Two nations divided by a common language.

[The_Doc_Man]

I fully understand the difference between dumb and mute, both meanings. In our current political situation, we want to find our politicians' "mute" button and wish they were dumb so they would be forced to provide their promises in writing.

 

[ColinEssex]

People who are somehow different seem to attract bullies.

It was the same when I was at school in the late 50's and early 60's. Anyone different - black, not English, deformed, stupid, free school meals, they all got beaten up. Our school had several gangs (mixed sexes). The girls used to urge on the boys to fight other gangs.
Col

 

[DickyP]

It was the same when I was at school in the late 50's and early 60's. Anyone different - black, not English, deformed, stupid, free school meals, they all got beaten up. Our school had several gangs (mixed sexes). The girls used to urge on the boys to fight other gangs.
Col

Essex was obviously different to Cambridgeshire in the same period. Bullying was seldom seen and when it was it was only against a very few misfits by a very few bullies. And it didn't involve beatings up and nor were there any gangs. Perhaps I was just lucky, or maybe it was just that I went to a single sex school.

 

[ColinEssex]

Essex was obviously different to Cambridgeshire in the same period. Bullying was seldom seen and when it was it was only against a very few misfits by a very few bullies. And it didn't involve beatings up and nor were there any gangs. Perhaps I was just lucky, or maybe it was just that I went to a single sex school.

I grew up in Bristol. Cambridge strikes me a bit posh anyway. I went to a comprehensive school (not the grammar bit)
Col

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Unfortunately I had the misfortune of being different, too. When I took the schooling placement tests, most of the kids went to first grade or were placed in a 2nd year of kindergarten. I was recommended for 3rd grade. Mom put her foot down on that one, though. They compromised on direct placement to 2nd grade - which made me the youngest kid in almost every class I was in through grade school. AND youngest meant smallest so that made me a target - a smart kid too small to defend against bullies and socially inexperienced. Even in high school I was bullied because some of the kids from that elementary school and my junior high were in the same school district so followed me for 11 years.

 

[DickyP]

I grew up in Bristol. Cambridge strikes me a bit posh anyway. I went to a comprehensive school (not the grammar bit)
Col

Cambridgeshire not Cambridge - subtle difference. Village school for primary and grammar for secondary (mind you Peterborough wasn't in Cambridgeshire when I started secondary school Northamptonshire and then County of Huntingdon and Peterborough).

 

[ColinEssex]

Cambridgeshire not Cambridge - subtle difference.

Same difference to a 'rough end' of Bristol kid.
Col

 

[DickyP]

Same difference to a 'rough end' of Bristol kid.
Col

Nothing like the same - city of Cambridge is full of leftie intellectuals and well paid electronics industry: it does have rough end as well. The shire is/was hardworking farming communities, especially in the 60s. My primary school had a grand total of 90 pupils from 5 different villages.

 

[Space Cowboy]

Unfortunately I had the misfortune of being different, too. When I took the schooling placement tests, most of the kids went to first grade or were placed in a 2nd year of kindergarten. I was recommended for 3rd grade. Mom put her foot down on that one, though. They compromised on direct placement to 2nd grade - which made me the youngest kid in almost every class I was in through grade school. AND youngest meant smallest so that made me a target - a smart kid too small to defend against bullies and socially inexperienced. Even in high school I was bullied because some of the kids from that elementary school and my junior high were in the same school district so followed me for 11 years.

You have my sympathies there, I too was a bit different at school. Almost every fight I ever got into was over bullying. I could not stand it, I was always a good fighter and "****" ( needs to into nations divided by a common language thread) of the school playground in every year, If I ever saw anyone "picking" on someone or bullying them, for whatever reason, I would take them to task and do the same to them and ultimately if the bully wanted to fight about it they had to fight me. It was a grammar school though, so most of the bullies were soft really, just vicious with their mouths when in a group.

 

[DickyP]

Just found another variation actually on this forum. I came across while browsing a thread from last year that talked about Julian dates, which initially caused me some confusion as the only modern Julian dates I know of are the astronomical ones. Gathered the meaning reading the thread but then went and did some dictionary research. Eventually in my US Webster's I found a reference to its usage in North America instead of what is more correctly termed Ordinal dates in English English and elsewhere. Webster's hinted that it was an obscure and unexplained usage and implies that it is a minor usage.

Just how common is this usage in the opinion of our US members?

 

[DickyP]

We now have an example of convergence between the two language variants. The usage of the adjective military: this now generally refers to all armed services in UK in the same way it changed in 1920s in the USA.

When I joined the Army in 1967 the word solely referred to the Army. Even now the UK equivalent of the USA UCMJ since 2006 is the Manuall of Service Law, which replaced the Manuals of Military, Naval and AirForce Law.

This was a real faux pas in servcie circles in those days to use military the popular modern way!

 

[DickyP]

Came across another difference today which surprised me. I got talking to two American tourists in my home city of Norwich. I used the expression "to throw the baby away with the bathwater", which they'd never heard before. Do our US members recognise this expression?

 

[AccessBlaster]

My Aunt from Ohio had never had a Taco, until visiting us in the 70's

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Depending on where you are in the country, large sandwiches on long rolls are called grinders, subs, or hoagies.

Or, originating in New Orleans, "po-boys" - a sandwich typically on an 8-inch to 12-inch bread loaf, 2 1/2 to 3 inches across. The Subway 12-inch sandwich is on a loaf on the thin side of that measurement. The most common name for the bread used for po-boys is "baguette" - which can be up to 3 feet long in which case it will be cut into three x 1-foot segments.

 

[Mike Krailo]

My Aunt from Ohio had never had a Taco, until visiting us in the 70's

I'm originally from Ohio and they definitely know what a taco is. That must have been an isolated missed word. I don't remember going to many Mexican restaurants while there in my youth though. I remember maybe once or twice eating Mexican food outside of what my mother made for us at home on occasion, which was you guessed it, taco's.

 

[KitaYama]

Most of this thread has been about the difference between US and UK English but even within the US we can't understand each other.

 

[KitaYama]

When I was learning English (which still am), I tried to grasp the difference between Britain and American English (which I don't any more).
I used to use a paid app to learn. It was funny and very interesting. Above, and bellow clips are from this app.

 

[Mike Krailo]

Nothing worse than ambiguity while communicating.

 

[Cotswold]

My Aunt from Ohio had never had a Taco, until visiting us in the 70's

In the mid 70s Kojak was on TV over here. Then there was one of those ludicrous police situations when they were all supposed to be working late because they loved their jobs, working hard and catching naughty people.
Kojak turned to Stavros and said "hey Stavros, go and get some pizza" We are all sat there and I said "what's pizza?" Nobody had a clue.
Then Stavros came in with a box with some V shaped slices, which everyone picked up and promptly rammed down their throats. And we were all non the wiser. Don't forget all of this was probably on a 21" square TV at best.

Then maybe 3 or 4 years later a pizza takeaway opened in the town. It was called Dukes and had photos of John Wayne around the walls. Although just what pizza had to to with with a Native American hating WWII draft dodger I have no idea.

I'm still convinced that pizza is an American UPF concoction. I simply don't believe that the Italians could ever come up with anything as unhealthy.
Then just a few years ago Congress re-designated pizza as a vegetable so it could be fed to school children as one of the five-a-day. It all makes sense.

 

[NauticalGent]

It was called Dukes and had photos of John Wayne around the walls. Although just what pizza had to to with with a Native American hating WWII draft dodger I have no idea.

John Wayne was also known as "The Duke".