I swear to god, if ONE MORE FUCKING PERSON uses the words “quaint” or “cute” as regards Britain or its people, I will hurt something. And no, it won’t be fucking funny if you say it as a comment to this post. It’s patronising and rude and belittling. We’re not cute or quaint compared to everyone else and to stereotype Britain as such is small-minded and really fucking annoying. That is all.
O.K. I won’t. 
You know, a little context would go a long way here… Who said this? Were they in your flat? On the lift? Down at the pub having a pint? I think you should have just told the git to get stuffed, and gone off for a shag.
::waits to die::
I’m from Montana. You know – Cowboys! Wide open spaces! Camp fires! Women in poke bonnets! People who say “howdy”! It’s The Untamed West!
Except that it’s not. We have cars, TVs, DSL, Pizza Hut, the whole nine yards. No, I didn’t grow up on a ranch. No, I don’t own a cowboy hat. Or cowboy boots. Yes, my school had more than one room. Yes, I know what a cappuchino is. Yes, I’ve heard of (and even read) the New York Times.
If you want to experience The Old West, go rent High Noon. And don’t expect me to act quaintly old-fashioned just to support your romantic fantasy that somewhere it’s still 1880.
We need to start a club of the Unquaint.
Ah! This might be the context. I can’t be certain though. Apologies, I can’t remember how to make the link tidy. I’ll have to learn that again. It is a thread about football and television people and ghastly tabloid “newspapers”.
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=111403
No, I think it was me (and aspidistra) in this thread.
I’m sorry if I insulted you, Francesca. I was just trying to be funny and, aparently, failed. Part of why I thought that was funny is that “quaint” isn’t a word I’d use to describe a nation that once ruled, what 2/3 of the globe? Anyway, again, sorry for insulting you.
Well, that triggered it. But it happens all the time, on and off the boards. Often people do it in jest and I can take a joke but it gets tiresome being patronised all the time.
Oh, they play soccer but they call it football! How quaint! And they drink tea! Look at those cute little English people, saying “lift” and adding extra Us to their words. And they have that funny little island thing going on. Aren’t they just adorable?
I do understand that it’s a joke (and Miller, I knew you were just kidding), but sometimes it just gets tiresome.
Why can’t you just call them diaphragms, like everyone else?
But quaint is the leading UK export! The UK is all about quaint. One of the main reasons advanced for retaining the monarchy is that it’s a big tourist draw. You would describe this how? Post-modern? It’s also a handy description for bad plumbing as in a “quaint” hotel -> “the bathrooms were last remodeled in honor of Queen Victoria’s Jubilee.”
Quaint also means jobs and big tourist bucks. The travel industry markets quaint (and various subsets of quaint) 24/7.
**
O.K.
O.K.
Not quaint.
You English still need work on your dental hygiene though.
[sub]Owwwww, Well SOMEBODY was going to say it. Owwwwwww![/sub]
I disagree with the OP.
All tourists asking for directions to the local pub this summer will be advised:
First left, first right, first corner, can’t miss it, you’ll like it, it’s Fucking Quaint.
I think British people are cute.
British guys, in particular.
(Cute-hot, not cute-quaint.)
(I want Charlie Hunnam stripped, boxed, and delivered to me by 0500 tomorrow.)
People often use ‘quaint’ to describe the southern U.S. as well. Eh, doesn’t bother me.
But I’ll make the mental note anyway: British shit ain’t fuckin’ quaint. Thanks bunches.
Get in line.
Too bad his wifeypooh would probably object.
How quaint of you to say that.
::d&r::
Seriously though, it is a stupid thing to say.
Francesca , I can feel some of your pain. I’m from Kansas. No, Dodge City doesn’t have a Marshall Dillon. We don’t all live like Little House on the Prarie. Indians don’t live in teepees, they run casinos.
And to top everything off, I don’t know Dorothy or Toto!!!
I personally have an oil derrick in my backyard, and some cows down the street. (No, really. There are cows about five minutes away from my house. And I live in the suburbs.)
You think you got it bad? I live in MISSISSIPPI.
Dolts come here having seen “Mississippi burning” and three episodes of “In the heat of the night” and think they know everything there is to know about my home state.
No, doofus, I have never been to a Klan rally.
No, doofus, I’ve never lynched anyone.
No, doofus, I’ve never been lynched myself.
No, doofus, I do not wear a hoop skirt.
No, doofus, I do not live at Tara!
No, doofus, I do not talk like Vivien Leigh. She was ENGLISH, fer crying out loud!
No, doofus, I will not say, “Y’all come back now, ya heah?” just so you can laugh at my quaint Southern accent.
No, doofus, I do not eat chitlins.
No, doofus, just because I say “y’all” does NOT mean my IQ drops ten points automatically.
No, doofus, I am not married to my cousin.
No, doofus, I have never anally sodomized a Yankee. Though I am strangley tempted all of a sudden…
.:Nichol:.
That said, your corporate bankruptcy laws are quaint.
Sorry, but they are. Freaking Australia has more up-to-date bankruptcy laws than y’all.
Not that this matters to you or subtracts from the correctness of your overall rant, but dammit I lost a lot of money on your stupid quaint bankruptcy laws, and I’m gonna rant.
On another subject, Jodi sayeth,
Damn. Another fantasy shot.
Do you have a PVC nurse’s outfit? If you don’t, can I buy you one?