Irritating American names for things

Westernworld. · 23-11-2020 10:40pm

Dumpster

Squeeonline · 24-11-2020 8:36am

Hangdogroad wrote: »

I notice the word grifter being used a lot here lately in online discussions, mainly relating to online scammers. Prior to this I was only familiar with it from the John Cusack film the Grifters.

I know grifter as more of a UK term for a con-artist or scammer. I think it was mostly Hustle the TV show that introduced that to me though.

atr2002 · 24-11-2020 8:38am

Candy instead of sweets has made its way into our house.. thanks YouTube

atr2002 · 24-11-2020 8:42am

764dak wrote: »

Rubbish thread

Think you mean garbage thread

atr2002 · 24-11-2020 8:43am

Smores is another one. My 12yr old nephew came out with it.. i nearly got sick.

Hamsterchops · 24-11-2020 10:27am

atr2002 wrote: »

Think you mean garbage thread

Rubbish thread, this side of the pond

That reminds me, better out the trash bins out tonight as the garbage truck bin lorry is coming tomorrow.

Wibbs · 24-11-2020 2:24pm

Chinasea wrote: »

Think this thread is smug, rude and racist.

Americans aren't a "race".

Zaph · 24-11-2020 3:27pm

atr2002 wrote: »

Smores is another one. My 12yr old nephew came out with it.. i nearly got sick.

But smores are a specific food item. I'm not aware of any equivalent here that the word would be used in place of.

atr2002 · 24-11-2020 3:55pm

Zaph wrote: »

But smores are a specific food item. I'm not aware of any equivalent here that the word would be used in place of.

Roasted marshmallows was what we called them

hurikane · 24-11-2020 4:01pm

Deleted User wrote: »

"Math" seems to be gaining traction this side of the pond. And those who use the term "soccer" to describe a football game should be forced to operate a hotdog stand in an abandoned carpark.

Drives me especially mental when people call the Atlantic Ocean, a pond.

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts · 24-11-2020 4:02pm

It’s probably been said already but “Standing in line”. The English language has a perfect little word for that.

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts · 24-11-2020 4:05pm

atr2002 wrote: »

Roasted marshmallows was what we called them

No, s'mores are more complicated than that, involving biscuit and chocolate.

Hangdogroad · 24-11-2020 4:57pm

Jerk.

Douchebag.

dxhound2005 · 24-11-2020 5:27pm

hurikane wrote: »

Drives me especially mental when people call the Atlantic Ocean, a pond.

That's an English thing. Some English still refer to America as "The Colonies".

.anon. · 24-11-2020 6:07pm

Chinasea wrote: »

Think this thread is smug, rude and racist.

No, it isn't.

The way Americans pronounce the word 'twat' (twot) annoys me.

Stateofyou · 24-11-2020 6:50pm

Wibbs wrote: »

Americans aren't a "race".

Do you think it's smug, rude and prejudiced? Bigoted? Xenophobic? Ethnocentric?

Gaoth Laidir · 26-11-2020 7:11pm

https://youtu.be/UCo0hSFAWOc

Wibbs · 26-11-2020 7:38pm

Stateofyou wrote: »

Do you think it's smug, rude and prejudiced? Bigoted? Xenophobic? Ethnocentric?

So not so unlike America then? And it's not as if a shed load of Americans don't have woefully daft and ignorant ideas about other countries and cultures. Shure Oil be gettin back to me lucky charms to be sure to be sure, as soon as I bring de sheeep to market. Begorrah.

At least half the time a scary number of Americans can't even find on a map or pronounce the names of places they're drone bombing and "bringing freedom" to. EyeRak. :rolleyes:

But nah, it's mostly a bit of fun, for those who have a sense of humour(with a U).

Lovin the offence buzzwords being trotted out though.

Stateofyou · 26-11-2020 8:02pm

Wibbs wrote: »

So not so unlike America then? And it's not as if a shed load of Americans don't have woefully daft and ignorant ideas about other countries and cultures. Shure Oil be gettin back to me lucky charms to be sure to be sure, as soon as I bring de sheeep to market. Begorrah.

At least half the time a scary number of Americans can't even find on a map or pronounce the names of places they're drone bombing and "bringing freedom" to. EyeRak. :rolleyes:

But nah, it's mostly a bit of fun, for those who have a sense of humour(with a U).

Lovin the offence buzzwords being trotted out though.

Sorry, are you trying to justify this thread by claiming that well America is the same, so that makes it okay? We're supposed to be adults here, so we should know better. When our kids come to us and say, will he did xyz first or she said xyz so what I said doesn't matter. We know that isn't true. What a strange angle to come from.

Yeah, Americans have cereal called Lucky Charms, totally the same thing as this whole thread meanly (and often incorrectly) slagging off an entire country with numerous cultures of 330 million people. Not to mention that we're supposed to be welcoming to people here. Or at least that's what we claim. There are thousands of American's here and loads of multinational companies-no doubt there are / have been loads of Americans reading this shíte. Shame on boards for allowing it to continue.
Then you end your tripe with another stereotyping, generalisation, bigoted commentary towards a country of numerous cultures with 330 million people tarring them all with the same brush. Well done. Its HILARIOUS!

By the way American's are not being ignorant and daft, it's mostly a bit of fun, for those who have a sense of humour (without a U).

Wibbs · 26-11-2020 8:15pm

.anon. wrote: »

The way Americans pronounce the word 'twat' (twot) annoys me.

I think that's kinda cute, as if they're trying to make it sound posh.

They do kinda similar with "cunt". It lands on their lips like a foreign thing and they're not quite sure how to deal with it. Unlike Australians who can make the same word dance. American folks can say fuck with the best of them though. Some accents in particular.

begbysback · 26-11-2020 8:16pm

Happy thanksgiving y’all

Wibbs · 26-11-2020 8:21pm

Stateofyou wrote: »

We're supposed to be adults here, so we should know better. When our kids come to us and say, will he did xyz first or she said xyz so what I said doesn't matter. We know that isn't true. What a strange angle to come from.

Exactly, adults. Adults can give and take it, we're not little kids running to mooomy because of "bad words". Or shouldn't be. If any Americans want to roll up and take the piss out of the Irish I'd welcome it and they'd certainly have enough material to be getting on with. And I know enough Americans including a couple living here that can give as good as they get and have the craic doing so.

Wibbs · 26-11-2020 8:22pm

begbysback wrote: »

Happy thanksgiving y’all

Well that's nice too. Now if an Irish person says it.... fingernails down blackboard time. But not as bad as some Irish who were going on about trump and MAGA. *cringe*

ohnonotgmail · 26-11-2020 8:22pm

begbysback wrote: »

Happy thanksgiving y’all

YEEHAW!!! *Shoots sixguns in the air*

Sardonicat · 26-11-2020 8:33pm

Wibbs wrote: »

They do kinda similar with "cunt". It lands on their lips like a foreign thing and they're not quite sure how to deal with it.

It sounds like they're invoking a German philosopher, who, ironically is often referred to as cųhnt by students.

Wibbs · 26-11-2020 8:35pm

Sardonicat wrote: »

who, ironically is often referred to as cųhnt by students.

I do hope deliberately. Cos I would. Oh the jolly japes around Uranus as a schoolkid. And now tbh.

Sardonicat · 26-11-2020 8:38pm

Wibbs wrote: »

I do hope deliberately. Cos I would. Oh the jolly japes around Uranus as a schoolkid. And now tbh.

Oh yes, deliberately. Especially at exam time. Cus he's a boring cuhnt. Essential and brilliant but fuk me! Zzzzzzzzzzz

Ash.J.Williams · 26-11-2020 8:55pm

I don’t give a rrrrraaaaaats aaaaaaassssssss

Ubbquittious · 26-11-2020 9:19pm

I saw a moose limb driving a knee sawn

(Muslim driving a Nissan)

Stateofyou · 26-11-2020 10:57pm

Wibbs wrote: »

Exactly, adults. Adults can give and take it, we're not little kids running to mooomy because of "bad words". Or shouldn't be. If any Americans want to roll up and take the piss out of the Irish I'd welcome it and they'd certainly have enough material to be getting on with. And I know enough Americans including a couple living here that can give as good as they get and have the craic doing so.

Oh please. That's just a piss poor excuse for "I want to say what I want without having to change and think of others."

And I actually personally know Americans who are on boards, who saw this thread and were offended. I'm not even American and I think it's ignorant and rude.

Gaoth Laidir · 26-11-2020 11:27pm

An Americanism that's become pandemic proportions in recent years is Super.
I'm super-excited/super-happy/super-optimisic/it's super-cool, etc.

I hear it all the time in meetings, especially from Marketing people from all countries, but especially Germany. Of course they all use US English, with slight twangs picked up from Netflix. It's actually refreshing to hear the odd one who actually learnt their English here or in the UK.

Sir Oxman · 26-11-2020 11:33pm

Stateofyou wrote: »

Oh please. That's just a piss poor excuse for "I want to say what I want without having to change and think of others."

And I actually personally know Americans who are on boards, who saw this thread and were offended. I'm not even American and I think it's ignorant and rude.

Aaaand block.:rolleyes:

whisky_galore · 26-11-2020 11:42pm

Chinasea wrote: »

Think this thread is smug, rude and racist.

Run along and tell Mom, I mean a Mod.

.anon. · 27-11-2020 12:28am

Wibbs wrote: »

I think that's kinda cute, as if they're trying to make it sound posh. They do kinda similar with "cunt". It lands on their lips like a foreign thing and they're not quite sure how to deal with it. Unlike Australians who can make the same word dance. American folks can say fuck with the best of them though. Some accents in particular.

That reminds me of something Billy Connolly once said about Americans finding 'cunt' hugely offensive, but being perfectly ok with 'motherfucker', which is far worse when you think about it.

Invidious · 27-11-2020 1:29am

Stateofyou wrote: »

And I actually personally know Americans who are on boards, who saw this thread and were offended. I'm not even American and I think it's ignorant and rude.

I'm American and I don't find the thread offensive. If people want to get worked up about trash vs rubbish or color vs colour, that's up to them. American and British English have diverged for centuries and it's only natural that terminology and spelling conventions will differ.

Invidious · 27-11-2020 2:09am

.anon. wrote: »

That reminds me of something Billy Connolly once said about Americans finding 'cunt' hugely offensive, but being perfectly ok with 'motherfucker', which is far worse when you think about it.

In Ireland, c**t is an all-purpose swear word, but in America it specifically targets women in a vile and misogynistic way.

It strikes Americans as very odd when Irish people refer to men as c**ts. That does not compute at all.

Gaoth Laidir · 27-11-2020 8:32am

Invidious wrote: »

I'm American and I don't find the thread offensive. If people want to get worked up about trash vs rubbish or color vs colour, that's up to them. American and British English have diverged for centuries and it's only natural that terminology and spelling conventions will differ.

Exactly. All languages have regional variations (e.g. European v South American Portuguese and Spanish, Germany German vs Swiss German, French v Canadian French, etc.). There's no right or wrong. Brazilian Portuguese has some very marked grammar differences to that spoken in Portugal, but it's still considered correct.

The problem I have is Irish people or radio stations or componies adopting American English as a type of fashion statement or superiority complex.

Wibbs · 27-11-2020 10:03am

Invidious wrote: »

American and British English have diverged for centuries and it's only natural that terminology and spelling conventions will differ.

Ditto for Hiberno English, though mass media has contracted that in a big way over the last few decades.

Hamsterchops · 27-11-2020 11:12am

Gaoth Laidir wrote: »

Exactly. All languages have regional variations (e.g. European v South American Portuguese and Spanish, Germany German vs Swiss German, French v Canadian French, etc.). There's no right or wrong. Brazilian Portuguese has some very marked grammar differences to that spoken in Portugal, but it's still considered correct.

The problem I have is Irish people or radio stations or componies adopting American English as a type of fashion statement or superiority complex.

Well said, I totally agree specially about some radio stations and presenters slipping in (consciously or not) a few Americanisms, be it Movie Theatre, vacation or Math (Pat Kenny's fave) and for the 1st time ever I'm hearing the odd mention of "The Holidays" on Irish airwaves :cool:

Very dangerous to be messing with our beloved Christmas.

Seamai · 27-11-2020 11:18am

Gaoth Laidir wrote: »

Exactly. All languages have regional variations (e.g. European v South American Portuguese and Spanish, Germany German vs Swiss German, French v Canadian French, etc.). There's no right or wrong. Brazilian Portuguese has some very marked grammar differences to that spoken in Portugal, but it's still considered correct.

The problem I have is Irish people or radio stations or componies adopting American English as a type of fashion statement or superiority complex.

Some may think superior but personally they don't fool me. My OH grew up in the States so we end up there on family visits which aside from them, both of us find being there a bit of a struggle.
One thing I would say about many Americans is that they often come across as being more intelligent than they actually are.

Ash.J.Williams · 27-11-2020 11:31am

Invidious wrote: »

In Ireland, c**t is an all-purpose swear word, but in America it specifically targets women in a vile and misogynistic way.

It strikes Americans as very odd when Irish people refer to men as c**ts. That does not compute at all.

or funny people as gas cnts, unfortunate people as poor cnts, sly people can be right cnts, lovely people are sound cnts!
great word

Stateofyou · 27-11-2020 11:54am

Invidious wrote: »

I'm American and I don't find the thread offensive. If people want to get worked up about trash vs rubbish or color vs colour, that's up to them. American and British English have diverged for centuries and it's only natural that terminology and spelling conventions will differ.

That's fine if you're not offended. I wonder if you've read all the posts. They're obviously not all problematic and some are fun or funny. But there are comments here that cross over to insults, referring to some differences of words as "dumbed-down" for example. And others criticising Americans of using "stupid" phrases that either aren't even said, or, that we Irish do ourselves. It's possible to have discussions without being rude or bigoted or ironically, lacking self awareness.

Stateofyou · 27-11-2020 11:57am

Hamsterchops wrote: »

Well said, I totally agree specially about some radio stations and presenters slipping in (consciously or not) a few Americanisms, be it Movie Theatre, vacation or Math (Pat Kenny's fave) and for the 1st time ever I'm hearing the odd mention of "The Holidays" on Irish airwaves :cool:

Very dangerous to be messing with our beloved Christmas.

Funny enough, that's the same argument many have in the states. I was living there at the time there was a big uproar over Starbucks new 'holiday' cups which said "Happy Holidays" instead of Merry Christmas. :pac:

Hangdogroad · 27-11-2020 12:57pm

I'm done here, I'm done explaining, etc as opposed to I'm finished.

silverharp · 27-11-2020 1:45pm

"my bad" it appears like a lame or very passive way of saying sorry

dxhound2005 · 27-11-2020 2:36pm

Gaoth Laidir wrote: »

Exactly. All languages have regional variations (e.g. European v South American Portuguese and Spanish, Germany German vs Swiss German, French v Canadian French, etc.). There's no right or wrong. Brazilian Portuguese has some very marked grammar differences to that spoken in Portugal, but it's still considered correct.

The problem I have is Irish people or radio stations or componies adopting American English as a type of fashion statement or superiority complex.

There's no right or wrong, that part is right. You are going to have a lifetime of problems if you do not recognise that in the modern world, regional variations can become international much quicker than in the past. The much maligned "revert" started in Indian English, and went from regional to standard in dictionaries, in the last few years.

COVID · 27-11-2020 10:19pm

Gaoth Laidir wrote: »

Exactly. All languages have regional variations (e.g. European v South American Portuguese and Spanish, Germany German vs Swiss German, French v Canadian French, etc.). There's no right or wrong. Brazilian Portuguese has some very marked grammar differences to that spoken in Portugal, but it's still considered correct.

The problem I have is Irish people or radio stations or componies adopting American English as a type of fashion statement or superiority complex.

Genuine question here.
Any examples of the 'superiority complex' thingy?

Invidious · 28-11-2020 12:01pm

Stateofyou wrote: »

That's fine if you're not offended. I wonder if you've read all the posts. They're obviously not all problematic and some are fun or funny. But there are comments here that cross over to insults, referring to some differences of words as "dumbed-down" for example. And others criticising Americans of using "stupid" phrases that either aren't even said, or, that we Irish do ourselves. It's possible to have discussions without being rude or bigoted or ironically, lacking self awareness.

This is an issue that goes beyond this thread, Boards.ie, and Ireland. The stereotype of the "dumb American" runs rampant, with people regularly pointing out perceived flaws with the US and Americans that they ignore in their own country and themselves. If I was to get worked up about this every time I see it, it would be a full-time job.

Wibbs · 28-11-2020 12:52pm

Plus it's easier for an Irish person to point at a "dumb yank" who doesn't know much outside the US, because we're a small island race that by necessity has had to look outside. That's far less in play in the US where many of the cultures came to them in pocket sized chunks for the most part and there's so much already going on within America. So the tendency is higher for an American is to view the world through their own prism. QV the Royale with cheese scene in Pulp Fiction which sums it up to some degree. That was born out of Tarantino's trip around Europe after the success of Reservoir dogs(Romans did similar when they were in foreign lands).

The average Irish person also knows far more about America than the average American person knows about Ireland simply because the cultural transference is far more in one direction. We see "documentaries" on US life, or a dramatised version of it, every time we turn on the telly, watch youtube or go to the flics.

Another aspect of American culture that can appear "dumbed down" is because they are made up of so many mini cultures, sometimes with a language barrier, so often the lowest common denominator is the easiest way to get information across. You'll sometimes hear British commentators sniff that "Americans don't get irony and subtlety in comedy"(which is bollocks in many ways), well irony and subtlety is much harder to transmit across cultures and languages but a pie in the face is always funny.

Wibbs · 28-11-2020 12:53pm

Stateofyou wrote: »

That's fine if you're not offended.

So I'll be offended on your behalf...

Irritating American names for things

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