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artsyfartsy17 Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 Hey hey, haven't been here in a while but I wanted to bring this up, because I just discovered it: When there's a party held at a school with music and dancing etc., american kids call it a dance. But I've heard UK kids call it a disco. Anyone call it anything else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 I was just thinking about this the other day. Because in so many lyrics in British songs, they talk about dancing at/going to discos. And I was like "...wtf is with the brits and their disco?" Another three I've noticed: Fit. Here, if someone's "fit", it means they're in good physical shape, i.e. healthy. If a Brit calls someone "fit", it means they're just good looking. Cow. Here, a cow is usually a fat woman. There, it's apparently just a woman with a horrible personality...? And well. You crazy little Brits put 'well' in front of everything. "That's well nice. You look well pretty. I'm well excited." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah_loves_mika Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 Hey hey, haven't been here in a while but I wanted to bring this up, because I just discovered it: When there's a party held at a school with music and dancing etc., american kids call it a dance. But I've heard UK kids call it a disco. Anyone call it anything else? Yes! we call it a disco! We used to have 3 every year, Halloween, Valentines and End of Year. It was amazing!! I can't think of anything right now, you know, the things we say differently. Theyre probably already said! It differs in the UK too. What can be called one thing here in Yorkshire say, can be called another down in London. It's weird. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babspanky Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 I was just thinking about this the other day. Because in so many lyrics in British songs, they talk about dancing at/going to discos. And I was like "...wtf is with the brits and their disco?" Another three I've noticed: Fit. Here, if someone's "fit", it means they're in good physical shape, i.e. healthy. If a Brit calls someone "fit", it means they're just good looking. Cow. Here, a cow is usually a fat woman. There, it's apparently just a woman with a horrible personality...? And well. You crazy little Brits put 'well' in front of everything. "That's well nice. You look well pretty. I'm well excited." That's well interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah_loves_mika Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 I was just thinking about this the other day. Because in so many lyrics in British songs, they talk about dancing at/going to discos. And I was like "...wtf is with the brits and their disco?" Another three I've noticed: Fit. Here, if someone's "fit", it means they're in good physical shape, i.e. healthy. If a Brit calls someone "fit", it means they're just good looking. Cow. Here, a cow is usually a fat woman. There, it's apparently just a woman with a horrible personality...? And well. You crazy little Brits put 'well' in front of everything. "That's well nice. You look well pretty. I'm well excited." A Masterclass in British slang: That lad is fit, but his girlfriend is a stupid Cow! She's well mean! I well hate her! That dress she's wearing is nowt but spit and glue! ..... Im well looking forward to the Valentines Disco... Im dead excited! bla bla hehe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 Oi, don't take the piss out of me. now i'm well gutted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artsyfartsy17 Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 Oi, don't take the piss out of me. now i'm well gutted. I have no idea what you just said. For the longest time, I would hear people say "take the mick out of" on here and was totally clueless as to what they meant. Then Mika said in an interview that the schoolkids used to take the mickey out of him. Does it mean tease or beat up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babspanky Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 I have no idea what you just said. For the longest time, I would hear people say "take the mick out of" on here and was totally clueless as to what they meant. Then Mika said in an interview that the schoolkids used to take the mickey out of him. Does it mean tease or beat up? It means to take the piss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babspanky Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 It does mean tease, really. Sometimes it can mean tease in jokey way and sometimes in a cruel way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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