The other British invasion: how UK lingo conquered the US

Post by twic » Sat, Oct 05, 2024, 1:20 AM UTC

zimpenfish wrote: post #52

silisili wrote: post #23

There's two I like in particular as an American, but mostly because their counterparts are ruined. 'Good on you' is the biggest one. 'Good for you', especially in text, to me comes across as bitter or sarcastic because of how often it's used that way, whereas the other doesn't. 'Mate', while I don't use it, is a solid word. We have buddy, pal, guy, etc, but again, they can each have their own negative connotation. Ma…

> Maybe 'mate' does too, but it always seemed like a neutral, friendly word. It can be negative, definitely, if said with the right intonation.

Post by hanniabu » Sat, Oct 05, 2024, 1:29 AM UTC

yesco wrote: post #27

Having grown up in the US with what I would consider a higher than average exposure to the early 2000s internet, at least compared to other peers my age, much of my ability to read and write actually came directly from social media, instant messengers and online games rather than books. This meant I often found myself struggling with spelling errors in English class which sadly resulted in deducted points from my ess…

Post by stephenjt » Sat, Oct 05, 2024, 2:07 AM UTC

rgblambda wrote: post #92

dekhn wrote: post #3

I once was talking wit some british people whilst in california and said "oh you can throw that garbage in the trash". They laughed and said it sounded really coarse, what did you do with it after? "It goes into a truck which takes it to the dump. Why, what do you say?" "We say you put your rubbish in the bin and the lorry takes it to the tip" which did sound more pleasant.

I'm fairly certain "dump" is the more commonly used word in the UK. There's the classic children's novel "Stig of the Dump" published in 1963. There's definitely cases where UK English has adopted a new word but American English hasn't. I was surprised to see the word "coupon" used in old UK literature. "Voucher" is the more common word nowadays. People would accuse you of being Americanised if you said coupon.

Post by Latty » Sat, Oct 05, 2024, 2:19 AM UTC

rconti wrote: post #84

dekhn wrote: post #3

I once was talking wit some british people whilst in california and said "oh you can throw that garbage in the trash". They laughed and said it sounded really coarse, what did you do with it after? "It goes into a truck which takes it to the dump. Why, what do you say?" "We say you put your rubbish in the bin and the lorry takes it to the tip" which did sound more pleasant.

That reminds me of a phrase I've seen on signs in both the UK and in Aus/NZ (IIRC): "No fly tipping". I'm not sure if this is actually correct usage in those countries, or slang, but it certainly feels much more like slang, and felt virtually impenetrable, even to someone who's been exposed to a fair but of UK-isms in his life.

Post by inkyoto » Sat, Oct 05, 2024, 2:29 AM UTC

a_e_k wrote: post #78

TheBruceHimself wrote: post #25

Brit living in the US here. Despite being here 7 years now i'll every so often have an American point out how odd something I say is. Recently it was me saying "I'll need to head home and get my swimming costume before heading to the pool". To which the response was "wow wow wow, "swimming costume"? Really? A costume. Not a uniform but a costume; something you wear for halloween? OMG that's adorable" Turns out Americ…

I'm not sure about other Americans, but I'll sometimes say "swim[ming] trunks" if I'm specifically referring to male swimming attire. Otherwise, yeah, it's often "swim[ming] suit" or "bathing suit" here.