# 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:** 18
**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, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniquely-distinct-americanisms/225676/341 "2004-01-31T21:04:00Z")
> [@everton](#): > > 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… No, I didn’t and I haven’t. Despite your attitude, my intent has never been to contradict or refute Jervoise, merely to state that his impressions were not indicitive of every day life. You seem to think that _I_ think that is a refutation; I don’t. That’s why, with every post I’ve reiterated exactly what I _am_ and _am not_ saying. What I can’t understand is why you and Jervoise insist I’m saying something else, or that I’m trying to argue with you. So, which of us is attacking a straw man? ---
**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, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniquely-distinct-americanisms/225676/342 "2004-01-31T21:08:16Z")
> [@everton](#): > > What date is Independence Day again? 😉 LoL. Good point. Although that’s a bit of a special case, many people think “Fourth of July” is the name of the holiday, and your just as likely to hear people say “What are you doing for July Fourth?” or even “What are you doing on the Fourth?” Hrm. I’m trying to think of another example where we might phrase the date that way. Police dramas always have the lawyer yelling “Where you on the 14th of November!?!” - but as artemis said, in casual use we almost always say the month first. ---
**Author:** ![Bytegeist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Bytegeist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bytegeist)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2004, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniquely-distinct-americanisms/225676/343 "2004-01-31T21:38:40Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > If we’re talkin’ 'bout Americanisms here (…) (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. ? Since “basic logic” governs all your actions, I’ll assume then that when you write down a time, you write it as: minutes, hours? Or, when being more precise: seconds, minutes, hours? Moreover, that when you give a date and time that go together, you always put the time first? I’ll be the first to concede that the American convention of month-day-year is illogical. But the truly logical convention, seems to me, would be that mentioned by **porkchop** : year, month, day — largest units first, smallest last. This agrees with how we write times, as well as ordinary numbers. (E.g. π = 3.1415…) Having said all that, logic has little to do with how ordinary people conduct their lives. We should probably just be grateful we’re not stuck with Roman numerals. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2004, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniquely-distinct-americanisms/225676/344 "2004-01-31T21:44:39Z")
I agree with **Bytegeist** : it’s totally subjective. However, since the majority of the world uses the small-large-larger format for dates (and metric), I hope our cousins catch up soon! 😉 ---
**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, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniquely-distinct-americanisms/225676/345 "2004-01-31T21:48:53Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > I agree with **Bytegeist** : it’s totally subjective. > > However, since the majority of the world uses the small-large-larger format for dates (and metric), I hope our cousins catch up soon! 😉 I think we have that scheduled for the week after we finally switch to the metric system. ---
**Author:** ![Gotterfunken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/58956e/32.png) [@Gotterfunken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gotterfunken)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2004, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniquely-distinct-americanisms/225676/346 "2004-01-31T22:11:08Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > I think it would take an extraordinarily small-minded person to be “weirded out” by such a small variation in behaviour. I think what weirds out people like my mother about the “European” style of handling cutlery is the positioning of the fork with the tines turned down, and how the knife is kept in the right hand instead of being “rested” across the edge of the plate. I don’t think she’s bothered by the left-hand holding in itself–if a left hander ate American style in reverse (i.e., cutting with the left hand, and then switching the fork from right to left hand), she wouldn’t mind. I also wouldn’t attribute her attitude to small-mindedness so much as to lack of exposure to other cultures. She’s lived in the South her entire life, and I think she hadn’t seen anyone eat European style until my sister was dating an English guy. I think she’s less “weirded out” nowadays, or at least I hope so (since I’ve adopted the European style myself, at least at most dinners). ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2004, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniquely-distinct-americanisms/225676/347 "2004-01-31T22:35:07Z")
> [@Skopo](#): > > I think what weirds out people like my mother about the “European” style of handling cutlery is the positioning of the fork with the tines turned down, and how the knife is kept in the right hand instead of being “rested” across the edge of the plate. I agree with your mother. Though I am a Euro myself, and was brought up in a manner that if the fork was facing upwards I would be struck down with bolts of lightning from On High, I find the tines-down method utterly stupid. The principle, according to my forbears, is that forks are for stabbing, not lifting - but that strikes me as crap; if it were truly so, the fucking thing would not be shaped like a spoon. ---
**Author:** ![Tuco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tuco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuco)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2004, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniquely-distinct-americanisms/225676/348 "2004-01-31T23:14:14Z")
Sorry if these have been posted before, I tried to to read all seven pages, really I did, but the pages are longer now ☹ [ul] [li]using longer words than necessary - I honestly thought burglarized was a joke until I heard a politician say it[/li][li]beauty pageants, spelling bees - I know of no other country where kids (or their parents) are so competitive[/li][li]voting for judges - just seems odd to me[/li][/ul] ---
**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, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniquely-distinct-americanisms/225676/349 "2004-01-31T23:15:35Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > I agree with your mother. > > Though I am a Euro myself, and was brought up in a manner that if the fork was facing upwards I would be struck down with bolts of lightning from On High, I find the tines-down method utterly stupid. Interesting - I wonder if that connects to the idea that Americans didn’t have forks for a while? I’m just reflecting that I usually use my fork like a scoop or spoon. > [@jimm](#): > > The principle, according to my forbears, is that forks are for stabbing, not lifting - but that strikes me as crap; if it were truly so, the fucking thing would not be shaped like a spoon. Here’s another Americanism - while I’ve heard that “fuck” is now considered no big deal in Europe, in America most people still consider profanity to be highly offensive. ---
**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, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniquely-distinct-americanisms/225676/350 "2004-01-31T23:33:13Z")
[QUOTE=Tucovoting for judges - just seems odd to me[/QUOTE] I’m not real fond of it either. Particularly when you have states like Pennsylvania, where judges are elected, but where they aren’t supposed to discuss political or judicial issues during their campaigns - so as not to influence the voters, you see. So, judges tend to be politically connected so as to get a party endorsement. Despite this some people oppose judicial appointments because judges should be “accountable”. ---
**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, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniquely-distinct-americanisms/225676/351 "2004-01-31T23:36:52Z")
> [@Tuco](#): > > voting for judges - just seems odd to me I’m not real fond of it either. Particularly when you have states like Pennsylvania, where judges are elected, but where they aren’t supposed to discuss political or judicial issues during their campaigns - so as not to influence the voters, you see. So, judges tend to be politically connected so as to get a party endorsement. Despite this some people oppose judicial appointments because judges should be “accountable”. ---
**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, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniquely-distinct-americanisms/225676/352 "2004-01-31T23:40:51Z")
> [@Skopo](#): > > I also wouldn’t attribute her attitude to small-mindedness so much as to lack of exposure to other cultures. I think that, more than anything else is what Europeans don’t understand about America - they live in a place where you can drive a few hours and encounter a different language, traditions, etc… The closest thing you have to that in America is heading to the nearest big city and looking for their version of “Chinatown”. ---
**Author:** ![boofy\_bloke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@boofy\_bloke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boofy_bloke)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2004, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniquely-distinct-americanisms/225676/353 "2004-02-01T06:22:39Z")
I forgot the ultimate Initial Middle-name Family-name: C Montgomery Burns! ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2004, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniquely-distinct-americanisms/225676/354 "2004-02-01T07:05:40Z")
> [@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? _My_ logic says you should always go from largest to smallest. That’s how we write numbers (higher to lower digits). I always advocate the YYYY/MM/DD format. Besides being logical (to me), it has the added advantages that (1) you can sort it as text and get the expected result, and (2) it avoids ambiguity, since nobody uses YYYY/DD/MM. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2004, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniquely-distinct-americanisms/225676/355 "2004-02-01T07:07:14Z")
> [@Tuco](#): > > using longer words than necessary - I honestly thought burglarized was a joke until I heard a politician say it Not uniquely American. Over here the verb “to pressure” is “to pressurise”. ---
**Author:** ![JXJohns](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jxjohns/32/469_2.png) [@JXJohns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JXJohns)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2004, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniquely-distinct-americanisms/225676/356 "2004-02-01T08:14:40Z")
> [@Tuco](#): > > using longer words than necessary - I honestly thought burglarized was a joke until I heard a politician say it Do you mean words like Americanism? ---
**Author:** ![sirtonyh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@sirtonyh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sirtonyh)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2004, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniquely-distinct-americanisms/225676/357 "2004-02-01T08:22:23Z")
> [@ruadh](#): > > 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. Interesting. From here [http://www.imdb.com/find?tt=on;nm=on;mx=20;q=james%20smith](http://www.imdb.com/find?tt=on;nm=on;mx=20;q=james%20smith) it doesn’t seem like the “Name Duplication Committee” is very effective or a lot of actors aren’t members of the SAG. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2004, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniquely-distinct-americanisms/225676/358 "2004-02-01T09:08:11Z")
> [@sirtonyh](#): > > From here [http://www.imdb.com/find?tt=on;nm=on;mx=20;q=james%20smith](http://www.imdb.com/find?tt=on;nm=on;mx=20;q=james%20smith) it doesn’t seem like the “Name Duplication Committee” is very effective or a lot of actors aren’t members of the SAG. Look closer. Most of those James Smiths are not actors. Of the actors: James Smith (II) worked uncredited. James Smith (III) has American screen credits. James Smith (V) has no American screen credits. James Smith (VI) worked before there was a Screen Actors Guild. Last credit 1920. James Smith (X) has American screen credits. James Smith (XI) has one American screen credit, and it is 20 years before the other American James Smith credits, the minimum disuse period required by the Screen Actors Guild. James Smith (XIII) has no American screen credits. James Smith (XIV) has no American screen credits. James Smith (XV) has no American screen credits. James Smith (XVIII) has one American television credit. As for James Smith (III) and James Smith (X), they could well be the same person whom the IMDb has mistakenly given two separate pages. It is usually up to the person who submits the data to determine this, and if the submitter does not know whether this James Smith is the same as that James Smith, the IMDb by default will assume they are different. ---
**Author:** ![Tuco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tuco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuco)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2004, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniquely-distinct-americanisms/225676/359 "2004-02-01T11:40:12Z")
> [@JXJohns](#): > > Do you mean words like Americanism? Americanism is fine; it can’t really be any shorter. Burglarize is simply burgle over here (‘I got burgled’ vs. ‘I got burglarized’). Similarly historic and historical; over here there;s no need for the -al on the end since it doesn’t change the meaning at all (‘It’s a historic monument’ is a perfectly acceptable statement, saying ‘It’s a historical monument’ doesn’t change anything). Nothing anti-American about it, just uniquely American 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2004, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniquely-distinct-americanisms/225676/360 "2004-02-01T11:49:25Z")
Another Americanism I have noticed is the way that numbers are dealt with. Two examples are :- we would say \*a quarter \* in the UK and Americans would say _a fourth_.Also for larger numbers ,for example something such as 2,500, we would say \*two thousand , five hundred \* ; Americans would say _twenty five hundred_. Again not a criticism, just an observation. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniquely-distinct-americanisms/225676.md?page=17) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniquely-distinct-americanisms/225676.md?page=19)