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What British people mean when they say 'sorry'

bbc.com

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Re: What British people mean when they say 'sorry'

#61

Post by SyneRyder »

thrownthatway wrote: post #47
SyneRyder wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Ope" is in use in Australia? Sandgroper here and I've never heard it before. Is it only in certain cities, or a generational / social group thing? Or do I just need to get away from screens more often?

It’s probably just me. Tend to pick up things I’ve heard once somewhere. On the other hand, I hadn’t heard sandgroper before and had to search to find out it meant Western Australian. Although, I definitely don’t get out much.

Sandgroper is just a shibboleth for Perth & WA people, I think, but it might also be generational. I'm old enough that Fat Cat & Humphrey B Bear mean something to me and are a shared experience, but probably not for people younger than me.

Helpful off-topic instructional video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWv3L6J1YVE

But saying sorry as a pre-emptive "oops didn't mean to step in front of you, mate" (when the other person had clearly walked into you), that has existed in Perth as long as I can remember.

Re: What British people mean when they say 'sorry'

#62

Post by defrost »

SyneRyder wrote: post #61
thrownthatway wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s probably just me. Tend to pick up things I’ve heard once somewhere. On the other hand, I hadn’t heard sandgroper before and had to search to find out it meant Western Australian. Although, I definitely don’t get out much.

Sandgroper is just a shibboleth for Perth & WA people, I think, but it might also be generational. I'm old enough that Fat Cat & Humphrey B Bear mean something to me and are a shared experience, but probably not for people younger than me. Helpful off-topic instructional video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWv3L6J1YVE But saying sorry as a pre-emptive "oops didn't mean to step in front of you, mate" (when the othe…

How about Humphrey B. Flaubert (or Humphrey B. Flow Bear, if you prefer)?

Re: What British people mean when they say 'sorry'

#63

Post by mamonster »

This is like when I went to Paris for a business trip and learned that a specific set of French bourgeois take "bon appetit" before a meal to mean "have fun eating this shitty food" (and that you shouldn't say it in a classy restaurant someone picked to take you to).

I thought I was being pranked at first but then I learned that the exact same rule applies in certain "high establishments" in Geneva.

Re: What British people mean when they say 'sorry'

#64

Post by a_e_k »

I'm reminded of The Hobbit with the phrase "Good morning" in the first chapter:

> "Good Morning!" said Bilbo, and he meant it. The sun was shining, and the grass was very green. But Gandalf looked at him from under long bushy eyebrows that stuck out further than the brim of his shady hat.

> "What do you mean?" he said. "Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?"

> "All of them at once," said Bilbo. "And a very fine morning for a pipe of tobacco out of doors, into the bargain.

Re: What British people mean when they say 'sorry'

#65

Post by oliwarner »

Excuse me.

That's all it means. Excuse my impertinence, presence, gaul, mere existence; I need your attention. Many languages have this overloaded phrase and use it just as a Brit would "sorry". It's formal deference. It's polite.

And it's not like we don't also shout "Oi!" when we need to determine whether or not some brigand possesses a licence for whatever it is they're doing.

Re: What British people mean when they say 'sorry'

#66

Post by dfawcus »

The flaw with that article, it being the Beeb showing their bias, is that it mainly applies to the English Home Counties.

So it is a southern English habit, not a British one. The other parts of England are more direct, and will use more obvious phrasing. Similarly the other parts of Britain will be more direct.

Re: What British people mean when they say 'sorry'

#67

Post by maleldil »

xaxfixho wrote: post #42

[flagged]

> On-Topic: Anything that good hackers would find interesting. That includes more than hacking and startups. If you had to reduce it to a sentence, the answer might be: anything that gratifies one's intellectual curiosity.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Re: What British people mean when they say 'sorry'

#68

Post by cromka »

roarcher wrote: post #38
dieselgate wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I grew up in the states with a close friend whose parents are both from the UK and she's the only person I've known to say "I beg your pardon" with regularity. Is that a British/UK English thing too? I never hear/read it used otherwise but it seems more succinct and "proper" to me. Mentioning it because I'm actually slightly surprised to see the "sorry, what did you say" usage here and in the article because it seems…

I'm American and I've heard Americans say "I beg your pardon", but like you I've always thought of it as a slightly proper (maybe WASP-y) idiom. People frequently say "excuse me", "sorry?", or "say again?". At least I do. Maybe I should get my ears checked.

They'll also commonly say "pardon me", which is a bit nicer "say again", but definitely nowhere close to "I beg your pardon" uptightness.
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