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My favourite American Expressions/phrases

Posted: Fri May 06, 2011 12:12 pm
by wounded horse
I'll start it off for us limeys:

cooties = nits
sodering = soldering (is this correct?)
Pantywaist = wuss. I'm trying to get this one into common UK use. This is a great word.

Re: My favourite American Expressions/phrases

Posted: Fri May 06, 2011 12:24 pm
by Bruce Weldy
wounded horse wrote:I'll start it off for us limeys:

cooties = nits
sodering = soldering (is this correct?)
Pantywaist = wuss. I'm trying to get this one into common UK use. This is a great word.
Yes, soldering is correct .....sodering is not a word, some people just have a little problem with spelling.....

The proper spelling is pantywaste. I won't post the definition here....just google it.

Re: My favourite American Expressions/phrases

Posted: Fri May 06, 2011 1:31 pm
by wounded horse
Nope, saw it in some pulp novel or other and I prefer this one.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pantywaist

Not keen on the waste one.

Re: My favourite American Expressions/phrases

Posted: Fri May 06, 2011 1:51 pm
by Bruce Weldy
wounded horse wrote:Nope, saw it in some pulp novel or other and I prefer this one.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pantywaist

Not keen on the waste one.
Kinda' makes you think about some of the words we use without thinking....where they really come from.

Re: My favourite American Expressions/phrases

Posted: Thu May 12, 2011 6:59 am
by UROK
I learned "posterize" (v.) just this week.
Apparently from basketball when someone makes a defender look like an idiot whilst scoring.

Re: My favourite American Expressions/phrases

Posted: Thu May 12, 2011 8:16 am
by Mikey
I find it interesting that "fanny" refers to two completely different parts of the anatomy to Yanks and Brits.

Re: My favourite American Expressions/phrases

Posted: Fri May 13, 2011 1:41 am
by Harley
Mikey wrote:I find it interesting that "fanny" refers to two completely different parts of the anatomy to Yanks and Brits.
Aahh yes. Here 'fanny' means female genitalia.

I was hosting a barbeque once and we had an American female guest, who because of her accent and perception of self importance came across in conversation as rather LOUD. She was get starting to get annoying.

Anyhow, we had some of those plastic/portable seats which for some reason ( rain..beer..whatever ) had gotten quite wet.

As usual, guys standing at the BBQ, beers in hand chatting about fast cars, cricket scores etc, women in the other corner chatting about ???.

This lady goes to sit down on one of the chairs, right smack dab into the puddle of water.

She screams and then at the top of her voice yells "Oh my God....LOOK ... my fanny's all wet"

We guys could not believe it...there was one of those pregnant silence moments ( nothing to do with the fanny ) followed by embarrassed looks between us guys then the popping of beer tops as we all looked skywards searching for some way to change the subject without pissing ourselves laughing. :mrgreen:

This episode is firmly etched in my memory.

Re: My favourite American Expressions/phrases

Posted: Fri May 13, 2011 2:58 am
by Dave Non-Zero
A good example is shopping for clothes....

If you went into a store in America or Britain and asked for

Pants
Vest
Suspenders

You would get completely different items. :)

Re: My favourite American Expressions/phrases

Posted: Fri May 13, 2011 6:10 am
by CafSentryGnome
Harley wrote:
Mikey wrote:I find it interesting that "fanny" refers to two completely different parts of the anatomy to Yanks and Brits.
Aahh yes. Here 'fanny' means female genitalia.

I was hosting a barbeque once and we had an American female guest, who because of her accent and perception of self importance came across in conversation as rather LOUD. She was get starting to get annoying.

Anyhow, we had some of those plastic/portable seats which for some reason ( rain..beer..whatever ) had gotten quite wet.

As usual, guys standing at the BBQ, beers in hand chatting about fast cars, cricket scores etc, women in the other corner chatting about ???.

This lady goes to sit down on one of the chairs, right smack dab into the puddle of water.

She screams and then at the top of her voice yells "Oh my God....LOOK ... my fanny's all wet"

We guys could not believe it...there was one of those pregnant silence moments ( nothing to do with the fanny ) followed by embarrassed looks between us guys then the popping of beer tops as we all looked skywards searching for some way to change the subject without pissing ourselves laughing. :mrgreen:

This episode is firmly etched in my memory.
just imagine the response when we had a woman say 'uh my fanny is sore from bouncing around in the back of the car'. it was one of those errr what were you doing moments

Re: My favourite American Expressions/phrases

Posted: Fri May 13, 2011 9:34 am
by UROK
In the UK now that they have passed a new law, if you want to smoke a fag you gotta do it outside the pub.

Re: My favourite American Expressions/phrases

Posted: Fri May 13, 2011 6:04 pm
by Harley
CafSentryGnome wrote:just imagine the response when we had a woman say 'uh my fanny is sore from bouncing around in the back of the car'. it was one of those errr what were you doing moments
Classic!

What about when they go out for a walk and they wear 'A fanny pack' hahahahahaha

Re: My favourite American Expressions/phrases

Posted: Fri May 13, 2011 9:36 pm
by CafSentryGnome
UROK wrote:In the UK now that they have passed a new law, if you want to smoke a fag you gotta do it outside the pub.
same in Australia now too. so now everyone sits out side.

Re: My favourite American Expressions/phrases

Posted: Sat May 14, 2011 5:44 am
by Harley
UROK wrote:In the UK now that they have passed a new law, if you want to smoke a fag you gotta do it outside the pub.
A flame thrower gets it done in quick time :clap:

Re: My favourite American Expressions/phrases

Posted: Sat May 14, 2011 12:53 pm
by BrentEvans
UROK wrote:In the UK now that they have passed a new law, if you want to smoke a fag you gotta do it outside the pub.
Around here they call that a hate crime. :cop: