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Heaven: 2021 Proof Americans and Brits speak a different language

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  • Robert ArminRobert Armin Shipmate, Glory
    Is "woke" an Americanism? It's an expression I've only recently come across, and it always seems to be used in a pejorative sense: "That program's so woke it's lost all it's viewers".
  • I only see it on the internet, but it wouldn't surprise me. IMHO "woke" in the non-pejorative sense came first, but it sounds so smug that most people hesitate to use it of anything/one they like.
  • One of the problems with "woke" is that you could never actually claim it for yourself. You can say "I am a feminist" and that (should) mean you favor certain policies and believe certain things. If you say "I am woke" it is just bragging.
  • Golden KeyGolden Key Shipmate, Glory
    And then there's "virtue-signaling". New-ish to me; but it seems to be purely an insult.
  • This is from the urbandictionary.com
    The act of being very pretentious about how much you care about a social issue.

    Yeah, most people don't care about parking spaces for families with disabled pets. I wish they were woke like me.
  • orfeoorfeo Suspended
    Urban dictionary is not exactly the most reliable source for... well for just about anything.
  • 'Emotionalsupport animals' - the very concept leaves Brits wondering if they live on the same planet as Americans.
  • orfeoorfeo Suspended
    Eirenist wrote: »
    'Emotionalsupport animals' - the very concept leaves Brits wondering if they live on the same planet as Americans.

    The equivalent would be "stiff upper lip animals".
  • FirenzeFirenze Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    I think the equivalent in our house for our late cat was 'scroggle fodder'.

    Scroggle v. to tickle a cat until it either purrs or bites you
  • Gramps49Gramps49 Shipmate
    edited January 2020
    orfeo wrote: »
    Urban dictionary is not exactly the most reliable source for... well for just about anything.

    Never claimed it was, I was just giving an example of how it "woke" used. But it has been used in American courts to understand what a slang word may mean and the Department of Motor Vehicles of various states will use it to screen out certain words on vanity plates. It is probably no more reliable than Wikipedia since it is open-sourced and edited by volunteers. It is definitely more current than many recognized dictionaries.
  • Golden KeyGolden Key Shipmate, Glory
    I sometimes use Urban Dictionary if a search engine gives me a link there. I rarely go directly there, because of bad experiences with particular words there. UD definitions can be...crude...in the sexual sense. Disturbing, especially if you're not expecting that.

    It *is* crowd-sourced; but AIUI: unlike Wikipedia, members submit possible definition entries, and their community votes on them. So UD pages may not get the periodic revisions and adjustments that W sites get.

    But I've found some worthwhile definitions at UD with a search engine. I can get a hint of the results before I go to UD, and go elsewhere if necessary.
  • orfeoorfeo Suspended
    Gramps49 wrote: »
    orfeo wrote: »
    Urban dictionary is not exactly the most reliable source for... well for just about anything.

    Never claimed it was, I was just giving an example of how it "woke" used. But it has been used in American courts to understand what a slang word may mean and the Department of Motor Vehicles of various states will use it to screen out certain words on vanity plates. It is probably no more reliable than Wikipedia since it is open-sourced and edited by volunteers. It is definitely more current than many recognized dictionaries.

    It is actually a lot less reliable than Wikipedia. Many of the example sentences that get submitted are frankly terrible.
  • Golden KeyGolden Key Shipmate, Glory
    An odd usage I noticed in some of the opening arguments in the impeachment trial: some speakers said dates in an unusual way. Americans will usually add "-rd", "-st-", or "-th" to the end of the day number. E.g. "March 29" is said as "March 29th".

    But some of the speakers left off the endings, and just said the number only. E.g. said "March 29". To me, it sounded weird and a bit jarring. I've occasionally heard that usage, but rarely.

    Anyone know if that's a regional pronunciation anywhere in the US? These speakers did very well--IIRC, Rep. Sylvia Garcia was one, and she spoke very, very well. I wonder if the speakers who used this format maybe aren't used to reading aloud, and just didn't notice?
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    That's another Pond difference: I'd never say "March 29th" - I'd say "29th of March".

    I find the whole cross-Pond date thing very confusing; in Canada anyway, you can never predict when a date on a form is going to ask for dd/mm/yyyy, mm/dd/yyyy or even yyyy/mm/dd - I've seen all three in various official forms. :confused:
  • orfeo wrote: »
    Gramps49 wrote: »
    orfeo wrote: »
    Urban dictionary is not exactly the most reliable source for... well for just about anything.

    Never claimed it was, I was just giving an example of how it "woke" used. But it has been used in American courts to understand what a slang word may mean and the Department of Motor Vehicles of various states will use it to screen out certain words on vanity plates. It is probably no more reliable than Wikipedia since it is open-sourced and edited by volunteers. It is definitely more current than many recognized dictionaries.

    It is actually a lot less reliable than Wikipedia. Many of the example sentences that get submitted are frankly terrible.
    “Reliability” may be the wrong standard to apply to Urban Dictionary. The purpose of UD is to show how slang words and phrases are used. It’s useful to the extent that, upon encountering a new bit of slang, it may help in figuring out what that slang means.

    BTW, I seem to recall that a 2005 study found Wikipedia to be about as accurate as the Encyclopedia Britannica. More recent studies have found it to be around 80% accurate, compared to the 90–95% range of most encyclopedias.
  • Piglet wrote: »
    I find the whole cross-Pond date thing very confusing; in Canada anyway, you can never predict when a date on a form is going to ask for dd/mm/yyyy, mm/dd/yyyy or even yyyy/mm/dd - I've seen all three in various official forms. :confused:

    When writing the date freeform, I'll always abbreviate the month with letters, to remove the ambiguity.
  • I once replied to a business letter dated 4/5/04 (or something like that), referring to it as being of either the 4th of May or the 5th of April, making the sender beautifully angry, but I think he got it. Legally, it could get interesting if the precise date were important.
  • TrudyTrudy Heaven Host
    Piglet wrote: »
    I find the whole cross-Pond date thing very confusing; in Canada anyway, you can never predict when a date on a form is going to ask for dd/mm/yyyy, mm/dd/yyyy or even yyyy/mm/dd - I've seen all three in various official forms. :confused:

    When writing the date freeform, I'll always abbreviate the month with letters, to remove the ambiguity.

    Yes, I do that to, because being Canadian I can never guess what format we're supposed to be using, so I always write out the month (or an abbreviation thereof) rather than using all numbers.
  • The federal government in things they send to my office are in the form 2020-01-18. I generally write things 18 Jan 2020.

    Re things like 29th, 3rd etc. Here school grades are grade 5, grade 6 etc. I think Americans say 5th grade, 6th grade etc. In my childhood I would hear year 5, year 6 etc at times.

    I was interested to hear someone say "POTUS" on TV. I had only seen it written and thought it was "pot us", as in the cooking vessel + you and me. They said "poat us" rhyming with goat. I suppose said either way if abbreviates "piece of totally useless sh*t" which is the aforementioned urban dictionary's helpfulness. Though I think this may insult excrement if applied to the current one.

    It got me thinking of useful abbreviations for other leaders, the other blond leader Boris could be PMUK which sounds like swearing.
  • While we're here. There's a thread currently called "Bung a Bob for Big Ben Bong." I understand Big Ben, and I understand the bong=ring, and a bob is a unit of coinage. What's "bung"?
  • KarlLBKarlLB Shipmate
    mousethief wrote: »
    While we're here. There's a thread currently called "Bung a Bob for Big Ben Bong." I understand Big Ben, and I understand the bong=ring, and a bob is a unit of coinage. What's "bung"?

    Chuck. Lob. Also often used of bribes, generally as a noun.
  • Gill HGill H Shipmate
    Inspired by watching some US Youtubers...

    In the US, Italian foods seem to be lacking their final e when pronounced.

    Provolone is pronounced provo-loan, for example, whereas in the UK it would be provo-loan-ay (as in the Italian).

    Is that a general thing or just specific to these Youtubers?
  • Golden KeyGolden Key Shipmate, Glory
    I think it may vary. But alterations are made on a variety of European words. E.g., Porsche cars are pronounced (approx.) in German as "POR-shuh". Americans often say "PORSH". French words are complicated to figure out, due to the complicated endings.
  • @Gill H

    A general thing. I hate it. I first met calzone in Italy, and was miffed when I returned to the States and it had followed me there, and lost the final vowel. I still make a point of saying it with three syllables when ordering in restaurants. I've never had it as good here, although I've made it where it was nearly as good as I remember. Nobody uses enough cheese.
  • Gee DGee D Shipmate
    KarlLB wrote: »
    mousethief wrote: »
    While we're here. There's a thread currently called "Bung a Bob for Big Ben Bong." I understand Big Ben, and I understand the bong=ring, and a bob is a unit of coinage. What's "bung"?

    Chuck. Lob. Also often used of bribes, generally as a noun.

    Thank you. I'd have thought that a bung was the stopper in a barrel, and the same word used as a verb was to close a hole tightly.
  • Porsche. A down-and-out called at a big house, just as the owner was going out. 'Got any odd-jobs I ciuld do for you, sir?' 'I'd like my porch painted, I've got some yellow paint, and a brush, in the garage.' When he came back, the man was waiting, but the porch seemed untouched. 'I've done the painting, sir, like you said. But it isn't a Porsche, it's a Ferrari. You should have had it painted red.'
    I'll get my coat.
  • BroJamesBroJames Purgatory Host
    Gee D wrote: »
    KarlLB wrote: »
    mousethief wrote: »
    While we're here. There's a thread currently called "Bung a Bob for Big Ben Bong." I understand Big Ben, and I understand the bong=ring, and a bob is a unit of coinage. What's "bung"?

    Chuck. Lob. Also often used of bribes, generally as a noun.

    Thank you. I'd have thought that a bung was the stopper in a barrel, and the same word used as a verb was to close a hole tightly.
    Yes. It can be used that way as in, ‘bung up that hole will you’, or (having a cold), ‘I’m all bunged up.’
  • Bung, as in bunged up means constipated here.
  • Slightly off track, a Glaswegian friend once advised me that a certain Italian soup is pronounced mine-strone, i.e. only two syllables.
  • Golden KeyGolden Key Shipmate, Glory
    Ewww, re mine-strone. IME, Mih-nuh-STROH-nee.
  • KarlLBKarlLB Shipmate
    Bung, as in bunged up means constipated here.

    As it does here. In that context.
  • Gee DGee D Shipmate
    Bung, as in bunged up means constipated here.

    A variation on my closing a hole tightly.
  • KarlLB wrote: »
    Bung, as in bunged up means constipated here.

    As it does here. In that context.

    I have never heard that use.
  • Robert ArminRobert Armin Shipmate, Glory
    Very common in the UK. Also, when you've got a bad cold and can't breathe.
  • Golden KeyGolden Key Shipmate, Glory
    In the US, difficulty breathing due to a cold affecting your nose is generally some variation of "stuffed", "stuffy", or "blocked": "My nose is all stuffed up"; "I have a stuffy nose"; or "My nose is all blocked up".

    IME. YMMV.
  • In the UK those words are rather different:
    Stuffed - vulgar for being full of food, really vulgar for being outwitted, manoeuvred as in "they were absolutely stuffed"
    Stuffy - airless, stale atmosphere; old-fashioned
    Blocked - prevented, prohibited.
  • Stuffed does mean full of food here (I live in western Canadian prairies). It's not vulgar.
    Stuffed up means nose plugged.
    Stuffy means both that you need to open a window to get some air, and pretentious.

    Stuffed it - means you missed a shot in a sport, e.g., hockey, curling, possibly soccer
    Muffed it means you "bobbled" it and did not take the shot.
    to deke is to feint right or left to go around someone in a sport, and also used to describe "stick handling" around issues and obstacles for a work task.
    Muff is also rude slang for what I understand is called "fanny" in the UK, what children may call "front bummy" here.
  • In the UK those words are rather different:
    Stuffed - vulgar for being full of food, really vulgar for being outwitted, manoeuvred as in "they were absolutely stuffed"
    Stuffy - airless, stale atmosphere; old-fashioned
    Blocked - prevented, prohibited.

    I shouldn't have said that 'stuffed' in the sense of being full was particularly vulgar in the UK, and is heard fairly frequently.

    'We're stuffed' meaning 'we're in somewhat of a tricky situation' seems to me to be equally mild, given that I suspect it's a euphemism for the much more coarse 'we're f****d'. Similarly 'Get stuffed,' is a milder version of 'F*** off'
  • KarlLBKarlLB Shipmate
    Indeed. Neither usage comes over to me as in the least bit vulgar.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    "We got stuffed" was a frequent Saturday afternoon refrain from D., when Ipswich Town Football Club were outplayed by their opponents. :(
  • TrudyTrudy Heaven Host
    Does anywhere else in the world say "stogged" instead of "stuffed" for being full after eating a meal? It's common usage here in Newfoundland (to the point that at one point there was a pizza place called Stoggers) but I don't think I've heard anyone else use it.
  • No "stogged" in the PNW.
  • What's PNW?

    Does "fed up" mean "at the end of tolerance" to you? Also same meaning to "at the end of my rope", "have given all the f*cks I have to give".

    If something is worn out and unfixable we say "it's toast". Does that play elsewhere?
  • What's PNW?

    Does "fed up" mean "at the end of tolerance" to you? Also same meaning to "at the end of my rope", "have given all the f*cks I have to give".

    If something is worn out and unfixable we say "it's toast". Does that play elsewhere?

    Sorry, Pacific Northwest. Part of the continent where I reside. Yes, "I'm fed up with you" means "I've had about as much of you as I can stand."

    "End of my rope" to me can mean that, or can mean my endurance or strength are running out. The one about giving f*cks just means I don't care anymore, especially if caring about this one thing has lasted a long time and booted me nothing. "It's toast" means it's done for. You can also say "we're toast" meaning "our current cause is a lost one" or "the existentially bad thing is about to happen to us." For instance, "If Trump is reelected, we're toast" spoken by someone in a group Trump supporters would like to annihilate.
  • DooneDoone Shipmate
    Yes, I recognise all those uses (I’m in SW England), though I would usually say ‘I’m at the end of my tether’ rather than rope.
  • FirenzeFirenze Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    'Tethers End' rather a good name for a house.

    Beatrice. I am stuffed, cousin; I cannot smell.

    Margaret. A maid, and stuffed! there's goodly catching of cold.


    Much Ado About Nothing. Act III, Sc 4
  • Nick TamenNick Tamen Shipmate
    edited February 2020
    mousethief wrote: »
    No "stogged" in the PNW.
    And neither “stogged” nor “bung”/“bunged” in the American South, at least not that I can ever recall hearing.

  • From memory, 'stogged' is used in the firth chapter of Joyce's 'Ulysses'. Possibly a Dublin word?
  • Eirenist wrote: »
    Porsche. A down-and-out called at a big house, just as the owner was going out. 'Got any odd-jobs I ciuld do for you, sir?' 'I'd like my porch painted, I've got some yellow paint, and a brush, in the garage.' When he came back, the man was waiting, but the porch seemed untouched. 'I've done the painting, sir, like you said. But it isn't a Porsche, it's a Ferrari. You should have had it painted red.'
    I'll get my coat.

    That rated a triple groan from my wife with one awful thrown in.
  • Eirenist wrote: »
    From memory, 'stogged' is used in the firth chapter of Joyce's 'Ulysses'. Possibly a Dublin word?

    That's the chapter about an inlet in Scotland?
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