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Forums => English & Linguistics => Topic started by: rivka on March 14, 2010, 04:25:48 PM

Title: English-to-English translation
Post by: rivka on March 14, 2010, 04:25:48 PM
I've been watching As Time Goes By (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/As_Time_Goes_By_%28TV_series%29) on Netflix (I've seen many episodes on PBS, but not all, and not in order, so I'm trying to go through them more methodically). It's great fun, but every few minutes there will be some uniquely British phrase that I have to decode. Google is some help, but some of these are just too much even for it to help with.

So what does "your bottle's gone" mean?

"Shift on up" is clearly "move over".

Now, what was that other one? I'll be back when I remember.
Title: English-to-English translation
Post by: rivka on March 14, 2010, 05:14:25 PM
Ah, yes, to "go for a swift half", which I was able to find (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=swift%20half).
Title: English-to-English translation
Post by: rivka on March 14, 2010, 07:08:35 PM
"Rang up" for "called" I already knew, but "belled" was a new one to me. Ditto "ringed" for "circled".
Title: English-to-English translation
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on March 14, 2010, 07:21:58 PM
One of the elders I worked with on my mission was Australian and his companion was American, and he kept a notebook every time he used a phrase his companion didn't understand. Then he'd check definitions with all of us.

"So what do you call a witch's hat?"

"A hat that a witch wears?"

"No, you know - on the road. A witch's hat. It's, like, the cone, you know, for traffic?"

"Um... a traffic cone?"

"You American Gumbies are so unimaginative."
Title: English-to-English translation
Post by: Porter on March 14, 2010, 08:37:15 PM
Quote
"You American Gumbies are so unimaginative."
*nod*  That's why we can't get anybody in the rest of the world to pay money for our storytelling.
Title: English-to-English translation
Post by: rivka on March 14, 2010, 09:55:06 PM
Marquee = large outdoor tent
Title: English-to-English translation
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on March 14, 2010, 10:06:04 PM
Quote
Quote
"You American Gumbies are so unimaginative."
*nod*  That's why we can't get anybody in the rest of the world to pay money for our storytelling.
No being pissy and defensive at jokes.
Title: English-to-English translation
Post by: Tante Shvester on March 14, 2010, 10:13:03 PM
Gumbies?


(http://www.tvparty.com/bgifs18/gumby.jpg) (http://www.tvparty.com/bgifs18/gumby.jpg)
Title: English-to-English translation
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on March 14, 2010, 10:16:14 PM
Exactly! I was like, "What's a Gumby?"

And he answered, "You know, like the big green guy. Just when somebody's being a dumb Gumby. Like Steve Irwin."
Title: English-to-English translation
Post by: Tante Shvester on March 14, 2010, 10:24:13 PM
I never thought of Gumby being a big green guy.  I always thought of him as a little green guy.

This is a big green guy:

(http://www.generalmills.com/corporate/company/international/images/med_res_packaging/UK_GG.gif)
Title: English-to-English translation
Post by: rivka on March 15, 2010, 12:33:18 AM
ratty = irritable
Title: English-to-English translation
Post by: Tante Shvester on March 15, 2010, 02:12:29 AM
I know that British and American English have the same names for different articles of clothings.  It's like when they crossed the ocean, the pieces of clothing wandered about the body a bit.
Title: English-to-English translation
Post by: rivka on March 15, 2010, 06:59:49 AM
Must be making a move = must be leaving
Title: English-to-English translation
Post by: Tante Shvester on March 15, 2010, 08:14:36 AM
My mother found out, when she was vacationing in England, that it is shockingly rude to announce after a particularly satisfying meal, "I'm absolutely stuffed!"  And that calling her waist pouch a "fanny pack" will earn snickers.
Title: English-to-English translation
Post by: sweet clementine on March 15, 2010, 02:17:26 PM
don't ever refer to your jeans as "pants", just call them jeans or trousers.
Title: English-to-English translation
Post by: Tante Shvester on March 15, 2010, 08:48:12 PM
Like I said, the clothing did drift about the body somewhat when it crossed the ocean.
Title: English-to-English translation
Post by: rivka on March 16, 2010, 09:24:50 AM
fairy cakes = cupcakes
Title: English-to-English translation
Post by: rivka on March 17, 2010, 09:15:00 AM
rationalize a cupboard = organize a closet
Title: English-to-English translation
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on March 17, 2010, 09:42:23 AM
Ha! I think my cupboards definitely need rationalizing.
Title: English-to-English translation
Post by: BlackBlade on March 17, 2010, 12:14:44 PM
My cupboards are alittle irrational.  Also they are surprisingly inert.


edit: I know "alittle" is not technically a word.  But can we all agree to make it one?
Title: English-to-English translation
Post by: rivka on March 17, 2010, 12:21:42 PM
>.<  

No. :P
Title: English-to-English translation
Post by: BlackBlade on March 17, 2010, 12:23:23 PM
Quote
>.<  

No. :P
Pretty please?
Title: English-to-English translation
Post by: Tante Shvester on March 17, 2010, 12:43:30 PM
I say yes, but only because it's alittle bit fun to watch Rivka get in a Schoolmarm Snit.
Title: English-to-English translation
Post by: rivka on March 17, 2010, 12:48:44 PM
:peek:  
Title: English-to-English translation
Post by: Tante Shvester on March 17, 2010, 12:56:54 PM
See?  Fun!
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Icarus on March 29, 2011, 12:15:48 PM
Does any culture spell "rhombus" as "rhombous"? It looks like a Britishism, but I can't find any evidence on Google that this is a standard British spelling. Anybody have a better way to check?
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Porter on March 29, 2011, 12:25:47 PM
Quote
Quote
"You American Gumbies are so unimaginative."
*nod*  That's why we can't get anybody in the rest of the world to pay money for our storytelling.
No being pissy and defensive at jokes.
:nod:  Because nobody is ever pissy or offensive with jokes. :p
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Jonathon on March 29, 2011, 01:23:36 PM
Does any culture spell "rhombus" as "rhombous"? It looks like a Britishism, but I can't find any evidence on Google that this is a standard British spelling. Anybody have a better way to check?

The OED has no entry for "rhombous". I don't think I've ever seen it before. And usually the -us/-ous distinction is between nouns and adjectives of Latin origin (mucus/mucous, callus/callous, etc.), not between different parts of the English-speaking world.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Icarus on March 29, 2011, 02:52:05 PM
Thanks. :)
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Marianne Dashwood on March 29, 2011, 05:07:02 PM
Quote
Quote
"You American Gumbies are so unimaginative."
*nod*  That's why we can't get anybody in the rest of the world to pay money for our storytelling.
No being pissy and defensive at jokes.
:nod:  Because nobody is ever pissy or offensive with jokes. :p

That entry totally passed its statute of limitations for quoting. Sorry, I'm going to have to annul your commentary.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: rivka on March 29, 2011, 05:59:25 PM
No one ever answered my question in the OP either. Not that I really recall the context anymore.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Jonathon on March 29, 2011, 06:22:48 PM
I'm sure I have no idea what it means even in context.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Porter on March 29, 2011, 06:40:28 PM
That entry totally passed its statute of limitations for quoting. Sorry, I'm going to have to annul your commentary.
Two weeks?  Sorry, but no.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Jonathon on March 29, 2011, 06:59:09 PM
How about a year and two weeks? ;)
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Porter on March 29, 2011, 07:53:56 PM
Oh.   :blush:
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Jonathon on March 29, 2011, 07:54:58 PM
Well, it's really all Joe's fault for his thread necromancy.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Icarus on March 30, 2011, 12:14:37 AM
It's how I get my kicks.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Kate Boots on March 30, 2011, 08:58:03 AM
All of those phrases were familiar except "your bottle's gone" which only makes sense if they were drinking (or pouring) something out of bottles in which case "gone" just means "empty".
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Jonathon on March 30, 2011, 11:52:15 AM
It's how I get my kicks.

Sicko.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: rivka on March 30, 2011, 12:06:05 PM
All of those phrases were familiar except "your bottle's gone" which only makes sense if they were drinking (or pouring) something out of bottles in which case "gone" just means "empty".
Yeah, it wasn't that. And the phrase clearly gets used a lot as some sort of expression -- there seems to be at least one popular song that has the phrase in it, but not in a way that helped me a whit.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Noemon on April 06, 2011, 11:53:13 AM
It's how I get my kicks.

Sicko.
And he teaches our children!
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Porter on April 06, 2011, 12:25:18 PM
Oh really?
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Icarus on April 09, 2011, 03:45:05 PM
To be fair, it's hard to avoid thread necromancy on this board.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Porter on April 11, 2011, 07:44:55 AM
How so?
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: pooka on April 11, 2011, 08:53:04 AM
The majority of threads that are still useful have not been posted in for 120 days?
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Jonathon on April 11, 2011, 09:13:25 AM
I hear there's this "New Thread" button that works sometimes, too. ;)
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Tante Shvester on April 11, 2011, 09:16:01 AM
There is?  Where?
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Jonathon on April 11, 2011, 09:18:20 AM
Don't ask me. I just work here.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Icarus on April 12, 2011, 01:32:53 AM
Bah. Start a new thread only for it to die an early death and possibly be brought back to life as a zombie? Why would I want that for a thread of mine?
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: BlackBlade on April 13, 2011, 04:35:33 PM
So this morning I was just thinking to myself and hit on this oddity. So a practical joke is some sort of prank played on another person that actually involves some sort of action. It's different from other jokes in that the humor is in the outcome of the practical joke, not in some punch line.

But what on earth is practical about a practical joke?
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Tante Shvester on April 13, 2011, 04:49:06 PM
It's practiced, as in done, like when you practice law or practice medicine, or if you are a practical nurse.  A practical joke is something you do, not something you say.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Jonathon on April 13, 2011, 05:08:21 PM
What she said.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: BlackBlade on April 13, 2011, 05:53:18 PM
I see, I see.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Kate Boots on April 14, 2011, 12:24:22 PM
In theatre, if we have a working  light on stage where you can see the source - like a lamp that is actually used and works - rather than just the regular theatre lighting, we refer to it as a "practical light".
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Amilia on July 02, 2011, 12:24:59 AM
You all have probably already seen this as it had almost 7,000,000 hits before I discovered it, but just in case:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYmrg3owTRE&feature=related (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYmrg3owTRE&feature=related)

According to this quiz, I am more familiar with British slang than American slang.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: rivka on July 02, 2011, 10:03:01 PM
Ditto, and I like country music (from which I theoretically could have recognized all three of the "American" ones).
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: pooka on July 02, 2011, 10:48:45 PM
That led me to the 21 accents lady.   :huh:
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: BlackBlade on August 12, 2011, 02:48:58 PM
Props to those who know what "to tesselate" or "tesselation" means, without looking it up. I didn't know the word to use it when I could have, but it's kinda nice to have a word for this concept.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Porter on August 12, 2011, 03:17:23 PM
It's a pretty common word in my field.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: rivka on August 12, 2011, 03:21:43 PM
And among mathematicians, so I know it too.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: BlackBlade on August 12, 2011, 03:59:01 PM
Well props to you both!
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: rivka on August 12, 2011, 04:24:28 PM
I can't take too much credit for words I picked up just by having the parents I do. ;)
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Marianne Dashwood on August 12, 2011, 11:53:21 PM
I learned it in geometry class, and also use it occasionally because I'm enraptured with drawing patterns in Adobe Illustrator.

… did you by chance learn this word recently from whitewhine.com?
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: BlackBlade on August 13, 2011, 07:58:29 AM
… did you by chance learn this word recently from whitewhine.com?
You caught me.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Porter on August 13, 2011, 12:19:52 PM
20,000 demerits.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: pooka on August 15, 2011, 05:43:10 AM
Yesterday I caught myself expanding the use of "silent" as a transitive verb.  I think I started using it that way because when I ask people to press the mute button on the baby's monitor, "silence it" sounds too severe for some reason, and when I say "mute it" I have to play several rounds of "what?" with my younger children.  So yesterday we wanted the GPS on even though we weren't going to follow its instructions and so I said "I'm just going to silent her."  And then I laughed at myself. 

The GPS assumes you will never get stopped at stoplights, which makes it pretty freaking useless in my opinion. 
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: rivka on August 15, 2011, 07:45:57 AM
The GPS assumes you will never get stopped at stoplights, which makes it pretty freaking useless in my opinion. 
??? ??? ???
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: The Genuine on August 15, 2011, 09:12:32 AM
I don't get that either.  I've found GPS and online mapping sites to be pretty accurate at estimating travel times on roads with lights.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Porter on August 15, 2011, 09:15:01 AM
My GPS is a little on the conservative side -- on a trip of half an hour, I usually get there 3-5 minutes earlier than it estimates near the beginning of the trip.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: pooka on August 18, 2011, 02:51:57 PM
It's a garmin nuvi if that makes any difference.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: rivka on August 18, 2011, 02:57:42 PM
So is mine.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: pooka on August 18, 2011, 04:09:37 PM
It wanted us to spend 4.2 miles on a lighted road that has a modern style freeway running parallel, is all.  They have the same speed limit, I guess.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Porter on August 24, 2011, 09:28:18 AM
Here's an interesting bit of English.  The person who wrote this was an old Appalachia hillbilly banjo player.

(http://www.hangoutstorage.com/banjohangout.org/storage/photos/large/40/40730-144131931102009.jpg)
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Jonathon on August 24, 2011, 09:32:36 AM
I see stuff like that all the time at work when authors quote from original sources like the Joseph Smith Papers or pioneer journals. The stuff we see in LDS lesson manuals has been cleaned up considerably, but the truth is that probably most people back then were terrible writers.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: pooka on August 24, 2011, 10:12:37 AM
And that has changed?  If you look at the average comments section of a website, for instance.  Unless you just meant that this person doesn't spell for whatever reason.  Maybe it's a ploy to get you to forget about the completion of the banjo and pray the get your street address right.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Jonathon on August 24, 2011, 10:20:30 AM
Was that to me? I certainly think it's changed. Many people are still terrible writers, but I think there are a lot more expert or at least competent writers now than two hundred years ago.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Porter on August 24, 2011, 10:29:12 AM
Even with the terrible spelling and punctuation you see on the web, I doubt you'll see people spelling my as mye or below as bloe.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: pooka on August 24, 2011, 10:42:23 AM
I assumed that rather than the nonstandard spelling, you meant he was a terrible writer in terms of lack of organized thought.  

Though I'll admit that sometimes you post a quote that you find painful, and I can see ways it could be done better, but it doesn't give me brainfreeze or anything.  Now I'm all paranoid about whether I'm calling the kettle black (the kettle here being your examples, and not you.)  But I'm only transcribing my conversational English, not trying to achieve clarity and grace in writing.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: rivka on August 24, 2011, 10:47:31 AM
And that has changed?  If you look at the average comments section of a website, for instance.  Unless you just meant that this person doesn't spell for whatever reason.
Still true in the average comments section. :P
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Porter on August 24, 2011, 10:49:28 AM
Quote
I assumed that rather than the nonstandard spelling, you meant he was a terrible writer in terms of lack of organized thought. 
I thought the whole thing was funny.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Jonathon on August 24, 2011, 11:38:36 AM
I assumed that rather than the nonstandard spelling, you meant he was a terrible writer in terms of lack of organized thought.

I was talking mostly about orthography, but organization is a part of it too.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Marianne Dashwood on August 31, 2011, 09:51:53 PM
My boyfriend has a very slight New York accent - he grew up in Stamford, Connecticut but in a Spanish speaking household, so I never know quite where his little quirks come from. Today he said* "Get married with [someone]" instead of "Get married to [someone.]" Is this a New York thing or a Spanglish thing?


* in an actual conversation. This is not an underhanded announcement of any sort.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Jonathon on August 31, 2011, 10:51:48 PM
I once edited a book with a biographical register wherein virtually every marriage was described with wording like "Bob married to Jane on April 1, 1863." But it wasn't a deliberately telegraphic style, where they were omitting the was, because everything else was written out in normal English. I thought it was really strange.

Sorry for that unhelpful anecdote.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: rivka on August 31, 2011, 11:20:14 PM
I don't think it's a NYism. But the conjunction used in Spanish appears to be "con" -- most often translated as "with".
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Nighthawk on September 01, 2011, 08:16:17 AM
In Spanish it's "X se casó con Y"... Which could be literally translated to "X got married with Y".

Given the conscious choice of the two, I'd probably be more likely to use "...with..." because of my Spanish roots.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Tante Shvester on September 01, 2011, 08:29:34 AM
Spanish makes more sense.  Marriage is something you do with someone, not to someone.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: BlackBlade on September 01, 2011, 08:48:54 AM
In older times, I think "to" would have been considered the appropriate verb in regards to the woman, since she was joining a family, changing her name, and in many cases belonged to her husband.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Tante Shvester on September 01, 2011, 09:31:23 AM
Not so much in my people's olden times.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Dobie on September 01, 2011, 03:09:25 PM
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Tante Shvester on September 02, 2011, 06:51:37 AM
I'm OK on that one. My neighbors wife is totally not my type.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Tante Shvester on January 15, 2012, 09:41:02 AM
That spokes-gecko on the TV commercials -- what kind of accent is his English?  His voice is oddly compelling.  Makes me want to switch auto insurance companies.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Jonathon on January 15, 2012, 09:49:28 AM
I've seen some sources say it's Cockney, but I don't know what separates Cockney from a general London accent. At the very least it's Londoner.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Dobie on January 15, 2012, 09:52:50 AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FR9-_rD8HQ&feature=related
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Ela on January 15, 2012, 10:27:55 AM
I can't take too much credit for words I picked up just by having the parents I do. ;)

Months late reading this, but it still made me laugh. Knowing who your parents are. ;)
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: rivka on January 15, 2012, 10:37:08 AM
 :D
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: pooka on January 15, 2012, 02:09:10 PM
I was going to say Eliza Doolittle speaks cockney, but I had a feeling that it's more of an epithet than a dialect, and so I looked it up.  Wikipedia says it describes working class Londoners.

I have meant to look more into ways that James McAvoy does not speak like Patrick Stewart, which was really distracting when watching XMen first class. 
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: rivka on January 15, 2012, 02:49:03 PM
I don't know what separates Cockney from a general London accent.
Class, or perceived class. Watch enough episodes of BBC sitcoms, and you'll pick up on some differences.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: fugu13 on January 15, 2012, 03:39:45 PM
It's pretty startling how many different accents there are (or were in the past; I think it's declining) in London.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: The Genuine on January 15, 2012, 04:38:25 PM
An expatriate Londoner I know claims to be able to identify the street someone is from based on their accent.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Tante Shvester on January 15, 2012, 05:56:49 PM
You know Henry Higgins?
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: The Genuine on January 15, 2012, 06:52:10 PM
Maybe.  Is she a black paralegal in New York?
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Jonathon on January 15, 2012, 07:42:00 PM
I don't know what separates Cockney from a general London accent.
Class, or perceived class. Watch enough episodes of BBC sitcoms, and you'll pick up on some differences.

I was talking about phonetic differences. But I'm sure there's an association between class and certain features.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: rivka on January 15, 2012, 08:26:22 PM
I was talking about phonetic differences.
I know, but I always get those wrong when I try to explain them.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Porter on January 17, 2012, 10:36:32 PM
I don't know what separates Cockney from a general London accent.
Class, or perceived class. Watch enough episodes of BBC sitcoms, and you'll pick up on some differences.
That didn't work for me!
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: rivka on January 17, 2012, 10:49:46 PM
Note my cagey use of the weasel word "enough".

Clearly, you have not yet reached that quantity.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: BlackBlade on October 05, 2012, 12:47:49 PM
Apposite. If you give somebody the apposite of what they are looking for, they will be pleased with you. Unless of course they are looking for say a fat lip.

I'm surprised opposite is such a common word, and yet I did not know the word apposite even existed until today. I'm pleased to know it.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: pooka on October 10, 2012, 11:00:00 PM
I knew it existed but have hardly used it and would have to look it up. 
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: rivka on October 26, 2012, 07:35:01 AM
http://www.netfunny.com/rhf/jokes/95q4/uk.html
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: pooka on October 26, 2012, 01:09:26 PM
That was pretty impressively long.  I'm not even sure how far through I got.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: BlackBlade on October 26, 2012, 04:23:17 PM
Made it through the whole list. I knew about 80% of them.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on October 27, 2012, 07:28:03 AM
It was a lot of work! I feel like some of the American words he misinterpreted, though. Like "mug" - he thought it meant thug. I don't think it means that anywhere, but it is a slangy word for face. I wonder if he thought that because he heard of mug shots and thought they were pictures of tough criminals, when actually they're pictures of tough criminals' faces.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: pooka on October 27, 2012, 02:00:49 PM
I can mean a guy.  Especially if you're Humphrey Bogart.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: rivka on October 27, 2012, 08:30:38 PM
Like "mug" - he thought it meant thug. I don't think it means that anywhere
Actually, I have heard it as slang along those lines. Can't recall where.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on October 28, 2012, 12:16:26 AM
Really? That's really odd sounding to me.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on January 27, 2013, 09:45:35 PM
There's a song by the Chemical Brothers called "Let Forever Be" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5FyfQDO5g0) that I love, but it always drove me nuts because the lyric says "How does it feel like …". To me, it should definitely be either "how does it feel" or "what does it feel like." Since I met my husband, though, I'm wondering how widespread the "how does it feel like" phrasing is. He says it all the time, and also says "how does it taste/sound/smell like" and the inverse, "how it feels/tastes/sounds like."

Do any of the rest of you say it this way? Is it a Northeast thing or a smaller, maybe generational thing?
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Jonathon on January 27, 2013, 10:13:57 PM
I agree with your inclinations—"how does it feel like" sounds weird to me. I don't know anything about the variation, though.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Tante Shvester on January 28, 2013, 12:33:40 AM
You are correct.  It is "What is it like" or "How is it".  "How is it like" is just wrong.  And I'm born in New York and I reside in New Jersey for the past 26 years, so I have the Northeast thing pegged.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: BlackBlade on January 28, 2013, 08:17:34 AM
You could say, "How does it feel like that?"

But, yeah. Saying "How does it feel like?" doesn't sound right.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: rivka on May 24, 2013, 05:09:06 PM
I'm watching Doc Martin, so I'm back with more British English oddities. My favorite thus far is, "How far gone are you?" Which doesn't mean "Are you at death's door?" or "Have you lost your mind?" but instead means "How many months/weeks pregnant are you?"
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: pooka on May 29, 2013, 01:08:23 PM
Well, they do fall pregnant.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: rivka on July 19, 2013, 06:57:48 PM
I've been rereading all the Anne books, and some of L.M. Montgomery's other books (Storygirl, Golden Road). Hooray for free ebooks.

They have quite a few usages or words that are either Canadian or just now out of fashion. Sonsy apparently means buxom and saucy. A queen pudding is a dessert somewhere between sponge cake and floating islands.

There have been others, but they escape me at the moment.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: rivka on July 22, 2013, 11:24:56 AM
When a child is referred to as "a limb", it means "a holy terror". It's short for "a limb of Satan".
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on July 22, 2013, 08:32:38 PM
Wow. That's both funny and horrible.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: rivka on July 22, 2013, 09:27:16 PM
I know!

And the first time I saw it I was very confused.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on August 09, 2013, 03:09:43 PM
Are the following obsolete, or are they still OK in British usage, does anyone know?

Many things in our lives go by contraries.
Give me as much again
I didn't make much of the lecture.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on August 09, 2013, 03:11:52 PM
Are the following obsolete, or are they still OK in British usage, does anyone know?

Many things in our lives go by contraries.
Give me as much again
I didn't make much of the lecture.

Oh, and, "He crushed the bloom with regardless tread."
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Jonathon on August 09, 2013, 03:20:52 PM
I have no idea, but the latter two sound fine to me. The first is unfamiliar, as is the one on this page.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on August 10, 2013, 01:43:32 PM
More along those lines … What I'm trying to do is give examples of rare, obsolete and awkward usage examples from Chinese textbooks. Tell me what you'd think of the following:

   1. "I have been busy all the day."

   2. "They got up early lest they should miss the train"

   3. "He is disappointed that he shouldn't be chosen this time."

   4. "It is I who am right."

   5. "My parents forbid my seeing horrible films."

   6. "There's as good fish in the sea as ever came out of it."

   7. “Son: Why are hen's legs so short?
   Dad: You're a fool. If the hen's legs were too long, wouldn't they drop their eggs into pieces when laying?”

   8. "I had loved you for three years by last year."
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: BlackBlade on August 10, 2013, 02:30:08 PM
1. "I have been busy all day." I mean if you wanted to be colloquial you could say, "I have been busy all the livelong day."

2. "They got up early lest they miss the train."

3. "He was disappointed that he would not be chosen this time."

4. Depending on context, I might let that one slide.

5. No problem.

6. "There's as good a fish in the sea as ever came out of it."

7. Not really a problem to me.

8. "As of last year, I have loved you three years."
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on August 10, 2013, 02:48:35 PM
My question is less along the lines of "what's the right way to say this?" and more just, "Would you call these usages rare, awkward or obsolete?"
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: BlackBlade on August 10, 2013, 03:06:29 PM
For the ones I corrected yes. For the ones I did not, no.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Jonathon on August 10, 2013, 09:21:27 PM
They all sound at least a little off to me.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: BlackBlade on August 10, 2013, 09:37:21 PM
Makes me wonder if Nephites read our version of the Book of Mormon and think that about every verse.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: dkw on August 11, 2013, 04:46:11 AM
2, 4, & 7 sound fine to me.  The rest, not so much.  Your first three also sounded fine to me, but not the "regardless tread" one.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Ela on August 12, 2015, 11:14:28 AM
I've realized that I'm not sure I understand the British use of the word, "Cheers."

It seems to be used as a sort of acknowledgment of something someone else said. To me it seems as though it should be happy, but I don't think it's always used that way.

Quote
Person 1: That book you were waiting for is coming out next week.
Person 2: Cheers.

Alright, that might be a person being happy about the news, but I'm sure I've seen it used in other ways that didn't strike me as inherently happy. And those sorts of uses were kind of jarring to me and made me think, "Wait. What did he mean by that?"

My daughter thinks it may mean, "Thanks."

I'm just not sure.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Jonathon on August 12, 2015, 11:56:42 AM
I always thought it was just "thanks" too. The OED concurs:

Quote
  pl. In British English, = thank you, thanks. colloq.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Ela on August 12, 2015, 12:01:51 PM
Okay, then. Guess my daughter was correct. :)
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: rivka on August 12, 2015, 01:18:07 PM
I found out today that the average Brit is unlikely to know the meaning of squaw or pow-wow. I guess that makes sense, if you didn't grow up watching old Westerns. ;)
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Tante Shvester on August 24, 2015, 07:28:45 AM
(http://www.thepoke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/BZC4IJqCUAAs_uj.jpg-large.jpeg)
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Jonathon on August 24, 2015, 09:17:06 AM
Very helpful.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Tante Shvester on August 24, 2015, 09:20:16 AM
I'm going to invite some chaps over for tea and bunglespleen parmesan.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on August 24, 2015, 01:19:46 PM
Why is that so funny?

The Batttle of Gridlington. Heh.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Farmgirl on August 26, 2015, 05:24:05 PM
I should post that in our company breakroom*

*while we are primarily a United States company, we took over, via acquisition, a similar company in Britain.  I have heard rumors that we have had difficulties at times in meetings with them because of the cultural and methodological differences.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Ela on August 27, 2015, 07:42:44 PM
I think I'll call my postman a postlord from now on. Bet he'd like that! :P
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Tante Shvester on August 27, 2015, 09:13:06 PM
My kid used to call the people who worked at the post office "post officers".
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: pooka on September 22, 2015, 07:56:23 PM
Now I understand something Annie posted on facebook.  I don't remember what it was.  I just kind of rolled my eyes and was like "If you don't like it, move to Russia."  (which is a line Homer Simpson once said in reply to Kent Brockman saying "Democracy doesn't work.")
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on September 23, 2015, 09:53:48 AM
You understand it but you don't remember what it was?
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: pooka on September 25, 2015, 01:44:04 PM
Fish fingers.  You were saying Americans laugh at British people for saying fish fingers and they shouldn't because we say chicken fingers.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Tante Shvester on September 25, 2015, 02:57:35 PM
(https://shardsofchina.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/chickenfeetpriortocooking.jpg)
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on September 25, 2015, 05:03:42 PM
Yeah, that would be another example of me being flippant for humorous effect. I am not personally offended by anyone's preference in meat finger terminology.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on September 25, 2015, 05:04:43 PM
(https://shardsofchina.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/chickenfeetpriortocooking.jpg)
In China, you call these phoenix claws.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Ela on November 21, 2015, 08:56:14 PM
That's a truly creepy picture.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: rivka on May 09, 2016, 10:56:30 PM
In South Africa (and, says Wikipedia, also Australia and New Zealand), a french press is called a coffee plunger -- or sometimes just a plunger.

At first, I was a bit confused about the enthusiasm for the gift I was being told about.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on May 10, 2016, 02:12:29 PM
I've probably shared this in this thread before, but I was highly amused when my Australian mission companion referred to traffic cones as "witches' hats." Australians just name things better.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: rivka on May 10, 2016, 06:03:06 PM
I remain unconvinced that "plunger" is better in any way than "french press". Except possibly amusement level.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on May 12, 2016, 12:10:47 PM
Amusement level for the win!
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: rivka on June 07, 2016, 12:26:42 AM
South Africans do not cross their fingers for you; they hold thumbs for you instead.

And they aren't the only ones: http://www.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_origin_of_the_idiom_'to_hold_thumbs'
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Jonathon on June 07, 2016, 07:58:53 AM
Interesting. I've never heard that expression before.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Ela on June 07, 2016, 08:32:48 AM
I have.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: rivka on June 07, 2016, 10:18:20 AM
Interesting. I've never heard that expression before.
Me either. I learn the most interesting things chatting with our SA team at night (their morning).
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Annie Subjunctive on June 13, 2016, 12:55:50 PM
Interesting. I've never heard that expression before.

Me neither, all of the South Africans I know wish me ill.

(Just kidding, I actually know three and they are lovely people)
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Ela on November 09, 2017, 04:28:08 PM
So, in a Doctor Who story I just listened to, Peri corrected the Sixth Doctor's use of the word "bumper" (on a car) to the word "fender".

I was very confused by the correction, so I did a little searching around, and as far as I can tell, a bumper on a car means the same thing in American English as it does in British English: "a horizontal bar fixed across the front or back of a motor vehicle to reduce damage in a collision or as a trim." Which is what I thought and why the correction confused me.

A fender is not a bumper in American English, is it? A little more searching around come up with this definition for fender in American English: "the mudguard or area around the wheel well of a vehicle." Apparently, that's also one of the meanings of fender in British English.

Am I missing something here or did the writer of that Doctor Who story make a goof in trying to correct between "American" and "British" English?
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: rivka on February 28, 2018, 05:24:53 PM
I just learned one. Brits (and their linguistic compatriots) say "odds and sods" in much the same way an American would use "odds and ends".
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Jonathon on February 28, 2018, 05:35:24 PM
 :huh:
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Ela on May 04, 2018, 08:23:06 AM
Left on Twitter by a British writer I follow:

"Hey luv/darling/soldier, the English As A Foreign Language course left this whiteboard behind about how to talk to ladies etc. Enjoy, mate."

Spoiler: for large image (click to show/hide)

Original tweet: https://twitter.com/gossjam/status/992420136010297344
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Jonathon on May 04, 2018, 08:44:01 AM
That's funny.

Also, did you know you can resize images? Just put width=x in the opening tag, where x is the width in pixels. When you click on the image, it should pop out to full size, and it'll shrink when you click on it again.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Ela on May 04, 2018, 10:46:53 AM
That's funny.

Also, did you know you can resize images? Just put width=x in the opening tag, where x is the width in pixels. When you click on the image, it should pop out to full size, and it'll shrink when you click on it again.

No, I actually didn't know that I could do it that way. Thanks for telling me.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Ela on August 03, 2018, 01:36:48 PM
An expression I see used a lot, mostly by British people, is "I'll get my coat", usually said after making a bad joke. The internet is only partly enlightening on the meaning and origin of that phrase.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Jonathon on August 03, 2018, 01:42:18 PM
I would guess it's something like "I'll show myself out."
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Ela on August 03, 2018, 02:20:09 PM
Clear as mud.  :D

(In other words, not sure of the exact meaning and origin of that phrase, either.)
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Jonathon on August 03, 2018, 02:32:06 PM
Hmm. I thought that was clear, but maybe not. I think the implication is that the joke was so bad that the person who told it is just going to leave now, so they're going to go get their coat and go without anyone walking them to the door.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Kate Boots on August 03, 2018, 02:50:05 PM
I believe it is from this show.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3OM2MA1pic   (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3OM2MA1pic)

It was this character's catch phrase.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Ela on August 08, 2018, 02:42:53 PM
Yeah, I've seen that or similar.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: rivka on January 25, 2019, 12:23:20 AM
Learned another one from my South African co-workers tonight. What Americans call the living room, they call the lounge. (And as I was just reminded last week, Israelis call the salon. Which isn't really English, although it was borrowed from British English.)
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Tante Shvester on January 25, 2019, 11:04:11 AM
We call that "The Parlor".
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Ela on January 19, 2022, 06:43:27 AM
I was listening to a story on the 5G problem and the newscaster kept saying altimeter in a way that sounded wrong to me. Turns out it was the correct Brutish pronunciation.

The unanswered question is whether she was pronouncing it that way deliberately or if she just doesn’t know the American pronunciation, hasn’t spoken the word much (or at all), and was saying it the way it looked to her.

I suspect the latter, cause she has a thoroughly American accent and it’s not unheard of for newscasters to mispronounce words.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: rivka on January 19, 2022, 09:02:08 AM
I wasn't familiar with the UK pronunciation of that word either. (For those who are curious, this link has both: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/pronunciation/english/altimeter)

I wonder if she just asked her phone how to say it and it gave her the UK way. Too many people just ask Alexa/Siri/etc. instead of actually doing a search. :P
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Ela on January 19, 2022, 10:17:56 AM
My theory is she didn't ask anyone or thing how to pronounce it.

Though it's true that for me the British pronunciation came up first, when I did a search.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: rivka on September 20, 2024, 12:14:06 AM
I've been watching an Australian show (to follow up all the UK ones I was watching before that). Lots of odd (to my ears, at least) slang and word usage, including:

doona = duvet
arvo = afternoon
chook = chicken (I knew this one already, but it's still weird)
off his/her face = very drunk or high
root (noun or verb) = mildly rude word for sex
rooted = broken
ute = truck or SUV
nursing babies = working as a nurse with babies
Combi/Kombi = VW van (or similar) meant for transporting both people and lots of stuff
you've got tickets on yourself = seriously conceited
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Jonathon on September 20, 2024, 07:57:56 AM
I thought a ute was just a truck based on a passenger car chassis, like an El Camino, but Wikipedia says the term expanded at some point.

"You've got tickets on yourself" is pretty great.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: rivka on September 20, 2024, 03:18:55 PM
"You've got tickets on yourself" is pretty great.
Yeah, and that one I was pretty sure of the meaning by context, but looked it up to confirm.

Some of the others I was completely  ??? ??? ??? until I looked them up.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Jonathon on September 21, 2024, 10:14:37 AM
I also knew arvo, root, and combi, but the rest were new to me.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: rivka on September 23, 2024, 05:14:05 PM
I also knew arvo, root, and combi, but the rest were new to me.

I think I had heard arvo before. And definitely chook. I don't think I knew any of the others.


A few more:

dunny = toilet, especially porta-potty-type
spliff = joint (in the pot sense)
rack off = emphatic "go away!"
grizzling = that noise a baby makes that's not quite crying, similar to whimpering or kvetching
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Porter on September 24, 2024, 05:44:48 AM
A British one that I would have never understood without looking it up from a recent TV show:

connie = conscious objector (during wartime)

Quote
dunny = toilet, especially porta-potty-type
That one I know from watching Bluey, which is an almost daily occurrence at my house
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: pooka on September 24, 2024, 12:04:56 PM
I've been known to call wimpering grousing.  I sometimes call my babies monkey-bear when they aren't content.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: rivka on September 25, 2024, 06:37:07 PM
I've been watching an Australian show (to follow up all the UK ones I was watching before that). Lots of odd (to my ears, at least) slang and word usage
One last batch:
pregnant to him = pregnant by him (although this one I mostly see in older books and such) or pregnant with his child
pash = smooch
buck's night = stag night
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Jonathon on October 05, 2024, 09:13:59 AM
We just started watching an Australian show too, and we learned "esky" as a generic term for a portable cooler.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Tante Shvester on October 05, 2024, 11:44:02 PM
For Eskimo, I guess.
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: Jonathon on October 06, 2024, 06:13:27 PM
Yeah, looks like it. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esky)
Title: Re: English-to-English translation
Post by: rivka on October 06, 2024, 10:46:23 PM
Heh. I like the Kiwi version.