Irritating American names for things

[Deleted User] · 14-05-2021 7:48am

Wibbs wrote: »

riclad wrote:

I have never heard any Irish person say yard to mean a garden or space behind a house

I certainly have and it was at least a quite Dublin thing. Folks inside the canals had yards, those outside tended to have gardens. Generally a yard was paved and smaller, a garden wasn't and larger.

yeah, a yard definitely implies paving, or concrete, or at least, gravel. It is a place in the curtilage of a house where there is no grass or flowers, except as weeds.

A series of stables is always called "a yard", but the word applies to any space from a farmyard to a car-parking area that is built on. Am surprised that riclad has never heard it, I wouldn't have thought that was an Americanism at all.

Peregrinus · 14-05-2021 8:27am

A Lamb Named Miltiades! wrote: »

yeah, a yard definitely implies paving, or concrete, or at least, gravel. It is a place in the curtilage of a house where there is no grass or flowers, except as weeds.

A series of stables is always called "a yard", but the word applies to any space from a farmyard to a car-parking area that is built on. Am surprised that riclad has never heard it, I wouldn't have thought that was an Americanism at all.

The americanism is the use of "yard" for what we would call a garden. To us, a yard is uncultivated; once you plant grass, flowers or trees then it's no longer a yard. But, to Americans, the area of ground attached to your house, used for growing flowers, for recreation, etc, is still a yard. Americans would only use "garden" for something like a kitchen-garden or vegetable-garden, or for a really spectacular formal garden, or for gardens open to the public (like the Botanic Garden, say).

(To American ears, when we call the bit out behind the house the "garden", that has a pretentious sound.)

[Deleted User] · 14-05-2021 8:29am

^ True dat.

Badly Drunk Boy · 14-05-2021 9:22am

wandererz wrote: »

Apologies, i realised i made a mistake:

i-rack
i-rackee

i-ran
i-ranee

In the same manner, in the programme 'Community', Chevy Chase's character always referred to the other character Abed as 'AY-bed' as opposed to the way everyone else said his name (Ah-bed).

Obviously they're all Americans (probably) but it's the sort of same thing.

[Deleted User] · 14-05-2021 9:29am

Surprised no one has brought up the updated Oscar Wilde quote from the 2021 Edition of 'Quotes Gone Wilde' by Poolbeg Press: "Y'all bi*chez is weird. I mean, we s'pose to speak the same language like brothers, but y'all talk funny."

Peregrinus · 14-05-2021 9:37am

Badly Drunk Boy wrote: »

In the same manner, in the programme 'Community', Chevy Chase's character always referred to the other character Abed as 'AY-bed' as opposed to the way everyone else said his name (Ah-bed). Obviously they're all Americans (probably) but it's the sort of same thing.

Americans do this a lot with non-Anglo names; MulCAYhy, for example, instead of Mulcahy. And, back before the name fell out of fashion for reason that I can't quite recall, AYdolf instead of Adolf.

Mad_maxx · 14-05-2021 11:16am

real estate

Mad_maxx · 14-05-2021 11:19am

NSAman wrote: »

Any good and commonly used swear word.... Irish win hands down... the "C" word is like the nuclear option when used here in the States..;)

its a horrible word anywhere , i dont mind cursing but hate that word

Celmullet · 14-05-2021 11:21am

Irish Brogue for an Irish accent.

dxhound2005 · 14-05-2021 11:24am

Mad_maxx wrote: »

real estate

apartment

Hamsterchops · 14-05-2021 1:33pm

E L E V A T O R

Elevator my bum, it's a lift.

NSAman · 14-05-2021 3:51pm

Mad_maxx wrote: »

its a horrible word anywhere , i dont mind cursing but hate that word

Unfortunately, its use here in the States causes shock and the intended outcome. No one uses it unless it is absolutely last resort.

With the current mindset of many females in the US, when used it absolutely has the desired effect.

Not that I would EVER use such fowl language... ohhh no no no no!!! (ahem)

ohnonotgmail · 14-05-2021 4:03pm

NSAman wrote: »

Unfortunately, its use here in the States causes shock and the intended outcome. No one uses it unless it is absolutely last resort.

With the current mindset of many females in the US, when used it absolutely has the desired effect.

Not that I would EVER use such fowl language... ohhh no no no no!!! (ahem)

Chicken.

Electric Sheep · 14-05-2021 4:12pm

NSAman wrote: »

Unfortunately, its use here in the States causes shock and the intended outcome. No one uses it unless it is absolutely last resort.

With the current mindset of many females in the US, when used it absolutely has the desired effect.

Not that I would EVER use such fowl language... ohhh no no no no!!! (ahem)

What is the desired effect, and how is it impacted by women's mindset?

Capt'n Midnight · 14-05-2021 7:25pm

Gaoth Laidir wrote: »

My question related to your use of z in realize.

Mr Webster made up his dictionaries phonetically as he thought fit. And even changed spellings in later ones.

Capt'n Midnight · 14-05-2021 7:28pm

Hamsterchops wrote: »

E L E V A T O R

Elevator my bum, it's a lift.

Escalator vs moving staircase.

NSAman · 14-05-2021 9:35pm

Electric Sheep wrote: »

What is the desired effect, and how is it impacted by women's mindset?

Too many Karens in the US at the current time.

trashcan · 14-05-2021 10:36pm

MeepMeep2021 wrote: »

Surprised no one has brought up the updated Oscar Wilde quote from the 2021 Edition of 'Quotes Gone Wilde' by Poolbeg Press: "Y'all bi*chez is weird. I mean, we s'pose to speak the same language like brothers, but y'all talk funny."

Was it just me, or did anyone else imagine that in the voice of Bodie from The Wire ?

Electric Sheep · 14-05-2021 10:38pm

NSAman wrote: »

Too many Karens in the US at the current time.

That answered neither of my questions.

Eduard Khil · 14-05-2021 10:42pm

Yo Mama

It's Yore Ma

YORE MAAAAA

[Deleted User] · 14-05-2021 10:52pm

trashcan wrote: »

Was it just me, or did anyone else imagine that in the voice of Bodie from The Wire ?

Never seen it.

OT, I think the publishing house has gone too far with this 'updated' Americanized rewriting of classic literary quotes. I would have thought an Irish audience would be well able to understand "England and America are two countries separated by the same language." But maybe not. Perhaps it's all gone too far at this stage. :pac:

Lewis_Benson · 15-05-2021 11:27am

Cilantro

Bobblehats · 15-05-2021 12:00pm

Eduard Khil wrote: »

Yo Mama

It's Yore Ma

YORE MAAAAA

For sure

Eduard Khil · 15-05-2021 12:20pm

Bobblehats wrote: »

For sure

DjanoooowhatImeeeeeennnnn

Bobblehats · 15-05-2021 12:28pm

Eduard Khil wrote: »

DjanoooowhatImeeeeeennnnn

Yih

mr.anonymous · 15-05-2021 2:22pm

Polling place

No, it's a Polling Station!

dxhound2005 · 15-05-2021 2:34pm

mr.anonymous wrote: »

Polling place

No, it's a Polling Station!

Polling place is the building and polling station is the specific room (or part of a room) where voters cast their votes. A polling place can contain one or more polling stations.

Doublebusy · 15-05-2021 2:37pm

Bae
That word annoys me for some reason

Wibbs · 15-05-2021 2:48pm

branie2 wrote: »

Car boot - trunk

That makes sense mind you. Boot doesn't. Or at least it hasn't in a very long while. IIRC boot was a place on a horse drawn coach where the driver would keep his kit. Trunk comes from, well a trunk, that in the early days of cars was a separate entity fitted externally on a rack at the back. Of course these days with leccy cars we have "frunks", though some have tried to push for "froot" for this side of the water.

Bonnet is a bit fey. Hood has a bit more blood to it. Transmission is more technically descriptive than gearbox. I prefer bulkhead to firewall though and wings to fenders. Americans calling an engine a motor is a little grating if my OCD comes to the fore. Now a Tesla has a motor, but if it's something that's sucking in petroleum distillate it's an engine. And don't get me started on Gaaaas for petrol.

Cilldara_2000 · 15-05-2021 8:20pm

mr.anonymous wrote: »

Polling place

No, it's a Polling Station!

O rly?

Irritating American names for things

Comments