Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Fanfic Related UK versus US English: Smackdown 2004

I've had them both ways... both with a lot of water (good with Ritz (buttery) crackers) and with no or little water at all. Still can't eat them, though.

I don't know how people manage without electric kettles at all. Then again, I'm sure North Americans drink their water straight from the tap. I always boil my tap water before using it as drinking water. But it's a matter of taste. To me, boiled water just tastes less "chemical-ly". Only the plants get their water straight from the tap.

Then again, I also like tea, which prabably also explains the fondness for my kettle. Although I've never quite looked at tea in the same way after reading George Mikes' "How to be an Alien".

--meclone2--

I have never seen an electric tea kettle. Then again, I'd never seen a tea kettle at ALL until I moved into my apartment. I don't drink anything hot anyway. Iced Coffee, Iced tea, water either bottled or that's gone through the purifier (NEVER right from the tap! But I know people who do drink right from that tap).

And I don't like Raman, but we always at them as noodles, not as soup. But I know you can make them as soup. If I remember a friend of mine actually ate the ramen dry. I don't like it and I don't care if they are 10/$1. LOL.

- Laura

, but I like couscous much better! Now, see, there's an example of a really good advertising agency! Take that negative publicity and turn it to your advantage, after all!
Yep, most of the time-- although lots of people have those water cooler machine thingies that use those big jugs of water upended into the top, and that keep the water nice and cold-- and lots more just buy their drinking water by the case.

Oh, yeah, and the whole "pot" thing, is, I think, pretty different here in the US versus in the UK. You guys call any little tub a pot, right? When I hear the word "pot" I think of those big metal pots ("saucepans") you cook stuff in on the stove-- little ones for soup and couscous, big ones for noodles and green beans (etc). (Hence my thinking pot noodles might be dumpllings!) Our paints come in paint jars, our makeup comes in tubs or jars or bottles or containers, and our microwave individual meals come in little plastic containers (or we might say something like, "when you finish that mac and cheese, put the package in the recycling bin").

~Toc

Here's my mega-post with question and comments from the start of the thread. (James just said, "Oy!" Wonder what he means by that. Anywho...)

Compare and contrast are not the same thing. Compare points out similarities; contrast points out differances.

A question about the UK term "call." I'd been told that Dominoes changed their slogan, "One call does it all," when advertising in the UK, because call in the UK referred to a ... ahem... visit from a prostitute. True? Or is somebody yanking my chain?

My favorite US road sign is, "Cross traffic does not stop," as I tend to drive poorly when I'm angry, too.

In my neck of the woods (St. Louis), junior highs are being phased out. The older schools had 7th and 8th grades togethor (rarely 9th anymore). About 15 or 20 years ago they started replacing them with middle schools (6th, 7th, and 8th grades.)

Cheese curds aqre a yummy, albeit regional, favorite. Of course, I come from a cheese curd kind of background. Once while we were waiting for a funeral to begin, my cousin withdrew a large stash of cheese from the front pocket of his bib overalls and offered it around to the other mourners at the church.

(Oh, yeah. Dad says, "Uf da," all the time. He only says, "Yeah, sure. You betcha'," when he's joking, though.)

There are 7-11s in the Midwest. Lots and lots of 7-11s in St. Louis. (Well, I suppose they're starting to be edged out by QTs, anymore. But I grew up in 7-11 heaven.)

And my own personal bathroom story. We moved here from Oshkosh, Wisconsin, 30+ years ago when I was just a tadpole. Just after arriving, my mom asked a passerby, "Where's the bubbler?" She was chagrined to follow the directions and find herself at the men's room. Did he think she wanted to use the urinal? (For all those who've never lived in dear--may I even say quaint--Oshkosh, a bubbler is a drinking fountain. Hmm... I bet it has a different name in the UK, not to mention Canada and Australia.)

Elisabeth
who adds up all her 2 cents worth to around 14 cents plus tax

(Wendy, Woot! on becoming bilingual)

Hi Elisabeth

Just had to respond...

ROFLMAO!!! Give me good old pear crumble or cherry pie any day!

Hmmm... yes, 'pot' is a multi-purpose word, I think. Plant-pot, yoghurt-pot, pot noodle, cooking pot (though there we usually use 'saucepan'), marijuana... The one thing we 'don't talk about is 'pot pie' - I remember asking in bemusement what a 'chicken pot pie' was (is it a pie made in a saucepan? ) and realised that it was just an ordinary chicken pie. Weird!


Wendy

The only ads I've ever seen for Dominos is during The Simpsons on SKY ONE, because they're a sponsor. Despite this, and the fact that sometimes it appears that The Simpsons is the only show that SKY ONE has in its catalogue, I haven't the first dashed idea what their slogan is either...

Ah...the power of advertising...


LabRat

That's ok, at least you remember Pot Noodles' hook!

)... no equivalent to pot noodle (other than the previously discussed Ramen Noodles), same, and same. Pot pies-- staple of my husband's diet!

~Toc

Okay, someone convinced me to go to Boston Market to get a pot pie for dinner!

I've heard about "meat pies". My roommate tried a kosher one when she had dinner in Australia at her boyfriend's house. From the way she talked, it seriously scared me. I am kind of curious, what is a meat pia? If it is like a pot pie (I only eat chicken), what are they like? To me, the word pie has the connotation of being a sweet desert -- i.e. cherry, apple, chocolate, etc.

- Laura

On the European side of the Atlantic, Laura, a pie can be savoury or sweet. A meat pie would usually be with beef, but equally could be with lamb - but you'd rarely see something advertised as simply a 'meat pie'. You can have a steak and kidney pie, a beef and onion pie, a lamb and gravy pie, a chicken and mushroom pie, and so on. These can be large (serves 3-4) or individual. If you visit a fish and chip shop in the UK, an alternative to fish is a pie.

And, yes, of course we also have apple, cherry, rhubarb, blackberry and so on pies.

A 'pot pie', however, means nothing to us and sounds weird. I really did think that it was made in a saucepan! (Which reminds me: I still haven't figured out what a 'pot roast' is...)

Oh, and one further addition on 'pies': shepherd's and cottage pies are completely different. No pastry; they're covered in mashed potato, which can be cheesy or not. One is made with minced (US: ground) beef, the other with lamb. And I can never remember which is which!


Wendy

Electric kettles: you have to remember that the US has 110 volt mains, rather than 220/240 volt. Half the voltage, a quarter of the power - it'll take four times as long to boil your kettle. (Unless you double the current, which causes its own problems.)

Laura - a pie is normally any filling wrapped in pastry, with the exceptions Wendy mentioned.

And, Wendy... you can't remember whether shepherds would make their pie with beef or lamb?

Mere

Good point on the kettle - I had been wondering, with others, why the Americans hadn't embraced this shiny, modern labour-saving device along with all the others. But this explains it.

LabRat

Everyone here uses an electric kettle. I can’t imagine not having one.

From LabRat’s description, ‘pot noodles’ are what we call ‘2 minute noodles’. Pull back the lid, add boiling water, stir and in 2 minutes they’re ready to eat.

Our pies are exactly the same as Wendy stated. They can be savoury or sweet. One of my favourite desserts is apricot pie.

Dominos is quite a big takeaway pizza chain here. They advertise extensively on all media. And call girls are also prostitutes here, but they are usually referred to as hookers.

Tricia

And I had been wondering why everyone else would wait forever for water to boil in an electric kettle, when they could have a cup of boiling water in less than a minute in their microwave! Yes, the difference in voltage does explain things!

- Vicki

Since someone asked what a pot pie was.. A pot pie is a pastry filled with meat, veggies, and some type of sauce, usually something like gravy. They can be made either as individual portions, or family size. They're cooked in a pie dish, just like a regular pie. I don't know where the "pot" comes in at, though.

Pot roast is usually some type of roast cut (rump roast, flank roast) that's actually made in a pot, on the stove top instead of being baked/roasted/broiled. My dad used to make it in his cast-iron pot.. brown the top and bottom, and then boil it for about 3 hours until it's fully cooked, nice and juicy. The leftover liquid is used to make gravy. When made right, it's usually pretty good.

Mmmm, pot roast! I love pot roast. And yes, it is basically made just as Karen says, although it is not so much boiled as simmered until cooked. When done properly, it is so tender you don't even need a knife to cut it - the meat just falls apart. Delicious!

- Vicki

Just a few random food-related additions...

James said:

I forgot about this. I've been diabetic for more than half my life. I almost never have real maple syrup. There are several companies who make sugar-free approximations. Many of them, as far as I'm concerned, are little more than artificial sugar water, but there are a couple good brands out there. Carey's is good as well as one or two others, but, IMHO, Smucker's is the best. The sugar-free syrups are smoother in texture than pure maple syrup and, of course, lack that peculiar bite which is unique to maple sugar. The latter is a good thing as far as I'm concerned, but is completely unforgivable according to my brother-in-law. Depends on your tastes, I guess.

About Shepherd's Pie -- In the US, we don't really eat that much lamb. For some reason, we don't use the term "Cottage Pie" here, either. Possibly marketing reasons. The only popular "cottage" food we have here is cottage cheese. Not something you want associated with Shepherd's Pie. So, Shepherd's Pie here is generally made with beef.

Dictionary.com has the following definitions:

In both definitions, they decline to pin down a specific type of meat.

Webster's online lists much the same definition for Shepherd's Pie, but says this about Cottage Pie:

As for pot pies, I'm not certain, but I believe the term refers to the fact that the pie's filling is stewed together in a simgle pot before being put into the crust and baked. Another, less likely, possibility is that, since the pies are traditionally large and deep (individual portion pot pies are a relatively new thing), they might once have been baked inside of a pot instead of a pie pan.

I did stumble on this link in my attempts to resolve the pot pie question. It's all about the pasty, including recipies, history, quotes, and interviews.

As for water, microwaving is the most efficient means of heating it that I know. It's quick and effective. There are, however, two main problems with doing so.

First, microwaves don't heat evenly, so you need to be sure to stir any liquids you microwave. Most people know that these days, but Mom's very careful about warning us. Back in the early days of microwaves, she heated up baby bottles in the microwave. She felt the formula in the bottle, and it seemed good. What she didn't realize is that the microwave had created hot spots, so that the milk the baby was getting would suddenly turn from comfortably warm to scaldingly hot. Oops. Luckily, we all turned out okay anyway.

Second, in some rare cases, small pockets of steam can get trapped inside tiny nooks formed by uneven container walls (clay mugs, for example). They can become superheated, and, when you begin to stir the water, they can then literally explode out. A friend of a friend was seriously scalded in this way. There's a more detailed explanation on Snopes.

Back on topic... a minor interesting point came up on IRC last night. Consider these two sentences:

What else could I possibly have meant?

What else could I have possibly meant?

I don't want to speak for the whole country on this one, but I'd use either, more or less interchangably. It depends on context and emphasis. I think. Generally, I'd tend towards "have possibly." US FoLCs, which would you use?

I'm told that only "possibly have" is used in UK English. Is that right?

Does the answer change if the sentence is different?

What could she possibly have meant by that?
What could she have possibly meant by that?

What do you think that could have possibly meant?
What do you think that could possibly have meant?

Could that possibly have been more awkward?
Could that have possibly been more awkward?

Now I'm getting tired and confused. I'm not sure what I'd say where. Anyone else?

Paul

Believe it or not, Paul, some of that last little bit did actually make some sense to me because I can see tiniest shadings of different meanings. A lot of it depends, though, on inflection. Let me see if I can wrap my brain around it enough to explain.

First, I would tend to say:
What else could I have possibly meant?

It just seems to roll off my tongue more easily.

As for the other examples you use - in the first one, I can see a slight difference in meaning if the inflection is changed as well as the order of the words. And I would change the order along with the inflection:

What could she possibly have meant by that?
For me, this sentence implies incredulity and sarcasm. She said something. It was pretty clear what she meant. There is no way to misconstrue it. So, What could she possibly have meant by that? expresses confirmation of the original interpretation.

What could she have possibly meant by that?
For me, this sentence asks a serious question. I'm confused. What was she trying to say? No sarcasm implied, but genuine uncertainty.

As for the other two examples, I would always go with "have possibly" so I'm guessing that confirms my US-ishness.

Lynn

I know. A post after a post. But this is unrelated to the last, so I figured it deserved its own box.

I have certain difficulties using some adverbs because they don't sound right to my ears. In other words, I don't think I use them in every-day speech, so when I write them, they just seem awkward.

For example:
"Clark, what are you doing?" Lois asked hurriedly. "We need to get to work before we're late!"

I cannot for the life of me make hurriedly roll off my tongue.

Same thing with the word easier when used in certain ways. I can't read this without wanting to change it:
"Well," said Clark, "it just seems that when you help me, the suit comes off easier."
"Well," said Clark, "it just seems that when you help me, the suit comes off more easily."

Is this just a weird Lynn-issue or is it something else?

Lynn

You are not the only one. I agree with you with those two things that you brought up Lynn.

EDIT -- OH MY GOODNESS! Last time I looked at this thread it was no were near this high! One off 200. Who shall it be?........

EDIT -- Re: Ramen/instant noodles. My grandma (she's Japanese) thought the stuff they sold in pkgs where 'candy'. Full of bads she says. I know the ones in pkgs as opposed to the real stuff that isn't massed produced rocks. I know too much of anything is bad for you, but I love the ones that you fry in a pan and you add seaweed and a power. BAM tons of calories but MUHAHA does it taste devine. I cannot remember the name. Sigh. The Korean ones blow me off my seat. Too hot.