Joe
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Literature The British English vs American English thread!
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Joe
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I was watching an old episode of Sherlock. John Watson and a colleague go on a date, then go back to her place. It is late so she goes to bed, while Watson sleeps on her couch. When they wake up the next morning, John is rubbing his shoulder and doing other things that show that the couch wasn't very comfortable.
"Next time I'll let you kip at the foot of my bed," she says.
I don't believe we have the word kip (sleep) in American English.
"Next time I'll let you kip at the foot of my bed," she says.
I don't believe we have the word kip (sleep) in American English.
Joe
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I recently saw the British comedy, Their Finest, which is set in WWII. One of the men in the film is enamored of one of the women, and he keeps saying things like "you're the mustard." This appears to be slang for "you're the greatest." But I was unable to find mustard used in this sense in any dictionary. Also, I am wondering whether this is still in use or whether it was just used during the WWII era.
Joe
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In an article on Brexit from the BBC website, the author wrote:
A conversation to be had over Brexit
What does this expression mean? I take it the "two fingers" gesture is some sort of insult, but we don't seem to have anything similar in American English.
V-sign | Definition of V-sign in US English by Oxford Dictionaries
Oxford Dictionary said "two fingers" equals V-sign in the sense quoted above.
A conversation to be had over Brexit
What does this expression mean? I take it the "two fingers" gesture is some sort of insult, but we don't seem to have anything similar in American English.
.
V-sign | Definition of V-sign in US English by Oxford Dictionaries
Oxford Dictionary said "two fingers" equals V-sign in the sense quoted above.
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The topic has come up before in this thread (see here), but as for the literal meaning, and I apologize in advance for the rude language, I can only guess that it means something like "stick these fingers up your arse". I base that assumption partly on the phrase often accompanying the gesture: "up yours".
See also the Wiki page about the V sign as an insult.
AeryFairy
Anachronism
I've wondered about that, too! Kansas and Ar-kansas, except the different pronunciation. I asked Jen, but she just shrugged.
Well, well, well. Here's a challenge for you Americans: Do you have a similar expression for "... and Bob's your uncle"? See the Wikipedia article for explanation. One of my colleagues says this all the time, so I finally had to look it up!
This article gives a different explanation for the origin, if you read through to the end. It's also a delightful read:
'Bob's your uncle' - the meaning and origin of this phrase
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I’m not sure why, but one of this guy’s videos was recommended to me on the YouTube home page. I started watching and got hooked. He’s kinda funny and his comparisons of British vs. American everything is pretty interesting.
m.youtube.com
Lost in the Pond
I'm on a quest to uncover all of the memos that Britain and America Lost in the Pond. I'm also on Twitter: @lostinthepondUS
Val
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Thanks.I’m not sure why, but one of this guy’s videos was recommended to me on the YouTube home page. I started watching and got hooked. He’s kinda funny and his comparisons of British vs. American everything is pretty interesting.
Lost in the Pond
I'm on a quest to uncover all of the memos that Britain and America Lost in the Pond. I'm also on Twitter: @lostinthepondUS
Very interesting. I particularly paid attention to this one (i like this kind of info):
