English-to-English translation

[Ela]

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.

[rivka]

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.

[Ela]

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.

[rivka]

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

[Jonathon]

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.

[rivka]

"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.

[Jonathon]

I also knew arvo, root, and combi, but the rest were new to me.

[rivka]

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

[Porter]

A British one that I would have never understood without looking it up from a recent TV show:

connie = conscious objector (during wartime)

dunny = toilet, especially porta-potty-type

That one I know from watching Bluey, which is an almost daily occurrence at my house

[pooka]

I've been known to call wimpering grousing.  I sometimes call my babies monkey-bear when they aren't content.

[rivka]

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

[Jonathon]

We just started watching an Australian show too, and we learned "esky" as a generic term for a portable cooler.

[Tante Shvester]

For Eskimo, I guess.

[Jonathon]

Yeah, looks like it.

[rivka]

Heh. I like the Kiwi version.