50 Americanisms That Brits Apparently Hate

[Loop Stricken]

So the BBC found nearly 50 grammar nazis and asked them about inconsequential common-use phrases, pronounciations and other assorted bullshit nobody with a sensible head cares about in daily use?


And here I thought the Beeb didn't trouble themselves with such petty stories...this is something I'd half-expect Fox to do.

Although the Beeb certainly do dish out the shite stories on occasion, it's vastly more obvious on the website with that horrible Have your Say section or whatever it's called nowadays. Full of idiots.

I live at the opposite side of England from a friend and we argue on how to pronouce 'grass' and many other words. I think I can give Americans some leniency.

Gr-ass, not gr-arse. If he uses the latter call him a soft southern dandy.

 

[Tentickles]

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

African or European?

Are you including a coconut?

 

[Loop Stricken]

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

African or European?

Are you including a coconut?

Kinky.

To avoid a short post; Ca any American explain why you park on the driveway and drive on the parkway? :3

 

[Sikratua]

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

African or European?

Are you including a coconut?

Only if we're talking about swallows.

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

Gr-ass, not gr-arse. If he uses the latter call him a soft southern dandy.

Don't worry I do hehehe

 

[starkiller212]

The only language/grammar thing that really bothers me is the incorrect use of "their", "they're", and "there". I don't mind so much that I'd correct it on internet forums, but the misuses are so widespread that it seems most people would fail an elementary English exam today.
Honestly, it's not difficult at all. "They're" is a contraction for "they are" (that should be painfully obvious), "their" is possessive, and "there" refers to a location (generally).
I've even seen fellow students use them interchangeably within the same sentence in their essays for a university writing class; that's just sad to me.

(and yes, I did put extra effort into ensuring that I made no mistakes in this post, although I might have missed some in my sleep-deprived state )

EDIT:

Gotten? But it's such a woody word. gooooooootten.

Oh, it's much better than a word like had at least, how dreadfully tinny. Haaaad, ugh!

 

[lowkey_jotunn]

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

African or European?

Are you including a coconut?

Only if we're talking about swallows.

Also kiinky.


P.S. wtf is hay'ch and Zed? how however they pronounce the letters H and Z.

 

[Theron Julius]

The irony here being that half of those corrections were either illogical or were thoroughly irritating themselves from an American perspective. Heheh "maths". That one was actually kind of funny.

 

[IceStar100]

I give a few like I could care less

Most if it feel more like get over yourself.

 

[photog212]

Deplane?

I have never heard someone say deplane ever, anywhere.

Tattoo from Fantasy Island. (sorry)

 

[MisterShine]

1. When people ask for something, I often hear: "Can I get a..." It infuriates me. It's not New York. It's not the 90s. You're not in Central Perk with the rest of the Friends. Really." Steve, Rossendale, Lancashire

This is kind of annoying too, especially when there's no please at the end. This is just assholes though.

2. The next time someone tells you something is the "least worst option", tell them that their most best option is learning grammar. Mike Ayres, Bodmin, Cornwall

Who the hell says this? Slap them.

4. Using 24/7 rather than "24 hours, 7 days a week" or even just plain "all day, every day". Simon Ball, Worcester

It's faster.

5. The one I can't stand is "deplane", meaning to disembark an aircraft, used in the phrase "you will be able to deplane momentarily". TykeIntheHague, Den Haag, Holland

I've flown on many a plane, never heard this one.

6. To "wait on" instead of "wait for" when you're not a waiter - once read a friend's comment about being in a station waiting on a train. For him, the train had yet to arrive - I would have thought rather that it had got stuck at the station with the friend on board. T Balinski, Raglan, New Zealand

Don't get cute with prepositions.

7. "It is what it is". Pity us. Michael Knapp, Chicago, US

What can I say? It is what it is.

8. Dare I even mention the fanny pack? Lisa, Red Deer, Canada

Motherfuckers, we don't even know WHAT A FANNY IS. THAT IS YOUR SHIT NOT OURS.

9. "Touch base" - it makes me cringe no end. Chris, UK

It is kind of suggestive isn't it?

10. Is "physicality" a real word? Curtis, US

No.

11. Transportation. What's wrong with transport? Greg Porter, Hercules, CA, US

"I need some transport. I need some transportation"

Second one sounds better.

14. I caught myself saying "shopping cart" instead of shopping trolley today and was thoroughly disgusted with myself. I've never lived nor been to the US either. Graham Nicholson, Glasgow

That's because trolley is a stupid fucking word and you know it.

16. "I'm good" for "I'm well". That'll do for a start. Mike, Bridgend, Wales

We just don't like well, okay? We good?

17. "Bangs" for a fringe of the hair. Philip Hall, Nottingham

The front part of your hair.

18. Take-out rather than takeaway! Simon Ball, Worcester

You're taking it out, you're taking it away. Both work.

19. I enjoy Americanisms. I suspect even some Americans use them in a tongue-in-cheek manner? "That statement was the height of ridiculosity". Bob, Edinburgh

If someone says "ridiculosity", regardless of circumstance, you slap the shit out of them.

20. "A half hour" instead of "half an hour". EJB, Devon

The an is unnecessary.

22. Train station. My teeth are on edge every time I hear it. Who started it? Have they been punished? Chris Capewell, Queens Park, London

This one I'm confused on. What are we supposed to call the train station? Station is where vehicles go.

23. To put a list into alphabetical order is to "alphabetize it" - horrid! Chris Fackrell, York

Alphabetize is a cool word! Z is underused as it is.

24. People that say "my bad" after a mistake. I don't know how anything could be as annoying or lazy as that. Simon Williamson, Lymington, Hampshire

You say "My bad, I'm sorry", if you don't add the I'm Sorry you're a douche.

25. "Normalcy" instead of "normality" really irritates me. Tom Gabbutt, Huddersfield

Normalcy? That's not a word!

28. Eaterie. To use a prevalent phrase, oh my gaad! Alastair, Maidstone (now in Athens, Ohio)

Do people say that? Maybe in Athens they do. Barbarians.

29. I'm a Brit living in New York. The one that always gets me is the American need to use the word bi-weekly when fortnightly would suffice just fine. Ami Grewal, New York

No one knows what a fortnight actually is. I'm vaguely suspicious the British don't know either, it's just a general time for a "few days from now".

31. "Hike" a price. Does that mean people who do that are hikers? No, hikers are ramblers! M Holloway, Accrington

Hikers go "up" hills. The prices go up. Derp.

32. Going forward? If I do I shall collide with my keyboard. Ric Allen, Matlock

As in the phrase "going forward"? As in, going forward the path of life? Derp.

34. The most annoying Americanism is "a million and a half" when it is clearly one and a half million! A million and a half is 1,000,000.5 where one and a half million is 1,500,000. Gordon Brown, Coventry

You're being shitty with the language there. The "and a half" is easily assumed to be a half of another million.

35. "Reach out to" when the correct word is "ask". For example: "I will reach out to Kevin and let you know if that timing is convenient". Reach out? Is Kevin stuck in quicksand? Is he teetering on the edge of a cliff? Can't we just ask him? Nerina, London

Its called an idiom you twerp.

36. Surely the most irritating is: "You do the Math." Math? It's MATHS. Michael Zealey, London

Do we do Sciences? Fuck no, we Do Science! [http://xkcd.com/54/]

37. I hate the fact I now have to order a "regular Americano". What ever happened to a medium sized coffee? Marcus Edwards, Hurst Green

This whole coffee sizes stuff is bullshit, agreed. A tall is the smallest one? That makes no goddamn sense.

38. My worst horror is expiration, as in "expiration date". Whatever happened to expiry? Christina Vakomies, London

Expiry is not a word, even if firefox and dictionary.com is telling me it is. You just made that shit up.

39. My favourite one was where Americans claimed their family were "Scotch-Irish". This of course it totally inaccurate, as even if it were possible, it would be "Scots" not "Scotch", which as I pointed out is a drink. James, Somerset

We get lots of things wrong with our heritage, because by law we can't say that we're American, we have to specify which part of the world most of our ancestors came from at some point. Yes, that is a real law.

40.I am increasingly hearing the phrase "that'll learn you" - when the English (and more correct) version was always "that'll teach you". What a ridiculous phrase! Tabitha, London

That'll learn you is pretty stupid, but people still say teach you.

42. Period instead of full stop. Stuart Oliver, Sunderland

It's an economy of language.

43. My pet hate is "winningest", used in the context "Michael Schumacher is the winningest driver of all time". I can feel the rage rising even using it here. Gayle, Nottingham

If someone says "winningest" to you, you slap the shit out of them. That defense will hold up in court.

44. My brother now uses the term "season" for a TV series. Hideous. D Henderson, Edinburgh

BECAUSE TV SERIES IS REFERRING TO ALL OF THE SEASONS AS A WHOLE YOU ASSHATS. SEASON IS FOR EACH YEAR IT IS ON. GOD DAMN YOU DR WHO.

45. Having an "issue" instead of a "problem". John, Leicester

We say both.

46. I hear more and more people pronouncing the letter Z as "zee". Not happy about it! Ross, London

If you say "zed" I will slap you.

47. To "medal" instead of to win a medal. Sets my teeth on edge with a vengeance. Helen, Martock, Somerset

I don't think that is ever said. I got medal? No, that's dumb.

48. "I got it for free" is a pet hate. You got it "free" not "for free". You don't get something cheap and say you got it "for cheap" do you? Mark Jones, Plymouth

Actually, we DO say "I got it for cheap".

49. "Turn that off already". Oh dear. Darren, Munich

We're doubling it for emphasis.

50. "I could care less" instead of "I couldn't care less" has to be the worst. Opposite meaning of what they're trying to say. Jonathan, Birmingham

This one is kinda bad. Unless, like me, they use it to mean literally, they could care less. I get this one with my mother all the time. "I love you my son" "I could care less." "WHAT?!" "Literally, I could care less about you. A whole lot less. Cuz' I love you. Please stop making that angry face at me, it was a joke!"

Phew. That's my real time reaction to this post, because I'm fucking bored and needed to waste 10 minutes typing. Hope someone found it amusing or educational at least.

 

[MisterShine]

Ca any American explain why you park on the driveway and drive on the parkway? :3

We enjoy a good witticism. Also no one says parkway.

 

[infohippie]

seems like a over reaction to a language that has evolved in to different ways over the course of over a thousand years and hasn't become an issue until the globalization of the internet. I mean words like take-out, bangs, and train station are just plain silly to complain about. It might as well be complaining that we speak a interlay different language, because the fact is almost all European languages are just the misuse of Latin anyways. Deal with it already.

I think "bangs" was a legitimate complaint. What's wrong with saying "fringe"? At least that gives you some clues as to what it actually means if you've never come across the term before. "Bangs" just sounds bloody stupid.

 

[fundayz]

Ha many of these are funny and legitimate complaints but others are downright ignorant of cultural differences. For example:

30. I hate "alternate" for "alternative". I don't like this as they are two distinct words, both have distinct meanings and it's useful to have both. Using alternate for alternative deprives us of a word.

Things can mean more than one thing. "Alternate" CAN be used as "Alternative" depending on the context. Google Dictionary: Alternate (adjective) - to take place of; alternative.

Bottomline: Snobby Brits are snobby and Ignorant Americans are ignorant. I'm glad I'm Canadian!

Edit: Oh I forgot one thing I don't like about Brits - using "Petrol" instead of "Gas" and then complaining about us using "Gas". Does your car actually run on Petrol[eum]? Because last time I checked they use Gas[oline]!

 

[LordOmnit]

From here on I have my reaction to every one of the fifty. At first I thought that I was about even on the Agree-Disagree scale, but I realized that there were a few that also I was completely neutral on- especially the ones that are a matter of a single word like cart versus trolley- but I eventually realized that plenty of them were just too nit-picky for even my frivolity with this language which between us is semi-common. So while I started out keeping track of whether or not I agreed I ended up settling for a simple letter at the end of each to simplify my sometimes outrageous metaphors, exaggeration, and late-night (nearly 2 AM here) sourness.
To wit-
A - agree
D - disagree
N - neutral
W - wildcard

Spoiler: Have Fun!

1. Really now? You are complaining about how people order their food or coffee or ice cream or whatever? D

2. Yeah, "least worst" is pretty silly, isn't it? A

3. Normally it's "two-times" or "three-times" and they are used to extend the standard from the higher numbers where we don't have words like "double" or "triple" for, say, 27x or 43x. D

4. Brevity pal. Brevity twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. D

5. I want to rip out my hair when I hear the word "deplane." In fact, I think reading and typing it made about an ounce of blood squirt out of my forehead from the frustration. A

6. I'm not too concerned about "waiting on" versus "waiting for" although "waiting for" is the better option. N

7. What else could it be but what it is? D

8. If it is worn on the side it is a side bag maybe? Or if it is in the front is it a sack then? Don't really care about the word, but if this was getting at the usage of, then I suppose I can kinda see a bit of a point. N

9. Normally the people who say "touch base" make me cringe rather than the phrase itself. A

10. No, even if it has become one. A

11. Because transport is the very thing that is transporting you, while transportation is a method of getting from one place to another. That's how I view it anyways. D

12. Dialects/accents/speech impediments my friend. Also, "value added?" What in the blazes do you mean by that? How are you connecting those two things? D

13. Sometimes it is said that someone had their birthday, but most commonly here in Crazyland (just rewatched some Big Picture episodes) someone "has a birthday" when they celebrate their birthday, not just when the day passes. When the day passes you have changed age irrevocably and thus, turned. D

14. Carts versus trollies is just a matter of preference for which word you want to talk about for a metal cage without a top wherein you place foodstuffs, cleaning products, electronics, and other things purchased at stores. You would also probably be set on edge by the fact that Google Chrome doesn't recognize trollies. N

15. I hope your alternative to "gotten" isn't "acquired." Those would all insult all my burger-eating proclivities. Yes, all forty-six of them. N

16. Personally I use, "I'm fine," most frequently. D

17. A fringe could be anywhere at the border of hair, but in Eagleland it is most frequently used for the hair that goes down over the forehead and face, specifically the kind that doesn't extend beyond those. D

18. I take my food out of the place of acquiring pre-made meals and you take it away from similar locations, what's the big fuss? N

19. Amused by the general proclivity to turn words inside out with absurdities of throwing random prefixes and suffixes on them? Because if you are then you'd either find me hilarious or quickly start hating Americanisms. Then probably kill me. A

20. ... Really now? The placement of an indefinite article? D^42

21. Your example would make me pull out my hair because it is using it in a very loose manner, while "heads up"s in general are just notifications made fairly close to the time of the event, such as, "Thought I'd give you a heads up- there is a flock of geese chasing after you." N

22. The stopping place of trains? It bothers you that much? N

23. I prefer the wordy version of put something in alphabetical order myself. A

24. It is lazy, but better to get through something briskly than with an insincere apology. D

25. Normalcy is terribly abnormal to me. A

26. No comment on burglurize, but vandalize is alright in my book. ... You know, as a word. N

27. I prefer to use frequently, but I don't feel any emotion when I hear "often times." N

28. It is, "Oh my gawd!" The w is important as it emphasizes the word by altering the phoneme slightly, but not beyond recognition. W

29. Fortnightly is an anachronism here in the United States of Comerica. D

30. Two distinct words, definitely. The only alternative is chaos! Unless you are saying someone is an alternate, such as in sports. A

31. Just an expression. Like... I dunno, to be terribly stereotypical, bloody. Do you mean something is actually covered in the blood of something? I mean, if it was it would make me shout in surprise, but unless that happened enough in history I don't see how else it could become a common exclamation. D

32. Not sure what he's getting at here. Maybe we should just go forward from here. N

33. Deliverable is the capacity to be delivered. If it is used in any other way more hair will be pulled from my head. A

34. Sometimes to be long-winded I say, "A million and another half," because I don't want to say "a million and a half." A

35. "Reach out" generally implies that someone is teetering on the edge of something, such as morality, sanity, etc. D

36. Math is already a shortened version of another word, so why should it then be subject to pluralization rules? D

37. Please, please, please just say medium over and over again until they get it, or specify a quantity of what you want, I don't care, just don't say, "Regular Americano." This insistence on randomly assigned names for sizes must be killed and then butchered and then fed to sacrificial goats. A^43

38. If that is your worst horror then let my top it by saying that when I read "expiry" I thought of a tower where you deposit meat that has gone bad. D

39. Agreed, Scotch is a drink. That I don't drink, but a drink nonetheless. A

40. Depends upon how "south" or "country" you want to sound. N

41. See 40 N

42. We use full stop over here in the land of burgers and faces carved into mountainsides to signify a large vehicle is coming to a stop. Like a spaceship. W

43. Oh god, I think my life just shortened reading that word. A

44. I like to think of a season as a part of a show that comes out in one go, such as, oh, I dunno, if a show has new episodes come out every fall/autumn SEASON and the series is the entirety of the show. Although if there was only ever one season it is most definitely just a series and not a season. You can ask for a second season, but so long as there isn't the original still isn't a first season. D

45. Depends upon how much you want to sound like you jumped off a legal document. N

46. Personally I think that letters in an alphabet should incorporate as few other sounds as possible. Vowels are generally necessary, but for consonants no other consonants should be heard in the saying of that letter. D

47. This is one of the reasons I can't watch the Olympics with much dedication. Or talk about them afterwards. A

48. Actually- to your irritation I am sure- people over here (okay, I've run out of fake names for the US) do say, "I got something for cheap," if they got it for a significantly reduced price. D

49. The alternative to, "Turn that off already!" being...? D

50. "I could care less," versus, "I couldn't care less," is similar to the, "Not good," versus, "Not bad," difference. Although in the case of, "I could care less," one is actually expressing such emotional detachment from the subject that they can't be bothered to change any feelings towards it. It's like cursing. You could spew all the curses you like, but aloof mannerisms will almost always anger people more. D

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

I really don't get the train station one. Even newspapers from the 19th century call it that. Perhaps he means to call it a 'Railway Station' but I would imagine the two are quite interchangable.

Petrol[eum]? Because last time I checked they use Gas[oline]!

Gasoline is a distillation fraction of Petroleum so both terms are correct.

 

[Tensacloud]

I am an American-at least that's where I was born- and many of these phrases and the problems others have with them seem reminicsent of new slang to people who used old slang. Also, I hate the english language. It is so complicated, and I dont see why we need 5 words for beauty. If we ever get a global language that everyone in the world speaks, I sure hope it isn't English, even though it's my native language.

 

[drisky]

seems like a over reaction to a language that has evolved in to different ways over the course of over a thousand years and hasn't become an issue until the globalization of the internet. I mean words like take-out, bangs, and train station are just plain silly to complain about. It might as well be complaining that we speak a interlay different language, because the fact is almost all European languages are just the misuse of Latin anyways. Deal with it already.

I think "bangs" was a legitimate complaint. What's wrong with saying "fringe"? At least that gives you some clues as to what it actually means if you've never come across the term before. "Bangs" just sounds bloody stupid.

http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=19990112

Apparently it has to do with horses, like pony tail. The connection between the first use of "bang" might not be there anymore, but plenty of words have completely different meanings. Also, living in America, I've never heard of it being fringe, so I can't use a term I've never heard of before. I see how fringe makes more sense, its just not used in my vocabulary that way, and I don't find it to be a big deal.

 

[RidetheLightning]

The BBC article forget one Americanism that Brits absolutely loath even more then all 50 put together and that's the bastardised pseudo remakes of perfectly good British shows such as The Office, Skins and Being Human. Whats next Shameless.......Oh Wait.
Oh well I'm sure Americans are just as pissed off at the patronising Britishisms of British Celebrities showing up on their TV screens every ten seconds due to an apparent lack of home grown talent such as Gordon Ramey, Jamie Oliver, Anne Robinson, Jo Frost and who can forget everyone favourite high jeaned tosser Simon Cowell