# Uniquely Distinct Americanisms **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 22, 2004, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniquely-distinct-americanisms/225676 "2004-01-22T22:56:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 17
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2004, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniquely-distinct-americanisms/225676/321 "2004-01-31T11:19:06Z")
ruadh writes: \> I’ve lived in both cities too and I would remind you that the Tube covers about \> a zillion more miles than the Metro does. Let’s be a little more precise here. The (London) Tube covers 244 miles. The (Washington) Metro covers 103 miles. My experience is that if there’s any noticeable difference between them, it’s because the Washington system was built so much more recently than the London one. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2004, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniquely-distinct-americanisms/225676/322 "2004-01-31T11:50:57Z")
> [@hyjyljyj](#): > > This is **extremely** simple: (a) Criminials vastly prefer unarmed prey. And (b) they tend to be rather well-armed themselves. In order to compete on equal footing (or gain an advantage), it helps to have a bit of hardware. > Speaking just for myself and my friends and family here, we are not so incredibly gullible and naive as to believe that a person who is willing to BREAK the existing laws forbidding the use of a gun to intimidate people or in the commission of a crime would nonetheless humbly OBEY any law forbidding the possession of a gun in the first place. But you _are_ gullible and naive enough to believe that our criminals just happen to be better-armed than those in the rest of the West, and that making it just as easy to pick up a rifle at WalMart as it is to grab a box of diapers has nothing to do with it? > [@hyjyljyj](#): > > We now return to this rant about how confusing and obnoxious America and her people are, that is, until we are needed in the event of hurricane, earthquake, or some other catastrophe. (I propose that one might have a difficult time assembling a roomful of Iraqi citizens who sincerely believe they are worse off now under a growing democracy than they were under the thumb of a tyrannical crime family.) The number of Iraqi citizens who have been killed, injured, or arrested attacking U.S. servicemen in the last three months would comfortably fill, say, a bingo hall. Would that constitute a roomful of Iraqi citizens? And are their actions sufficient proof of their belief that things are worse? Perhaps more importantly, I humbly submit that it would be fairly easy finding half a nation full of Afghan citizens who feel they were better off under a stable theocracy then a toothless (and worsening) democracy. (I will not presume to speak for Afghan women, but I’d imagine that at least half of _them_ are unhappier too). To be fair, Americans _do_ provide a great deal of disaster relief, but we do it only when disasters actually happen, rather than providing training and equipment to disaster-prone countries to help prepare them for coming crises. In any case, our foreign aid spending as a percentage of GDP, at 0.1% (1998) is about half that of the stingiest EU member states, and a tenth of Denmark’s. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2004, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniquely-distinct-americanisms/225676/323 "2004-01-31T11:57:22Z")
> [@Neurotik](#): > > Ack. The Jubilee line. I knew it had something to do with the millenium. I’m so embarassed. Nope. The Jubilee Line is so named for the Queen’s Silver Jubilee- in 1977. ---
**Author:** ![sirtonyh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@sirtonyh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sirtonyh)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2004, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniquely-distinct-americanisms/225676/324 "2004-01-31T12:39:01Z")
> [@ruadh](#): > > **Boofy Bloke** , as for “C. Thomas Howell”, I wouldn’t consider Hollywood names to be typical of American names in any respect. An actor has to have a unique name (i.e. one that no Screen Actor’s Guild member has ever used) so of course you’re going to see a few odd configurations. I’d imagine IRL he just goes by Thomas. I’m not sure that is true. Searching imdb for any reasonably common name often shows up numerous actors/actresses with the same name. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2004, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniquely-distinct-americanisms/225676/325 "2004-01-31T13:27:06Z")
From [SAG rules](http://www.sag.org/sagWebApp/CMS/Content/Public/sag_rules.pdf) (warning: PDF file) > [@](#): > > 1. It is the Guild’s objective that no member use a professional name which is the same as, or resembles so closely as to tend to be confused with, the name of any other member. The Name Duplication Committee of the Guild, through consultation and mediation with the members involved, will work towards an equitable resolution of name duplication disputes. ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2004, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniquely-distinct-americanisms/225676/326 "2004-01-31T14:00:16Z")
**Neurotik** : I guessed you probably meant the Jubilee or Metropolitan Line. Only an idiot would call the London Underground perfect, but as **Wendell Wagner** hints, parts of it are over 140 years old (although not the JL). There are other problems it has to cope with, not least that recently it went through a period of budgetary cuts under an administration that thought we should all travel by car “like they do in America”. It deservedly has its critics, but there aren’t comparable systems in many other cities and it certainly isn’t a typical example for comparison. Public transportation systems are more common in European cities than in the USA, but where they exist there’s no reason why a recently-built metro shouldn’t be good anywhere. BTW, the guy in charge of the Tube now is Bob Kiley, who got a lot of credit for his work on the NYC Subway (which had been severely criticised before), so maybe it will improve soon. **LolaCocaCola** : re the “God Bless” thing, you seem to have a hard time telling the difference between an observation and a criticism. Nobody, or at least no foreigners here, have said it’s a _problem_ for US politicians to invoke the almighty, just that is doesn’t seem to happen in other places. The OP was asking for differences people have noticed, that’s all. I’d be surprised if C. Thomas Howell, F. Lee Bailey, L. Ron Hubbard and the rest use(d) their first initials in everyday conversation, but I can’t easily think of other nationalities who use them even in print. FWIW I have personally known several people being called by their middle names (including my dad), but on forms etc. they have either written their names in full or used both initials. Actors typically change their names altogether over here. ---
**Author:** ![porkchop\_d\_clown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@porkchop\_d\_clown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/porkchop_d_clown)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2004, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniquely-distinct-americanisms/225676/327 "2004-01-31T14:15:58Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > This _is_ getting tiring. Nobody is claiming that Americans spontaneously say “God bless America” in casual conversation. Then why does Jervise get so upset when I say it? I never claimed it was never used in a political context - only that it doesn’t happen as frequently as Jervise thinks. [/QUOTE] > [@](#): > > It may not carry the full religious overtone, but nevertheless it’s not unusual to read hear on TV when you live in the US. Define “not unusual”. Twice a year? Once a day? Dude, I’ve lived in this country 40 years and you seem to have heard it more often than I have. Hence my belief that foreigners have a distorted idea of how often it occurs. > [@LolaCocaCola](#): > > Sooooo not upsetting from where I sit. LoL. Very true, but I 'm having a ball picturing their faces turning red every time I refuse to affirm their prejudices. ---
**Author:** ![porkchop\_d\_clown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@porkchop\_d\_clown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/porkchop_d_clown)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2004, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniquely-distinct-americanisms/225676/328 "2004-01-31T14:22:54Z")
> [@everton](#): > > **LolaCocaCola** : re the “God Bless” thing, you seem to have a hard time telling the difference between an observation and a criticism. Nobody, or at least no foreigners here, have said it’s a _problem_ for US politicians to invoke the almighty, just that is doesn’t seem to happen in other places. The OP was asking for differences people have noticed, that’s all. LoL. Everton, I’m not sure you can either. This sporadic flame fight consists of Europeans saying they find it weird that Americans say “God Bless America”, Americans saying that it doesn’t happen all that often and Europeans getting upset because that doesn’t agree with their perceptions. If scr4, et. al., accepted that we were just offering observations, why do they keep attacking with such words as “ridiculous”, “tiring”, and (my personal favorite) “prevarication”? ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2004, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniquely-distinct-americanisms/225676/329 "2004-01-31T14:28:41Z")
You’ve been reading a different thread, **porkchop\_d\_clown**. You need to kick that straw man habit too. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2004, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniquely-distinct-americanisms/225676/330 "2004-01-31T16:24:44Z")
> [@porkchop\_d\_clown](#): > > Define “not unusual”. Twice a year? Once a day? Dude, I’ve lived in this country 40 years and you seem to have heard it more often than I have. Hence my belief that foreigners have a distorted idea of how often it occurs. I just checked all the State of the Union addresses in the last 20 years, as well as the 5 speeches listed on [whitehouse.gov](http://whitehouse.gov) top page. Every single one of them contains the phrase “Got bless America” or a close variant. I think that counts as “not unusual.” I used the word “tiring” because it _is_ tiring that people deny so forcefully what is to me an obvious fact. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2004, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniquely-distinct-americanisms/225676/331 "2004-01-31T16:51:42Z")
Sorry, that last sentence wasn’t appropriate for GQ, I take it back. But I do stand by my observations. I guess it just comes down to the semantics of what one considers “common” or “not unusual.” My impression is that foreigners aren’t used to the casual use of the phrase and find it memorable. ---
**Author:** ![Hugh\_Jass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/4da419/32.png) [@Hugh\_Jass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hugh_Jass)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2004, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniquely-distinct-americanisms/225676/332 "2004-01-31T18:00:18Z")
I think the discrepancy in perceptions of the frequency of use of “God Bless America” can be tied to the idea that it doesn’t really mean all that much to Americans. If, in fact, it is used as frequently as Europeans believe, I think it stands out more to them because they come from an environment where similar sentiments aren’t used as much. We Americans hear it enough that it doesn’t really have much of a meaning behind it, so we don’t notice it. Isn’t it really just a political thing anyways? ---
**Author:** ![porkchop\_d\_clown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@porkchop\_d\_clown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/porkchop_d_clown)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2004, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniquely-distinct-americanisms/225676/333 "2004-01-31T18:05:30Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > I just checked all the State of the Union addresses in the last 20 years, as well as the 5 speeches listed on [whitehouse.gov](http://whitehouse.gov) top page. Every single one of them contains the phrase “Got bless America” or a close variant. I think that counts as “not unusual.” > > I used the word “tiring” because it _is_ tiring that people deny so forcefully what is to me an obvious fact. SCR4! What _exactly_ have I denied? Show me where I said that it doesn’t happen. Then, perhaps you will understand why I’m so bemused at your reaction. All I have done is stated a simple fact: what you see and read on the web isn’t representative of our actual every day lives. What seems to you to be a common occurrence is not. And, no, I don’t think the state of the union is typical of every day life! What I find more interesting is that you find it all so upsetting. Given that America was founded on the idea of religious freedom, do you really think we’d prevent a politician from expressing his religious beliefs? I mean, it’s not like we’re France, is it? ---
**Author:** ![porkchop\_d\_clown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@porkchop\_d\_clown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/porkchop_d_clown)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2004, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniquely-distinct-americanisms/225676/334 "2004-01-31T18:06:52Z")
> [@everton](#): > > You’ve been reading a different thread, **porkchop\_d\_clown**. You need to kick that straw man habit too. I’m sorry, Everton. Are you saying that Jervise and Sc4 **didn’t** use those words in their posts? Perhaps you want to go back over the thread again. ---
**Author:** ![porkchop\_d\_clown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@porkchop\_d\_clown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/porkchop_d_clown)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2004, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniquely-distinct-americanisms/225676/335 "2004-01-31T18:10:27Z")
> [@Hugh Jass](#): > > I think the discrepancy in perceptions of the frequency of use of “God Bless America” can be tied to the idea that it doesn’t really mean all that much to Americans. > [@sc4](#): > > I guess it just comes down to the semantics of what one considers “common” or “not unusual.” My impression is that foreigners aren’t used to the casual use of the phrase and find it memorable. These are probably an accurate observations. Plus there’s the generally relaxed attitude Americans have to political speech in general. In particular, I wonder how many Americans have read the last 20 State of the Union addresses the way sc4 just did. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2004, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniquely-distinct-americanisms/225676/336 "2004-01-31T19:58:30Z")
If we’re talkin’ 'bout Americanisms here– This one may not be important enough to start a Great Debate( like the World Series , or the eating-utensil profundities) – but its a pretty good candidate for the Most Purely American Americanism(i.e. it is done nowhere else in the Universe, except for USA): WRITING THE DATE ASS-BACKWARDS Basic logic says you do things by size,starting from small to medium to large–so why not write the date in that order–day,month,year. ? What Darwinian evolutionary advantage is bequeathed to your offspring by writing the month first? ---
**Author:** ![porkchop\_d\_clown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@porkchop\_d\_clown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/porkchop_d_clown)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2004, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniquely-distinct-americanisms/225676/337 "2004-01-31T20:24:42Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > … WRITING THE DATE ASS-BACKWARDS … > … > Basic logic says you do things by size,starting from small to medium to large–so why not write the date in that order–day,month,year. ? First, I tend to write year-month-day for my own use, because I tend to sort things and I want my files to sort in correct time order. It drives me nuts to look at a hard disk folder full of business letters and see that all the January letters are grouped together, but the letters from 2003 are scattered across the folder. But I think I’m the only person I know who does that. In defense of the normal American habit, though - how do you _say_ the date? Americans tend to say “January First” and “March 23rd” and in formal writing, they spell it out that way: “The president gave a speech on June 15th, 2004”… We do occasionally write “15th of June, 2004” but (IMHO) that’s an archaic form only used in legal documents: “I, the undersigned to hereby agree to repay the debt by the 15th of June, 2004.” So, to sum up, writing the date as 6/15/04 is simply short hand for the way we speak it. ---
**Author:** ![artemis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/91b2a8/32.png) [@artemis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/artemis)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2004, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniquely-distinct-americanisms/225676/338 "2004-01-31T20:25:12Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > Basic logic says you do things by size,starting from small to medium to large–so why not write the date in that order–day,month,year. ? What Darwinian evolutionary advantage is bequeathed to your offspring by writing the month first? Because in spoken speech (at least here in the States), no one uses the day, month, year arrangment you propose. If I’m going on a vacation and want to tell people when I’m leaving, I tell my friends I’m leaving on August 12th, 2004, not the 12th of August, 2004. We write the date so it corresponds to the pattern used in spoken speech - 8/12/2004. There’s nothing illogical about it. ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2004, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniquely-distinct-americanisms/225676/339 "2004-01-31T20:42:46Z")
> [@porkchop\_d\_clown](#): > > LoL. Everton, I’m not sure you can either. This sporadic flame fight consists of Europeans saying they find it weird that Americans say “God Bless America”, Americans saying that it doesn’t happen all that often and Europeans getting upset because that doesn’t agree with their perceptions. That’s plainly untrue. There mightn’t even be an argument but for the fact that you’ve repeatedly distorted **Jervoise’s** point of view. You’re still doing it now, even though it’s been clearly explained to you more than once, and you are basing your argument on what his position “seems” to be to you rather than what it really is. So instead of amusing yourself picturing people getting red in the face, surely it would make more sense to understand what they’re saying, not inventing their arguments for them? **Jervoise’s** first contribution to this thread (repeated more than once since) was not that ordinary Americans frequently say “God Bless America” in everyday speech, or even that public figures are doing it very frequently. First he said that the fact that it’s done by politicians at all is an American peculiarity, because that just isn’t done elsewhere outside of Muslim countries. For some reason you’ve chosen to ignore that. Later he used cites to show cases of American politicians and others making public affirmations of their faith more frequently than he would have expected elsewhere. That’s all. If you could demonstrate that such references to God are just as common on other western countries then that would be a reasonable counter response, but instead you said that cites are irrelevant and (incorrectly) that they must’ve come from misleading foreign media sources. It doesn’t matter that you’ve admitted Americans do say “God Bless America”, the point is about a _comparison_ between American usage and foreign usage, and nothing you’ve said addresses that. I don’t see where anyone (apart from one or two Americans) have raised _objections_ to God being referenced in Congress, and nobody is upset about it. I recall from another thread that **Jervoise** has visited your country and so has first-hand experience to go on. How frequently, in your experience, do foreign politicians make reference to God in public speeches, and how often is God referred to outside of the religious context? ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2004, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniquely-distinct-americanisms/225676/340 "2004-01-31T21:03:49Z")
> [@artemis](#): > > Because in spoken speech (at least here in the States), no one uses the day, month, year arrangment you propose. If I’m going on a vacation and want to tell people when I’m leaving, I tell my friends I’m leaving on August 12th, 2004, not the 12th of August, 2004. We write the date so it corresponds to the pattern used in spoken speech - 8/12/2004. There’s nothing illogical about it. What date is Independence Day again? 😉 FWIW, there was another GQ about this recently and it transpired that various forms appear in everyday speech among English speakers, with the military having their own peculiarities. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniquely-distinct-americanisms/225676.md?page=16) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniquely-distinct-americanisms/225676.md?page=18)