# A Brit vs. Yank question--minor \[meaning of "buffeting"\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 18, 2010, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-brit-vs-yank-question-minor-meaning-of-buffeting/547128 "2010-07-18T15:39:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-brit-vs-yank-question-minor-meaning-of-buffeting/547128/1 "2010-07-18T15:39:56Z")
A British fellow named Dyson has invented a [new kind of fan](http://www.dyson.com/fans/) with no blades. The Dyson site says the fans “produce an uninterrupted stream of smooth air, **with no unpleasant buffeting.** ” 😕 By “unpleasant buffeting” do they mean the blast of air that a good fan produces, so you get cooled off when you’re hot? I’ve spent a good portion of my life living in the California central valley, and it gets quite hot here, so me the entire _point_ of a fan is to be able to stand right in front of a sort of mini wind-tunnel and be buffeted. Do British people, used as they are to a more temperate climate, dislike this? Or is it your basic advertising technique where they want to make you realize that you need a bladeless fan? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-brit-vs-yank-question-minor-meaning-of-buffeting/547128/2 "2010-07-18T15:45:26Z")
I take it to mean ‘pulses’ of air. Rather than coming out in a steady stream, fluids accelerated by blades have pressure waves because of the gaps between the blades. Of course the blades in a fan tend to be fairly large, and the fan is spinning at a pretty good speed. There have been cases where workers have become ill due to giant, slowly-turning fans in hangars and factories; but with common household fans it’s a non-issue. It’s just a marketing ploy. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-brit-vs-yank-question-minor-meaning-of-buffeting/547128/3 "2010-07-18T15:55:12Z")
I take it to mean the air stream is chopped up, not continuous. But I have to wonder how much of what they are bragging about is reduced noise, as opposed to improved cooling effect. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-brit-vs-yank-question-minor-meaning-of-buffeting/547128/4 "2010-07-18T15:57:36Z")
When I first saw that commercial, I thought it was a really amazing solution for something that wasn’t really a problem for anyone. It kinda made me giggle. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-brit-vs-yank-question-minor-meaning-of-buffeting/547128/5 "2010-07-18T15:59:03Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > When I first saw that commercial, I thought it was a really amazing solution for something that wasn’t really a problem for anyone. It kinda made me giggle. My friend was visiting when the commercial came on. She said that a better model would have absolutely no air coming out of it at all. ‘See how well it works?’ 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-brit-vs-yank-question-minor-meaning-of-buffeting/547128/6 "2010-07-18T16:00:40Z")
I stood in front of a Dyson fan in a best buy yesterday. I didn’t notice much difference between its airflow and that of a regular fan. It was much quieter, but it also cost about $300. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-brit-vs-yank-question-minor-meaning-of-buffeting/547128/7 "2010-07-18T16:01:53Z")
[Unpleasent buffet](http://lileks.com/institute/gallery/brunches/7.html). ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-brit-vs-yank-question-minor-meaning-of-buffeting/547128/8 "2010-07-18T16:04:43Z")
with an axial fan the pressure waves can be an unpleasant noise. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-brit-vs-yank-question-minor-meaning-of-buffeting/547128/9 "2010-07-18T16:09:31Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > I stood in front of a Dyson fan in a best buy yesterday. I didn’t notice much difference between its airflow and that of a regular fan. It was much quieter, but it also cost about $300. This seems to be the bottom line. Is it worth that much money to you to have a household fan that makes less noise? Of course, if most people really DO find the airflow equivalent and the lower noise level less obtrusive, they may eventually get made cheaper. One thing that occurs to me is that you could possibly incorporate this sort of thing into the window casement, and have a “fan” built into every openable window in the house, rather than having to take up space with a separate appliance. ---
**Author:** ![Waffle\_Decider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/77aa72/32.png) [@Waffle\_Decider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waffle_Decider)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-brit-vs-yank-question-minor-meaning-of-buffeting/547128/10 "2010-07-18T16:43:38Z")
I have nothing to add to the OP, except that I first heard about the Dyson vacuum cleaner from the TV ad in the US. I’ve never heard of that company before, and I wrongly assumed that it was just an American company that hired a British actor to make their overpriced products somehow seem more sophisticated, pandering to the upper middle class snobs. That was until one day I saw the exact same ad in the UK. For some reasons, I actually have more respect for the company after that. Nevertheless, I probably still won’t be buying their stuff. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-brit-vs-yank-question-minor-meaning-of-buffeting/547128/11 "2010-07-18T16:54:28Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > When I first saw that commercial, I thought it was a really amazing solution for something that wasn’t really a problem for anyone. It kinda made me giggle. That is what I thought - and when I saw one in the store I was amazed at how pricey they are. 300 US or around there. ---
**Author:** ![Bytegeist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Bytegeist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bytegeist)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-brit-vs-yank-question-minor-meaning-of-buffeting/547128/12 "2010-07-18T17:29:01Z")
If I may speak on behalf of Craig Ferguson here — _does it have the proper amount of **suction**?_ ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-brit-vs-yank-question-minor-meaning-of-buffeting/547128/13 "2010-07-18T18:10:46Z")
I can’t imagine that the British are any more impressed with that idiotic sales pitch than Americans are. I’m sure there are similar proportions of folk who are so excited by the “coolness” that they overlook the fact that no one was complaining about choppy air or buffeting in the first place, as well as of people who stare at the ring and don’t realize that it’s just a ducted fan, and not bladeless at all. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-brit-vs-yank-question-minor-meaning-of-buffeting/547128/14 "2010-07-18T18:20:54Z")
It looks to me like that still has blades, just like any other fan; they’re just smaller and hidden away in the base. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-brit-vs-yank-question-minor-meaning-of-buffeting/547128/15 "2010-07-18T18:24:19Z")
I think the only Brit vs Yank issue here is the assumption by that particular Brit that his accent makes him sound more authoritative. To my ear, he sounds like a pompous prick. It’s a fine line, and he doesn’t know how to walk it. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-brit-vs-yank-question-minor-meaning-of-buffeting/547128/16 "2010-07-18T18:41:39Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I think the only Brit vs Yank issue here is the assumption by that particular Brit that his accent makes him sound more authoritative. To my ear, he sounds like a pompous prick. It’s a fine line, and he doesn’t know how to walk it. What particular Brit? ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-brit-vs-yank-question-minor-meaning-of-buffeting/547128/17 "2010-07-18T18:46:13Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > What particular Brit? He means Dyson, presumably. He has done pretty well with selling fancy vacuum cleaners to Americans, so I guess it works on some of 'em. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-brit-vs-yank-question-minor-meaning-of-buffeting/547128/18 "2010-07-18T18:49:43Z")
Edited thread title to better indicate subject. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![SunSandSuffering](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@SunSandSuffering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunSandSuffering)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-brit-vs-yank-question-minor-meaning-of-buffeting/547128/19 "2010-07-18T18:50:52Z")
The guy is a pompous prick, he sold out to far eastern manufacturing and kicked the actual British manufacturing plant in the nuts. No self respecting person in the UK would buy his products, fanless or otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-brit-vs-yank-question-minor-meaning-of-buffeting/547128/20 "2010-07-18T18:54:29Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > He means Dyson, presumably. Ah, Dyson’s doing his own adverts then? He _is_ a prick. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-brit-vs-yank-question-minor-meaning-of-buffeting/547128.md?page=2)