# Non-US Dopers: Please Share Any US Culture References You Didn't \*Get\* from Exported American TV/Mov **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 7, 2012, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-please-share-any-us-culture-references-you-didnt-get-from-exported-american-tv-mov/634017 "2012-09-07T18:05:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2013, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-please-share-any-us-culture-references-you-didnt-get-from-exported-american-tv-mov/634017/121 "2013-09-22T14:17:05Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > However if you’re invited to dinner by a French family and it’s a somewhat formal affair, they may or may not serve the salad after the main course - it’s a logistics issue. > If the main course has a short cooking time and requires some attention (e.g. a grilled steak), serving salad first means the cook, which typically is the hostess, has to leave the table & tend to the kitchen during the course of the meal which some consider impolite. So you serve the hot dish(es) first, then the cold salad either before or with the cheeses. > OTOH if the main course is something that can be left “on the fire” for a while, like a cassoulet or roast, then you’ll be served salad first as usual, all the arty cooking business having been dealt with before the meal began. That’s usually how I eat at home. I would much rather eat the salad last if it means the food is nice and hot during the main course. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2013, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-please-share-any-us-culture-references-you-didnt-get-from-exported-american-tv-mov/634017/122 "2013-09-22T14:18:26Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I think you meant that a C student would have a GPA of 2. **D’oh!** :smack: Yes, thank you. A GPA of 2 is correct. I just realized I’ve lived in Russia too long. Here, “3” is the equivalent of “Average,” while “5” is “Excellent.” ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2013, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-please-share-any-us-culture-references-you-didnt-get-from-exported-american-tv-mov/634017/123 "2013-09-22T14:58:14Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > And her name is actually Patricia Neal. She uses Fannie Flagg as a stage name because it fits in with her public persona which plays up on her southern roots. > > There are still a few women being named Fanny: Columbian singer Fanny Lu Buenaventura (born 1973); German skier Fanny Chmelar (born 1985); German canoe racer Fanny Fischer (born 1986); Canadian swimmer Fanny Letourneau (born 1979); German hockey player Fanny Rinne (born 1980); Swiss skier Fanny Smith (born 1982), and Hungarian soccer player Fanny Vago (born 1991). None of whom are American. There is also the lyric from _The Weight_ Catch a cannon ball now to take me down the line My bag is sinkin’ low and I do believe it’s time To get back to Miss Fanny, you know she’s the only one Who sent me here with her regards for everyone It still remains that it is not a popular name in America. It is much more likely to be used as a word for buttocks. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2013, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-please-share-any-us-culture-references-you-didnt-get-from-exported-american-tv-mov/634017/124 "2013-09-22T15:01:13Z")
> [@Ken001](#): > > You have perfectly nice ordinary people who are named Fanny and Randy. > Kiwis, Brits, and Aussies cannot keep a straight face when introduced and have to walk away doubled with laughter. Our dream is to meet a couple called Fanny and Randy. 😃 Come to Boston. We have a chain of clothing stores named **Frugal Fannies**. I think that will have some people doubled over in pain from laughter. I think a pretty fair proportion of Americans know by now that in British-flavored parts of the world “fanny” means “female bits:”, but here it’s a pretty mild term (that you can use around kids) for “rear end”. But we just don’t care. So we’ll keep our Fanny Packs, while you have to content yourself with Bum Bags. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2013, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-please-share-any-us-culture-references-you-didnt-get-from-exported-american-tv-mov/634017/125 "2013-09-22T15:19:50Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > But we just don’t care. So we’ll keep our Fanny Packs, while you have to content yourself with Bum Bags. And of course bum bag has a different meaning her too. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2013, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-please-share-any-us-culture-references-you-didnt-get-from-exported-american-tv-mov/634017/126 "2013-09-22T19:32:23Z")
In my experience comedies that use US racial stereotypes don’t travel well at all, leading to a lot of “I don’t get it, fried chicken and watermelon?”. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2013, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-please-share-any-us-culture-references-you-didnt-get-from-exported-american-tv-mov/634017/127 "2013-09-22T19:51:52Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I don’t understand your confusion. It tells you exactly what it means. I don’t expect a non-native speaker to automatically understand the expression but once told the definition should be pretty easy. **Loach** , you seem to be failing to understand that the part I underlined NEVER HAPPENED. They were completely unable to provide a definition. I would ask “what does over easy mean?”, they would answer “over easy”. Yeah dude, very fucking clear. About as much as a subway tunnel with no train and the emergency lights off. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2013, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-please-share-any-us-culture-references-you-didnt-get-from-exported-american-tv-mov/634017/128 "2013-09-22T20:06:42Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > **Loach** , you seem to be failing to understand that the part I underlined NEVER HAPPENED. They were completely unable to provide a definition. > > I would ask “what does over easy mean?”, they would answer “over easy”. > > Yeah dude, very fucking clear. About as much as a subway tunnel with no train and the emergency lights off. Yes exactly. Over easy is an egg turned over in an easy manner in order to cook both sides but not break the yolk. Over, easy, is the definition the rest is just more detail. It is literally the method you use to cook it. I can not think of a more straight forward expression. Its like saying how you want your steak “flip grilled.” ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2013, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-please-share-any-us-culture-references-you-didnt-get-from-exported-american-tv-mov/634017/129 "2013-09-22T20:50:31Z")
I (an American) read the UK version of one of the Harry Potter books when it first came out, and was mystified by the use of the word “Wotcher.” Was it a HP-universe word, some kind of magic spell? A weird short-hand version of “Watch out!”? Nope - turns out it’s just a way of saying hello. Funnily enough, if you [google “Wotcher”](https://www.google.com/search?q=wotcher&oq=wotcher&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i60l3j69i61l2.718j0&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8) the first result is a link to the Urban Dictionary definition which begins: “An English colloquial greeting that perplexed thousands of Americans upon reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix…” 😛 ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2013, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-please-share-any-us-culture-references-you-didnt-get-from-exported-american-tv-mov/634017/130 "2013-09-22T21:17:40Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Yes exactly. Over easy is an egg turned over in an easy manner in order to cook both sides but not break the yolk. Over, easy, is the definition the rest is just more detail. It is literally the method you use to cook it. I can not think of a more straight forward expression. Its like saying how you want your steak “flip grilled.” It’s only straight forward if you already have the concept of “frying an egg and then flipping it over”. Although I’m sure I heard the expression earlier, I didn’t know what it meant until I was in my twenties . I grew up in the US - but eggs in my house came fried ( sunny-side up ) ,boiled (hard-boiled) or scrambled. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2013, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-please-share-any-us-culture-references-you-didnt-get-from-exported-american-tv-mov/634017/131 "2013-09-22T22:31:44Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > As for hamburgers; well, technically, they are sandwiches: a grilled beef patty between two pieces of bread. Though most menus I’ve seen in North America have “Sandwiches” (smoked meat, French dip beef, meatball, etc.), and “Burgers” (cheese, bacon-and-cheddar, chili, etc.). In this part of the world, a sandwich is served on flat or Turkish/baguette-type bread, whereas a burger is served between buns. Important distinction to the prandial connossieur. 😛 The Freshman/Sophmore/etc thing was also a source of confusion until I finally went and looked it up years ago, since I’d never encountered it in any context before it started showing up in the American TV shows I was seeing as a high schooler myself. Then again, New Zealand used the British-based “Form” system for designating years when I was in high school (Third Form - first year of high school, Seventh Form - final year) and I’ve yet to met an Australian who has any idea at all what I’m talking about if I say (for example) “My Sixth Form economics teacher was really cool”. ---
**Author:** ![Solved](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@Solved](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Solved)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2013, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-please-share-any-us-culture-references-you-didnt-get-from-exported-american-tv-mov/634017/132 "2013-09-23T00:09:12Z")
It took me a while to realize that “pet peeves” weren’t just things your dog or cat did that drove you crazy. And miracle whip and cool whip aren’t interchangeable in recipes! ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2013, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-please-share-any-us-culture-references-you-didnt-get-from-exported-american-tv-mov/634017/133 "2013-09-23T00:27:44Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > The whole homecoming queen thing and the over-elaborated significance of high school football is really difficult for me to comprehend. I’ve seen some Cafe Society threads about TV shows set in high schools where even American Dopers were confused about something that happened or thought it was implausible. The high school experience can differ from region to region or even school to school. I went to a very small high school that didn’t have sports teams, homecoming queens, or a prom, so despite having grown up in the US these are things I mostly only know about from television. I remember someone saying they couldn’t suspend their disbelief with regard to the show _Friday Night Lights_, where the high school football team was a big deal to the whole town – including people who didn’t even have kids. The response from other Dopers was basically “Clearly someone has never been to Texas.” In _Glee_ threads I’ve seen some Dopers suggest that the following elements were ridiculously implausible: 1. A high school teacher receives tenure. 2. Students eat lunch outside during the winter, in a region with pretty cold winters. 3. Boys who are members of both the choir and the football team perform in the halftime show at a game where they are also competing. 4. A former student who graduated the previous year performs in the school play, after the current student who’d been cast in that role was forced to drop out of the play. Plenty of absurd things happen on _Glee_, but various posters said that these things happened at schools in their communities. Number 2 was true at my middle school. It was badly overcrowded, and we were actually \*required \*to spend half the lunch period outside (even when there was knee-deep snow on the ground) so the next group of students could come in to the cafeteria and get their food. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2013, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-please-share-any-us-culture-references-you-didnt-get-from-exported-american-tv-mov/634017/134 "2013-09-23T00:42:19Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > GPA = Grade Point Average… I think that the term GPA is much more used in Canada now that formerly; when I was first at university and college\* in the 1980s, we didn’t use the term. Now that I’m back at college, we do. > [@terentii](#): > > Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior are indeed commonly used at the college/university level, and not only in the US. My daughter just started at Victoria College, University of Toronto, and she was all excited about participating in “Frosh (Freshman) Week” activities, which included a toga party on the first night. Has this changed? We had (and have) “Frosh week”, but outside of that reference, we said “first-year”, “second-year” and so on when I was first at university. When I was in high school, we said, “grade nine”, “grade ten”, and so on, even in adjectival use “grade-nine students”). We _never_ used “sophomore” or “junior”; we might have used “senior” in a general sense, but never to refer to students of a specific grade. (And congratulations, **terentii**! 🙂 \*Oh, and in Canada (or at least in Ontario), “university” and “college” are still two different things. Universities grant degrees and do research; colleges grant one-, two- and three-year diplomas, are where you go to learn a trade, and have oodles of continuing-education courses. Universities have greater prestige than colleges; as a result in Ontario there is a slow migration of colleges upward to become universities. First they partner with a university; then they establish joint facilities or courses; then they get special permission from the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities to offer a few degree programs; then there’s an act of (provincial) Parliament to upgrade the institution to full university status. It happened with OCAD and Ryerson; it’s in process (I suspect) with Sheridan; and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Durham College and UOIT merge eventually. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2013, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-please-share-any-us-culture-references-you-didnt-get-from-exported-american-tv-mov/634017/135 "2013-09-23T04:03:08Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Yes exactly. Over easy is an egg turned over in an easy manner in order to cook both sides but not break the yolk. Over, easy, is the definition the rest is just more detail. It is literally the method you use to cook it. I can not think of a more straight forward expression. Its like saying how you want your steak “flip grilled.” But you actually explained. They just repeated the word. You don’t see the difference? ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2013, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-please-share-any-us-culture-references-you-didnt-get-from-exported-american-tv-mov/634017/136 "2013-09-23T04:29:16Z")
> [@BleizDu](#): > > Otherwise the only examples I can think of also deal with names of food. (grits, hush puppies, granola) This is the first time I ever heard of [Hushpuppies](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hushpuppy)as a type of food. I only know them as a brand of [footwear](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hush_Puppies). ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2013, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-please-share-any-us-culture-references-you-didnt-get-from-exported-american-tv-mov/634017/137 "2013-09-23T07:53:33Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > I (an American) read the UK version of one of the Harry Potter books when it first came out, and was mystified by the use of the word “Wotcher.” Was it a HP-universe word, some kind of magic spell? A weird short-hand version of “Watch out!”? Nope - turns out it’s just a way of saying hello. I first encountered _Wotcher!_ reading _ **Asterix** _ comics back in the mid-'70s. It wasn’t until I went to the UK for the first time a couple of years later that I realized it was contemporary British slang, rather than some obscure Roman or Celtic word! (Cut me some slack, this was nearly 40 years ago! I was still very wet behind the ears!) The English-language translations of _ **Asterix** _, I came to realize, abound in such terms. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2013, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-please-share-any-us-culture-references-you-didnt-get-from-exported-american-tv-mov/634017/138 "2013-09-23T08:10:04Z")
Was middle aged before I appreciated what a “pinko” was. Used to watched a lot of “Wait till your father gets home” episodes. By the way, WTYFGH stands out as the best cartoon series of my childhood, better that even The Simpsons. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2013, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-please-share-any-us-culture-references-you-didnt-get-from-exported-american-tv-mov/634017/139 "2013-09-23T08:16:13Z")
What’s this \*take a penny, leave a penny \*thing I keep hearing about? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2013, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-please-share-any-us-culture-references-you-didnt-get-from-exported-american-tv-mov/634017/140 "2013-09-23T08:24:19Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Oh, and in Canada (or at least in Ontario), “university” and “college” are still two different things. Universities grant degrees and do research; colleges grant one-, two- and three-year diplomas, are where you go to learn a trade, and have oodles of continuing-education courses. > > Universities have greater prestige than colleges. Generally speaking, it’s the opposite in the US. Private colleges are _much_ more prestigious than universities, which are usually state-run institutions (University of Minnesota, e.g.) that pretty much anyone who’s still breathing can get into. Both types of institutions offer academic degrees (if you want to learn a trade, you go to a vocational/technical school), though private colleges tend to offer only four-year programs to earn your bachelor’s degree. The student-to-instructor ratio is also much higher at state-run universities. There are exceptions to the rule. Harvard, while extremely prestigious, is still considered a university because of the wide variety of programs it offers. Middlebury, a tiny private college in Vermont, offers master’s and doctoral programs in addition to bachelor’s degrees. I got my BA in Political Science and History at Macalester College in St Paul, MN; a certificate in Soviet and East European Studies from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; and my MA in Russian from Middlebury. So I’ve had experience at all three types of institutions. From what I understand, Victoria College is also very prestigious. My daughter graduated from high school pretty much at the top of her class, and they were eager to have her enroll. Community colleges like the one Penny attended on _ **Big Bang Theory** _ are basically two-year programs for young people who aren’t sure if they want to continue their education (or who _do_ want to continue it but for some reason or other can’t attend a regular college or university). They’re not necessarily shabby, but they definitely aren’t prestigious, either. Final note: Universities usually contain a number their own colleges, e.g, “Liberal Arts,” “Science and Mathematics,” “Engineering and Mechanical Design,” “Fine and Performing Arts.” These are basically subdivisions of the university with their own specialized curricula. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-please-share-any-us-culture-references-you-didnt-get-from-exported-american-tv-mov/634017.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-please-share-any-us-culture-references-you-didnt-get-from-exported-american-tv-mov/634017.md?page=8)