# What Britishisms most baffle Americans? What Americanisms most baffle Brits? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 18, 2024, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941 "2024-10-18T08:53:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 41
**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:** [November 5, 2024, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/801 "2024-11-05T04:31:32Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > I see that there are versions sold under the name of candy/gummy pacifiers in America and as “nappars” from Haribo. In Canada, sour dummies would be called “sour soothers” (soother being another word for pacifier/dummy) or “sour keys”, depending on the brand. ---
**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:** [November 5, 2024, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/802 "2024-11-05T09:44:45Z")
I think we’ve probably increased our usage of ‘guys’ as an import from American English that we encounter in various media. ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/803 "2024-11-05T09:58:36Z")
I think this is right, although it goes back quite a long way. I’m pretty sure I would have addressed firends as “guys” back as a kid in the 80s, and even then “chaps” would have sounded weird because slightly posh, like I was trying to sound like a character in some old boarding school story. (“I say you chaps, what a swizz” etc.). “Blokes” on the other hand would have sounded too grown up for a kid to use. (And actually, would sound weird to address people with now. “They’re all good blokes” is fine, “Hey you blokes” is very odd.) ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/804 "2024-11-05T10:01:44Z")
“Fellas” would have fitted in there somewhere. But “guys” can include females, where the others don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/805 "2024-11-05T10:21:37Z")
> [@Stanislaus](#): > > “Hey you blokes” is very odd. Isn’t that the famous phrase from the classic British kid’s show _The Mains Utility_? (I wonder if British people know anything about _The Electric Company_?) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/eL6w5bRgZp0/hqdefault.jpg "The Electric Company intro HEY YOU GUYS........................") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eL6w5bRgZp0) ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/806 "2024-11-05T11:11:56Z")
Not a sausage (well, I don’t but I doubt if I was in the intended demographic) ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/807 "2024-11-05T11:28:48Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > > [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > > > Because as an American that sentence sounds totally normal to me. > > American, Chicago and I know it is correct but the word _gotten_ simply looks, feels and sounds a little awkward. Speaking of awkward. I found myself using the nonstandard past tense of the word _take_ this morning. A word which does not exist on either side of the pond. As in, “Have I tooken my pills yet this morning?” Granted it only manifested itself internally and there was no one to hear such a deviant utterance. I chalk this up to election day unease, the November time change and covid brain fog. However, I am deeply shamed. ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/808 "2024-11-05T12:04:19Z")
Talking of past tenses, that reminds of a particular word that is not widespread in the UK but rather a ‘Suffolkism’ (my home county), ‘shew’ as in "I shew him my new car and he was impressed’. And a couple of Suffolk phrases: “the floor is slightly on the huh” “Sorry, I was on the drag” - anyone want to guess what those mean without cheating? ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/809 "2024-11-05T12:25:29Z")
The phrase “Youse guys” is a popular, gender-neutral alternative to “you guys” in cities like Philadelphia and New York. Interestingly, apparently it’s also widely used in urban areas of Ireland, including Dublin (correct me if I’m wrong). In the southern United States, “y’all” (short for “you all”) is the go-to term, while Western Pennsylvania favors “yinz” (derived from “you all”). Meanwhile, “you’uns” or “y’all guys” are commonly heard across Appalachia. I haven’t lived in Philly for over 30 years, but I still say “youse guys” on occasion, which perplexes my southern acquaintances. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/810 "2024-11-05T12:30:52Z")
> [@iamatractorboy](#): > > Talking of past tenses, that reminds of a particular word that is not widespread in the UK but rather a ‘Suffolkism’ (my home county), ‘shew’ as in "I shew him my new car and he was impressed’. > > And a couple of Suffolk phrases: > > “the floor is slightly on the huh” > > “Sorry, I was on the drag” > > anyone want to guess what those mean without cheating? Huh - Is the floor uneven? Drag - something to do with the theater or cigarettes? ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/811 "2024-11-05T13:16:05Z")
One thing I find odd on British television shows is the use of “were” paired with a singular pronoun, as in “she were with me”. I’ve always thought that “were” went with plurals and “was” went with singulars. Don’t the British use “was”? ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/812 "2024-11-05T13:23:33Z")
> [@Ellecram](#): > > Huh - Is the floor uneven? > > Drag - something to do with the theater or cigarettes? First one - spot on! Second one not even close haha ---
**Author:** ![Oswald\_Bastable](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oswald_bastable/32/214_2.png) [@Oswald\_Bastable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oswald_Bastable)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/813 "2024-11-05T13:56:47Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > One thing I find odd on British television shows is the use of “were” paired with a singular pronoun, as in “she were with me”. I’ve always thought that “were” went with plurals and “was” went with singulars. Don’t the British use “was”? Yes, we usually use “was”. 😃 The way you’ve phrased it, “she were with me”, sounds like a dialect difference, using “were” for the singular past of “to be” is common(ish) in many working class, mostly rural, dialects. “I were going down the pub”, for example. “I was going to the pub”, would of course be the grammatically correct phrase in “standard” (ie. RP) English. BUT there is some colloquial variation even here, it might be that even an RP adjacent speaker might use “were” occasionally. “If she were with me”, is an example I would not find that odd even from a more urbane dialect (I assume because she and me make a plural, or just because “was” is being shortened to “wuh” (w-schwah) in speech). ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/814 "2024-11-05T14:24:10Z")
I’ve generally heard that on murder mysteries from witnesses from the working class. Another thing I’ve encountered is “owt”, at least from the subtitles. Example would be Greengrass from Heartbeat saying something like “I don’t know owt”. Another dialect item? ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/815 "2024-11-05T14:24:58Z")
I suspect that’s a joke … there doesn’t appear to be any such show as _The Mains Utility_. I’d never heard of “_The Electric Company_” ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/816 "2024-11-05T14:27:31Z")
> [@Oswald\_Bastable](#): > > “If she were with me”, is an example I would not find that odd even from a more urbane dialect (I assume because she and me make a plural, or just because “was” is being shortened to “wuh” (w-schwah) in speech). “Were” is the proper use of the subjunctive in this instance. ---
**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:** [November 5, 2024, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/817 "2024-11-05T14:29:01Z")
I’ve never heard of it either. The only ting I associate “Hey you guys” from is _The Goonies_ ---
**Author:** ![Oswald\_Bastable](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oswald_bastable/32/214_2.png) [@Oswald\_Bastable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oswald_Bastable)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/818 "2024-11-05T14:34:43Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Example would be Greengrass from Heartbeat saying something like “I don’t know owt”. Another dialect item? Yes, it’s the northern English pronunciation of “ought”. But “ought” and “nought” (except as a synonym for zero) are mostly archaic elsewhere, supplanted by anything/nothing. OB ---
**Author:** ![sb1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a87d85/32.png) [@sb1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sb1953)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/819 "2024-11-05T14:39:05Z")
I need my hearing aids very often because today;s movies and TV shows INSIST upon playing music under the dialog. Hock! I am 71 years old save the music for dramatic scenes, and let me hear the dialog! ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/820 "2024-11-05T14:46:42Z")
> [@pjd](#): > > I suspect that’s a joke … there doesn’t appear to be any such show as _The Mains Utility_. > I’d never heard of “_The Electric Company_” “The Electric Company” was a children’s educational show on American TV that was meant for the slightly-too-old-for-Sesame-Street crowd. The theme song started with someone shouting “Hey you guys!” “The Mains Utility” is a callback to a previous discussion in this thread, imagining what “The Electric Company” might be called if directly translated to British. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941.md?page=40) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941.md?page=42)