# What do I need to do to pull an American bird? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 10, 2010, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-need-to-do-to-pull-an-american-bird/556728 "2010-10-10T23:01:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-need-to-do-to-pull-an-american-bird/556728/41 "2010-10-12T11:45:57Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > > [@jjimm](#): > > > > For simple example, for car, we silly English say “kah”. Both Americans and Irish say “caR”. That difference alone should make them unconfusable. > > It’s hardly unconfusable considering that a lot of Americans say car the same way. Haven’t you ever heard anyone making fun of the Boston accent by saying “Pahk ya **cah** in Hahvahd Yahd”? I try to say car with an R, but when I’m overly tired, it does morph into an H like it did when I was little and still living in MA. Like I said, “sweeping generalities”. I assert that the majority of US accents are rhotic, and the majority of English accents aren’t. Not only that, but the entirety of Irish accents are rhotic. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-need-to-do-to-pull-an-american-bird/556728/42 "2010-10-12T12:29:00Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > …as girly as White Zinfandel… - puts down the glass \* Wait…what? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-need-to-do-to-pull-an-american-bird/556728/43 "2010-10-12T12:40:31Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > > [@WhyNot](#): > > > > …as girly as White Zinfandel… > > - puts down the glass \* > > Wait…what? I’m sorry to inform you that you’re now legally female in 14 states. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-need-to-do-to-pull-an-american-bird/556728/44 "2010-10-12T16:03:07Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > > [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > > > - puts down the glass \* > > > > Wait…what? > > I’m sorry to inform you that you’re now legally female in 14 states. 😃 Oh…_shit_. ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-need-to-do-to-pull-an-american-bird/556728/45 "2010-10-12T16:19:07Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > > [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > > > - puts down the glass \* > > > > Wait…what? > > I’m sorry to inform you that you’re now legally female in 14 states. 😃 Only 14 states? **WhyNot** , I was under the impression that drinking white zin is an emasculating offense in most of the country. ---
**Author:** ![put\_down\_the\_sabre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/da6949/32.png) [@put\_down\_the\_sabre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/put_down_the_sabre)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-need-to-do-to-pull-an-american-bird/556728/46 "2010-10-12T16:27:24Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > > [@jjimm](#): > > > > For simple example, for car, we silly English say “kah”. Both Americans and Irish say “caR”. That difference alone should make them unconfusable. > > It’s hardly unconfusable considering that a lot of Americans say car the same way. Haven’t you ever heard anyone making fun of the Boston accent by saying “Pahk ya **cah** in Hahvahd Yahd”? I try to say car with an R, but when I’m overly tired, it does morph into an H like it did when I was little and still living in MA. Not to mention that a lot of English people do have rhotic accents too – the Cornish, for example. pdts ---
**Author:** ![put\_down\_the\_sabre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/da6949/32.png) [@put\_down\_the\_sabre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/put_down_the_sabre)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-need-to-do-to-pull-an-american-bird/556728/47 "2010-10-12T16:32:01Z")
Somewhat serious reply. American tourists often have two things going on: (i) a box-ticking mentality, where there are lots of things they want to see and do; (ii) a desire to one-up other American tourists by getting more ‘authentic’ experiences. You should play to these. One of the boxes to tick might be ‘bone a local’. So your task is to help them tick this box. The way to play it is to use (ii) – with your mates, start drinking with the tourist group. Start making hints that ‘nobody you know ever comes here’, ‘you just wanted to see what it was like’, and ‘it’s for tourists only’. Then as the evening goes on, suggest a ‘more authentic’ alternative place to go to, then back to your apartment. Honestly it won’t be that tough. In terms of Yank tourist one-upmanship, “we met these cool Irish guys, and they took us to a really cool pub where the locals go, and then back to their flat. it was great to see how Irish people really live” is gold, and they’ll happily suck whatever you have to offer to get at that gold. pdts ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2010, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-need-to-do-to-pull-an-american-bird/556728/48 "2010-10-24T00:26:16Z")
Anyone else wondering how **Laudenum** has got on since? ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2010, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-need-to-do-to-pull-an-american-bird/556728/49 "2010-10-24T02:16:50Z")
> [@KinkiNipponTourist](#): > > They quickly launch into some explanation denying it, but I can tell they are very flattered when I do that. 🆒 I don’t think we are. Why would we be flattered by someone saying we sounded Scottish? We don’t like the Scottish. ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2010, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-need-to-do-to-pull-an-american-bird/556728/50 "2010-10-24T08:06:01Z")
> [@yojimbo](#): > > Here’s an Irish newsreader. > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJcsoKuBfjo](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJcsoKuBfjo) That’s amazing. Really does sound like American English. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2010, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-need-to-do-to-pull-an-american-bird/556728/51 "2010-10-24T14:33:52Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > Anyone else wondering how **Laudenum** has got on since? I’m more wondering whether he got off. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2010, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-need-to-do-to-pull-an-american-bird/556728/52 "2010-10-24T16:50:53Z")
> [@yojimbo](#): > > If you’re in the States you’re sucking diesel. You’re in for a harder time if in ireland as your accent isn’t as special then as everyone around her has the same accent. > > I remember when I spent some time in Vermont I had little to no problem with the local females. It seemed all I had to do was talk. One girl who I ended up spending a lot of time with basically picked me up out of the blue. I was playing a trivia quiz machine in a bar and talking to the barman while doing so. She sat beside me and just started asking me questions. I answered and after a while said I had to go (which I had). She gave me her phone number and that was it. Called her and we hooked up. She just kept on getting me to talk and then she’d giggle a lot 😃 > > That was a great few weeks. > > Ahhh Sarah from Tallahassee, what a girl. Whomever ended up with Sarah is a lucky man. Did you leave a pot of gold in… her… NM [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-need-to-do-to-pull-an-american-bird/556728.md?page=2)