8 Words Britain and America Use Very Differently - Part 8
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- čas přidán 1. 06. 2024
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In part eight of this series, prepare yourself for the greatest sequel since The Land Before Time Part 6. Here are eight more words Britain and America Use Very Differently.
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My boss is English. When he got his first job in the States, he was working with a pencil that didn’t have an ERASER. So he went to the cubicle next to him and asked the woman if she had a RUBBER he could borrow...
Lol that probably did not end well!
Funny how one innocent word can lead to a sexual harassment charge
@@lindaeasley5606 Only if she told him to stop and he didn't!
I heard they are married with 3 kids now. So it did not end well :-)
@@t71024 😄
With buzzard and "carry on" I think you missed a chance for a "carrion" joke in there for the transition.
👏👏👏👏
And...that brings us back to “buzzard”.
I didn't read far enough down in the comments and made a similar carrion joke.
And so, when American buzzard boards his AA flight, he takes along his carry on (carrion) luggage.
@@mediumjohnsilver badum tish!
As an US Army Veteran, "Carry On" means (to me) continue doing what you are doing.
I take the Brit version as, "Just do your job, despite the circumstances." (war, etc.)
Same here.
Yeah, I use carry on as "Continue.." as well.
Maybe your commanding officer was trying to initiate an affair with you? Just a thought.
Yup. Even police used to use the term for groups or teenagers, military vets who become teachers still use the military term carry on.
Things we never thought we’d hear Laurence say: “Fo-shizzle.”
Literally 😂
Fo-real?
Oh I expected it at some point 😂
I really thought he was gonna call that bird a Buzz-izzle and I’m a little disappointed if I’m being completely Honest. 🥲
I involuntarily guffawed when he said that.
Speaking of "Mashed" almost no one in America says "mashed" without saying "potatoes" afterward.
Though we do say mashers.
Or you live in the South, we "mash" buttons. "Mom, Tommy mashed the elevator button and it was my turn!"
Except at KFC and probably other fast food places. You'll hear them call back to the kitchen "I need a gravy mashed!"
Here in the UK we call it mash, not mashed.
I didn't quite know what he was talking about.."Mashed". Was it potatoes? Was it hominy? Was it a porridge-type type hot grain?
I've met a lot of Americans who call it "smashed potatoes", too. But yes, it is always the two words..
Another use of carry on in the US is when someone won't shut up about something or whining about it. My Mom would say "there's no need to carry on about it" or "stop carrying on".
My mom used that too! Her family were from Yonkers NY Irish background.
@@samanthab1923 My mom was from Brooklyn. Also Irish.
Same in Britain. That particular memo wasn’t lost in the pond, obviously.
...or as a more positive way, just "carry on" to tell people to continue with what they were doing (presumably after an interruption). So "carry on" is the same as "continue."
@@rosannerizzo3070 I was wondering if it was just Southern. Obviously not! So "keep calm and carry on" is self-contradictory! Do you want me to keep calm, or do you want me to carry on?
Don’t forget-AA is also a battery size in America! I didn’t even think about American Airlines, I never abbreviate it.
And here, as is AAA, battery sizes are pretty universal actually.
Then there’s the Anti-Aircraft cannon called the “AA” gun.
That's not just in America. More like everywhere
But we would call it "double A", not "A A".
It's pronounced "Double A" for the battery. "AA" could mean a lot of things. Sometimes when someone asks what batteries something takes you'd respond "Doubles" or "Triples".
My grandmother grew up in north Texas and she would sometimes use the phrase “carrying on” to mean dating or flirting. So when she talked about someone on a soap opera, she might say, “I can’t believe Erica is carrying on with HIM!”
I've heard it used that way both in the UK and in Australia.
South east Texas uses the term the same way, and I've heard it in Louisana too. So it's probably used in most of the southern states.
Yes, it is also sometimes used for when someone moves onto someone else usually after a bad break up.
Don’t bother me, I’m watching _my stories_
Hey Laurence, why does Snoop Dog carry an umbrella? Fo'drizzle.
To be fair, we Americans also have that form of hockey, we just qualify it as "field hockey". Or "street hockey" if you use all the same equipment but replace the grass with... a street.
Yeah and field hockey is mostly played by girls.
yeah, but the game of street hockey more resembles ice hockey in sneakers (aside from method of movement the games are otherwise very similar), whereas the game of field hockey is actually quite different from either of those hockeys. The rules, sticks, goals, methods and rules regarding both the moving and shooting of the ball, and types of contact allowed are all very different.
We used to play can hockey in middle school, where we'd crush an aluminum can and kick it back and forth across a tennis court or other hard surface.
Kids when I was growing up played street hockey. Its just like regular hockey but on roller skates. You need a good school blacktop or something like that.
@@BTheBlindRef Huh, I didn't know that. Thank you for informing me, friend!
I literally just finished eating a Thomas’ English muffin while looking up the history of them right before I clicked on this video... no joke!
Just to confuse things, we have two types of “muffin tops.” One of them is the top of an American muffin, which is the best part. The other type is the roll of belly fat that gets pushed up over the waistband on your pants (trousers) when they are too small, and you have to squeeze into them.
Muffin top= "Love Handles."
Usually caused by eating too many muffins
We use a Cheech & Chong joke.
Dunlap's: Ate so much your belly run lapped over your belt.
See their song Bloat On.
I refer to that as “Dunlop’s Disease” after the tire company.
Except no one calls the top of a muffin a muffin top.
My uncle in Manchester wanted to buy me a suit so i said i wanted one with a vest. He was quite perplexed. Turns out i should have asked for a waistcoat!
In my maternal grandfather's day "Waistcoat" was pronounced "Weskit", and "Bowler hat" was pronounced "Billycook/Billycock".
@@frogandspanner Thank you! I had always wondered what a "weskit" was when I read or heard the word!
Don't forget that an Englishman wears his pants under his trousers.
I've heard people from the uk call tank tops or sleeveless shirts "vests"
@@michaeltutty1540 unless he lives in the Northern England then he wears underpants under his pants.
In Australia, a 'carry on' also means a hissy fit.
carry on (particularly in the signs meaning) means to keep doing what you are doing ie:don't panic
@@dawnfire1 Yep, it means that in Australia too.
It has that meaning in the U.S. as in: "That jerk was carrying on about the price of his Starbucks coffee."
Same in America. Usually when said fit goes for far longer than what would be considered acceptable
If you asked an American if he wanted some "mash" he might think you were offering him whiskey, but never would he think potatoes.
Thank you for this comment. The word "mash" is also in common use as a reference to a treatment for a horse with a respiratory ailment. A "steaming mash" is sweet grain (mostly oats with molasses) poured into a bucket with hot, steaming water. A "steaming mash" is placed just below the muzzle of the horse, for the loosening of "throat junk" as he/she breathes in the steam. Sometimes a vet, or whoever is caring for the horse, will drape a blanket over the horse's head, to concentrate the steam, and direct it into nasal passages. And yes, for Americans "mash" always has -ed, added on, as a reference to mashed (past tense) potatoes. Never "mash" unless the speaker is about 2.5 years old and just learning the names of foods.
I would never think of booze for that. I'd think potatoes. American born & bred here
When someone just won't stop arguing or is complaining too long, they are said to be "carrying on". "Joe, don't carry on! We got your point!" A buzzard can also be a grumpy old person. "That old buzzard!"
My grandpa would say "buzzard" because he was too courteous to say "SON OF A Bi....."!
@@jonmiguel LOL
buzzard referring to a curmudgeon comes from its use referring to vultures.
In other words, to carry on is to continue. I use it all the time.
I'm American and last night I told my son "we are having bangers and mash!" he loved it!
You need to have them grilled or nearly cremated in the oven with onion gravy and peas. 🇬🇧
You have to eat them with Coleman’s mustard.
There was a scene with an American girl and Brit man, in which the pub owner asks "Bangers?" (Bang-her?, the startled girl thinking he was referring to sex). He then explained to his date, that they were referring to sausages. LOL It was news to me as well.
I mean, combining sausage and potatoes is always going to be a banger of a meal
I'm guessing you didn't include mushy peas?
In the United States, a cupcake and a muffin are more different than you described. They might be similarly shaped; but a muffin is much closer to bread. A cupcake is a cake in a different shape
@Nicky L I agree. Muffins are more like a crumbly cake.
@pisswobble Muffins, whether commercial or homemade can be very much like cake or very much like "sweet bread". By "sweet bread" I refer to zucchini bread or pumpkin bread or cranberry bread.
I make all my own muffins. I don't buy them. The recipes I prefer have 1/4 c of sugar per dozen. Most recipes have twice that amount. but some recipes will have 3x that amount plus struessel on top.
So, all options are available.
@@ryan_conover I'm English and still don't know what an English muffin is
@@jillhobson6128 I grew up eating the ones he mentioned in the video. Whatever their provenance, they are delicious with butter.
And mostly made with fruit (such as bananas, blueberries, apples) or vegetables (e.g carrot, pumpkin, zucchini)
When you mentioned “carry on” and airplanes I thought you were going to say that “carry on” is what that unruly toddler near me will start doing.
Americans often refer to a "banger" car as a "beater", or in some places, a "hooptie"
We call them a poj=piece of junk
I've known what bangers were since forever ago (I read a lot of British novels in my long-ago youth), but this is the first time I ever got an answer to _why._ Thank you! :)
In Britain you can't call them sausages unless they are at least x% meat. Bangers have less meat.
I embrace Americans - have visited 6 times and will continue to visit when we’re permitted from Aus. Love the differences and similarities. The Americans I’ve met have been lovely, have made me feel special, and are so keen to find out about my country while I’m learning about theirs. 🇦🇺
Working customer service at a cable company I took a call from an Aussie and at the end I asked him to say "Queensland' for me. He was so sweet!
I am glad you were able to visit us in happier times. But, after this coming Tuesday will be the start of a fast slide into a fascist dictatorship. Hopefully a miracle will happen and we will remain a free democracy.
How are y’all doing since the wildfires? Seeing the koalas and Roos being hurt so hurt my heart.
I was surprised to find you actually have a very fine singing voice?! All these hidden talents?! Good job! ❤
I remember wondering why Gandalf said Elrond’s house was ugly. And why Bilbo had dental work...
The last homely house.
Carry on in the U.S as a verb means to continue with a task at hand. So, carry on my wayward son. The'll be peace when you are done.
Lay your weary head to rest... don't you cry no more. #SPN #Kansas
Thats Kansas just dust in the wind
@@chrismellott7343 The song is actually titled "Carry on Wayward Son" czcams.com/video/2X_2IdybTV0/video.html
I saw Kansas perform in Allen Feild house on KU campus in 1978 or 79. Great show.
lt also has this meaning in the UK
“Carry on” in the US can also mean having a temper tantrum, mainly in the past tense. “She cried and carried on so much over her bad test grade that I had to tell her to stop.”
I would say it's more used when referring to people carrying on a conversation or as another way of describing someone continuing on some kind of action. Of course, that would include a temper tantrum.
Yes, Even used in present tense: "Stop your carrying on" (a favorite of my mother's - Called "Mum", BTW, Because....Pittsburgh!). Also used to direct one to continue an activity: "Carry on with your shopping, I won't keep you."
You can also say they were laughing and carrying on. I use it for being loud and rowdy.
One American phrase that tripped up a British friend was, "Cow Pie". As in what a Cow leaves in the field that you really don't want to step on.
You’re a shockingly good singer; distracted me for an instant from the riveting info
I agree!
Right?
I hope nobody got confused by Tolkien's description of Rivendell as "The Last Homely House in the West"
Reading an original copy of Sherlock Holmes was fun. What with all it's risqué English slang that could cause a grandmother to faint.
I, an American unfortunately, know homely more as a place of comfort more than a nice way of insulting some one. Really don't hear it used as an insult much.
I figured that out when I first read it in Junior High. From the obvious cognate (home) Tolkien's usage is obviously primary, and the American slang usage originated as a humorous euphemism. I knew I was reading a British author trying to sound a bit archaic, so I was on my guard for unfamiliar usages.
My thought too! 😁
Also, “homely” is how you might refer to someone who perhaps should just stay home…
*In Canada, when a house is cozy, we say "homey" lol*
We also have CAA instead of AAA too.
We say “homey” as well as cozy.... but homely definitely doesn’t mean cozy here lol
We say the same in the US too.
@@80sGamerLady comfy....homey ...etc. yeah lol
@@ShibbyLoveMoore agreed. Homely means ugly lol
My car has a four cylinder engine in other words a four banger.
So does my motorcycle. My car just has a couple of spinning Doritos.
Yet, a six and eight aren't referred to as bangers 🤔
@@babsbylow6869 Years ago I was told my Mercury Comet was a 6 banger.
What Laurence calls a banger I have heard referred to as a beater, as in "my work car is a real beater"
@@WillieDuitt1 A car referred to as an old banger is a car that hasn't got much life left in it
In American English, to carry on can also mean "continue going forward" "fight on" "survive" ....
Yeah all those carry on messages mean the same thing, in Britain and globally.
Buzzard = Vulture
Hawk = Hawk
Eagle = Eagle
Vultures have bald heads and necks.
Buzzards are big bastard eagle looking things, but theres eagles aswell which are smaller than buzzards.
Harks are smaller still.
@pisswobble he'll see. Also vultures eat dead things as do buzzards, vultures can eat bones infact theres a species in south America that eats nothing but bones, they don't attack live things unless they are absolutely starving and desperate.
Eagles and I believe hawks attack things that move, like snakes do, i don't think they eat dead things too as they only pay attention to movement, thats why falconers swing or drag a lure to attract them (dead thing on a string) i don't think they pay any attention to the dead thing if its not moving I could be wrong tho.
@@GreatSageSunWukong Eagles are scavengers for sure. One of the best ways to see eagles, particularly bald eagles, is to watch the trees around livestock pastures in spring. They really love the placentas of the new births for some reason. Some areas even plan visitor tours around it.
Buteo = another foreign word for a bird of pray
Sub = a substitute teacher
Subbuteo = one of my favorite pastimes as a kid
Buzzard also = an old man.
The word pudding in England always confuses me.
Susan Shutler pudding is the post dinner sweet dish. Generally a small(!?) bowl of pie, ice-cream, cake, custard (same word?), yoghurt, fruit etc. Something sweet to end your main meal of the day,. As much as I am British, the only explanation for pudding that I have. 😊 love our confusions, darlings X X
@@karenpaxton
Blood pudding? Sounds terrible , but then again, I grew up eating hogs head cheese.
@@davidcantwell2489 Just say no to head cheese and Rocky Mountain Oysters.
@@karenpaxton I once had "plum pudding," which seemed to be a type of fruit cake.
Head over to the Townsends channel and search there for 'pudding'. He's got some videos that explain the whole thing.
One word with different meanings that came to light when speaking with my English friend is "decorate." When used when referring to a room In America, it means to embellish it, to make it more attractive or "pretty it up," etc. In England, when you decorate a room you paint or renovate it -- much more structural! Another one is "mince," where we use it as a verb, but in England they are talking about ground meat.
Americans have mincemeat, often used in traditional fruitcake, steamed puddings or pies. It's a combination of dried fruits, nuts, sugar, liquor, a fat, and sometimes meat. Also, we use the term mincemeat as a verb to describe defeating someone, as in making mincemeat of a sport opponent or someone's reputation.
The English have fruit mince too - a mix of dried fruits, nuts and spices used in little Christmas mince pies. We don't use the term for when used in puddings or fruit cake because it isn't actually minced. The fruit is used whole if it is small or chopped if it is big. In that case we say mixed fruit, not minced fruit, because minced in England does mean anything ground up, just as it does in the USA.
@@warpedweft9004 Yes, I didn't mention the chopped up fruit in mince pies, but I am aware of it. I was more referring to the way you can say, "Did you pick up some mince?" when talking about ground meat. Americans (at least the part of the country I come from) don't use the word mince that way (as a noun). We'll call it hamburger or ground beef, or I guess we could use it as an adjective and say "minced beef" or "minced pork" sometimes (though again, not in my part country). But I don't hear Americans saying things like, "use one pound of mince" in a recipe because that's like saying "use one pound of slice" or "use one pound of chop" to us. Whereas the English do use "mince" as a shortcut for "minced meat."
The example by S Houston above is not really using it as a verb. We can make mincemeat of someone, but we don't "mincemeat them."
@@uniotter2662 Australia uses the word mince in the same way as the British. Mince can be used as both a noun and a verb. Used as a noun, it means minced meat unless you specify fruit mince. Used as a verb it means to grind up something into small bits. However, the chopped fruit that goes into a Christmas pudding is not referred to as fruit mince. Fruit mince is a particular mix of finely chopped fruit, spices, sugar, brandy etc that goes into the little Christmas pies, although the commercial variety I don't think have alcohol in them.
I'm not sure we'd actually say a pound of mince these days because you can get many varieties of it using different meats, (quite aside from the fact that we measure in kilos, not pounds). When I was growing up, mince was beef, because lamb was too expensive to just mince up, but now you can get minced beef in normal, low fat or heart smart, minced lamb, chicken mince, turkey mince etc etc, so you have to specify these days.
Interestingly, some old recipes i have from the UK actually say minced meat, not just mince. Shows how our language usage changes over the years!
@@warpedweft9004 You're right, language does change over time, doesn't it! Maybe one day we'll use mince in America the same way -- as both verb and noun. And yes, I'm amused at way Aussies say some things the same way as the Brits, and some things the same as Americans, and then some things they have their own unique words for. My Aussie girlfriend calls a slide (the children's playground type) a "slippery dip," and that always makes me laugh. 😆 (Btw, the way my British friend goes into raptures about mince pie with cream every Xmas makes me want to try it one day. 🤤 )
"Banger" (not to be confused with the Pennsylvania, and Maine cities "Bangor" which is pronounced as "Banger" ), is also in coloquial use, a reference to how many cylinders an automotive engine has (eg a "4 banger" refers to a four cylinder engine).
We have a place near us called Bangor. Our GPS calls it "banger", but it is actually pronounced Ban-Gore
A “banger” (car) is often called a “beater” here in the States. I don’t know where it comes from, though.
Yeah, calling a song a banger is kind of dated.
A beat up inexpensive mode of transportation that gets you from A to B but you don't care if it gets beat up because you plan to upgrade
I think beater comes from ‘beaten-up’ like banger comes from ‘banged up’ in the UK.
I kind of miss the older terms, jalopy and clunker.
people around here call a old car a banger in the usa
In America, buzzards eat carry on...I mean carrion.
Ice hockey was invented by the British, more specifically - British soldiers in service in Canada.
Thomas English Muffins, filled with nooks and crannies.
Eaten by Crooks and Nannies
I'm sure the British soldiers stopped complaining about the constant rain back home when winter came around.
i think hearing Larence say "Fo-shizzle" is one of the best things I have ever heard. I just came home from a shitty day at work, and then heard this. Omg it was the thing i needed. Brilliant
Homely doesn't mean a bit ugly, just plain.
My dictionary states 'homely' means "unattractive". Which prompted me to look up the word 'comely', which means pleasant, suitable, or attractive to look at. Hmm.
Was she comely or homely?
Aren't "English muffins" what "the Muffin Man" sold off his wagon?
Muffins in American are a quick bread. Cupcakes are....cake.
We call your hockey "field hockey" 🙂
I was about to say the same thing about muffins being quick bread.
Do you know the muffin man?
The muffin man?
Right! Field hockey.
Yes, the muffin man!?
I lost it when you sang "Anything You Can Do" from "Annie get Your Gun". You have a lovely voice. I think Broadway is in your future.
Note that some of the various municipality terms vary from state to state: words such as town, township, hamlet, and village, have specific governmental meanings, e.g., in New York, which do not apply in other states.
Yes, and in large, spread out areas, sometimes people say, "I'm going into the city today" to mean that they're going into the "city center" or business district, whereas they live in the suburbs. Don't people say that about London city center or centre?
@@jeanvignes London, England is an anomaly. The City of London is quite small, has almost no permanent residents, and every road is called a street, as in Fleet Street. What people think of as the City of London is really the Greater London Area, the boundaries of which spill into 5 or 6 Counties. Those Counties make up the region known as The Home Counties, as they are all in the inner commuter belt. They are also Counties with very high real estate values because they have such easy access into London
In NY you also have burroughs which I don’t think are anywhere else.
Sort of, except if you are going into The City in the London area, you mean The City of London, which is the financial district, if you want shops or theatres you go to The West End, and The City in most other British cities has little meaning. Sorry, I think I've made it worse
@@sarahsunshine78 Pennsylvania is almost ALL boroughs and townships. I think the only cities are the big ones (Philly, Pittsburgh, Erie, Harrisburg, etc). There is only one 'town' which would be Bloomsburg. They take a weird kind of pride in that. To confuse matters, most boroughs sit within a township, and that township is usually the rural outlying areas surrounding a borough except when they aren't and are just rural areas.
We would like to meet Uncle Toby. Would you please invite him to your show?
What about "bubble and squeak"?
Carol there's also toad in the hole.
Stay safe all the best from Connecticut.
It's what happens when one consumes too much spicy food.
@@Allan-hd1uh My favorite is Spotted Dick.
As Elaine from Seinfeld would say: "Top of the muffin to you, Lawrence!"
I appreciate how Lawrence crosses the language bridge with kindness. I have been told by a young person from the UK that I misuse the language, and that her preference had precedent because “we invented it”. I pointed out that our common ancestors invented it together, unless her family immigrated to the UK after the 18th c., in which case she would have no claim, according to her own standard.
The car you refer to as a Banger, we might call a “beater” or a “jalopy”. I’m sure there are other regional names as well.
In Australia, those cars are either bombs (beat up old bomb), or a shitbox. There’s actually a car race in the outback called the shitbox rally that raises money for charity. My brother did it a couple of years ago.
Hoopty
Alot of the west coast, and i don't just mean california, also including oregon, washington, utah, idaho and colorado, we tend to refer to that style of car as pos = piece of shit.
Don't forget the hood term "whoopdee", which I first heard in my 20's...
Probably “ beater” here in the midwest
The Monster Mash had nothing to do with a musical mash-up - it was referring to a fictional new dance based on "The Mashed Potato" (popular at the time). So that "mash" had the same meaning as the UK mash.
I suspect he, like the song predate the term "mash-up".
@@BonaparteBardithion You never know...
And of course there's the "Carry On" movie franchise which may have exploited the innuendo between the two British uses of 'carry on'.
In Massachusetts if a municipality has a mayor that makes it a city.
Seems to work that way in Nebraska, too.
I agree. Cities have mayor's. Towns have town councils.
In England towns have both mayor's and town council's. Then you have a district council (a geographical and administrative section of a county) and then a county council as well. Villages have a parish (village) council but no mayor. Not sure how it stands with cities but I don't think they are much different than towns.
@@smarttraveler8232 Often town councils are known as the board of selectmen.
@@jen_brandon Cities have cathedrals
We call the last letter of the alphabet "Zeeee" and not "zed"
I imagine Brits get confused when they read "EZ" in a context suggesting "easy"! They're going: "E Zed. What the hell is E Zed?", while we Americans understand it as EZ/easy & move on! 😄
@@cathyvickers9063 We used to have a folding bed called a zed - bed .
A zee bed wouldn't sound the same
He's well aware. See multiple previous posts.
@@cathyvickers9063 I'm an American, but I keep my "zeds" and "zees" straight! The British ZX Spectrum computer used the American Z80 CPU. Being a Sinclair computer fan, I know it's a ZED ECKS Speccy with a ZEE EIGHTY CPU! 👍😊👍
Strangely, Canadian English kept the British version. Or I guess a better question is why Americans don't.
Most people call their home town a "city" when in actuality it's a "census designated place" but that just doesn't have the same ring to it
I thought that my son and his family lived in a small town and was surprised that it is actually a census designated place, a term I had not heard until 2021.
Carry on also in US can mean “to continue” or “as you were” or even misbehavior.
I’d add that American muffins aren’t used at all like cupcakes, but are often eaten with (or even as) breakfast. I’d actually consider them more similar to scones in practice (and in taste), even if they look more like cupcakes.
As a northern Brit I would say 'That was a right carry on' to describe a situation that became more complicated than it needed to be.
In the Netherlands we have a city with 40 inhabitants. The smallest city in the Benelux*. Probably even the world. That’s because cities in the Low Countries used to be places that had city rights. (Stadsrechten) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staverden
*Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
In the U S., "Muffin" is also a euphemism for the naughty bits of a lady.
Yes, Thanks to Aerosmith
We refer to that euphemism as a "muff" in the UK which also used to be what we called a big fluffy thing ladies used to stick the hands into to keep warm
Yep muff is between your legs or a glove type thing from the 1700s and muffin tops is what you get if you buy jeans that are too small.
@@hunniemaxandtheirhumantoo3351 Also here, as in the phrase "muff diver", to describe an enthusiast for the "linguistic arts".
I thought that muffin was going to be something totally different 🤔 LOL 😆 🤣 😂
I had so many cranberry Thomas's English Muffins over the Christmas holidays, I truly couldn't give you a number!! They stopped making them around New Years, so now I am back to a regular Thomas's English Muffin. Love them so much and I have to have Thomas's. ; )
Banger? I hardly know 'er!
One of my favorite differences that was "lost in the pond" is the difference between oatmeal and porridge. But then in America, it could be grits, or cream of wheat, or corn pone (it's like cream of wheat but made out of corn meal). But it all falls under porridge.
Clarification: Corn pone is fried into cakes, not served a mush in a bowl.
They do have grits in the UK, only it's called semolina, generally made with milk and a dollop of jam. The savoury version, I don't know because we never had it as a child. I'm married to an Italian, so it's polenta to us. There is a difference between semolina and polenta. Semolina is white and finer ground. Polenta is yellow and slightly coarser. My mother in law used to mix them 50:50 to make cooked polenta.
There's an old African American saying that goes, "Beauty goes a wandering but homely stays at home."
😂 I'll never hear "Keep calm and carry on" without laughing now. 😂
Enjoyed the video. To be honest I was waiting for the word ISLAND. During a visit, way too long ago, we were given directions to the hotel. "Go right at the second island." I spent an hour looking for a bridge that would take us to an island. it turned out, after stopping and asking a group of school kids for more directions. The island they were talking about were not bodies of land surrounded by water. they were round a bouts. Finally found the hotel and spent hours with the lady at the front desk learning how to find Chatsworth, the crooked Spire, and Matlock. Yes. I spent more time lost but finally did get to Warwick, Tower of London, and Buckingham palace. Love your videos and hope to go back some day. If i get to go back. Colyton is my destination.
Oh and I will be hiring someone to drive me everywhere i want to go. time saved from being lost will be worth the extra expense.
Oh, no. Sorry it wasn't more clear for you. I grew up in the States, on a cul-de-sac. There was a round area of grass with a concrete curb in the bulb portion of the street. We called it an island. Of course, if you didn't grow up on a cul-de-sac with an island, you may not have been exposed to the word. ;-) Glad you got to experience England!
I recall being surprised that there are very few “roundabouts” in USA: and they’re called “turnarounds” - at least in California…
not actually accurate. An island in the road in the UK is more like a lump of concrete that divides traffic, provides a safer crossing point or houses a sign, but it's not the same as a median strip or a roundabout. They are most often used as part of a LATM (local area traffic management) scheme. A roundabout is where two or more roads intersect and the roundabout is placed there to reduce crashes at intersections. They've also been used to slow traffic down and prevent antisocial behaviour on long straight roads (ie street racing).
The long circuitous journey of muffins and their ilk has long been thing of fascination for me....
Make mine a hot cross bun!
"Carry on" was originally a battle cry indicating forward movement in the midst of a stalemate.
As an American, "Carry on" has always foremost meant to me, to continue what you are doing. For instance, if someone came into a room and everyone suddenly stopped what they were doing, they might say, "Carry on.".
What a smooth transition to the sponsor! Great job!
I grew up in the U.S. When I was in France, I stayed at an Englishwoman's home for about a month. It was shocking to hear her use the word "pudding" or just "pud" to refer to desserts in general, and not just the ooey-gooey stuff that we call pudding back home. I guess I would say that was one that shocked me the most. Another time, she tried teaching us the "red lorry yellow lorry" tongue twister and I had zero clue what a lorry was...
Try HGV and "artic". The former is a heavy goods vehicle, normally of up to about 10 tons capacity. The latter is an articulated lorry, otherwise known as a tractor trailer, transport truck, or 18 wheeler.
I like that tongue twister. try 'good blood bad blood.'
American: "English muffin"
Englishman: "how dare"
American: "What do you call that thing?"
Englishman: "An American muffin"
"drizzle... because of course it does" 🤣🤣
According to Dave Barry, an inedible roll is called a "scone" in Britain.
LOL!!!!
Obviously Dave Barry has never had a true scone. They should be light and tasty, especially when served with cream cheese and strawberry jam.
@@michaeltutty1540 Obviously Michael Tutty has never read Dave Berry's writing. He's a humor columnist.
I can only commend Dave Barry on understanding the Discworld.
You forget the most important double zed word. PIZZA!
But he mentioned "pizzazz" which doesn't even count as a word because you can't play it in Scrabble (try it!).
About twenty years ago I lived in New York, and I had a friend visit me from London. This was pre-9/11 and the security wasn't as tight as it is now, so I was allowed to meet her at the gate, which I did. She was an avid smoker, and by the time she got off the plane, she was desperate for a cigarette. That was how I learned that British people say 'I could murder' the food, drink or drug which they badly wish to consume. That was how SHE learned that what to her was a slang word for a cigarette was, in America, a pejorative term for homosexual men.
Fortunately, that was before smartphones, so nobody got her on tape.
As a Canadian, we also have words that are used differently than in Britain. The one that stands out most in my mind is the word ‘jumper’. It is commonly used for a knitted garment with sleeves in Britain, (which we call a sweater in Canada), but in Canada a jumper was a part of my school uniform, and was a sleeveless dress of navy blue, worn over a blouse. It usually had a pleated front and back, sewn to a narrow bodice band with a square neckline.
The school uniform you describe is very common in South Africa and used to be called a pinafore in South African English. A pinafore is also a type of apron.
Yes a pinafore is a common word here in Canada, but referred to a garment formerly worn over a dress - particularly for young children - to keep the dress clean. The use of pinafores has gone out of fashion since the advent of washing machines.
@@thelibraryismyhappyplace1618 Pinafore is used the same way in the UK too. It's a tunic in Australia. I've never heard the word pinafore used in Australia though. For keeping clean its generally known as an apron.
@@warpedweft9004 Hi from Melbourne👋. The 'pinnies' we used as aprons in South Africa were very similar to the tabards/smocks/bibs (not sure of the proper word) that some nurses wear over their clothes. They had a back and front but were open on the sides and fastened with ties.
@@thelibraryismyhappyplace1618 I haven't heard the word pinnies for years. My mum used to call them that, but it's not a word used in Australia.
In Harry Potter, it talks about the caretaker Filch, "punting" students across a small pond. This was a bit silly until I found out what it meant to punt something in Britain. So there is that.
I'm sure that he would love to punt some students across the pond
A 'Punt' is also a synonym for a bet in England, a gambler is a 'Punter'.
Punt meaning to drop kick is pretty common in the US.
Only other definition that could be relevant is forcing them to cross the Atlantic in a Punt boat which a flat bottom boat often used to hunt waterfowl in shallow wetlands. There are also punt guns which are shotguns with extra long barrels used to hunt birds from a punt.
@@nobodyimportant2470 We use 'Toe Punt' in England to describe an aimless kick in football( soccer).
@nobodyimportant, the important word in this definition is 'shallow', popular in shallow water like The Backs in Cambridge, you'd not get further than the end of the beach in crossing the Atlantic, you'd need a VERY long pole!
Torch in America it has a flame. Across the pond its a flashlight. I had an boss from England ask for a torch. I got him a cutting torch and that wasn't what he wanted. Just a flashlight.
Flashlights funny cos it almost sounds like fleshlight
You should have brought him a flaming, oil rag-wrapped stick.
@@GreatSageSunWukong
Isn't that deliberate on the part of the latter?
@@BonaparteBardithion don't care its still funny to my ears
Cities (in the U.S.) have mayors. Other types of municipalities have other forms of the execurive branch. Thanks to the Great Courses for allowing me the time to write this.
I love the British expression "getting pissed"....lol...
I don’t know about anyone else but muffin tops are the absolute best part of the muffin! Especially with all a lot of butter melted on top! I am from the south were butters the main ingredient to anything! PS and the main topping to LOL.
Except "muffin tops" are the absolute worst part of overly tight pants...
Or they are the best part!😉 lol
As a girl, muffin tops are to be avoided, if you can….
Carry on my Wayward son - Kansas ! :-)
That brief singing was really well done!
In my neck of the woods, "carrying on" can be either someone being overly dramatic over something small or having an inappropriate relationship. Another fun english word for a "banger" is a " puddle jumper" or a "beater".
Nice voice btw! 🎶
Fo’shizzle was the best part of this video
after 35 years, i now understand why it was called the last homely house in the lord of the rings.
Haha, I had no idea about "carry on."
I can think of a few ways we use the term, but never as a euphamism for an affair.
Here in the States up to 60 or 70 years ago we did . Lol. yeah, I'm old.
I heard “fo-shizzle” and giggled uncontrollably....
I loved hearing you sing! These words are not used in the U.S. (and you might have talked about them in a video with your wife) but food words like courgette, aubergine, corn flour, and other food terms make me laugh. GBBO has opened up even more different food terms for me.
For future videos with a linguistic bent you could talk about British or American idioms, which ones would work on either side of the pond; or euphemisms, sometimes people refer to a person as “squirrelly,” if they are a bit odd- would someone in the UK understand that?
Nope, at least it would take a great deal of thought before I knew what you meant!
We don't use the words courgette or aubergine in Australia either. They are zucchini and eggplant here. I think it might be a hang over from when the UK joined the EU in the 1970s or common market as it was called then. We were still living in the UK then and up til then had never seen a zucchini or eggplant before. They came from France so naturally when they arrived in the UK we used the French names for those vegetables. Another thing was kiwi fruit. They were called Chinese gooseberries in the UK in the 70s.
this is really weird. My replies are being posted randomly under different comments. My apologies if they don't make sense in the context of the comment.....
Meanwhile in Canada:
- Did you hear? Dave's in AA, eh?
- AAA? what's that?
- Not AAA, AA, eh?
- Eh?
This quite honestly made my d'eh
I am so glad that my cellphone dictionaries take double words or phrases for definitions. So many words' separate definitions together do not add up to the definitions of combinations in use. A major bane of my childhood.
Carry on, to me, basically means keep on doing whatever you're doing (covers a lot of ground). I've always heard "they've been carrying on right out in the open" with appropriate 50's shock making the meaning obvious. Carry-on baggage has always seemed a point of contention between travelers and transportation or other travelers. You made me realize I've never doubted the meaning of "carry on" though it can mean almost anything.
From Texas. Love your channel. Carry on.
"Carry on" just reminds me of that series of risqué films from the 70s
Laurence, in the US the word Banger usually refers street gang member.
What region? Never heard it before on the west coast.
@@BonaparteBardithion "Banger is short for "Gangbanger" and it is used all over the US.
@@HB-C_U_L8R
I've heard gangbang, but this is the first I've heard "banger" used for a gang member. Learned something new.
I live in a township. Next door is a borough. Not much difference really. A banged up car here is a hoopty wagon. You played field hockey.
US here. I call it a junk or a junk car. Or a clunker.
City is also sometimes how an entity is run by government. Towns that become cities will proceed to get a mayor as the head of government, even when the city remains small in population.
The "Keep Calm and Carry On" posters were never used in WW2 and mostly unknown until a stash of them was found in 2000.
Laurence the way you slid right into that advertisement was top quality work! I reminded my of the old radio personality Paul Harvey....enjoyed this video as most of your previous work
Plus, the Great Courses are amazing! I still have video courses & DVD courses from back in the day, have watched the specific course mentioned in this video, and still watch more today.
I’m in America and buzzard has always meant bird like a vulture not a hawk, or an old stubborn person
Yes, buzzard=geezer.
I thought the same thing Reynaldo. I never referred to a Hawk as a buzzard, but called alot of older people one. Lol
@@frandistabile4723 yep
“Carry on” means “keep doing what you’re doing.” It’s also baggage you bring in the cabin - literally that you carry on the plane.
We call the “hockey” you played “field hockey.”
Cool story about Thomas’s English muffins.
Muffin is also a regional synonym for bap, bread roll, bread cake, batch, cob, and probably a host of others (being from Yorkshire, I fall in the bread cake camp). Not to mention the expression 'can I butter your muffin?', which is not food related at all.
The best of your very good 8-word comparisons!