I know it’s not usual in day-to-day speech, which is why I felt foolish about how it must have sounded to him when I used it in the sense of “Our business is concluded,” as in a BBC period drama.
Like an Englishman saying “Howdy, pard’ner,” to an American.
I’m an American, and just today I thought I found a typo in Microsoft’s SQL Server when it responded with “Operation Canceled”.
“Aren’t there two ells in ‘cancelled’?” I wondered.
Nope. It seems I’ve been reading too much stuff written by the British.
Monty Python has made Britishisms very cute here in America (at least, to us computer geeks.) I’ll often say “Right!” as an exclamation meaning that I’m frustrated with something and I’m about to resolve the issue with actions.
I also think the phrase “Rubbish.” as a term of disapproval is very funny. Of course, it has to be pronounced “robe-ish”.
No it is definitely rub-ish. And please don’t use cute again. To an average Brit , that this very cringe making ,and slightly condescending when talking about us and our language.
Often this will be because they’re not in custody - they may be being interviewed under caution on a voluntary basis. If somebody’s arrested, or charged, then that’s how it’s described.
I think it also has something to do with the contempt-of-court and subjudicy rules. The press have to be very careful when reporting possible court cases. This can include publishing pictures of suspects , mentioning previous crimes and too many details of the investigation.
Watching Fox News I am always amazed at the way cases are reported in the USA. They seem to give a whole lot more information about the suspect which, I think, could prejudice a trial and would not be allowed in the UK