tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758609568631190155.post2063054217959954407..comments2024-03-28T06:28:49.282+00:00Comments on Picture Book Den: YOU SAY 'POTATO', I SAY 'SPUD'Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758609568631190155.post-41928363293103176422019-04-06T23:52:34.271+01:002019-04-06T23:52:34.271+01:00Even to us Americans, Rowt 66 probably doesn't...Even to us Americans, Rowt 66 probably doesn't sound right thanks to a popular song.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08596990370242017174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758609568631190155.post-29765133704633469042016-07-27T19:28:20.532+01:002016-07-27T19:28:20.532+01:00We have cinnamon buns! Pastries that are coiled u...We have cinnamon buns! Pastries that are coiled up with cinnamon throughout and sweet icing on top!SchrefflerFamilyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16250571296052594274noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758609568631190155.post-70649317912051784182016-07-27T19:27:23.527+01:002016-07-27T19:27:23.527+01:00Ah. But a jumper here is a one piece dress-like ob...Ah. But a jumper here is a one piece dress-like object that is worn over a shirt. (Like overalls, with a skirt)SchrefflerFamilyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16250571296052594274noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758609568631190155.post-61180284276253669542016-07-26T13:40:42.007+01:002016-07-26T13:40:42.007+01:00Thank you for clearing up the public holiday term!...Thank you for clearing up the public holiday term! As for bumper shoot, I have to say the only person I ever heard use that term was my mother-in-law (who, I think, sometimes wishes she was British), so I looked it up. Apparently I had the spelling wrong (it's bumbershoot) and it's not of English origin, but of American origin. According to Wictionary, "it has become associated with British umbrellas, but has never been a Britishism." So my inlaws have been inappropriately throwing this term around for years (wouldn't be the first time)! Thanks again for an interesting and entertaining post!Heather Stigallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09087202048182270449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758609568631190155.post-53909228842446371562016-07-09T01:29:08.493+01:002016-07-09T01:29:08.493+01:00You win the reward for longest, most thorough repl...You win the reward for longest, most thorough reply EVER. Thank you! What the heck is a bumper shoot?! We call vacations holidays. We don't use the word vacation at all. Our significant days are 'public holidays'. I love the differences, and I love the origins (be they mysterious or obvious) of our words. Such fun. Michelle Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09620246793467493696noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758609568631190155.post-84329159306777523202016-07-09T01:25:51.695+01:002016-07-09T01:25:51.695+01:00So true - ha!So true - ha!Michelle Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09620246793467493696noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758609568631190155.post-86768997874400103272016-07-08T04:19:39.603+01:002016-07-08T04:19:39.603+01:00Such a fun post, Michelle! What's the saying -...Such a fun post, Michelle! What's the saying - we're two countries divided by a common language? After our years there, I've held onto a few great words that I'm particularly fond of - loo, jumper, brilliant, Mum, hiya and cheers (although not 'All right?'). I love the British pronunciation of vitamin. Always made me laugh that Brits add the 's' to 'Math', but remove it from 'Sports'.Patricia Tohthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06878871084215411303noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758609568631190155.post-55497845914153330872016-07-07T16:23:10.826+01:002016-07-07T16:23:10.826+01:00Oh! We DO have hedgehogs! I told my son you call B...Oh! We DO have hedgehogs! I told my son you call Bandaids "sticky plaster" and he made a face (plaster is something we build walls and house out of). I remember someone trying to explain to me a "pullover" while I was there. What is that? And, though I love the way "going on holiday" sounds instead of vacation, we Americans differentiate a vacation from a holiday as a trip away or time off from school or work vs. a calendar celebration of a significant day (Christmas = birth of Jesus). What do you call what we call a holiday?Heather Stigallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09087202048182270449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758609568631190155.post-13085968322061032822016-07-07T14:34:07.201+01:002016-07-07T14:34:07.201+01:00This post did make me smile, thank you! I am an Am...This post did make me smile, thank you! I am an American who spend a very wee (spelled correctly?) time in England back in college (3-4 months). I had fun exchanging American-British terminology with other students. I will agree that you have some much better/fun words for those we use in the US (bum, for example, though bottoms is an equally acceptable word over here and considered more "polite" to use than butt), but some of your terms are just as confusing to me as our terms are to you. For example, I haven't looked up the origin of sweater or jumper, but why jumper? Do you jump to get into one? Or jump up and down with excitement when you are wearing one? I agree lift is easier to pronounce than elevator (though I did enjoy it when my children asked to go on an "alligator ride" when they were little -- meaning either elevator or escalator), but at least lift and elevate mean the same thing. Aluminium? Why add an extra "i" and make THAT harder to pronounce? As for galoshes vs Wellies, I believe these are different things. Galoshes (which I rarely see nowadays -- they're something my grandfather and maybe father-in-law may have worn) are water proof coverings that go over men's dress (you might say "smart") shoes. Boots are what most Americans wear on a rainy day. From what I guessed (and then googled), Wellies comes from the term Wellingtons to describe the type of boots popularized by the First Duke of Wellington. To me, this is just like the use of the term Bandaid here. What these really are called are "self-adhesive bandages," but since Johnson & Johnson first invented these and branded them "Bandaids," the name stuck and now most everyone calls them that. I had never heard the term "cozzie" so I looked it up: "informal for swimming costume." What century is this? I guess some swim suits (I call them that, not bathing suits) are, indeed, quite costume-like! Rotary vs. roundabout: I learned to drive in New Jersey where we called them traffic circles, so there's another one for you! I love your nappy, crisps and lollipop men/ladies. I guess our crossing guards don't have circular shaped signs. Pavement is the material that the sidewalk (so-named b/c it goes along the side of the street for pedestrians) is made of. I actually don't know anyone who calls glue "gum" -- just chewing gum is referred to as gum here, unless it's a regional thing that I'm not familiar with (for example, depending on where in the US you live, you may refer to a carbonated beverage as soda, pop, or coke). We have Jello (like Bandaid, a brand-name used for gelatin dessert), jelly, jam, AND preserves, and each is a different thing - very confusing! Also confusing, we do have buns, scones, biscuits, muffins, cupcakes, and cookies (not to be mistaken for being "kooky") which are all very different things. I didn't know you called zucchini and eggplant by different names, but cilantro and coriander are two different things over here. I am glad I don't write cookbooks either -- I lost a game of Trivial Pursuit while in England b/c the question asked how many teaspoons are in a tablespoon. In the US there are 3, but I learned that it's 4 across the pond! I completely agree with football. Our version of American football is very silly, indeed, and it makes no sense to call it that. To add to your growing list, we have guys vs. your blokes, we have umbrellas & you have bumper shoots, and the boot of a car is the trunk here -- because it's not at all confusing to have a part of a car, a tree, and an elephant all be called the same thing! Again, I enjoyed your post and hope you take my comments for what they were intended -- all in good fun!Heather Stigallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09087202048182270449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758609568631190155.post-8908995351331163552016-07-06T07:14:52.644+01:002016-07-06T07:14:52.644+01:00Oh, that is brilliant!Oh, that is brilliant!Michelle Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09620246793467493696noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758609568631190155.post-41074937770202960312016-07-05T17:35:26.778+01:002016-07-05T17:35:26.778+01:00I love this! My kids are also starting to use Ame...I love this! My kids are also starting to use Americanisms as a result of US TV, which we jump up and down on very firmly, in a very British fashion. 'Car lot? Oh no, young fellamelad, I THINK you'll find it's a car PARK. And dear me no, you can't go down the 'store'!' I also have a very fond memory of someone telling me of their first night in the states and getting a very strange look if they asked if they could pinch someone's seat... Teresa Heapyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07644746527425723053noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758609568631190155.post-455997818132285032016-07-05T17:30:18.569+01:002016-07-05T17:30:18.569+01:00Ah! I only ever hear 'rowt' and it puts my...Ah! I only ever hear 'rowt' and it puts my teeth on edge.Michelle Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09620246793467493696noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758609568631190155.post-64563562665004221642016-07-05T17:29:13.412+01:002016-07-05T17:29:13.412+01:00I actually really love the differences. I read a l...I actually really love the differences. I read a lot of US kids fiction as a kid and found things like sneakers and fall and high school ever so appealing. Michelle Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09620246793467493696noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758609568631190155.post-91303282678993852472016-07-05T17:27:57.480+01:002016-07-05T17:27:57.480+01:00That is definitely not a muffler over here...That is definitely not a muffler over here...Michelle Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09620246793467493696noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758609568631190155.post-13951855470609671762016-07-05T17:24:51.571+01:002016-07-05T17:24:51.571+01:00Loved this post - much more amusing than anything ...Loved this post - much more amusing than anything on the Telly (that's tv, on the US side of the Pond). Jumpers & skips were the most confusing when I heard them during our first UK sojourn (as someone who wore a jumper, aka pinafore, to Catholic school in the US, I couldn't understand why that jumper was a pullover for the daughters in the Convent school outside London). Maths revisions caused confusion when the UK-born son entered secondary school. Why that same son's UK passport is not a fast pass to the entire EU now causes confusion & consternation, both for this Mum (yes, that's what they still call me) & son (who left college & is now in uni, after a fab Leavers' Ball - -no dry prom for him, rather an unforgettable night for parents & leavers celebrating together). Cheers!ptnozellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17041703845679744827noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758609568631190155.post-39893409206524367322016-07-05T14:34:23.188+01:002016-07-05T14:34:23.188+01:00We lived in England for 4 years and my favorite/fa...We lived in England for 4 years and my favorite/favourite (!) misunderstanding was dealing with my car when the mechanic told me I needed a new silencer. I thought that was something bad guys put on their guns. We went around several times before understanding that an American's muffler (your scarf!)=British silencer. No guns involved.Wendyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14114624813405241762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758609568631190155.post-9379775848214027322016-07-05T12:46:49.708+01:002016-07-05T12:46:49.708+01:00'Cute' is always a wonderful word!'Cute' is always a wonderful word!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03772278989111723188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758609568631190155.post-86158329228492315102016-07-05T12:45:36.354+01:002016-07-05T12:45:36.354+01:00And then you have the British "plaits" a...And then you have the British "plaits" and the American "braids". Your post has gotten me going! I wonder how many more we are missing! =) Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758609568631190155.post-45824247537505640002016-07-05T12:11:55.641+01:002016-07-05T12:11:55.641+01:00And 'cute' is quite subtly different.And 'cute' is quite subtly different.Michelle Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09620246793467493696noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758609568631190155.post-13921125560947776742016-07-05T12:10:46.307+01:002016-07-05T12:10:46.307+01:00Yes! 'Bangs' is quite ridiculous! I rememb...Yes! 'Bangs' is quite ridiculous! I remember hearing it first in Grease and having NO IDEA.Michelle Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09620246793467493696noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758609568631190155.post-35423922038170329042016-07-05T11:12:11.303+01:002016-07-05T11:12:11.303+01:00And if I'm 'mad' I'm loosing my mi...And if I'm 'mad' I'm loosing my mind, not just plain angry... although I do and I am when I come across whole clusters of Americanisms in British children's picture books - boo! :0/ Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03772278989111723188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758609568631190155.post-75785178122528745462016-07-05T10:41:23.583+01:002016-07-05T10:41:23.583+01:00FUN post! I've thought of another which I don...FUN post! I've thought of another which I don't see on your list. All my life I've had "bangs", but I believe that you lovely lads and lasses on the other side of the pond, call them "fringes". Is that right? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758609568631190155.post-62767552163019360402016-07-05T10:34:30.968+01:002016-07-05T10:34:30.968+01:00Yes, but depending on where one lives in the U.S.,...Yes, but depending on where one lives in the U.S., one pronounces it rOOt as well. =)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758609568631190155.post-36065010909755674552016-07-04T20:32:31.871+01:002016-07-04T20:32:31.871+01:00Oh, yum. Now they're a grand invention. Also, ...Oh, yum. Now they're a grand invention. Also, have you tried wrapping a load of Galaxy Minstrels in a double layer of tin foil and putting them on the BBQ? Heck yeah. They go runny in the middle but the shell stays crispy. Don't ask me what happens to your arteries.Michelle Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09620246793467493696noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758609568631190155.post-54902145686532345702016-07-04T20:20:54.465+01:002016-07-04T20:20:54.465+01:00Today, with my half English, half American son had...Today, with my half English, half American son had s'mores' to celebrate after our 'cookout' - bbq to you. Happy Independence Day!Natascha Biebowhttp://www.blueelephantstoryshaping.comnoreply@blogger.com