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smudge
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08 Oct 2017, 4:21 pm

kraftiekortie wrote:
I also believe a person on your side of the Pond could be "knackered," whereas we can be "drunk."


Or cream crackered. :) And yeh, it means really tired, not drunk. A similar word would be "shattered".


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kraftiekortie
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08 Oct 2017, 8:50 pm

^^^ Is that Cockney Rhyming Slang?



naturalplastic
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08 Oct 2017, 9:20 pm

Yeah. If you're inebriated in Britain you are "pissed". Same in Australia. In contrast "pissed" means "angry" in the USA (short for "pissed off"), and has nothing to do with alcoholic beverage consumption.



smudge
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09 Oct 2017, 1:13 am

kraftiekortie wrote:
^^^ Is that Cockney Rhyming Slang?


It probably is. I don't think I ever hear Cockney Rhyming Slang over here though. My mum used to use that one all the time, but her accent sounded more middle class (but she wasn't middle class) and "cream crackered" was used as a joke.


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Chichikov
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09 Oct 2017, 3:05 am

smudge wrote:
kraftiekortie wrote:
^^^ Is that Cockney Rhyming Slang?


It probably is. I don't think I ever hear Cockney Rhyming Slang over here though. My mum used to use that one all the time, but her accent sounded more middle class (but she wasn't middle class) and "cream crackered" was used as a joke.

There are phrases that are rhyming slang that people don't know are rhyming slang, "I don't have a scooby" being one of the more popular examples. It's slang for Scooby Doo\clue.



Biscuitman
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09 Oct 2017, 7:04 am

Chichikov wrote:
smudge wrote:
kraftiekortie wrote:
^^^ Is that Cockney Rhyming Slang?


It probably is. I don't think I ever hear Cockney Rhyming Slang over here though. My mum used to use that one all the time, but her accent sounded more middle class (but she wasn't middle class) and "cream crackered" was used as a joke.

There are phrases that are rhyming slang that people don't know are rhyming slang, "I don't have a scooby" being one of the more popular examples. It's slang for Scooby Doo\clue.


Agree with that. There are probably quite a lot that are used in daily life by all sorts of people as they are just part of the lexicon now and we never stop to think where it comes from.

I used to work with a guy known as Mickley Bubble. It was only after about a year I learned he had Greek heritage so it then clicked as to why he would be called Bubble (bubble & squeak = Greek)



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09 Oct 2017, 1:27 pm

Oddly enough some expressions we Americans often use seem to have had their roots in Cockney Rhyming slang.

"Didya see those two guys duking it out?"

Making "duke" into a verb like that is a recent (and probably American) flourish.

But it derives from "put up your dukes" which has been used for decades (you see it in every black and white classic Hollywood movie).

Apparently Victorian London blokes would challenge each other to "put up your forks" (because hands look like forks).

That became "put up your Duke of Yorks".

Then THAT got shortened to "put up your dukes".

Then somehow "put up your dukes" vaulted the Atlantic to the US and became endemic at least by the interwar era when my parents were growing up if not earlier.



smudge
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09 Oct 2017, 2:58 pm

^ To all three of you: It is certainly interesting to read, I haven't heard those particular ones. There must be some around locally here that are used that I don't realise about.


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naturalplastic
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10 Oct 2017, 1:11 pm

Americans study "math"
But Brits study "maths".
But both Brits and Americans study "ceramics".
Go figure.

Brits "go to hospital"

Americans "go to THE hospital".

But Americans "go to college".

And Brits also "go to college". Except that they don't "go to college". They "go to university". And sometimes they shorten it to "go to uni" (as if "going to university" doesn't sound dorky enough! lol!).



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10 Oct 2017, 1:16 pm

There is even starting to be grammer, as well as vocabulary, differences.

In Britain a reporter can say "the government are doing X", or "the crowd are going crazy".

In the US "the government" and "the crowd" are thought of as one thing. So you talk about them as a singular. The government is doing this, and the crowd is doing that.



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10 Oct 2017, 5:43 pm

Alexanderplatz wrote:
Can I bum a fag off you? is an polite informal way of asking someone for a free cigarette.
Do you mind if I bum a fag? is also commonly heard.


Can you what? If someone asked me that, I would have assumed they meant someone and not the packet in which they speak.
Usually, it's 'Can I have a fag?' or '' Can I borrow a fag?'' or ''You got any spare Cigs?'' all that and more, but not can I burn a fag from you, usually its impolite.
Also, for Biscuitman, if you want to be the sole provider of your middle class income, it usually goes with an afternoon or mid-afternoon tea (and biscuit). :roll:



Biscuitman
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11 Oct 2017, 1:31 am

naturalplastic wrote:
Americans study "math"
But Brits study "maths".
But both Brits and Americans study "ceramics".
Go figure.

Brits "go to hospital"

Americans "go to THE hospital".

But Americans "go to college".

And Brits also "go to college". Except that they don't "go to college". They "go to university". And sometimes they shorten it to "go to uni" (as if "going to university" doesn't sound dorky enough! lol!).


We actually do go to college and we go to university! That'll confuse ya! :lol:



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11 Oct 2017, 1:33 am

Empathy wrote:
Also, for Biscuitman, if you want to be the sole provider of your middle class income, it usually goes with an afternoon or mid-afternoon tea (and biscuit). :roll:


Literally no idea what this even means



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17 Oct 2017, 6:49 pm

^^ :?
That's ok, I just fancied a snack in an art ceramics textiles class when I could foresee the next stage in my graduation.

Graduation means to pass in America. To pass here, usually involves surviving the last eight years of med or law school and then you can pass with flying colours.



OutsideView
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18 Oct 2017, 7:40 am

When I was in the USA I confused people by asking someone to put something in the "bin" for me. Apparently that would be some kind of big container you might keep apples in rather than a "trash can".
I also kept getting laughed at for calling groups of people "folk".
When I asked someone where "Katy" was they kept not knowning who I was talking about until I pronounced it "Kady".
I spent ages trying to find the "toilets" in a restaurant. Why would I go in the "restroom", I didn't need a rest?
Don't think Americans use the word "minging" for something disgusting or "minger" for someone unattractive.
Something that really bothers me is people in the UK suddenly using the word "season" instead of "series" for things on TV.


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18 Oct 2017, 8:08 am

I remember trying to buy a kettle in Indianapolis once. More to do with the hoosier accent than anything else, but great fun nonetheless.


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