English, American, Indian, Oz, Kiwi, is it all English?! - Page 4

weejeem · #61 22.10.2009, 13:10

	Quote:	la_canadiense
	they also mean the same in Ireland. ....

Eh? "To be p1ssed" means "To be angry" in Ireland?

Oi tink yer man's tockin shoit ...

.

mabern · #62 22.10.2009, 13:26

Unless you are really pissed and on top of it have been watching too many hours of rubbish on TV, you might just forget your roots and think you are angry instead of drunk. Solved by only drinking in good bars with stimulating conversation.

Rangatiranui · #63 09.12.2011, 09:24

Imagine what it would be like if you were suddenly dropped from America into England. Suddenly "bloody" would be a swear word not a description of a crime scene. "Pissed" would not be angry but drunk. "Dear" would mean expensive, not beloved. "Potty" isn't a toilet but a state of mind; "public school" is private school, and "fancy" is a verb.

This is a quote from a book I am currently reading- House Rules by Jodi Picoult. (She also wrote "My sisters keeper") It is supposedly how a person with aspergers feels.

I thought it was cool

olygirl · #64 09.12.2011, 09:41

Try saying

"I'm pissed and need a fag or I'll go potty. Do you have one?"

in America and see the reaction you get.

Now that would be a red, white and blue experience!

global_citizen · #65 09.12.2011, 10:30

	Quote:	misscaroline71
	Another favourite of Americanism I have is:- "Soup or Salad" to which I responded - No, I dont want a supersalad thankyou.

I just had to share this...

How does this work?

and this...

How does this work?

runningdeer · #66 09.12.2011, 10:52

	Quote:	Rangatiranui
	Imagine what it would be like if you were suddenly dropped from America into England. Suddenly "bloody" would be a swear word not a description of a crime scene. "Pissed" would not be angry but drunk. "Dear" would mean expensive, not beloved. "Potty" isn't a toilet but a state of mind; "public school" is private school, and "fancy" is a verb. This is a quote from a book I am currently reading- House Rules by Jodi Picoult. (She also wrote "My sisters keeper") It is supposedly how a person with aspergers feels. I thought it was cool

And Randy is no longer a boys' name.

JonnyLaRock! · #67 09.12.2011, 12:50

	Quote:	Rangatiranui
	So the Swiss think we are all "English speaking". I beg to differ! There are many differences in the every day use of our language where we can get quite confused. I always get caught out by my English friends when I ask my son to put on his pants. He wears them on the outside. Always! Not only when he is dressing up as Superman! Take the simple verb - to pss. To be on the pss, to get pssed, to be pssed, to take the pss, and to be pssed on, can means a variety of different things in different country. (To those who don't understand - either to be drinking, get drunk, angry, to make a fool of, to be urinated on (or to have been "mean" to) ..) How can we teach English here? The poor students will be brainwashed into thinking the teachers way is the only way! The only hope they have is to realise that, just as every village here has a different dialect, so do no two English speakers agree on anything. Do you have problems communicating with other people who think they can speak your language? When you ask for a pen, do they expect you to start sewing? Can you hear the difference between Truck and Chuck? Or should that be written Chook? What happens at your place of work? Does the Boss get you to correct his/her Powerpoint presentations- and you correct the American spelling?

Based on the above effort I bloody well hope you're not teaching anyone English!

golly · #68 09.12.2011, 14:17

	Quote:	misscaroline71
	Why is a wombat like a man? Because he eats roots and leaves.

Seeing as this thread has been bought back to life, I feel someone has to correct this.

It's
Because he eats roots, shoots and leaves.

slammer · #69 09.12.2011, 14:31

	Quote:	golly
	Seeing as this thread has been bought back to life, I feel someone has to correct this. It's Because he eats roots, shoots and leaves.

He! He! Dats downunder slang for ´avin a shag.
Best one for me was arranging to pick up my american collegue for the next day by saying that I would "knock him up at seven"

TidakApa · #70 09.12.2011, 14:35

	Quote:	olygirl
	Try saying "I'm pissed and need a fag or I'll go potty. Do you have one?" in America and see the reaction you get. Now that would be a red, white and blue experience!

"My daughters are just about to go to school so I bought them new thongs and put rubbers in their pencil cases"

(only in Australia)

On the other hand........ should an American go to school in Australia:
"My daughter roots for the highschool football team"

that's not going to go down well

I also know of a backpackers at Agnes waters in Queensland Australia called "Banana Benders"

They had a T-Shirt which said "Bent in Queensland"
........ this didn't sell too well with the English lads.

('Bent' is a Queensland expression for being stoned on drugs)

Crofty · #71 11.12.2011, 19:42

After my first trans-Atlantic flight (I hate flying), I arrived exhausted in Chicago with three hours to kill before our onward flight to California. Then I saw a sign to what I thought was a fantastic American innovation - "rest rooms". Somewhere I could lie down and doze, rather than trying to nap on those awful airport seats.

You cannot imagine my disappointment on entering the "rest room". Not a sofa in sight!

araqyl · #72 12.12.2011, 17:27

	Quote:	Crofty
	After my first trans-Atlantic flight (I hate flying), I arrived exhausted in Chicago with three hours to kill before our onward flight to California. Then I saw a sign to what I thought was a fantastic American innovation - "rest rooms". Somewhere I could lie down and doze, rather than trying to nap on those awful airport seats. You cannot imagine my disappointment on entering the "rest room". Not a sofa in sight!

I must say, during a big night out eating red-hot curries, "resting" was definitely no part of what I did in a "rest room"!