# "Americanisms", do they annoy other non-Americans? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 3, 2004, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americanisms-do-they-annoy-other-non-americans/238046 "2004-04-03T11:41:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americanisms-do-they-annoy-other-non-americans/238046/81 "2004-04-05T00:12:38Z")
> [@Sternvogel](#): > > … Here is a glossary of [Australian slang](http://www.koalanet.com.au/australian-slang.html). Although I don’t see the woed “dodgy” there, I’ve adopted that term since I learned it a couple of years ago. … I think, for good or ill, Britain is the home\* of “dodgy”. In fact, some people in the London area might intensify it by saying that something is “well dodgy”, and _that_ one sounded wonderfully strange to me. It might not be said any longer , I suppose: I don’t know. **Eureka** Good point - that is the kind of thing that pisses me off. What a shower of pratts/wankers/eejits/heidbangers! 🙂 \*Um, in a manner of speaking. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americanisms-do-they-annoy-other-non-americans/238046/82 "2004-04-05T04:13:52Z")
> [@Treviathan](#): > > A big comfy sweatshirt-type thing with a hood. See synonyms at jumper, hoodie, hooded sweatshirt, etc. > > Does anyone know _why_ us SK’ers started calling them bunnyhugs? And is there anywhere else that this usage is common, or are we as usual completely isolated from the rest of the world? I personally have no idea. I just know that they have always been bunnyhugs to me, and they always will be. I haven’t been in SK for 13 years now, so I didn’t know that the youngsters aren’t calling chocolate milk Vico anymore. When I was a kid in a small Saskatchewan town, all we had to drink at school was Beep or Vico. Now, for a possibly even smaller regionalism, how many SK’ers know mechanical pencils as Eversharps? That’s what they always were where I’m from, and the first time I asked for one outside of my geographical area, I didn’t even know a different word to call them. You know, those pencils that have the leads in them that come out when you click them. ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americanisms-do-they-annoy-other-non-americans/238046/83 "2004-04-05T04:22:14Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > I personally have no idea. I just know that they have always been bunnyhugs to me, and they always will be. > > I haven’t been in SK for 13 years now, so I didn’t know that the youngsters aren’t calling chocolate milk Vico anymore. When I was a kid in a small Saskatchewan town, all we had to drink at school was Beep or Vico. > > Now, for a possibly even smaller regionalism, how many SK’ers know mechanical pencils as Eversharps? That’s what they always were where I’m from, and the first time I asked for one outside of my geographical area, I didn’t even know a different word to call them. You know, those pencils that have the leads in them that come out when you click them. Here, clingfilm or plastic wrap or whatever you foreigners call it is called Gladwrap. I remember feeling very stupid when in London and asking someone to pass the Gladwrap. Some brand names just catch on. ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americanisms-do-they-annoy-other-non-americans/238046/84 "2004-04-05T05:37:17Z")
> [@calm kiwi](#): > > Here, clingfilm or plastic wrap or whatever you foreigners call it is called Gladwrap. I remember feeling very stupid when in London and asking someone to pass the Gladwrap. Some brand names just catch on. It wouldn’t be the first word I would use to call it, but I’d know what you were talking about. The Man From Glad is a bit of an advertising icon here. ---
**Author:** ![lynxie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e99b99/32.png) [@lynxie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lynxie)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americanisms-do-they-annoy-other-non-americans/238046/85 "2004-04-05T05:41:42Z")
as a canuck, born in Ontario to family from Saskatchewan who spent childhood summers in Indiana and married an east-coater even _I_ don’t know what I call things anymore. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![AngelicGemma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@AngelicGemma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelicGemma)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americanisms-do-they-annoy-other-non-americans/238046/86 "2004-04-05T10:52:40Z")
> [@Celyn](#): > > I think, for good or ill, Britain is the home\* of “dodgy”. In fact, some people in the London area might intensify it by saying that something is “well dodgy”, and _that_ one sounded wonderfully strange to me. It might not be said any longer , I suppose: I don’t know. It’s not just the Londoners. My friends and I have been known to exclaim “That is _well_ dodgy!” And yes, it’s still used. ---
**Author:** ![Omnipresent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8c91f0/32.png) [@Omnipresent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omnipresent)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americanisms-do-they-annoy-other-non-americans/238046/87 "2004-04-05T11:06:58Z")
New York/New Jersey checking in. Hey NZ’s, how do you say, (while holding on to one’s crotch), “Here’s your dialect - right here!!!”? ---
**Author:** ![screech-owl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@screech-owl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/screech-owl)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americanisms-do-they-annoy-other-non-americans/238046/88 "2004-04-05T11:51:20Z")
> [@jastu](#): > > … I knew The Castle had some words changed - am I really supposed to believe that American audiences couldn’t work out what a rissole was? … 😕 Okay, so what is a rissole (since I don’t have “The Castle” to figure it out from context)? ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americanisms-do-they-annoy-other-non-americans/238046/89 "2004-04-05T18:13:52Z")
Amusingly, in the early days of the Beatles’ fame, Paul McCartney’s father said, “Couldn’t you sing ‘yes, yes, yes’ for once?” There’s enough Americanisms around, son". Paul answered something to the effect that it just wouldn’t be the same. It’s not a new problem, obviously. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americanisms-do-they-annoy-other-non-americans/238046/90 "2004-04-05T19:13:11Z")
> [@AngelicGemma](#): > > It’s not just the Londoners. My friends and I have been known to exclaim “That is _well_ dodgy!” > > And yes, it’s still used. One time I was mugged, my comment that I was suspicious because they “Looked dodgy” went down word for word in the police statement. ---
**Author:** ![gum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bbe5ce/32.png) [@gum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gum)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americanisms-do-they-annoy-other-non-americans/238046/91 "2004-04-05T19:41:30Z")
I love this thread. Since we have Australian, Canadian, New Zealand, English and American TV shows here, I have to go with **Tusculan** Could you please make your minds up? 🙂 Pop = music Soda= the stuff you clean your fridge with Coke= that illegal white stuff. **" Wanna Coke? \*\* Sure. \*\* What would you like to drink with it? "** Soft drink - as opposed to ‘hard drink’ - sounds good. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![fortytwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f9ae1b/32.png) [@fortytwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fortytwo)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americanisms-do-they-annoy-other-non-americans/238046/92 "2004-04-05T20:01:55Z")
> [@screech-owl](#): > > 😕 Okay, so what is a rissole (since I don’t have “The Castle” to figure it out from context)? Rissole: Dish made of chopped meat or fish mixed with breadcrumbs, shaped into balls or cakes and fried. ---
**Author:** ![jastu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/43a26b/32.png) [@jastu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jastu)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americanisms-do-they-annoy-other-non-americans/238046/93 "2004-04-05T20:40:57Z")
> [@Vetch](#): > > Rissole: > Dish made of chopped meat or fish mixed with breadcrumbs, shaped into balls or cakes and fried. Agh been pipped. Just as well I checked before posting I was going to say - A rissole is a mince meat patty, crumbed and fried, darl. In the American version of the DVD they changed rissole to meatloaf, cladding to siding, council to county, Camira to Corolla, two stroke motor to outboard motor and a few others I can’t remember right now. They also changed the music throughout the movie. ---
**Author:** ![blahedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a4c791/32.png) [@blahedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blahedo)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americanisms-do-they-annoy-other-non-americans/238046/94 "2004-04-05T20:41:20Z")
I’ve had several friends say that I’m something of a dialect chameleon; I see a usage and it gets absorbed. I was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago, but already by high school I was saying “y’all” fairly consistently (it’s just so useful!). I have been saying “no worries” for several years now as well. Moving to New England for six years did a number on me, and I now read the clock as “ten of six” and think of a “regular coffee” as involving two creams and two sugars. About ten years ago I made a conscious decision to use Commonwealth orthography in general (I reject “tyre” but “defence” and “favourite” are both good—and “practice” and “practise” are two separate related words, and I know the difference!), originally just to be contrary and because it looked neat but now mostly out of habit. (I’m convinced others are picking up the habit from me, though, which is fun to watch.) I’m a little sad that I can’t put on a thick sou-side Chicago accent, but I do have a mild one, and it is detectable as such. 🙂 Generally I’m pleased to notice a new usage find its way into my idiolect. The only one I think I’ve consciously rejected is “needs washed”, although now that I’m living permanently in the north Midlands dialect region it’s really just a matter of time before that creeps in too. ---
**Author:** ![Exgineer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Exgineer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exgineer)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americanisms-do-they-annoy-other-non-americans/238046/95 "2004-04-06T02:01:05Z")
> [@Vetch](#): > > Rissole: > Dish made of chopped meat or fish mixed with breadcrumbs, shaped into balls or cakes and fried. I’ve never seen the movie in question, but I have to ask: How are we supposed to figure that out from context? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americanisms-do-they-annoy-other-non-americans/238046/96 "2004-04-06T02:12:03Z")
> [@blahedo](#): > > \ The only one I think I’ve consciously rejected is “needs washed”,\ Shouldn’t that be “needs warshed” in the north midlands? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![jastu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/43a26b/32.png) [@jastu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jastu)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americanisms-do-they-annoy-other-non-americans/238046/97 "2004-04-06T04:01:27Z")
> [@Exgineer](#): > > I’ve never seen the movie in question, but I have to ask: > > How are we supposed to figure that out from context? In the movie, the setting - the family sitting around the kitchen table with their plates of food in front of them eating. The father Darryl Kerrigan asks his wife Sal “Beautiful darl, what do you call these things again?” Sal “Rissoles, everyone knows how to make rissoles darl” May not be verbatim but close enough. You can’t actually see the rissole but the son then goes on to explain to his dad how its made which is why there was no need to change the wording. I thought of a couple of other replacements. cubby house to tree house and granny flat to extra room. In that scene you also see the cubby house in question. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americanisms-do-they-annoy-other-non-americans/238046/98 "2004-04-06T04:05:03Z")
We had an Australian exchange student stay with us for a while, so we got fairly accustomed to the language differences after a bit. But one we encountered the very first day nearly threw us: We were sitting in the living room, just chatting and doing the ‘getting to know you’ stuff, when my 8 month old niece started fussing. Her mom was in the kitchen, so I was trying to calm her down by offering her things to play with and so on when Elspeth chimed in with, “Oh, hand her to me, I’ll give her a nurse.” HUH? That’s a mighty…er…friendly offer to make to a strange child. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americanisms-do-they-annoy-other-non-americans/238046/99 "2004-04-06T04:48:35Z")
What, you don’t like American culture? Damn fussy lot you are. Seriously, how hard is it to produce your own drivel? Hire a 13 year old to write TV sitcoms and you will be 1 year ahead on the Hollywood maturo-meter. Since we bought into Monty Python I see no reason we can’t adopt something from the land of warm beer and sheep. Maybe you can subtitle your humor so we can understand it (I missed a lot of the Brit humor due to language barriers). ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americanisms-do-they-annoy-other-non-americans/238046/100 "2004-04-06T22:49:41Z")
> [@blahedo](#): > > I’ve had several friends say that I’m something of a dialect chameleon; I see a usage and it gets absorbed. Sometimes it is better to change your dialect to suit the people you’re with. Or not. If I ever go to England, I’ll be uncertain what to call that…that _really_ popular game with the big field, goals, and a round ball that you’re not allowed to carry or throw. If I say “football”, my meaning may not be clear because my accent will mark me as an American, and so people will think I mean American football. “Soccer” on the other hand would not seem quite right in that context, because the the cultural connotations of the game are vastly different in America from what they are in England. While competitive collegiate and professional soccer does exist in America, the game generally conjures up the image of young–sometimes _very_ young–children playing in parks with their parents watching. This is the “soccer Mom” phenomenon, which is a catchall phrase meant to connote the concerns of families with small children, and their voting habits. Superficially at least, soccer is simpler than baseball or football, and is the first organized game played by many children these days. So “Soccer” hardly seems an appropriate name for the game played by Manchester United. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americanisms-do-they-annoy-other-non-americans/238046.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americanisms-do-they-annoy-other-non-americans/238046.md?page=6)