# Translate These Two Non-American English Phrases, Please **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 6, 2023, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-these-two-non-american-english-phrases-please/977792 "2023-01-06T17:04:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2023, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-these-two-non-american-english-phrases-please/977792/1 "2023-01-06T17:04:45Z")
On a British TV show I watch, a woman said, of a houseguest, that she was “on the row” and would thus be disinterested in many activities. I know that a row is King’s English for a quarrell or a fight, so does this mean that she’d been having a fight and was still in a sour mood? On an Australian TV show that Mrs. H watches with the girl she babysits, a character told his daughter that he would be “on the long reach” for the weekend. Does that mean out of town on business? Working overtime? ---
**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:** [January 6, 2023, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-these-two-non-american-english-phrases-please/977792/2 "2023-01-06T19:25:02Z")
I’ve never heard that expression. Are you sure you’ve transcribed it correctly? How was ‘row’ pronounced? Rhyming with cow? The same as row a boat? What show was it? ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2023, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-these-two-non-american-english-phrases-please/977792/3 "2023-01-06T19:28:30Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > On a British TV show I watch, a woman said, of a houseguest, that she was “on the row” and would thus be disinterested in many activities. [Brit here] Not an expression I have ever heard, but from context I’m guessing maybe she said “on the rag”. Crude slang for menstruating. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2023, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-these-two-non-american-english-phrases-please/977792/4 "2023-01-06T19:40:02Z")
> **[Row vs row](https://grammarist.com/heteronyms/row-vs-row/)** > > Row and row  are two words that are spelled identically but are pronounced differently and have different meanings, which makes them heteronyms. We will examine the definitions of the words row and row, where these... Row does mean fight, but I’ve never heard it used in the form “on the row”. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2023, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-these-two-non-american-english-phrases-please/977792/5 "2023-01-06T19:59:19Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > On an Australian TV show that Mrs. H watches with the girl she babysits, a character told his daughter that he would be “on the long reach” for the weekend. Does that mean out of town on business? Working overtime? Googling “on the long reach Australian” doesn’t seem to return any hits for it being an Australian idiom, but it does return a lot of hits for Longreach, a town in the Outback which is apparently a popular tourist destination. So, especially if the phrasing wasn’t exactly “on the long reach,” it might have been a reference to going to Longreach for the weekend. > **[Longreach, Queensland](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longreach,_Queensland)** > > Longreach is a town and a locality in the Longreach Region, Queensland, Australia. It is the administrative centre of the Longreach Regional Council, which was established in 2008 as a merger of the former Longreach, Ilfracombe, and Isisford shires. Longreach is a well known tourist destination due to its aviation history and importance. In the 2021 census, the locality of Longreach had a population of 3,124 people. > Longreach is in Central West Queensland, approximately 700 km (430 mi) from t... ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2023, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-these-two-non-american-english-phrases-please/977792/6 "2023-01-06T21:02:24Z")
As Australia wakes up we scratch our heads as to what ‘on the long reach’ might mean. I could say ‘I’m off to Longreach’, but even a half-careful script editor would have crossed out an unfamiliar Queensland town and substituted something more generic or better understood. And its far enough away that you’d need half the weekend to get there, then turn straight around to come back home. The obvious mishearing is for beach, but hard to construct a mangled version of ‘long beach’. Longish Australian beaches are traditionally given names in miles, like 80 Mile Beach, and 90 Mile beach, and any less than several kilometres long are treated with contempt. ---
**Author:** ![EnglishGrey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/englishgrey/32/14111_2.png) [@EnglishGrey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EnglishGrey)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2023, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-these-two-non-american-english-phrases-please/977792/7 "2023-01-06T21:02:29Z")
Can you name the shows? Might help with the interpretation. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2023, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-these-two-non-american-english-phrases-please/977792/8 "2023-01-06T21:06:52Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Not an expression I have ever heard, but from context I’m guessing maybe she said “on the rag”. Crude slang for menstruating. We have this one in America, too. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2023, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-these-two-non-american-english-phrases-please/977792/9 "2023-01-06T21:16:12Z")
Ah okay - but that might still be it, even if OP is familiar with the phrase, it might have been a difficult accent. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2023, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-these-two-non-american-english-phrases-please/977792/10 "2023-01-06T21:25:10Z")
Definitely. Makes more sense than on the row, especially given the context. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2023, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-these-two-non-american-english-phrases-please/977792/11 "2023-01-06T21:49:58Z")
The British TV show in question is [Ghosts](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8594324/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_2). I’m familiar with “on the rag,” we use that here too, and she definitely said a word that rhymed with “go” or “show.” The Australian TV show in question is [Bluey](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7678620/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0). It’s a family of dogs, and the young daughter wanted to do something with the Dad, but he (an anrchaeologist\*) told her that he was “on the long reach” this weekend. At least, that’s what Mrs. H and I and the 4yo all swear he said. \*Dog, archaeologist - digs up bones. Get it? Edited to Add: Bluey takes place in Brisbane. Or at least, the Wiki article I read said that the architecture in the cartoon is Brisbanian. So maybe Brisbane slang? ---
**Author:** ![RedSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/67e7ee/32.png) [@RedSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedSky)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2023, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-these-two-non-american-english-phrases-please/977792/12 "2023-01-06T22:28:05Z")
There is a type of beer bottle called a long neck, it sounds to me like he meant to say “on the longies” meaning binge drinking. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2023, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-these-two-non-american-english-phrases-please/977792/13 "2023-01-06T22:29:21Z")
Maybe, but this is a children’s cartoon. But then again, Australia. ---
**Author:** ![colinfred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colinfred/32/21338_2.png) [@colinfred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colinfred)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2023, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-these-two-non-american-english-phrases-please/977792/14 "2023-01-06T22:32:25Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > The British TV show in question is [Ghosts](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8594324/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_2) Which episode and timestamp? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2023, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-these-two-non-american-english-phrases-please/977792/15 "2023-01-06T22:35:32Z")
> [@RedSky](#): > > There is a type of beer bottle called a long neck, it sounds to me like he meant to say “on the longies” meaning binge drinking. Probably not in a kids’ show (which the OP did later clarify). Then again, it _is_ Australian. 😉 Edit: @HeyHomie beat me to that, almost word for word. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2023, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-these-two-non-american-english-phrases-please/977792/16 "2023-01-06T22:35:49Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > The British TV show in question is [Ghosts](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8594324/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_2). I’m familiar with “on the rag,” we use that here too, and she definitely said a word that rhymed with “go” or “show.” On the dole? (I.e. on unemployment) ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2023, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-these-two-non-american-english-phrases-please/977792/17 "2023-01-06T22:36:42Z")
I couldn’t begin to be that specific. Later half of Series 3, when Allison’s half-sister, Lucy, comes over for this reason or that. She spends quite a bit of time complaining about her business relationship with her boyfriend souring, and it was after that that she told Mike that Lucy was … whatever she said. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2023, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-these-two-non-american-english-phrases-please/977792/18 "2023-01-06T22:41:55Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > The British TV show in question is [Ghosts](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8594324/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_2). Episode #? I’ll check it out, I like the show anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2023, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-these-two-non-american-english-phrases-please/977792/19 "2023-01-06T22:46:57Z")
This is a great argument in favor of turning on subtitles: at least accents are a lot less of a problem. Likewise bad sound mixing that muffles or drowns dialogue. My husband and I both have normal hearing, so far as we’re aware, and we use closed captioning/subtitles if at all possible. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2023, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-these-two-non-american-english-phrases-please/977792/20 "2023-01-06T22:59:40Z")
I use subtitles even for American shows. I’m at an age where everything sounds muddled. For shows in a foreign language, like King’s English, subtitles are an absolute must. @Riemann later half of S3, that’s all I have. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translate-these-two-non-american-english-phrases-please/977792.md?page=2)