American-British Q&A

[Flames66]

The Americans have their equivalent: yanking your chain. It goes back to the days of gravity flush toilets that had a huge tank of water above the user's head and which were flushed by pulling on a chain. They flushed rather violently and were know to splash your ass with water if you were still seating on them. As a school prank, it was common to yank the chain while someone was still sitting on them, hence the expression: yanking your chain.

Now if only I had some actually useful information in my head, I'd be "sitting in high cotton" (a polite form of the traditional "shitting in high cotton" used to denote a beneficial situation).

Wow, I did not know that! We also use that expression, but it's not as widely used as some others. Also, we still have those toilets in some places over here, especially older buildings. Yeah, we're still stuck in the middle ages

In the country where I'm originally from, we still have 'em, too. Mostly outside the major cities and in old properties, but you don't have to search too hard to find 'em.

South-west England here and we have several yanky chain toilets in this house.

 

[JDKJ]

Do you brits actually like Spotted Dick and Blood Pudding?

Yep. "Blood Pudding" is actually called black pudding and the blood isn't liquid, it's congealed and solidified and tastes similar to haggis. Its also not a pudding, it's usually eaten for breakfast as a substitute for sausage. Spotted Dick is just dough or suet cooked with currents in it.

awe here i was willing to try Haggis until that >.< I've had the 'pudding' and no sir, i do not like!

Spotted Dick sounds really bland

Why are you setting yourself up to be the butt of any number of spotted dick jokes? Why?

because its comical and the fact they have a food called Spotted Dick. i was hoping to get some of them comically lame puns! XD

I was about to tell you where you can taste some spicy spotted dick but thought better of it after careful consideration. LMAO!!

 

[Proverbial Jon]

I'm interested to find out just how much of an impact our little Island has on the USA in general.

I mean everywhere we look over here you can see America's influence, from the food we eat, the technology we use and the programs on TV as well. Even our actors seem to be starring in American shows and putting on American accents, most notably Hugh Laurie and Andrew Lincoln. It seems that a lot of America's culture has been accepted into our own without us really noticing. So yeah, I guess I'd like to know how much of the UK has seeped into the USA.

Of course we will always keep all our silly little eccentricities and we will continue to spell words like colour properly as well!

 

[IndianaJonny]

Do you brits actually like Spotted Dick and Blood Pudding?

Yep, it's a classic scout-trip thing to do to take all the labels of the tinned desserts: Spotted Dick, Sticky Toffee Pudding etc. and essentially 'roulette' them out to people.

 

[DTWolfwood]

Do you brits actually like Spotted Dick and Blood Pudding?

Yep. "Blood Pudding" is actually called black pudding and the blood isn't liquid, it's congealed and solidified and tastes similar to haggis. Its also not a pudding, it's usually eaten for breakfast as a substitute for sausage. Spotted Dick is just dough or suet cooked with currents in it.

awe here i was willing to try Haggis until that >.< I've had the 'pudding' and no sir, i do not like!

Spotted Dick sounds really bland

Why are you setting yourself up to be the butt of any number of spotted dick jokes? Why?

because its comical and the fact they have a food called Spotted Dick. i was hoping to get some of them comically lame puns! XD

I was about to tell you where you can taste some spicy spotted dick but thought better of it after careful consideration. LMAO!!

lame! XD

 

[IndianaJonny]

how big is baseball in the UK?

Virtually non-existent. I don't know anyone who knows the rules or has ever played or watched a game in their life. Same with American Football.

The National Football League has been staging games in England for the past five seasons. They've prove immensely popular. One game at Wembley Stadium sold out 45,000 tickets, ranging in price from £45 through to £100, in 90 minutes. They've been forced to hold lotteries for the tickets because demand is so high. In one such recent lottery, 500,000 people signed up for a chance to buy tickets.

Much for the same reason WWE shows are popular in the UK: because it's the frickin' NFL, man! It doesn't mean that there's any American Football played in Europe outside of the aforementioned NFL shows. (Indeed, professional wrestling seems to be pretty non-existant in the UK outside of aforementioned shows such as the occasional WWE tour).

Same goes for the recent Raptors vs. Nets NBA game at the O2 Arena in London. Big league, held in the capital - course it's gonna do well. Shame our own BBA doesn't get much coverage, come on Mersey Tigers!

 

[ScoopMeister]

Also, a question for you americans, do you acknowledge that we are your ancestors?

Nope my ancestors are the Russian, Polish, Czechoslovakians, and the Hungarian. I don't have any ounce of British blood in my veins.

My question: what in the hell is Marmite and why do people in the UK go batshit for it?

How dare you! Marmite is the single most disgusting substance in the universe!
(mini-rant over)

 

[IndianaJonny]

As a kid, there were a lot of children's shows set around American schools/kids in general: Recess, Hey Arnold, Malcolm in the Middle etc.

Were/are there any shows based on life in the UK airing on US kid's TV?

 

[JDKJ]

I'm interested to find out just how much of an impact our little Island has on the USA in general.

I mean everywhere we look over here you can see America's influence, from the food we eat, the technology we use and the programs on TV as well. Even our actors seem to be starring in American shows and putting on American accents, most notably Hugh Laurie and Andrew Lincoln. It seems that a lot of America's culture has been accepted into our own without us really noticing. So yeah, I guess I'd like to know how much of the UK has seeped into the USA.

Of course we will always keep all our silly little eccentricities and we will continue to spell words like colour properly as well!

What's been freaking me out recently is the number of Brits that have landed jobs on CNN. From Piers Morgan to Isha Sesay (hottie!) to Fionnuala Sweeney (not so hottie) to Becky Anderson (not so hottie) to Tony Hall (don't care if he's a hottie or not). What's up with that?! It seems that every time I surf onto CNN, I hear a British accent. And I'll betcha you can't find a Yank reporting the news on British television. Doesn't seem fair.

 

[JDKJ]

Anyone remember Basil Brush and Mr. Rodney? Not the new Basil Brush. The original Basil Brush. If you do, you're old as Hell.

 

[Scrubiii]

Also, a question for you americans, do you acknowledge that we are your ancestors?

Nope my ancestors are the Russian, Polish, Czechoslovakians, and the Hungarian. I don't have any ounce of British blood in my veins.

My question: what in the hell is Marmite and why do people in the UK go batshit for it?

How dare you! Marmite is the single most disgusting substance in the universe!
(mini-rant over)

"Batshit" is certainly a good way to describe Marmite.

 

[JDKJ]

Also, a question for you americans, do you acknowledge that we are your ancestors?

Nope my ancestors are the Russian, Polish, Czechoslovakians, and the Hungarian. I don't have any ounce of British blood in my veins.

My question: what in the hell is Marmite and why do people in the UK go batshit for it?

How dare you! Marmite is the single most disgusting substance in the universe!
(mini-rant over)

"Batshit" is certainly a good way to describe Marmite.

Someone musta took the label off a jar of axle grease, slapped a Marmite label on it, and opened up shop.

 

[A.I. Sigma]

I'm an English-born American-living poster and I have a question for every American girl ever.

Why do you always have to ask me to "Do something British"? What do you expect me to do, oppress the poor? Or when they ask me to say [insert word here]. Tis annoying.

Oppress the poor. That made me laugh. XD

 

[Jon Shannow]

One of my friends did a gap year in America a few years ago and apparently there is a big taboo on the word ****. Is this true?

 

[Dr. Dice Lord]

Because your average white-bread American don't know too much of shit beyond their own culture. They aren't exactly "worldly." If they do travel, they stay at Club Med or Breezes or some similarly sanitized generic vacation spot for overweight, pasty-skinned Mid-Westerners, sit by the pool all day drinking piss-water American beer (e.g., Budweiser), while slowly turning lobster red.

That was unusually petty for a Brit, you're super sour about us Americans, huh?

 

[Togs]

Ok this is probably gonna sound insulting but its really not intended to be, so if it is Im sorry, but what do Americans think about the widely held opinion that they take themselves too seriously?

 

[The Mapper]

I'm not British, but cockney is just a term to refer to working-class London people, or their accent. It's kind of a stereotypical "dumb-sounding" accent.

its fun and lovable ill have you know XD

 

[hutchy27]

Do you brits actually like Spotted Dick and Blood Pudding?

Well I hardly know anyone who likes it.
I think in my family only my dad likes it.

 

[Cheesus333]

Alright so my question is this: What is a Chav? I've been called this on occasion and I don't think it's anything good, would someone care to explain?

A chav, often interpreted to stand for 'council house and violence' is a typically working class individual with violent, erratic tendencies who is despised by everyone except other chavs. They're generally associated with crime, antisocial behaviour, and industrial cities like Sheffield.

Based on your avatar, you sir, are not one.

Fluttershy FTW.

 

[Proverbial Jon]

I'm interested to find out just how much of an impact our little Island has on the USA in general.

I mean everywhere we look over here you can see America's influence, from the food we eat, the technology we use and the programs on TV as well. Even our actors seem to be starring in American shows and putting on American accents, most notably Hugh Laurie and Andrew Lincoln. It seems that a lot of America's culture has been accepted into our own without us really noticing. So yeah, I guess I'd like to know how much of the UK has seeped into the USA.

Of course we will always keep all our silly little eccentricities and we will continue to spell words like colour properly as well!

What's been freaking me out recently is the number of Brits that have landed jobs on CNN. From Piers Morgan to Isha Sesay (hottie!) to Fionnuala Sweeney (not so hottie) to Becky Anderson (not so hottie) to Tony Hall (don't care if he's a hottie or not). What's up with that?! It seems that every time I surf onto CNN, I hear a British accent. And I'll betcha you can't find a Yank reporting the news on British television. Doesn't seem fair.

Well that surprises me. Maybe news just sounds better when read with a British accent? You're right, I don't remember a single American accent on any of our news programs. I don't think we'd like that idea much. (Lol double standards for the win!) I've only heard of Piers Morgan from that list and you can keep him with my gratitude, pompus git that he is... Also, I'm glad you said the term "Yank" because I'm never sure if it's considered derogatory to be referred to as one or not.