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Heaven: 2021 Proof Americans and Brits speak a different language

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  • AravisAravis Shipmate
    Rilliant!
  • AravisAravis Shipmate
    Sorry, the initial B disappeared somehow there!
  • KarlLB wrote: »
    We should be grateful that chickpeas aren't Ffa Cyw, as they could so easily have been.

    Some people call them garbonzo beans I believe.
  • Gramps49Gramps49 Shipmate
    KarlLB wrote: »
    We should be grateful that chickpeas aren't Ffa Cyw, as they could so easily have been.

    Some people call them garbonzo beans I believe.

    That is what they are called in Washington State.

    Here is a test I want out British cohorts to complete.

    Please define the following words or phrases (no cheating):

    1. Buck
    2. Pass the buck
    3. Going Dutch
    4. Sweet
    5. Zonked
    6. Bought the farm
    7. Shoot the Breeze
    8. Jonesing
    9. John Hancock
    10. Monday Morning Quarterback
    11. Ride shotgun
    12. For the Birds
    13. Put up your dukes
    14. Carpetbagger
    15. Pork

    I am sure our British friends can come up with similar phrases we Americans would not understand.


  • AthrawesAthrawes Shipmate
    I got about half of them, @Gramps49, but I’m in Australia. We tend to get a fair bit of both lots of slang. No idea about the Monday morning quarterback, though. Or Jonesing.
  • orfeoorfeo Suspended
    No worries.
  • Wet KipperWet Kipper Shipmate
    edited April 2020
    are you wanting the Brits to give a British English definition of those terms, if there is one, or are you wanting us to try and say what they mean to an American ?
    Or even translate the American meaning into a similar term understood by Brits ?
  • EirenistEirenist Shipmate
    Is there an American equivalent to 'Sun's over the yardarm'?
  • EirenistEirenist Shipmate
    Or 'A chip onhis shoulder'?
  • FirenzeFirenze Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    edited April 2020
    1. Buck
    a) Act contrary to b) male rabbit or deer
    2. Pass the buck
    Shirk responsibility
    3. Going Dutch
    Halving the cost
    4. Sweet
    Pleasing.
    5. Zonked
    Exhausted
    6. Bought the farm
    Died
    7. Shoot the Breeze
    Chat
    8. Jonesing
    Wanting badly
    9. John Hancock
    ?
    10. Monday Morning Quarterback
    Speculatively, someone wise after the event.
    11. Ride shotgun
    Have a protective role
    12. For the Birds
    Unworthy of consideration
    13. Put up your dukes
    Prepare to fight
    14. Carpetbagger
    Exploiter, opportunist
    15. Pork
    Pigmeat

    Now, what about

    1. Numpty
    2. Cute hoor
    3. Be (someone's) priest
    4. Blether
    5. Wean
    6. Wheen
    7. Kybosh
    8. Teuchter
    9. Guddle
    10. Stushie


  • Robert ArminRobert Armin Shipmate, Glory
    I didn't know 8, 10 or 15. And I only knew 9 because I'd asked about it on the Ship!
  • Robert ArminRobert Armin Shipmate, Glory
    Funnily enough I was thinking about Going Dutch only yesterday. I thought it was a British phrase, along with Dutch Uncle, and even Dutch Cap.

  • Firenze, I only know 1,4 and 7.
    Numpty = idiot, fool, daft
    Blether = keep on talking
    Kybosh= put the kybosh on something, stop it.

    With regard to regional accents, Darllenwr is from Stourbridge, but doesn’t have a Midlands accent. Shortly after we were married, we went into Birmingham to look for a mahjong set. We went into a big store, couldn’t see one, so I asked a shop assistant. She couldn’t understand my Welsh accent, I couldn’t understand her Midlands accent, and Darllenwr, who could understand both of us, stood to one side chuckling!
  • EnochEnoch Shipmate
    edited April 2020
    Gramps49 wrote: »
    KarlLB wrote: »
    We should be grateful that chickpeas aren't Ffa Cyw, as they could so easily have been.


    Some people call them garbonzo beans I believe.

    That is what they are called in Washington State.

    Here is a test I want out British cohorts to complete.

    Please define the following words or phrases (no cheating):

    Here goes, fairly close to @Firenze's answers.

    1. Buck,
    a) Act contrary to, or b) male roe deer or rabbit.
    2. Pass the buck
    Evade responsibility and dump it on someone else.
    3. Going Dutch
    Each person paying for their own meal.
    4. Sweet
    Sugary tasting, and from that, pleasant in a non-threatening way.
    However, 'be sweet on someone' = 'romantically attract to someone', but is old fashioned and probably obs. (What other mystery meaning does it have)
    5. Zonked
    Exhausted (I thought zonked was a BrEnglish expression)
    6. Bought the farm
    Apart from buying an agricultural holding, unknown.
    7. Shoot the Breeze
    Unknown.
    8. Jonesing
    Unknown
    9. John Hancock
    Unknown
    10. Monday Morning Quarterback
    Unknown. Quarterback itself is one of those mysterious transatlantic words that one has seen but doesn't know what it means..
    11. Ride shotgun
    Be a metaphorical bodyguard in a metaphorical passenger seat.
    12. For the Birds
    Expression for condemning a ridiculous suggestion founded in delusion.
    13. Put up your dukes
    Clench ones fists and go into boxer's attack position.
    14. Carpetbagger
    As @Firenze, Exploiter, opportunist
    15. Pork
    As @Firenze, Pigmeat, (What other mystery meaning does it have)
    However 'porky' = lie. That's rhyming slang.

    garbonzo beans
    Unknown.

  • Sweet is interesting as in London it has the street usage, meaning good, but used on its own. However, I suspect this goes beyond London.
  • mousethiefmousethief Shipmate
    edited April 2020
    John Hancock=
    signature (because on the Declaration of Independence he wrote so large). As in, "Just put your John Hancock on this line, and the shiny object is yours."
  • Also

    Carpetbagger has the implication
    that they are from outside the region. Someone unwanted coming in from other parts to do things the locals may or may not want done.

    Pork=
    amendment in a spending bill that benefits one particular state or district, and not the country as a whole, OR benefits one particular industry or other subportion of the country. Normally this is done in a tit-for-tat manner. If you vote for a new post office in my district, I'll vote for a new courthouse in your county.
  • Funnily enough I was thinking about Going Dutch only yesterday. I thought it was a British phrase, along with Dutch Uncle, and even Dutch Cap.

    Oddly Dutch Uncle is not uncommon here (particularly among us older folk), but I have no idea what Dutch Cap is.
  • Firenze wrote: »
    1. Numpty
    2. Cute hoor
    3. Be (someone's) priest
    4. Blether
    5. Wean
    6. Wheen
    7. Kybosh
    8. Teuchter
    9. Guddle
    10. Stushie

    I'm certain #2 doesn't mean what it sounds like it means, and I've no idea about #3. A lot of these are Scots, and are words that I understand but wouldn't use. I think the only ones of these I know I've used in speech are Numpty, Kybosh, and probably Blether (I might have to think hard about whether blether and blither are different words or not.) I don't think I've ever used wean as a noun, and I know I've never used the rest, but I know what they mean.
  • Buck
    Male deer.
    Sudden jump by a horse or pony.
    US slang for a dollar.
    Pass the buck
    To shirk responsibility, give control of a difficult task or decision to someone else.
    Going Dutch
    An outing where each person pays their own way.
    Sweet
    Single item of confectionery. The opposite of sour. Non-U term for dessert.
    Zonked
    Brought to collapse by exhaustion.
    Bought the farm
    I think its something to do with crashing a single-seater aircraft.
    Shoot the Breeze/ Jonesing/ John Hancock/ Monday Morning Quarterback
    Not a clue.
    Ride shotgun
    To give support in a situation which may turn into an argument/ altercation.
    For the Birds
    Not an expression I'm familiar with.
    Put up your dukes
    To confront an opponent before a boxing bout.
    Carpetbagger
    Fly-by-night financial opportunist - origin from the upheaval in the former Confederate States after the 1860s civil war in North America.
    Pork
    Uncured pig meat. Very occasionally to refer to another's excessive weight.

    So @Gramps49, what do you understand by Hoist with his own petard?
  • Talking about sweet and London street usage reminded me that there is Multicultural London English, and Multiethnic London English, not sure if they're identical. Anyway, it used to be said that it had Jamaican roots, but this seems inaccurate, and it's a mixture of different dialects. It's supposed to be "post-racial", however, I don't know enough about it.
  • Gramps49 wrote: »
    KarlLB wrote: »
    We should be grateful that chickpeas aren't Ffa Cyw, as they could so easily have been.

    Some people call them garbonzo beans I believe.

    That is what they are called in Washington State.

    Here is a test I want out British cohorts to complete.

    Please define the following words or phrases (no cheating):

    1. Buck
    2. Pass the buck
    3. Going Dutch
    4. Sweet
    5. Zonked
    6. Bought the farm
    7. Shoot the Breeze
    8. Jonesing
    9. John Hancock
    10. Monday Morning Quarterback
    11. Ride shotgun
    12. For the Birds
    13. Put up your dukes
    14. Carpetbagger
    15. Pork

    I am sure our British friends can come up with similar phrases we Americans would not understand.


    Canadian prairies, old man here.

    I don't know:

    3. going Dutch - maybe means skinny dip

    10. I think jonesing means longing for something

    12. John Hancock - I've heard it, does it mean "every man" like John Doe

    14. Monday Morning quarterback - know what it means, never would use it

    19. carpetbagger - unsure

    21. pork - other than the meat, if it is "pork barrel" then it's taking money or benefits not rightfully your's, usually politicians paying their friends

    May I ask if any of you use the term "gong show"? I've heard it is not international.
  • May I ask if any of you use the term "gong show"? I've heard it is not international.

    A Gang Show is a theatrical performance by a scouting group. I have no idea what a gong show might be. Gong, as well as being the metal thing you bang, is an archaic word for faeces, and for the facility in which one produces it.

    Out of context, I'd suspect that it was rather rude, but I don't think you'd have introduced it here if it was.

    Lacking further inspiration, I'll go with a bowdlerization of shit-show.
  • FirenzeFirenze Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    'Cute hoor' is more Irish than Scottish. 'Cute' = shrewd, cunning. 'He's that cute, he could mind mice at a crossroads'. 'Hoor' = whore, but with no sexual connotation: cf Chaucer 'He was a gentil harlot and a kynde' - a rogue or scoundrel.

    I find it quite a useful expression.
  • May I ask if any of you use the term "gong show"? I've heard it is not international.

    A Gang Show is a theatrical performance by a scouting group. I have no idea what a gong show might be. Gong, as well as being the metal thing you bang, is an archaic word for faeces, and for the facility in which one produces it.

    Out of context, I'd suspect that it was rather rude, but I don't think you'd have introduced it here if it was.

    Lacking further inspiration, I'll go with a bowdlerization of shit-show.

    A gong show is when something goes wrong and it is funny.
    A shit show is when something goes wrong or is messed up from the beginning, and it isn't funny.

    "The church service was a total gong show when the usher tripped, and threw the offering plate up in the air and pennies, envelopes and prayer requests rained down, as if from heaven." And everyone laughed.
  • Gramps49Gramps49 Shipmate
    edited April 2020
    mouset
    h
    ief
    wrote: »
    Also

    Carpetbagger has the implication
    that they are from outside the region. Someone unwanted coming in from other parts to do things the locals may or may not want done.

    Pork=
    amendment in a spending bill that benefits one particular state or district, and not the country as a whole, OR benefits one particular industry or other subportion of the country. Normally this is done in a tit-for-tat manner. If you vote for a new post office in my district, I'll vote for a new courthouse in your county.

    Regards Carpetbagger
    The term comes from how Northerners, who wanted to take advantage of the devastation of the South after the civil war came with their belongings stuffed in carpet bag luggage.

    Regards Bought the farm
    The term comes from WWI when the servicemen would have enough government life insurance on them so that if they died, their survivors could buy a farm to sustain themselves.

    Pork also has another more vulgar meaning, btw.

    Regards the British terms. I think I could only give an educated guess on "Being (someone's priest"

    Trying to control someone else's life.

    Regards, Hoist one's own petard

    I happen to know that one because I am reading a book on Capt Cook's adventures in the South Pacific.

    The American term for it would be "Blow up in one's own face."
  • Isn't to be someone's priest the equivalent of putting them to bed with a shovel?
  • FirenzeFirenze Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    Isn't to be someone's priest the equivalent of putting them to bed with a shovel?

    Pretty much. Back in the days when I was an Ag and Fish librarian a chap in the American Midwest sent me a query about this, as he manufactured these fishing accessory wooden clubs called 'priests'. I explained there were so called because they 'gave the last rites' to the fish. He sent me one which of course I left in the library. I sometimes wonder what happened to it.

  • We stab fish in the head. Never did understand the beating them to death.
  • This is why I don't fish! (Yes, I'm a wimp)
  • edited April 2020
    Well to be truthful, I wouldn't have posted that, but I am swaggering a bit because the dog and cat and I were playing pirates. If you're going to be a pirate you need to be prepared to stab. Our enemy is the Spherical Bastard Virus. My wife mostly ignores me.
  • Gramps49Gramps49 Shipmate
    Missed that one about the priest.

    I am still adjusting to the word "stuffed."

    I learned a new meaning for crumpet today, though.
  • FirenzeFirenze Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    'Wean' (pronounced 'wain') is a contraction of wee ane = little one = child. A wheen is an indeterminate number. So you could have a wheen o' weans.
  • Gee DGee D Shipmate
    Gramps49 wrote: »
    I learned a new meaning for crumpet today, though.

    It's better to toast them under the grill as the sides need different timing. Plain butter's best but some like honey or golden syrup.
  • SparrowSparrow Shipmate
    Gee D wrote: »
    Gramps49 wrote: »
    I learned a new meaning for crumpet today, though.

    It's better to toast them under the grill as the sides need different timing. Plain butter's best but some like honey or golden syrup.

    Try them with Marmite!

  • Best with peanut butter
  • Gee DGee D Shipmate
    Sparrow wrote: »
    Gee D wrote: »
    Gramps49 wrote: »
    I learned a new meaning for crumpet today, though.

    It's better to toast them under the grill as the sides need different timing. Plain butter's best but some like honey or golden syrup.

    Try them with Marmite!

    Marmite is not welcome in this house - food of Satan. We do enjoy Vegemite on toast but not on crumpets.
  • FirenzeFirenze Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    You don't put anything on crumpets apart from indecent amounts of butter (that's their whole spongiform point).
  • Robert ArminRobert Armin Shipmate, Glory
    @Gee D are you Ozzie, born and bred? I could never stomach Vegemite when I lived out there, but I love Marmite!
  • DooneDoone Shipmate
    Firenze wrote: »
    You don't put anything on crumpets apart from indecent amounts of butter (that's their whole spongiform point).

    This 😀!
  • Gee DGee D Shipmate
    @Gee D are you Ozzie, born and bred? I could never stomach Vegemite when I lived out there, but I love Marmite!

    Yes, every last cell.
  • My physio in hospital said “sweet” whenever any excercise went well, so I assume it is street talk for “good “ or “that went well”. Lord P uses “cool beans” in a similar way.
    I don’t know where that one has come from.
  • Marmite is particularly good spread on toast with a thin layer of peanut butter on top.

  • On priest, I don't think you beat a fish to death, as above, usually a tap on the head dispatches them. Having said that, I was a catch 'em and chuck 'em back fisher, as nearly all coarse fishing is in UK, with exception of pike and zander, but they are predators.
  • KarlLBKarlLB Shipmate
    Marmite is particularly good spread on toast with a thin layer of peanut butter on top.

    You're saying that just to troll, aren't you?

    Please?

    Marmite is Satan's earwax.
  • Robert ArminRobert Armin Shipmate, Glory
    I get the feeling that the Easter Bunny is made more of in the States than in Britain. It seems to have a distinct personality, as far as I can make it, while over here we get chocolate rabbits and that's it. Or am I out of touch with my own culture again?
  • Darllenwr likes peanut butter and marmite. In fact, you can now buy a jar of peanut butter and marmite swirled together.
  • Marmite is rather awful. But I have found recently that peanut butter and tomatoes is quite nice. If you can get tomatoes.
  • BroJamesBroJames Purgatory Host
    I like a peanut butter and tomato sandwich too.
  • Crumpet toasted
    Then butter tomato and cheese.
    Re toasted
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