# "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:** 6
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americanisms-do-they-annoy-other-non-americans/238046/101 "2004-04-06T23:33:12Z")
The most annoying (to me) cultural language import originating in America is the use of ‘like’ instead of ‘said’; And he’s like, “get in the car, we’re leaving”, and I’m like, “noooo way”, so he’s like, “just do it” and I’m like “Duh!, I said noooo way!” ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americanisms-do-they-annoy-other-non-americans/238046/102 "2004-04-06T23:47:44Z")
> [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#): > > 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. You’re really overthinking this. When I was in the UK, if I said soccer (generally to annoy my British friends) everyone knew what I meant. But generally, I just said American football when I referred to our version and football when referring to the other version. But, generally, people are going to know what you’re talking about from the context of the conversation. And, **Mangetout** , you should get with my parents and have a fogey party where you sit around and complain about how these kids don’t talk right. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Okaybear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9fc348/32.png) [@Okaybear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Okaybear)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2004, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americanisms-do-they-annoy-other-non-americans/238046/103 "2004-04-07T00:38:20Z")
Any Bostonians around here? I’m in NC right now, myself, but I’m desperately missing my Boston people and their quirky little way of talking. I’ve picked up the whole “wicked” thing along the way (as in, “damn, that’s a wicked awesome caah that just drove by!”) Also, I know a couple of die-hard Bostonians who will SWEAR that soda, pop, soft drinks, etc. should be refered to as “Tonic”. Tonic. Goodness. I also work at an ice cream shop, and you’ll be amazed at how passionate people get over their frozen treats. We don’t serve classic milkshakes (as in milk + flavor = shake!), only frappes( ice cream + milk = frappe), but we refer to a small frappe as a milkshake and that gets the oldies riled up. Plus, I’ve had to learn that an “egg cream” has neither egg nor cream in its ingredients, but is just another term for a chocolate shake. Er, frappe. Shake? Don’t get me started on the jimmies. (Jimmies = sprinkles, for those of you who don’t know.) Wow. Now I’m feeling homesick. ☹ :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2004, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americanisms-do-they-annoy-other-non-americans/238046/104 "2004-04-07T00:41:04Z")
On my brief sojourn to MA, I had one encounter with a true Bostonian accent that I had great trouble understanding - and given that all I was doing was ordering a steak, I felt quite embarassed ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Okaybear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9fc348/32.png) [@Okaybear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Okaybear)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2004, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americanisms-do-they-annoy-other-non-americans/238046/105 "2004-04-07T00:43:50Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > On my brief sojourn to MA, I had one encounter with a true Bostonian accent that I had great trouble understanding - and given that all I was doing was ordering a steak, I felt quite embarassed ☹ Hehe, don’t worry. With a mother from Virginia and a father from Nebraska, even I have a hard time understanding Bostonians sometimes. I do, however, get to be the only one among my Boston friends who uses the midwestern “dang-nabbit!” when I’m peeved. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2004, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americanisms-do-they-annoy-other-non-americans/238046/106 "2004-04-07T02:00:30Z")
I tend to agree with **gex gex** that being Australian doesn’t mean you have to use outdated 1940s slang in an outrageously twangy accent. And herein lies the problem with those lists of Aussie slang that googling will bring you. People using those will end up sounding very odd. It’d be like me getting into a NYC taxi and greeting the driver with “Howdy Pardner!”. Nevertheless, I’m in total agreement with the OP. Some other words I don’t think have been mentioned yet: - ute - esky - schooner - hills hoist - (brown) bomber - smoko - bottlo - tallie (pron. like “tall” not "tally) - dero - bung it on - no worries - bit of a worry - u-ie The above words are safe to use for tourists, but the ones below are not: - G’day mate! - stone the crows! - you flamin’ drongo - she’ll be right - she’s apples - strewth - crikey! (don’t even THINK about this one) It’s not that they’re offensive, it’s just that you’d sound like a dickhead. 😃 Then there are a few guilty pleasure Americanisms I like: - couple things - to go ballistic - step on it! - Houston, we have a problem (my sister and I use this a lot) ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2004, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americanisms-do-they-annoy-other-non-americans/238046/107 "2004-04-07T02:06:54Z")
Oh please, please, please, before I forget… **Oz** might not be Kansas, but it also isn’t Australia. The only **Ozzie** is an ageing rocker. My countryfolk and I are _Australians_ or _Aussies_. And although I don’t want to see a ‘z’ (that’s ‘zed’), I want you to pronounce it as if it were there instead of the double ‘s’. There is no ‘s’ sound in “Aussie”, although there is in “Australia”. Good, I’m glad we’ve got that worked out. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2004, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americanisms-do-they-annoy-other-non-americans/238046/108 "2004-04-07T02:23:28Z")
> [@TheLoadedDog](#): > > … > Then there are a few guilty pleasure Americanisms I like: > > - couple things > … If you like that one you might also want to try out “couple-few”. As in “I went to the commitee meeting and a couple-few concerns were raised”. ---
**Author:** ![manx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@manx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manx)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2004, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americanisms-do-they-annoy-other-non-americans/238046/109 "2004-04-07T03:38:38Z")
okay, looks like the gap across the Tasman is wider than I’d thought. I have no idea what these words mean - - hills hoist, (brown) bomber, tallie, u-ie – little help, please? ---
**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 7, 2004, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americanisms-do-they-annoy-other-non-americans/238046/110 "2004-04-07T04:13:23Z")
> [@TheLoadedDog](#): > > I tend to agree with **gex gex** that being Australian doesn’t mean you have to use outdated 1940s slang in an outrageously twangy accent. And herein lies the problem with those lists of Aussie slang that googling will bring you. People using those will end up sounding very odd. It’d be like me getting into a NYC taxi and greeting the driver with “Howdy Pardner!”. > > Nevertheless, I’m in total agreement with the OP. Some other words I don’t think have been mentioned yet: > > - ute > - esky > - schooner > - hills hoist > - (brown) bomber > - smoko > - bottlo > - tallie (pron. like “tall” not "tally) > - dero > - bung it on > - no worries > - bit of a worry > - u-ie > > The above words are safe to use for tourists, but the ones below are not: > > - G’day mate! > - stone the crows! > - you flamin’ drongo > - she’ll be right > - she’s apples > - strewth > - crikey! (don’t even THINK about this one) > > It’s not that they’re offensive, it’s just that you’d sound like a dickhead. 😃 > > Then there are a few guilty pleasure Americanisms I like: > > - couple things > - to go ballistic > - step on it! > - Houston, we have a problem (my sister and I use this a lot) **TLD** You are a bloody dag! (down this end of the world we know that is a good thing.) Who is this funny foreign bloke. He talks funny ;). Aussies and Kiwis feel the urge to shorten lots of words, that may make our “English” different from the rest of you lot. We have a fair bit of tv from those Aussie foreigners.I’m just glad no one thinks they are cool so we can ignore the funny way they speak. Teenagers have no urge to say “too bloody right mate”. The day Kiwi kids start finishing every word with an “o” I go ballistic on their arses. (TLD knows I’m joking 🙂 ) We shall stick faithfully to “fush and chups” too and never be swayed by the "feeeeeeeeeeesh and cheeeeeeeeeeps lot. Keep your coolers and eskies, it is ChUlly BUns all the way 😃 ---
**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 7, 2004, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americanisms-do-they-annoy-other-non-americans/238046/111 "2004-04-07T04:16:29Z")
> [@manx](#): > > okay, looks like the gap across the Tasman is wider than I’d thought. I have no idea what these words mean - - hills hoist, (brown) bomber, tallie, u-ie – little help, please? A Hills Hoist is a plain old clothes line. other then that it’s all foreign muck to me 😉 ---
**Author:** ![seaworthy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@seaworthy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seaworthy)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2004, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americanisms-do-they-annoy-other-non-americans/238046/112 "2004-04-07T04:50:45Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > The soft drink thing is particularly interesting. > > American south: Coke (all brands). > American east coast: Soda. > American midwest: Pop. > Most of Canada: Pop. > English speakers in Quebec: Soft drink. > > This is probably glossing over a lot, and I know it’s incomplete (U.S. west coast?) but this is what I remember from my dialectology course. Well where would you include Florida in that list? We’re in the south, and on the east coast, and we say soda. I personally hate pop. It’s a word that makes me cringe, along with panties and cream (referring to moisturizing lotion for the body, not the stuff that comes from milk. In that instance, it’s ok) And is dodgy not in use outside of the UK? I mean, I don’t hear it all the time, but I know what it means. My personal favorite Americanism is “Let’s get the heck/hell/fuck outta Dodge.” My favorite Britishism (it’s a word now) is “taking the mickey.” ---
**Author:** ![precipitate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7feea3/32.png) [@precipitate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/precipitate)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2004, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americanisms-do-they-annoy-other-non-americans/238046/113 "2004-04-07T04:56:11Z")
> [@jehovah68](#): > > Coke is a brand name. Sprite is not Coke. Mr. Pibbs is not Coke. Crush is not Coke. Should all iced teas be referred to as Snapple? So what do you call that paper thing you use to wipe your nose? I think the marketing folks at Puffs would be _very_ disheartened to hear you call it Kleenex, but chances are good that if you’re American, you do. Very few people call it by a generic name like tissue. When you need to copy your tax forms, do you make a photocopy or do you make a Xerox? Linguistic levelling is a byproduct of intermingling cultures. Mass media causes faster intermingling of cultures. You should read some of the stuff that came out of post-WWI France about dialectical levelling. Panicky “We’re losing our language!” because soldiers from different regions fought together, and picked up each other’s (and the radio guy’s) colloquialisms and then brought them home after the war. I still have cites somewhere in the boxes of books in the garage, and they’re kinda funny. But then again, the French are pretty funny about language stuff in general. Though I think it’d be a damn shame if we all talked like Channel 9 news here in southern California. ---
**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 7, 2004, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americanisms-do-they-annoy-other-non-americans/238046/114 "2004-04-07T05:42:39Z")
> [@precipitate](#): > > So what do you call that paper thing you use to wipe your nose? I think the marketing folks at Puffs would be _very_ disheartened to hear you call it Kleenex, but chances are good that if you’re American, you do. Very few people call it by a generic name like tissue. > > When you need to copy your tax forms, do you make a photocopy or do you make a Xerox? > > Linguistic levelling is a byproduct of intermingling cultures. Mass media causes faster intermingling of cultures. You should read some of the stuff that came out of post-WWI France about dialectical levelling. Panicky “We’re losing our language!” because soldiers from different regions fought together, and picked up each other’s (and the radio guy’s) colloquialisms and then brought them home after the war. I still have cites somewhere in the boxes of books in the garage, and they’re kinda funny. But then again, the French are pretty funny about language stuff in general. > > Though I think it’d be a damn shame if we all talked like Channel 9 news here in southern California. It is a funny old world. I would never blow my nose in anything but a tissue or photocopy anthing that wasn’t a photocopy. I do wrap things in Gladwrap, use my cashflow card (first bank with ATM cards) and wear jandals though. ---
**Author:** ![precipitate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7feea3/32.png) [@precipitate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/precipitate)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2004, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americanisms-do-they-annoy-other-non-americans/238046/115 "2004-04-07T05:57:47Z")
See? It’s all about mass media. Here, it was Saran wrap for a while, but that faded out in the '80’s. If y’all had all the movies made there à la _Lord of the Rings_ we’d all be saying jandals. ---
**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 7, 2004, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americanisms-do-they-annoy-other-non-americans/238046/116 "2004-04-07T06:13:15Z")
On the hunt to find that we bloody invented jandals 😃 I did find this dictionary, pretty groovy really. [International | Victoria University of Wellington](http://www.vuw.ac.nz/international/studentlife/glossary_nz.html). I couldn’t find proof but i will be bloody minded and know we did anyway ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2004, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americanisms-do-they-annoy-other-non-americans/238046/117 "2004-04-07T06:15:52Z")
> [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#): > > 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. “Soccer” did originate in England. You could always try “footy”. ---
**Author:** ![gex\_gex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@gex\_gex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gex_gex)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2004, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americanisms-do-they-annoy-other-non-americans/238046/118 "2004-04-07T13:48:18Z")
> [@](#): > > _originally posted by manx_ > okay, looks like the gap across the Tasman is wider than I’d thought. I have no idea what these words mean - - hills hoist, (brown) bomber, tallie, u-ie – little help, please? As mentioned, a Hills Hoist is a rotary clothesline. A brown bomber is, according to the Macquarie, a parking cop (though I’ve never heard it used). a u-ie is a U-turn. No idea what a tallie is. ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2004, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americanisms-do-they-annoy-other-non-americans/238046/119 "2004-04-07T13:51:00Z")
> [@gex gex](#): > > As mentioned, a Hills Hoist is a rotary clothesline. A brown bomber is, according to the Macquarie, a parking cop (though I’ve never heard it used). a u-ie is a U-turn. No idea what a tallie is. Ah! Yeah, we call U-turns u-ies here, too. I didn’t recognize it written out that way. ---
**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 7, 2004, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americanisms-do-they-annoy-other-non-americans/238046/120 "2004-04-07T17:33:35Z")
> [@tpayne](#): > > Well, at least not by anyone under 40. It has sort of died out. I love to use it just to see the quizzical stares it generates. (on Americans using _fortnight_) Try “at least not by anyone under 140”. I have never, ever heard my parents or grandparents or anyone else use the word, and I’m over 40 myself. I don’t think I have ever even seen the word in American writing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americanisms-do-they-annoy-other-non-americans/238046.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americanisms-do-they-annoy-other-non-americans/238046.md?page=7)