Reply With QuoteGotten. I despise that.
Super. No, its not 'super' nice etc.
Grrrr
As above.
Whilst old British sayings seem to be in the decline as per the previous thread they seem to have been replaced by American ones like.....
Go figure
Do the Math
Step up to the plate
Dude
Jump the shark etc etc.
I must admit that I have seen all of the above on here.
I love America and Americana but not so the replacement of our native tongue with foreign colloquialisms.
What say you?
Cheers,
Neil.
Gotten. I despise that.
Super. No, its not 'super' nice etc.
Grrrr
I want to stab myself with a compass every time I hear myself say "can I get" ..aaargh
Anybody who says that they're "Super-excited" about anything should be put against a wall and machine-gunned.
Twice.
Just to make sure.
Although no trees were harmed during the creation of this post, a large number of electrons were greatly inconvenienced.
American sayings taking over? I could care less.
That one is the very worst; why don't they understand that it means the opposite of what they're trying to say.Originally Posted by hogthrob
I like to take a crap in the head.
“ my bad” is one that really annoys me but nowhere near as much as people saying “so” at the start of every bloody sentence!!
As previously said “can I get” is another really annoying one but there are bigger issues to worry about these days.
Can we go already
Such as 'from the get go', 'in the day' 'three times' or, and no disrespect intended to our American users, 'have a nice day' used to drive me bonkers when the burger bars first introduced it -
saying "like" at least three times in any sentence 🤦*♂️
Does being instructed to "enjoy" upon being served one's supper when dining out qualify ?? Irritates me rather.
I upset one American last year when I was on a river cruise in Germany (70% of the passengers were American) when I told him that GW Bush, Bill Clinton and Donald Trump had the grammatical ability of an average 12 year schoolboy from the lower forms.
I recall GW Bush saying that something was "more nicer" and I have never forgotten that.
The current expression of " I am super excited" makes me cringe.
Last edited by Mick P; 1st March 2019 at 18:31.
Frikkin' A !!
"Reach out to"
Why would you say that rather that, for example, "contact"??
There does appear to be some difficulty with the basics. I've heard "burglarized" used, rather than "burgled", the logic being that the act was committed by a burglar....
I know, right?
According to the OED they've been using burglarized in the US since 1871. I don't think you'll get anywhere by pointing out 'the basics'.
Ballpark.
Have a nice day.
Bought the farm.
More bang for your buck.
Take a raincheck.
Y'all.
Brownie points.
Sneakers.
The whole nine yards.
Prom.
Ten four.
Touch base.
Take a rain check.
R
Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.
Trick or treat.
I always thought 'the whole 9 yards' came via the infantry in WW1 when a length of British machine gun bullets was 9 yards long, so giving the enemy 'the whole 9 yards' however I could easily be wrong.
n2
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
I think it's something to do with baseball, however I could be wrong too. It was certainly in America that I first heard it used though.
There's a lot of other colloquialisms that I've heard only in America, but they are only used within regional/states and haven't 'jumped the pond' so to speak. One I did find myself using back here was 'fixin', as in "Im fixiin' to go out for a beer tonight'', but the ridicule I received when using it soon 'put paid to it'.
R
Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.
Double aarrgh! Example in a fast food outlet:
Man in front: "Can I get a Big Mac meal please."
Me: "It's not self service mate, part of what you pay includes them getting it for you."
My wife: "stop being a pedant"
My kids: "can we get coke with our happy meals?"
Me: "AAARGH"
I don't know if it's an Americanism or just lazy grammar but even people just asking for things prefaced with "Can I have...". Well yes, you probably can.
It's PLEASE MAY I HAVE.
Also, a correct answer to "How are you doing?" (or variant of) is not "I'm good".
And fist bumps. Anyone over 30 shouldn't have to engage in a fist bump. They're awkward and uneccessary.
Neither are americanisms.
And yet, they abbreviate other words
”Acclimated” instead of acclimatised
”Oriented” instead of orientated
Not sayings but can't understand why Americans pronounce certain words so differently, e.g: "Route"; "Solder"; "Aluminium"...
Where did starting a reply with 'So' originate??
It gets on my wazz
Let's ask an American:
I always find myself saying "Don't worry, they'll get it for you".
The two that surprised me were discombobulation and fair-to-middling.
In the Sotadic Zone, apparently.
As with many ‘Americanisms’, ‘oriented’ is actually the original, and in some sense, correct form. Both forms are now recognised.
‘Can I get?’ instead of ‘May I have?’ really does irritate me.
Also, when did we start saying that we lived was ‘on’ a particular street, rather than ‘in’ a street?
Totally awesome thread
"Big Dog" rather than an influential or powerful person.
May have something to do with how cloth was sold in the 1800's and 1900's in 9 yard long bolts, a good suit used the whole 9 yards. Possibly some relationship to the expression 'Dressed to the nines'.
my understanding, and could be wrong, but 'fixin' is used generally of an endeavour requiring a special effort, requiring a girding of ones loins, so to speak, rather than a prosaic occurrence. But who knows with septics, covfefe anyone.
Last edited by Passenger; 2nd March 2019 at 11:34.
Some people are trying hard to (re)educate:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8Gv0H-vPoDc
It's a constant battle with my son to keep him from slipping into bad habits. But then I remember my parents correcting my dropped t's h's and other perceived linguistic errors. As the earlier link to a video shows, language has always been in flux.
From the " get go" wtf is that all about.
Even the Yanks know when a hyphen is necessary...link.
I haven't heard anyone over here say "different than" yet, but it's surely just a matter of time.
Infantry bullets 9 yards long?
That’s an 18 foot / 8.2 metres long piece of ammo, unlikely
Phrase equivalent to "Everything that is available." Has nothing to do with football.
In fact, the phrase comes from the fact that fighter planes are equipped with belt-fed machine guns.
When the belts are laid out before loading, they measure nine yards in length. If a pilot were to empty his plane's guns into a target, he'd be giving it the "whole nine yards."
^^^ this ^^^
I think you mean “let’s AXE an American”.....👍
Sorry for your loss, bugs me.....
Oh how we laughed,,,
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
Thanks for clearing that up.
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
The use of "y'all" i.e. 'how y'all doing' infuriates me. It annoys me that the word annoys me so much!
Last edited by Gerald Genta; 2nd March 2019 at 16:12.
This thread is so totally awesome it's knocked it out the park.
It’s a bitchin thread alright....
Aluminum is a different word.
That’s not what he said.
That’s what he said albeit relating it to machine guns in WW1.
It’s not much of a stretch of the imagination to suggest that 9 yards was the standard length from the munitions factory and this standard was also used when machine guns were added to aircraft.
I annoys me too.
Especially when used by Brits on US forums.
Cheers,
Neil.
Looks like I'm way off the mark but my interpretation was that the round, in flight, would stretch for 9 yards!
"My bad"
I'd never know when to pop that into a conversation I ever have.
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