American Reacts to Americanisms That Really Annoy British People
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- Äas pĆidĂĄn 2. 07. 2023
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In this video I react to the top 10 Americanisms that really annoy British people. Do Brits really think American words and phrases are this annoying? LOL
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The I could care less phrase drives me insane,I hate it with a passion.đ
Me too!
It only makes sense if it's "I couldn't cars less"!!
I think âon accidentâ is a close second
I could care less what words people use.
@@c_n_b So you still care a little bit, then.
My pet peeve is when Americans say "addicting" instead of "addictive". Drives me bonkers!
"I love coffee, it's so addicting!" No! It's addictive! đ
Addicting sounds like a verb, right?. Like the coffee is performing the action of addicting you to it.
I've always hated that too haha đ
Yeah thatâs annoying. I saw Jersey shore back in the day and they used the term âromanticalâ.
Not all of us say it like that, đ. But your right it is annoying.
100%. Same here.
I am Dutch living in the UK now for 17 years, and from personal experience, the 'have a nice day' does not get said without prompted, often by someone at the check out. They will say 'have a nice day/weekend' and you'll reply 'Thanks, you too.' That's about it. A delivery person at the door will get a 'cheers, bye' .
Someone already mentioned "addicting" vs "addictive", that winds me up too. The other one that really grates for me is "I did it on accident". No you didn't, you did it BY accident.
ON purpose, BY accident.
Steve: "I do like to speak proper"
UK&I watchers: đŹ
Properly. Dropping the -ly from adjectives (edit: adverbs) is also an Americanism.
I said properly at the screen when watching đđđ
Yes a describing word after a verb is an adverb and a lot end in ly
I instantly said that to myself while I noted the irony.
While you are correct in terms of actual English grammar, itâs not necessarily an Americanism itself. If you are from Birmingham/the Black Country youâd hear phrases such as âE dow spake properâ (he doesnât speak properly) or âyow need to goo n put your shirt on properâ (you need to go and put your shirt on properly) which has probably been a way of talking as long as America has existed
see i do understand what you're saying, but english people also say "went down shop" for "i went down to the shop" so i can't be too mad about americans dropping -ly XD
"I could care less" means that you do care, because you're stating that you could, if necessary, care less than you currently do.
Yes, Americans also say "that sucks" but might equally say "that blows", a synonym that sounds like it should be an antonym.
I want to scream when I hear that one.
@@Phiyedough both very possitive actions, to describe a bad thing
âDoveâ always gets to meâŠ.as in he dove into the pool.
He âdivedâ into the pool
People saying "on accident" instead of "by accident" drives me crazy.
Whenever I hear people say "I could care less" I instantly think of Word Crimes by Weird Al... that means you do care, at least a little đ
We say, 'Thankyou, bye!" For all I know, the delivery driver might be going to his mother's funeral.
Haha, true. Unless, of course, he hated his mother.
The only Americanism that annoys me is when they say a home has been "burglarized". In the UK we say "burgled". Much shorter and easier to say! đ
Not to me it ain't!
Up here we just say house was broken into
Iâve only been hearing âburglarisedâ for the last few years but now it comes up more and more.
Actually, "burglar" has existed since before the verb "to burgle" was back-formed from it. The same way a father doesn't "fath", a sister doesn't "sist", a vicar doesn't "vic" and water doesn't "wat" - a burglar never used to "burgle". The idea that a "burglar" should be the agent-noun of the hitherto-nonexistent verb "to burgle" just never caught on in American English.
They invented the word burglarize. Stupid yanks.
I think you brought up the perfect example for the first one - "waiting on the bus" definitely comes across as you're on the bus and waiting for it to reach your destination, rather than at the bus stop waiting for it to come by.
You're such a nice guy, you reflect curiously without criticism to yourself or others. A refreshing listen.
My Americanism that appears to make no sense is when they call a BUOY, as in a 'float' in the sea or on a river, to warn of a hidden danger, direct boats or for many other uses... a BOO-EE !? We Brits pronounce it the same as a male child - BOY, because it comes from the word BUOYANT (as in to float or be 'buoyed up'). So saying 'boo-ee' is weird. đ
That goes right along with their pronunciation of "quay" as "kway"
AH! đź Then it is YOUR (the brittish) fault I flunked english grammar in University. I could not for the life of me audibly hear a difference between the word bouy and boy... and it made me give up completely. I am now firmly on the American side of how to pronounce buoy.
@@Rachel_M_ Jesus, booee and kway, our poor language đ
@@evawettergren7492
I see you flunked spelling as well... đIt's spelt (American 'spelled') BUOY!
@@evawettergren7492 I see you are on your own side of spelling British.
For millenia the ground floor was literally the ground, hard packed and then covered with rushes, the 'threshold' you cross was literally what kept the threshings in. So the actual 'first floor' you built was one level up. Not only were you entering at ground level it was made of 'the ground'.
A video by Chewks explained it perfectly. âSo if the basement is -1, where is your 0?â
Their lifts go from -1 straight to 1.
Also it would be seen as first floor up
I understand if the "ground" isn't supposed to be a floor, if Floor can only refer to a constructed one, therefore can't be the first one. But the moment it becomes the Ground Floor, this overrides that last argument, and now it IS called a floor, then it's now the first one. It doesn't make sense to me.
Now the only reason for calling the second one the "First Floor" is tradition, getting mad that other people don't follow the same traditions is not something I sympathize with.
I'm not from the US by the way.
@@SergioLeRoux I think the annoyance is from the fact of if in my house if i called something differently or nicknamed it completely by tradition or call for example oranges and satsumas the other way around people are either mislead as in told wrong one or have no clue because I called Turkey the ugly bird meat conveying false or unneeded confusing information is not a good thing if I told you to go buy a list of food but everything on the list is in a language you dont understand the lit is entirely useless and you didn't see the list was uncomprehensive to you until at the shop that won't make you happy
@@SergioLeRoux and it not being a tradition but a over difference of view is important to know well yes the first floor you stand on will be the ground floor as it is the floor equal to the ground the floor above is the first floor up or the first additional floor as in level because you don't call a 10 floor building with a basement a 11 floor building in America it would be reffered to as 10 stories high but still known as floors as the whole space not just what you are standing on that's why elevators/lifts use the floor system in the first place they are called floors from the floor to ceiling even if the ceiling is the underside of the next floor up
I saw a brilliant quote, drive 100 miles in America and you're still in the same state. 100 miles in the UK and you've crossed 5 counties, the accent has changed twice and the name of bread rolls has changed four times đ Bread rolls in the UK have different names depending on where you are in the country and what's in them.
If youâve crossed 5 counties the accents will have changed a lot more than twice! đ
Literally!!!
It's one of my favourite things about the UK but hard to convey to other English speakers just how distinct two accents are only 10 miles apart say.
Also weirdly - how those with the closest accent to yours aren't always your neighbours.
Blackpool Vs Preston for e.g. is like two tribes
..but weirdly Blackpool Vs Cheshire or Sheffield...and I ask where they're from.
P.s. barmcakes ftw.
People who call them cobs should be drowned in them .
@@Alex-zs7gw Down between Birmingham and Worcester, and barmcake was something I only heard for the first time a few years ago, lol. Mostly 'rolls' around here. Cob seems to specifically be crusty, cheese and onion, and from a pub locally đ
When people talk about British Culture (which seems to be mandatory at times) I always chime in with "Absurdity". We are such a wonderfully diverse collection of absurdities, sarcasm and imagination. We should celebrate it more. Have a National Absurdity Day.
@@willdrew938 Bap.
Tempted to leave it there, but I should say it's in North Wales.
I love how genuinely confused you were about the fact that we would just say âthanks, byeâ and close the door, we wouldnât say it as abruptly as you made it sound, we would say it with a smile, maybe a small wave but you donât have to say âhave a great dayâ to a complete stranger every time you interact with them, if it was a good friend or family member we are more likely to say âlove you, or see you soon!â Or mention what they have planned like âbye, enjoy the concert!â Or something but if it is just a delivery or takeaway we would just say âthanks, byeâ and thatâs perfectly acceptable here
Then there's that relative or friend that you get into the 'Alright, Bye, See You, Alright, Bye, See You' loop with when trying to end a phone call đ€Łđ€Łđ€Ł
The one they didn't list that bugs me is "On accident" we use "By accident" It's the same problem as "Waiting on" It doesn't sound right.
Today I heard 'prideful'. I think they meant proud.
On accident drives me nuts on accident sounds to me like they meant to do it, by accident like we say it sounds more like it was 'an accident.'
' You do the math ' drives me mad!!!
Or does it drive you quite mad?
Consider it as an admission that the person saying "You do the math" is choosing not to finish the full sentence, which is "You do the maths because I'm incapable of thinking that hard".
Me too; even to the point of editing my computer menu to "Maths"! đ
I think it's Jimmy Carr that says 'We call it Maths, because we do it more than once' :D
"I do like to speak proper"
I literally rolled my eyes. đ
Same đ
The phrase "Have a nice day" was used as a slogan by Mcdonald's restaurants in the 1980s and 90s. When you purchase was finished, the cashier was instructed to bid you farewell with a smile and, "Have a nice day." However, most workers at Mcdonald's would say it with a tone that implied, "I hate my job, I hate my life, please help me end it," while smiling like hide the pain Harold.
When an Amazon driver drops me off a delivery, I say, âCheers mate!â Thatâs all that needs to be said.
In the UK the word 'pants' is an abbreviation of 'under-pants' or 'undies'. A man can get into a lot of trouble asking a lady about what 'pants' she is wearing. What you guys in the US call pants we call trousers or jeans if they are made of denim. As for alternative facts, we simply call them lies.
nope pants shortened from the word Pantaloons
Alternative facts or 'falsehoods' are lies or simply not true.
@@kathnunan641. You are right.
â@@kathnunan641pđ
The pants thing isn't universally true. Parts of the North use pants in much the same way as Americans.
Pantaloons and knickerbockers are both similar, and were interchangeably used in the UK to refer to the undergarments they resembled. (They were terms from two of our former invaders for the leg coverings that ended at the knees, as many forms of underwear did, including my English teacher's pink ones back in the 70s) These then became known as pants or knickers. Knickers generally got used more to describe female pants, but nowadays pants gets used for both.
When I was a kid in the 90âs my sister and I were watching an episode of Friends, where Joey gets kicked off a massage table by the masseuse.
The masseuse shouts out âhe touched my fanny!â
Well, we fell about laughing đ
'I give/gave 110%'; ' I am 110% sure', is the Americanism that really gets my back up, maybe it is because they only study a math, and not maths :)
You can have 110% of something. It means you have everything and a bit more. I wouldnât call it an Americanism. People here say it loads, especially footballers.
@@amyw6808 It as only become used in the UK in recent times, due to it been used in the US media, so much. Percentages are akin to faractions, they are a part of the whole of a finate system, the capcity of which is 100%. You can not therefore give more than 100%. The only time , I know of, you can have a percentage higher than 100% is when calculating certain variables in 'time', from an earlier date to a later date, such as in economics.
@@amyw6808 100% is all you can possibly have or give, however much more you think you have or can give is still your 100%. If you want more than you have you do not have 100% of what you want. If you have more than you need it's excess. 100%+ is only a comparison to an earlier figure.
What, even the 'mathicians'?
đYep, I'll try so hard I'm going to to give it 110 out of a maximum 100,you cannot have more of a finite capacity, it winds me up as well, on a scale of 1-10 I'd give it 12đ€Łđ
The one that always grinds my gears is Americans asking someone to "Borrow me that" you don't borrow someone something, you borrow something from someone, what they do is lend/loan you it lol
Also, regarding the alternative fact thing, that's something I've never heard an average American say, I've also only heard it on the news, what I do often hear from Americans however are the words "My truth" which is more or less the same thing because much like how a fact is a fact and doesn't care about your feelings, there is no your truth or my truth, there is only THE truth. "My truth" basically reads as "I know this isn't what happened, but this is the story I'm running with because it fits my narrative"
And they say "bring" where we would say "take".
They say "can you borrow me" in parts of Bristol, UK too! It used to drive me mad.
Southern American here, I have never said that, but I I'm sure black americans have" borrow me that"
Any time someone says 'I could care less' the only valid response is 'so you do care.'
I think the 1st floor thing is probably because you walk in on the ground floor, as you are still on the same level as the ground.... you then go up 1 flight of stairs so you reach the 1st floor up.
If you went down, you go to -1 or basement level 1. - so the same but going down a floor.
Kind of like having a floor zero (ground) as the starting point.
Everything annoys us British people but don't worry, we love nothing better than a good moan đ
No. Stuffy, middle-aged, Facebook-addicted Daily Mail readers love a good moan. I'm tired of this stereotype and culture and being insufferable in this country, which is why I'm trying to combat it in this comments section
So why is 'good moaning' a common greeting early in the day in France ?
@@kumasenlac5504 i wanna slap you for that, you caught me off guard with that.
This blooming weather!!đ
Bloody liar đ
From British comedian Milton Jones.....
"I was over in the States last month. I really got into the culture.
A shop assistant told me to Have a Nice Day.
And I didn't.
So I sued him. '
When it comes to saying goodbye to each other, we Brits are notoriously bad at it. Sometimes ending a phone call can take longer than the actual conversation.
Perhaps that's why we get annoyed with "have a nice day", it's a conversation terminator and seems abrupt.
I am in Australia, I think being told to have a good day is patronising. When someone says to me have a nice day. I think OH shit why did I not think of that. Having a nice day, what a great idea. I am being a bit synical, but that is how it strikes me. I would just say goodbye or see you later. I never tell someone to have a nice day, like they never thought of that by themselves.
When someone says "Have a nice day" to me, I usually reply "Thanks, but I have other plans"
I went into Costa for a break after spending hours at my mumâs bedside in hospital - I knew she wouldnât be coming out and it was clear from my face Iâd spent time crying. To then be told by the barista to âhave a nice dayâ was insensitive. Donât tell people to âhave a nice/great dayâ - you have no idea what day they are actually having, itâs fake and insincere!
Fellow Aussie here. "Have a good one" is a fairly common one I hear, and is generally taken quite well, whereas "Have a nice day" is generally interpreted as "F*** you buddy". I'll usually wish delivery drivers etc safe travels or "Drive/stay safe"
I'm digressing slightly. I hate it when someone says Cheer up, it might never happen. Someone said that to me just a couple of weeks following the death of my husband. My retort was It already has happened.
The Americanism that has crept into Britain in the last 20 years or so that annoys me the most is "Can I get" or "Please can I get". When a person walks into a shop and says to the assistant "Can I get a xxx?". I just feel like saying, "No, you stay there and let them get it!" . this is becoming used in Britain more and more, and it annoys me profusely!
Yeah it should be can I have.
Can I get? That just sounds rude to me.
Drives me mad! I always say 'Can I have' or 'I would like', always accompanied by 'please'.
But "can I have" doesn't make any sense. You can't have it - you can buy it, but you can't just have it.
Omg yes!! I worked in a shop for donks and would grit my teeth when somebody would say "can I get", especially without a pleaseđđ
The I could care less one is a pet peeve of mine so many people in youtube comments use it and it annoys me so much.
that is the only one that annoys me .
@@peterwilliamson5953 Or does it quite annoy you?
@@robertstallard7836 no , it very annoys me lol
@@robertstallard7836 It terribly annoys me too
I've even heard Jordan Peterson say it. And he's highly educated. And not even from the US. It's a mind-worm and has infected the English language!
I mean, you don't hear anyone saying "I could give a shit" ... or do you? :'D
The "have a nice day" thing is because, in McDonald's, they used to insist that the servers MUST say "have a nice day" when you leave.
What annoys Brits is insincerity. If you're forcing someone to say "have a nice day" - and they probably don't mean it - then we'd rather they said nothing.
The comedian David Mitchell's got a bit where he talks about this.
Where he's on a train, it's raining and miserable weather outside, and then the ticket inspector comes to check the train tickets of the passengers, and his company is forcing him to smile and say "have a nice trip" and all that for "customer service".
And he's right that Brits value sincerity and genuineness above all.
Look, it's a miserable day. The weather's awful. Your job is a bit shit. If you're feeling miserable - as your face and tone of voice is clearly telling me is what's really going on here - then please just acknowledge that. It's fine, as we all have bad days and I sympathise.
Indeed, I've had conversations with bus drivers and shop assistants that, yeah, that aspect of their job must be really irritating and we conclude that, you know, it's a job and it's what you do to make an income.
And that's the kind of talk Brits prefer. Actually talking to another human being as a human being... warts and all.
Sincerity is a rare beast and it's highly prized in the UK.
So when American "customer service" with forced "have a nice day" catchphrases and forced smiles came over the Pond, this really did irritate Brits.
Stop doing that. In fact, if you're making your employees lie about this, then what else are they lying about? Is the kitchen a hygiene nightmare but you're making them lie about that as well? Like, once you start this fakery, then we get suspicious. What else is this company not being honest about? What else are they trying to hide behind a fake smile and pretending like life is Disneyland?
No, sorry, I don't want to talk to some robot "yes man" who'll agree and be nice about everything.
Brits be keepin' it real, yo.
If you're feeling miserable, because you have a shit job and low pay, then please acknowledge it. Because I've been there too myself and had miserable days as well.
Don't pretend to be happy when you're not. Don't be all "preppy" when your job sucks.
We Brits value sincerity very highly. Acknowledge reality and be yourself. Faking and pretending is very frowned upon. You're essentially lying to me right now, and that's NOT appreciated. What else are you lying about, liar?
So, no, don't tell me to "have a nice day", unless you actually mean it. If what you're really feeling is "fuck my life, I'm not paid enough for this shit" then, seriously, just say so. We've all been there on bad days. It's fine and even preferred, in the UK, that you moan and complain and get that misery off your chest.
Or, put another way, Brits HATE corporate manipulation. Bullshit advertising lies that aren't remotely true. Companies pretending like they're your friend, companies pretending that they care. Fake smiling at you. But all they really want is the dollars in your wallet.
(Now, if they're providing good service and meeting your needs for that money, then everything's fine. We don't need to be the best of friends with corporations. Their products do not need to bring about World Peace - and can you stop the lying TV ads that pretend like that's going to happen because folks are drinking Coke?
Well, by now, as I'm moaning and complaining about it enough, you get the gist. Brits HATE, HATE, HATE that corporate manipulation bullshit. It got imported into the UK from America, and we want to send it right back again, thank you very much. Americans are welcome. Sincere wishes of "Have a Nice Day" are appreciated and they make my day, when they're genuinely meant. But this corporate bullshit can happily piss off. It was a very unwelcome American import. We don't want it. Please take it back.)
To be clear, it's not people sincerely saying "have a nice day" at the end of a conversation. Friends wishing each other well. Of course that's fine.
It's the corporate bullshit of making employees act like they're your best friend. And they're not. And they don't want to be. And it's wrong to make that some condition and policy of their work.
If you mean it, that's fine and appreciated. It's the fake "plastic" corporate bullshit. Like the abstract concept that is a corporation can be a friend, and can have feelings to care. Of course not. A corporation is not a sentient being. It's not a person. It has no capability to do that, as a corporation. Stop lying. Be real. We'll still buy your products and services, if you're doing a good job of it for a decent price.
Underwear is still used in the UK but is used to encompass all garments worn under your outer clothing. Meaning, "pants" (the British version), bras and socks all together. Also vests/"tank-tops" when work underneath a t-shirt or something for extra warmth.
We say "have a nice day" when we genuinely wish you a nice day, not because we've been told to say it. New York was bad for this, the horribly fake and insincere way these phrases are dished out at customer service desks ends up having the opposite effect, like you don't matter.
In essence,,Itâs all in the sincerity of the utterance Steve.
I just say "see you later"
See you soon is much nicer.
"Thanks", "Thank you" and "Cheers" generally does the job. And yes I have experienced that "special" New York "have a nice day"....
I was visiting a friend from Uni who had moved to NYC and in one store the inflection in his voice when giving the have a nice day line was unusual so I asked him about it. He said he hated the use of the phrase when it is so often repeated parrot fashion so as to be meaningless. In his view the way he was saying it to an obnoxious sales person was a very obvious "#@ÂŁk you"
Yes, this is totally fine if it's sincere.
As a British person I personally donât care as long as someone American doesnât pick my vocabulary apart, thatâs when I get annoyed đ
You mentioned how different places in the UK may have different words for a single thing. Well just ask everyone what they call a "bread roll" and whatch it kick off. đ
đ im from Derbyshire and when I went to a greggs in London ( a shop thats very rare there) and i asked for a sausage cob she looked at me as if I was speaking another language đ¶ đ
Lol, the floor one made me chuckle. You need to realise that all of these conventions in the English language and society existed prior to the US as a country.so, even though something like the âfloorsâ might not make sense to you, doesnât it make more sense that the originators of the language and the societal norms would be the ones that are correct? đ
Did he mention âfannyâ..? Thatâs a conversation in itself!!đđ
Dropping the H when pronouncing the word herbs grates on me, its herbs not urbs
The h was silent in British English until the 19th century as well. The word comes from the old French 'erbe'
The Americans are copying the French, which has an e which they donât use. The French word means grass.
Another word Americans can't seem to say correctly are place names ending 'brugh' example Edinburgh ,Scarborough, the American pronounce 'burrow ' it really grates .lol đ€Ź
The French word is "herbe"!
The three words that grate on my nerves are oregano, basil and aluminium
I love your confusion over Brits not saying "Have a nice day.". We basically do just say goodbye (or whatever our version is - see you later, bye bye, etc.) Probably with a "cheers" in there. In fact, the goodbye isn't even always required. In a shop it wouldn't be uncommon to observe two people just saying thank you, ta, or cheers at each other and then just walking away after a purchase is made.
If it's someone we know it's a bit different. We might say "Take care." or similar, or refer to something very specific like: "Drive safely!", "Good luck tomorrow!", or whatever.
We really don't have a generic parting phrase that I can think of. In some areas maybe they do (I've lived in London most of my life)...?
Cya in a bit dog sh*t, my childhood favorite. i feel like what we do instead is ask if your "Alright" to which the answer is practically always "yeah" and if they are feeling nice they will ask "what about you?" or something along those lines at the beginning instead of the end. or like you said it would be specific like if they are going to do something fun then you might say "enjoy". Though it's not unheard of for people to say have a nice day or something along those lines but it does feel kinda disingenuous sometimes.
@@xXBisquitsXx "Alright?" isn't really a question though, is it. It's more of a simple "hello" (indeed it's certainly standard as such in London - not sure where you're from so it may be different). Which is also a bit weird to other cultures probably.
@@xXBisquitsXx â This is actually quite interesting. "Alright, mate?" not being a question. Just a hello. That IS weird. It expects no answer even though it's technically a question! :D
The most you are likely to get back from another Brit is "Alright." in a sing song voice. So weird thinking about this from an outsider's point of view. :D :D
Working for an American company in the U.K. the word 'route', meaning which direction will you be taking has recently changed in pronunciation. It's not rawt! Its rute! Chuck Berry never sang about getting kicks on 'Rawt 66'. The same, in reverse, applies to 'anti'. I think 'an tie' versus 'an tee' makes more sense.....
Staying in the US for 2 months when I was 18, people constantly telling me to have a nice day (upgraded to âamazingâ or âincredibleâ because we were in California) p*ssed me right off. I constantly felt like spinning around and hissing âdonât pretend you care what kind of day I have!â In the uk when saying goodbye to a shop assistant weâll typically say âthanksâ or âcheersâ or if itâs a local maybe âcheers palâ. Maybe âgoodbyeâ as well. The US customer service style is creeping in here now too.
In Northern Ireland we often say "all the best" at the end of a conversation. I usually say "take care" or if it's a delivery driver " drive safe" or " ride safe" if on a motorbike. The telephone is another matter! I always smile to myself when ending a conversation with local people as more often than not the conversation ends with " bye, bye, bye, bye . . ." This can go on for a good while. Don't know why but most of us do it. Take care
"See you later" when you have no intention of actually seeing the person later is my pet hate.
We also thank our bus drivers.
In the Midlands Iâve heard âall the bestâ used as a sarcastic way of saying âgood luckâ
The floors section is easy to understand and actually make sense in both terms of context. To us Brits "first floor" is effectively floor 0, or as we call it ground floor. The floor above is the first floor because it is the first floor you get to when you climb the stairs.
1 flight of stairs = 1st floor/Level 1. 2 flights of stairs = 2nd floor/Level 2 and so on....
it makes sense in Dutch because its the first "deepening" in our language, so it would be like calling the second floor the first elevation or something like that.
In a cabin, where there is no floor structure, you can just put a covering on the ground. If you want to go higher, you have to build a structure to hold a floor, so the first floor you actually build is the first floor. To keep things linguistically consistent, what you just put on the ground you end up calling the ground floor.
First floor describes the flight of stairs you need to take to get to the floor above...calling the ground floor...floor 1 would not make sense to Brits.
Its simply the first floor up. just like a multi basement building starts with basement 1 as you go down, not basement 2.
As an english person "pants" is something you guys get right, pants here is shorthand for underpants bc they go UNDER your pants. But ppl have been using it this way too long so its just stuck now
It is unusual here in the UK for a store employee to say "Have a Nice Day" to a customer, i usually say "You Too" if someone says it to me. Mostly i am just treated as an inconvenience. My pet peeve is that the past tense has now disappeared from the UK English language, e.g. saying "i done this" instead of "i did this" & "i brung this" instead of "i brought this" - drives me mad. Another different example is Collectables (UK spelling) is now being spelt as Collectibles (USA spelling) even by the UK Royal Mail. WHY?
The issue with "have a nice day" isn't the phrase itself. We do, despite appearances, occasionally wish each other a nice day. It's the insincerity. It's hearing it from a shop or call centre worker who is contractually obliged to say it to every customer.
The pants/trousers thing is because we call underwear "underpants", which is shortened to simply "pants". We get "trousers" from Irish and Scottish Gaelic, I think. American English gets "pants" from a shortened version of "pantaloons", which were a style of trouser in the 18th/19th century.
In generaly, most of these things don't really annoy us when Americans say them. Just when other Brits use them. Well, except for "I could care less". That one makes the language nerd in me cringe.
The correct shortened form of "underpants" is "undies", not "pants". Pants are the things you wear over the top, so you don't get bitten by all the snakes and spiders down here in Australia.
@@ma3xiu1 I will accept "undies" as an alternative, along with "grippers", "Grundies", and "gruds".
Petrol is a liquid, gas is a gas.
I don't really use the word pants, I use underwear, knickers boxers, bras and trousers đ
I'm not a lumberjack, so I don't use bras.
The word gas is short for gasoline
â@@aedinbradshaw3618no it's gas as in sates of matter solid, liquid or gas.
@@jenniedarling3710 when Americans refer to the gas they put in their cars, it is short for gasoline
I'm laughing at the comment about saying "Have a nice day". In Ireland we're more likely to say "take care" or "good luck". It really highlights the difference between the naturally more optimistic American outlook and our naturally more downbeat/pessimistic outlook. Even if someone asks you how you are getting on the usual reply is 'not too bad' đ Normally if someone says something like 'oh fantastic' it's usually sarcastic. If they say 'awesome' then it is definitally sarcasm. No Irish man would ever parade their optimism so brashly. The would either be seen to be flaunting their good fortune (and need taking down a peg) or just a little nieve (as in if you are having an awesome day then you are just not fully aware of the situation)đ. It's amazing g what a small phrase can say about us.
If a stranger wished me good luck and we hadn't just had a conversation about the lottery or a job interview I'd treat it as a direct threat! đ
In Germany we also call the ground floor the first floor, but I actually prefer the British terminology here. It makes sense that ground is 0, going up is 1,2,3... Going down is -1,-2,-3... It's nice and neat!
Pardon me? Where the heck are you living? "Erdgeschoss" is actually ground floor. In German, the next level up is also first floor.
@@Astro-Markus i was in germany recently on a trip and the hotel did have the ground floor as 1 in the lift
@@cramyt That's super weird.
Aussie here. Our language use is much the same as in England. Gas = petrol. Petrol is the short version of petroleum which is the product. Gas is an abbreviation of Gasoline which I believe was a brand name at one time and it stuck. Diesel is a fuel product from petroleum or other sources but specifically for an engine that doesnt require a spark for fuel combustion. Gas fuel for vehicles is liquid petroleum gas. So using the term Gas for petrol is kinda confusing. We use the term underpants abbreviated to just pants (or undies or knickers or jocks or boxers) Trousers came from either the scottish or irish version of the word for that garment. You walk into a building at ground level therefore ground floor. Anything above that is 1st floor 2nd floor etc. Anything below is either lower ground LG or basement B on the lift (elevator) buttons. Have a nice day etc not generally used when saying goodbye tho some people say it. We just say bye. Or here in Oz most likely we'd say see ya later. A lot of the terms are double negatives which even though we know what is meant are just annoying if youre a language nazi. Like me đ
love the comment but petrol is a liquid in order for a gas to be liquid it has to be cooled and held under pressure hope this helps
We also just say see you later for bye in UK. Iâm from Essex (southern England) we say Alright for hi but weâre not actually asking if your alright đ
In all of Europe the first floor is the the floor above the ground floor.
Gasoline was probably originally Cazeline, a fuel named after John Cassell. When he complained to someone selling counterfeit Cazeline, they kept selling it but changed their product named to "Gazeline". Then it was a matter of evolution.
As a northerner who works in retail, I end most of my interactions with customers by saying âsee you laterâ, even if I never expect to see them again đ.
Same and I work telephony, so technically Iâve never even seen them once let alone see them again!
See you later - that confused me the first time I heard it, from an 8 year old in Kent.
Same
One that I've noticed recently is "My car needs fixed", and I think, "No, your grammar requires repair." đ
Tense, isn't it! đ
When Brits end a conversation, instead of saying "have a good day", they'd say "see you later" (even if you'll never ever see them again).
With the floors thing, it makes sense when you think if you were going down from Ground, it'd be B1, B2, B3 etc. So it makes the floors be mirrored in either direction, with Ground, or G, being a 0 equivalent. so B3 > B2 > B1 > G > 1 > 2 > 3. Also makes sense when you think of the saying "Ground Zero".
Everything gets more fun with how many stories in a building because that's the whole number of floors no matter what so you can have 10 floors in an 11 story building.
"I'm waiting on a bus". What are you waiting for on the bus?
If someone has delivered something and is leaving I usually call out "thank you".
People forget that we start counting from 0
@@Elrianmk2 do you? British people count 1, 2, 3, 4...
Pants = pantaloons.
If you tell someone in the UK "your trousers are pants" they'll probably take offence or question your own fashion choices. đ
Plus pants and panties... Underpants and knickers... = underwear!
Mind you, don't get me started on the Aussies and their 'thongs' LOL đ
no they dont ya twat
@@stewedfishproductions7959 I think the underwear term has the problem that it can be so many different garments, covering various parts or most of the body.
I'm reasonably certain socks (worn under shoes) can be considered underwear in UK.
Just wait until you hear how many names we have for a âbread rollâ đ youâll lose your mind
"Pissed" in the meaning of pissed off. "Light on fire". "Normalcy". "Momentarily", as in "in a little while". Sets my teeth on edge.
Oh yeah, I'd forgotten about pissed. In my head I always say 'off' (unless they really do mean drunk). I've already mentioned 'normalcy'. That's been around a long time - I think it may have been a president who started that one off in the 1800s, not sure.
We donât say âHave a nice dayâ, if Iâm receiving a parcel I simply say thank you. If a plumber has done some work for me I say âthank you, bye.
same here. The exact same. I suppose I don't put much thought or care what the rest of what their day will be like so have a nice day would be fake
I think you speak much more rationally than many Americans.
But people say 'like ' and ' know what I mean' a lot in Britain
When workman leaves, I would say, "ThanÄ· you very much. It's brilliant. Bye and thanks again."
The âhave a nice dayâ thing: When accepting a parcel at the door, weâd usually say either âhave a lovely dayâ (we use the word âlovelyâ a lot in the north of England), or perhaps âthank you very much; take care.â
The âmathâ thing is horribly annoying to Brits, Iâve found. Having lived abroad, both in Europe and farther afield, I still find âmath,â singular as a shortened form of âmathematics,â plural, to be perplexing.
The first floor will always be the next floor that you arrive at, vertically speaking, when you climb above the ground floor; being the floor you enter at from ground-level.
Adverbs! Itâs properLY! When describing how you are doing something, you require an adverb. How are you speaking? Loudly? Quietly? PROPERLY! đ đ€Ł
Petrol is a proprietary eponym.
The name is based on the fact that itâs Petroleum distillate.
One of the leading brands available in the very early days of motoring was PETROL which if memory serves me correctly (from what I was told many years ago) people used to buy at the Chemist (or pharmacy) in gallon cans, but as motoring became more popular with the masses, Petrol stations started to appear as a necessity to sell the fuel in larger quantities.
Hence the reason most English speaking countries call Gasoline.. Petrol
The same reason a lot of people use the term to âHooverâ for vacuuming.
The Ground Floor/ First floor debate is not unique to the UK.
Iâve travelled to various countries within Europe and we ALL agree Ground floor is where you enter a building and 1st floor is the 1st floor up and consequently all other floors above are numbered accordingly⊠so Itâs not just us.
In Germany it's the ground floor (= Erdgeschoss) as well.
No it's not! Petrol comes from the word petroleum, which means rock oil or oil from the earth, a very ancient word. Crude oil and other hydrocarbons exist in liquid or 'gaseous' form in underground pools, or reservoirs, therefore gasolene is also acceptable, but a much newer word.
Jeremy Clarkson "They call a liquid, GAS?!" đ
so is gasolene
We still have Petrol brand petrol here in Croatia.
to clarify we do use underwear as a generic description but there is also a division between "Pants" for men and "Knickers" for women
Don't forget 'panties'..!
You've got me going, now!
I was always lead to believe that both sexes use pants in colloquial speech,, although panties are typically the feminine underpants to more male pants
But that knickers are also a special form of pants/panties, usually with a lot of fancy embroidery and lacey parts/sections of their styled design compared to pants/panties
a lot of us tend to say "take care" instead of "have a nice day" or sometimes i hear the full "take care of yourself" or "look after yourself" and i'll only say it to someone i genuinely enjoyed interacting/conversing with đ but its just a more casual way of wishing someone well when parting ways and its used by people at checkouts and also with close personal relationships too
âreal quickâ gets up my fundamentals big time
The term Maths comes from the word Mathematics. Itâs a plural word used to describe a group of subjects involving calculus - for example, addition, multiplication, geometry or algebra. Therefore, when the Brits abbreviate this word, we keep it as a plural by adding an âsâ to the end.
The term Underwear is used by Brits, but itâs a generic term used to describe all types of undergarments. Pants, however is the word used to describe a specific type of undergarment. Likewise, we have individual terms for most undergarments such as bras, underskirt, knickers, panties etc.
We do sometimes say have a nice day, but it's more common to use this type of terminology as a greeting, as in good morning, good afternoon etc. When someone has performed a service, such as delivery, we would usually just say thank you, sometimes followed by a goodbye.
Mostly correct but mathematics / maths isnât plural, itâs just a word that ends in s- like news and physics. These words end in s but take singular verb agreements (e.g. âmaths is my favourite subjectâ).
I'm British so I say maths, but that's not what mathematics is. The word "mathematics" comes from the Ancient Greek word "mathema" (ÎŒÎŹÎžÎ·ÎŒÎ±), which generally means "subject of instruction" or "learning". The word "mathema" comes from the root "manthanein" (ÎŒÎ±ÎœÎžÎŹÎœÎ”ÎčÎœ), which means "to learn".
This was transformed into "mathematica" in Latin, which means "things pertaining to learning or knowledge". Over time, the Latin word was adopted into Middle French as "mathematique", and then eventually into English as "mathematics".
The term was originally used to describe all areas of study, including things like philosophy and history. However, over time its usage narrowed to describe what we now think of as mathematics: the study of patterns, relationships, and abstract structures.
In NE England pants are trousers, anything worn underneath those are underpants as they are literally worn under your pants.
No we don't say "have a nice day" etc. I usually just say "bye, see you later" if its somebody I know well, for a delivery driver etc, I say "Thanks Mate" or "cheers mate".
Usually if you're saying goodbye to an employee, "thanks, bye" is perfectly sufficient, but even better is that we can often just say "cheers", which just means both at once đ
As an Australian, I use pants, underwear and trousers interchangeably in many of the contexts. Though clearly, some contexts, for example, jeans not being underwear, and boxers not being trousers are exceptions.
Basically, pants comes to English from the Italian "pantalone" via French, whereas trousers comes from Gaelic via the Middle English "Trews". They really both mean pretty much the same thing.
"Are we really that annoying?" Sweetie, we have a saying here - don't ask questions you might not like the answers to.
Mate, you have made me chuckle with this one! "I couldn't imagine walking away and saying 'alright bye'..", let me tell you that is utterly the norm here! Of course, with family or close friends you can say "Love ya, bye! See you soon!", so you can definitely display affection without literally wishing someone a good day. It *can* feel and sound very forced to us. There is the implication that you are almost inflicting a good day upon someone else (I have people in my life who would turn to me after being wished a good day and say 'who is this little upstart telling me to have a ****ing good day!?').
You should get an English chap or lady on for a chat for a video reaction video like this. That'd make me laugh so much! I would happily volunteer my services. I think you are brilliant.
I'm English. Using "first floor" for the next floor up from ground level is daft. Unless the building has only one floor, in which case there is no need to number them, then the "ground floor" should definitely be referred to as the "first floor". The way we do it is dumb.
As a English person i can definatly state we do not use kilometres in stead of miles they are seperate we still use miles which is about 1,600m and a kilometre is about a 1,000 we use them both
Most of us use both interchangeably because weâve been taught the metric system in schools for decades now, road signs are in miles so we donât upset the grumpy old men too much, but bridge heights, etc, are in metres just to cause them mild irritation. đ
And 1 km isnât âaboutâ 1,000m, itâs exactly 1,000m đ
The two that really annoy me are 'burglarised' - we get burgled, and the second that REALLY winds me up is 'forensicated'. Things are forensically examined here đ
You can add "coronated" to that list too. I have heard that too many times in relation to the King's coronation. The King was crowned, not coronated , oh my word!
@@MotherofImps oh my daze, absolutely right! It's an abominal description
And in the UK, I hate hearing the word pronounced as 'burgulry'...đ
@@vilebrequin6923 Oh damn, yes. Heard that a few times, too .
In general Americansâ habit of verbing nouns irritates us, I think. An American told me theyâd been âupskillingâ recently.
You guys use phrases that would make us fail English at school đ
when i was a kid (in the 90s croatia), i picked up american english from the TV a lot, but in school they were teaching british english. so they "couldn't care less" that i could read and understand what was given to me, the problem was my accent.
4:42 man was about to say âcheck out the new shirt ive just gottenâ til he caught himself lmao
For the whole trousers/underwear thing, in Britain we see underwear as a category, not an item of clothing. Stockings, socks, boxers, briefs, knickers, pantyhose, vests (tank tops), bras etc. are all underwear. The word "pants" is technically gendered, pants for men, panties/pantyhose for women. They are all things you wear under normal clothing, hence underwear. Trousers on the other hand are part of your outerwear, which is why we say "put your trousers on" over "put your pants on" as one implies you're at the very least covering your indecency.
I believe pants come from pantaloons
Hi Steve,
I think the main annoyance is that Brits tend to have to do the translations as most Americans don't see or understand there is or could be a different way of saying something.
Many of these are corporate, which brits often dislike.
'You do the Math' is, even if correctly spelt (not spelled) as 'You do the Maths' is still offensive, it implies the person being instructed to 'do the math' hasn't thought about the issue and needs to do some more thinking, to be thus instructed with 'incorrect' use of English is annoying.
The 'have a nice day', is annoying on so many levels. If said by a 'corporate drone', : Why?, you the person don't care about my future day, you the corporate drone, may well have made my future day more difficult. You the person are 'only following instruction'.
If you have phoned to cancel someone subscription or appointment, because they have died, being told to 'have a nice day' is somewhat insensitive, but is what I would expect.
It feels like an instruction from someone, you don't know, who doesn't care.
As a departure phase, like goodbye, from a friend or colleague or stranger, it's OK, but as part of a script, it sucks.
Our least worst option, again corporate, normally said by someone who does understand the options or English, our least bad option would be OK.
Quite, is quite annoying, now am I extremely annoyed by quite or just mildly annoyed? I'm guessing we will never know, hint I'm British.
Nearly as bad as'we are reaching out to you' No you aren't you are contacting me !
The fact that you say you were raised in the South is telling. I have found, through CZcams channels that most Southerners speak more correct English. There are colloquialisms that are very similar to those of Northern England, so most of the time they are easier to understand. Your English is more precise than a lot of Americans I have heard. The adage "Two nations divided by a common language" is correct. Keep up the good work, love from UK đŹđ§
To quote comedian Al Murray - Separated by a common language...and a f**king great big ocean, thank christ!
Received pronunciation and vocabulary can trace its heritage back to the version of old English spoken in what is now the home counties.
Wow pity that up in Northern England they can't even pronounce English words. So, made up their own pronunciation of proper English word, that they can't say...
@@collywobbles1163 There's no reason to be nasty. Dialects come from isolated places, and "proper" English? So many different languages combined to make the English language and in various parts, not all, of the British Isles which created accents. Accents make it difficult to understand one area from another e.g. North from South but within those large areas because of isolation there are many accents. It's all English, even if we can't understand it properly.
Math is only annoying to me when Word (switched to the UK version) puts a squiggly red line under "maths".
In some areas of the UK, they say pants for trousers.
On the topic of the _Ground Floor_ and the _First Floor,_ think of it like this:
if you approach the staircase in your home, the 1st step isn't the floor before the stairs; that's the ground floor. If you start going up, you've stepped on the *_1st step;_* not the 2nd.
The floors of a building work the same way: you start on the ground floor and then go to the first floor upwards, etc.
The only time Iâve ever habitually said âhave a nice dayâ was to my kids, when I dropped them off at school in the morning. When I receive a parcel or thank a tradesman for doing a job, I just say, âthank you, goodbyeâ. I do sometimes say âhave a good weekendâ on a Friday to work colleagues, or âhave a good holidayâ if family or friends are going away.
even worse than "have a nice day" is .... "have a good rest of your day" đ.....absolutely infuriating đ
"i would have gotten" - literally gets an example from scooby doo and immediately forgets it lol
âI do like to speak properâ ! Comedy gold, the irony đđđ
One of the things about phrases like "you're welcome" in reply to thank you, or "have a nice day" shouted after you as you leave, is that they are almost used automatically as a habitual response without any feeling behind it simply because they are said to everyone every time they say something like "thank you". One that gets me is "I'm going to write them"... and then... you are going to write them what? You could write TO them or write them a letter, just don't stop at "write them".
That is THE most annoying phrase I agree .It sounds so wrong.
I didnât realise how much I said thank you until I went to America and the waitress said âyouâre welcomeâ every time, so she brought a menu, then a water, then our ordered drinks, then cutlery, then the meal, then took the plate etc every time âthank youâ every time âyouâre welcomeâ it drove me insane to the point I tried to stop saying thank you to stop her but I felt so rude!
Omg yes! That is so annoying đ
The "write them" thing used to get me too but if you think about it, it's probably correct. You don't "phone to" or "email to" them you just "phone them" or "email them". But I agree that "write them" just sounds weird without the to, lol.
@@Linz1489 Yes, Yes, Yes!! I had the same experience when I went to Florida. It was more than 20 years ago now and I can still remember how much it irritated me! I tried to stop saying 'thank you' as well, but, as you said, that seems rude; so, I would just say 'thank you' and cringe when the 'you're welcome' came back at me đŁ
We use Maths (Mathematics), because it covers a multitude of individual parts. I.e. Algebra, Trigonometry, Statistics, Pure and a lot more modules that I can't remember from my time at school in the mid 50s/early 60s. Of course the floor you walk on to from the pavement is ground floor, then it , I agree, gets a bit confusing for non brits đ . We normally say see you later or bye , love you or thankyou to relatives. Not many people like the 'have a nice day', but I have heard 'have a good day'.
I think when I was at school we started with "sums" in infants then "arithmetic" in primary school then "mathematics" in secondary school. I wonder if all those would have been "math" had I been in USA?
This isn't really true. You never hear of somebody studying one mathematic after another so they understand the full set of mathematics. Mathematics and maths are not plurals. They're singular words that end in an s, like "bus" or "news" or "physics".
I don't like the sound of math. But it ia correct. You don't study histories or biologies. Even though both are comprised of many fields of study and techniques.
@@Hession0Drasha you study physics though
The ground floor is all over Europe, not just in the UK and it makes much more sense just because that is floor 0. Then you have 1, 2 and so on going up and -1, -2 and so on going down
Ground floor can also be called floor 0, it might seem backwards if you're used to ground being floor 1 but think logically. If you go down from ground you're on -1 which means ground must be 0.
There are ways round this confusion like labeling -1 as B1 (basement 1) so it all works out really.
My wife is American and I'm British so I really enjoy the differences and we do make fun of each other all the time
Men wear pants, women wear knickers and we both wear trousers.
If you ever come to the UK, you may be surprised to hear that we definitely don't all speak perfect English. You are completely correct regarding the differences between different areas of the UK and yes, we moan about that too đ
we just love a good moan xD
I'm an old guy. I was taught at school and by my Grandmother many years ago that pants are an abbreviation and shortened word of pantaloons. Pantaloons being lightweight knee length underwear worn by both men and women from mediaeval times, probably French in origin. The pants had ties at the waist and knees calves. In the theatre there was a history of getting an audience laugh when the dame accidently disclosed their pantaloons / pants. Today it probably not gets laughter. Pants are worn under trousers to preserve cleanliness for expensive trousers, and also to regulate heat.
Also in concluding a meeting or discussions, I always thought when someone says bye, good luck that this was a sarcastic remark and they knew something I didn't know. So good luck was an omen. Good job, has connotations of I'm surprised you achieved that level and is a sarcastic insult.
Pantaloons came as both under and outer wear, which is probably where the differences uses have come from
Comes from the French âpantalonâ
Anyone using âcould care lessâ instantly halves their IQ to listeners. Then defending this is a further 50% division.
I'm seeing on TV/CZcams more and more that Americans say "The end all and be all" instead of "The be all and end all". How can something end then continue being?!? So annoying! đ
Hi Steve. In the UK we have two ways to describe the height of the building level, storey and floor. It appears that in the US you replace the word storey with the word floor. The first storey is the ground floor, the second storey is the first floor, etc.
Only politicians can have alternative FACTS đ€Šââđ And this is a FACT.
I think that's an alternative fact.
Shouldn't it be 'alternate facts' for Americans?
I've been told by an American to "have a nice day" after they told me my flight was cancelled as a conversation closer. Oohhh, that bristled.
Iâm British and I personally say have a nice day after almost every interaction with people I donât know well. I think it leaves an encounter between strangers on a high note and feels friendly
The fact that you don't know anything about their plans, so use this thought free stock catch all phrase is not friendly, it's pointing out you're strangers.
It's simply not sincere and shows you cannot be bothered to think of something more appropriate.
I say "Catch you in a bit" to wind people up.