# Observations about England **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 4, 2014, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-about-england/706272 "2014-12-04T00:24:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2014, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-about-england/706272/41 "2014-12-05T04:04:17Z")
It’s not a reference to infectious lesions. It derives from that, ultimately, but really it just means small, or of low quality. Many words evolve beyond their literal origins. You used the word “astonishment”, but I doubt that you had actual thunder in mind. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2014, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-about-england/706272/42 "2014-12-05T04:13:02Z")
My observations from when I was there: London is more international than any city in the US. Even outside of London, no one makes comments about how you have an accent. The pub life rocks! When I move the (2.5 years God willing) I’m going to have a tshirt made up “I didn’t choose the pub life. The pub life chose me.” Nicest most gracious people I’ve ever met. Oh an its not look right then left it’s look left then right when crossing a street. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2014, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-about-england/706272/43 "2014-12-05T08:44:23Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Oh an its not look right then left it’s look left then right when crossing a street. no, right then left. you want first check the lane that you are crossing first (assuming you are talking about the UK still) ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2014, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-about-england/706272/44 "2014-12-05T11:57:11Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > It’s not a reference to infectious lesions. It derives from that, ultimately, but really it just means small, or of low quality. Many words evolve beyond their literal origins. You used the word “astonishment”, but I doubt that you had actual thunder in mind. I don’t know that it’s worth our trouble to takeoff on my parenthetical, but I know how language works. In this particular case, the word “pox” in my mind hasn’t reached the level of abstraction that “astonish” has because it’s not used that way in my dialect. So while I intellectually understand the intent, subjectively I still find it icky. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2014, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-about-england/706272/45 "2014-12-05T13:29:26Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > It’s not a reference to infectious lesions. It derives from that, ultimately, but really it just means small, or of low quality. Many words evolve beyond their literal origins. You used the word “astonishment”, but I doubt that you had actual thunder in mind. My daughter and I were just giving my husband a bad time about the misogynical origins of “hysterical.” (From the Greek word for uterus and formerly used for all sorts of behavior in women men didn’t understand or didn’t like - from not wanting sex to wanting too much of it, to being cranky at that time of the month, to PPD, to being independent). ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2014, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-about-england/706272/46 "2014-12-05T14:28:12Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > - In the US I was taught that [some] women’s habit of turning every sentence into a question is a sign of insecurity and internalized sexism. But most Brits - male and female alike - do that too, don’t they? They can’t help themselves, can they? They turn everything into a question - d’ye know what I mean? Kind of annoying, innit? One of my coworkers will, when receiving such a complex question as “you coming to lunch? We’re going to Fred’s” take so long to answer, with so many detours that we’re actually quite suspicious of his claims that he’s married. I mean, do you really, just as a suposition, you know, a guess, think he would have been able to answer “I do” without any detours, caveats, side trips or questions? It appears quite unbelievable, but then, who knows, of course only because he doesn’t even appear to be capable of saying “good morning” without a lengthy addendum doesn’t mean it’s not possible, merely that none of us has ever witnessed such an event, if you know what I mean? ---
**Author:** ![Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8c91f0/32.png) [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bam_Boo_Gut)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2014, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-about-england/706272/47 "2014-12-05T14:32:38Z")
> [@Mk\_VII](#): > > I had those damn’ mixer taps ripped out when the kitchen was refurbished a few years ago. Poxy things. An English plummer explained to me that the mixers are not a good idea as the hot water can back up through the cold water pipe and encourage things to grow, thus contaminating the cold drinking water supply. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2014, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-about-england/706272/48 "2014-12-05T15:40:39Z")
> [@Mk\_VII](#): > > Milton Keynes was laid out on a gridiron pattern. The experiment was not much liked, and it was not repeated. In Milton Keynes, if you want to get lost, just follow the signs. ---
**Author:** ![Teuton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teuton/32/3864_2.png) [@Teuton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teuton)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2014, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-about-england/706272/49 "2014-12-05T18:10:03Z")
> [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](#): > > An English plummer explained to me that the mixers are not a good idea as the hot water can back up through the cold water pipe and encourage things to grow, thus contaminating the cold drinking water supply. Which is why, if you do have a mixer tap, you have to have a check valve installed to prevent this happening. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2014, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-about-england/706272/50 "2014-12-05T18:13:25Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > no, right then left. you want first check the lane that you are crossing first (assuming you are talking about the UK still) No, it’s look right, left, right, left, right, left, right, left like a loon the whole time you’re crossing because you’re half convinced you’ve gotten it wrong and will be run down by crazy London drivers. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2014, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-about-england/706272/51 "2014-12-05T19:07:44Z")
> [@Motorgirl](#): > > No, it’s look right, left, right, left, right, left, right, left like a loon the whole time you’re crossing because you’re half convinced you’ve gotten it wrong and will be run down by crazy London drivers. 🙂 quite right, also there’s no such thing as jaywalking in the UK, feel free to cross where and when you like…if you dare. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2014, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-about-england/706272/52 "2014-12-05T21:18:33Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > no, right then left. you want first check the lane that you are crossing first (assuming you are talking about the UK still) I was taught “right, left, then right again”. (It was called the “kerb drill” which I always imagined, as a kid, as a device for making holes in the kerb.) ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2014, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-about-england/706272/53 "2014-12-05T21:22:53Z")
Defination: National Disaster. **Morgenstern** driving a right side drive car through a roundabout at rush hour in England. ---
**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:** [December 5, 2014, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-about-england/706272/54 "2014-12-05T23:06:31Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > - You’re _still_ not mixing your taps? Why?? I know there MUST be a good reason, but I can’t think of it. I’m always scalding one hand and freezing the other. Yeah, yeah - I get that you’re supposed to plug the sink then mix the water in the bowl, but how practical is that? If you’re really grubby, and washing your hands with bar soap, it’s actually very practical. But mostly, it’s probably inertia - people who grow up in a house with separate hot and cold taps are accustomed to that, and as adults refitting their bathrooms later in life, probably often see no reason to deviate from what they know. Personally, I would choose separate taps over a mixer. It’s simpler. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2014, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-about-england/706272/55 "2014-12-06T00:59:13Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > My daughter and I were just giving my husband a bad time about the misogynical origins of “hysterical.” (From the Greek word for uterus and formerly used for all sorts of behavior in women men didn’t understand or didn’t like - from not wanting sex to wanting too much of it, to being cranky at that time of the month, to PPD, to being independent). Did you tell him how doctors used to treat hysteria? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2014, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-about-england/706272/56 "2014-12-06T19:39:05Z")
this may be more of a GQ question, but I just have to ask: what’s with the phobia over mixing taps? Most countries use mixer taps, and yes, there’s a tank in the attic with the hot water in it. But people in those countries dont die!!! The Brits have a phobia about the hot water line, similar to the German (or Korean ?) phobia about sleeping with a fan . I don’t get it. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-about-england/706272/57 "2014-12-07T00:34:09Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > this may be more of a GQ question, but I just have to ask: what’s with the phobia over mixing taps? IME mixer taps normally don’t work very well: the cold water pressure is normally a lot higher than the pressure from the hot water tank or boiler so the cold water overwhelms the hot. ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-about-england/706272/58 "2014-12-07T00:34:40Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > this may be more of a GQ question, but I just have to ask: what’s with the phobia over mixing taps? > > Most countries use mixer taps, and yes, there’s a tank in the attic with the hot water in it. > But people in those countries dont die!!! > > The Brits have a phobia about the hot water line, similar to the German (or Korean ?) phobia about sleeping with a fan . > I don’t get it. A phobia? I’m not aware of anyone who has a “phobia” of mixer taps, and they’re pretty common these days. In some British houses it’s not a great idea to drink _cold_ water from an attic tank, but no-one thinks you’ll die if you do. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-about-england/706272/59 "2014-12-07T00:44:20Z")
The heat from the hot side leaks into the cold, and vice versa, so you waste the few seconds of the flow waiting for it to heat up/cool down. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2014, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-about-england/706272/60 "2014-12-08T17:02:30Z")
Well I have zero issues with my British mixer taps, and can’t say I’ve ever had a conversation with anyone who has, outside of the Dope, that is, where any argument is possible… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-about-england/706272.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/observations-about-england/706272.md?page=4)