American-British Q&A

[BlackStar42]

Oh, one more question: Is it true that American girls find British accents sexy? If so, I may have to plan a trip one year

 

[JDKJ]

"Pool" is what the Brits call "billiards."

Actually, Pool and Billiards are two distinct (but similar) games. Also, I'm fully American and I call it Pool way more often than Billiards. Such as a "Pool Hall." In fact I don't think I've heard anyone I know refer to it as billiards.

That was a poorly constructed sentence. Forgive the ambiguity. It was meant to read as the Brits call it "billiards" and the Yanks call it "pool."

To be fair, I've never heard of anyone actually playing billiards outside of one comedy sketch in the late 80s. We just play (English) Pool, but American Pool's available in some places, and snooker's a fairly big thing, but played far less often than pool, simply for the reason of it being more complex, requiring more skill and keeping track of the score.

Is it spelled "poole?" Like "Ye Olde English Pub?"

 

[JDKJ]

Oh, one more question: Is it true that American girls find British accents sexy? If so, I may have to plan a trip one year

They may be more interested in learning about spotted dick. I'd use that tack as my strategy, if I were you.

 

[thylasos]

"Pool" is what the Brits call "billiards."

Actually, Pool and Billiards are two distinct (but similar) games. Also, I'm fully American and I call it Pool way more often than Billiards. Such as a "Pool Hall." In fact I don't think I've heard anyone I know refer to it as billiards.

That was a poorly constructed sentence. Forgive the ambiguity. It was meant to read as the Brits call it "billiards" and the Yanks call it "pool."

To be fair, I've never heard of anyone actually playing billiards outside of one comedy sketch in the late 80s. We just play (English) Pool, but American Pool's available in some places, and snooker's a fairly big thing, but played far less often than pool, simply for the reason of it being more complex, requiring more skill and keeping track of the score.

Is it spelled "poole?" Like "Ye Olde English Pub?"

Nah, that's the town in Dorset.

 

[JDKJ]

"Pool" is what the Brits call "billiards."

Actually, Pool and Billiards are two distinct (but similar) games. Also, I'm fully American and I call it Pool way more often than Billiards. Such as a "Pool Hall." In fact I don't think I've heard anyone I know refer to it as billiards.

That was a poorly constructed sentence. Forgive the ambiguity. It was meant to read as the Brits call it "billiards" and the Yanks call it "pool."

To be fair, I've never heard of anyone actually playing billiards outside of one comedy sketch in the late 80s. We just play (English) Pool, but American Pool's available in some places, and snooker's a fairly big thing, but played far less often than pool, simply for the reason of it being more complex, requiring more skill and keeping track of the score.

Is it spelled "poole?" Like "Ye Olde English Pub?"

Nah, that's the town in Dorset.

There's a town in Dorset that's an old English pub?! That's so cool words cannot describe. My kinda town.

"Fill 'er up, again, barkeep."

 

[Jakub324]

The chav is a curious creature: they are typically a-moral, and as a great man once said (ME!!), when the chav's hand strikes, it strikes with the strength of a legion. What that means is they will harass you, regardless of your age, but only if there are 60,000 of them and you are on your own. If you are on your own and they are not, they will half-heartedly mock you, but when you approach them, they will run away to their 25 year old brother who inevitable carries a flick-knife. They are shockingly stupid as they probably dropped out of school before year 6, and it is possible to put them under temporarily by saying something clever, or astounding them with a simple piece of maths.

 

[BlackStar42]

Oh, one more question: Is it true that American girls find British accents sexy? If so, I may have to plan a trip one year

They may be more interested in learning about spotted dick. I'd use that tack as my strategy, if I were you.

Haha, well played

 

[JDKJ]

To Americans: when you see a mixed-race person of Afro-Caribbean/White European descent, do you class them as mixed race, or black?

I ask this because as a mixed race person myself, I've noticed that a lot of Americans don't seem to recognise it as an identity in it's own right; they are more likely to class that person according to what they physically resemble the most, i.e. tanned skin and coarse dark hair = black. This is really putting me off moving to America as I'm worried that I'm going to be given a new identity that I can't relate to.

I get what your saying, but at the same time are you not doing the same thing most of the time? When you see a white person do you think "Caucasian" or do you think (in my case) "mostly polish descent with a bit of German in there"?

That isn't a race issue, though. Polish, French, German.. you're still white.

I'm not talking about heritage, I'm talking about race; actual biological differences that are apparent from first glance. I appreciate that heritage might still make people view you in a different way for various reasons, but it's still not quite the same thing.

by that logic then, if i am just white than you are just black, to the average eye. that's how it always will be to just about everyone. Why do all asians look the same? while from another perspective why do all white people look the same?

apples and oranges... But honestly, I know PLENTY of "black" people that are whiter than me and i know plenty of white people that are darker than half the "black" people i know, so really if you come over here you might be in for a shocker or two yourself, because if you are basing it off of apparent first glance looks, then you are going to be second guessing yourself with alot of people over here too then.

You're confusing me a little with the quotations. You say you know white and black people with varying skin tones - but what are you and American society classing them as? To go back to my original question, do you recognise these people as mixed race?

Easiest way I can explain this: If you were describing one of these "black" people to another person, would you describe them as "he's a black guy with.." or "he's a mixed race guy with.."?

If you ask me, America still suffers from its "one drop" rule (i.e., any noticeable Black parentage is enough to get you classify as Black). Increasingly there is greater recognition of mixed-parentage persons identifying themselves as being of mixed-parentage but there are those who don't much buy into the concept. Perhaps surprisingly -- perhaps not -- the greatest pocket of resistance to the concept is found in the Black community. EDIT: This resistance among Blacks to the concept of "multi-racial" identification may go back to the days of American Jim Crow laws when Blacks who could manage to do so "passed as White" in order to avoid the Jim Crows laws (which treated Blacks as second-class citizens). The Black community tended not to look kindly at Blacks who passed as White. They saw them as "selling out" and traitors to their race. Today, mixed-Blacks who identify as something other than Black are often met with scorn. When Tiger Woods tried to claim he was "Cablinasian" (a mixture of Caucasian, Black, Indian (Native American), and Asian) he was greeted with a collective GTFOH by the Black community.

EDIT: But, as a matter of law, you are free to identify yourself as whatever you choose (e.g., driver's license, census questionnaire, college application, etc., etc., which typically have "multi-racial" or "other" as an option you can choose). But just because you call yourself "X" isn't any kinda guarantee that everyone else won't call you "Y." Although I am tempted to ask why that matters to you. Are you gonna let what others think of you determine your self-identity? If so, you may be putting too much stock in what others think of you.

Thanks for the response

The US black community's resistance is one of my larger fears; although today in the UK I am widely accepted as mixed race, when I was a child a lot of black people would either act with hostility, or spend considerable time attempting to make me "blacker" and therefore more palatable to them. I don't wish to re-live that!

As for your closing question... it's taken most of my life for the UK to accept mixed race as an identity in its own right; and an equally long time for me to understand what that means to me personally. Of course moving to the US wont change my self-identity, but now that I've found it, I don't want to have it denied again by others. It would feel like a massive step backwards.

I'm very cheered to hear that recognition is on the increase in the US!

To Americans: when you see a mixed-race person of Afro-Caribbean/White European descent, do you class them as mixed race, or black?

I ask this because as a mixed race person myself, I've noticed that a lot of Americans don't seem to recognise it as an identity in it's own right; they are more likely to class that person according to what they physically resemble the most, i.e. tanned skin and coarse dark hair = black. This is really putting me off moving to America as I'm worried that I'm going to be given a new identity that I can't relate to.

Honestly I have absolutely no way to determine someone's race more specifically than White, Black, Asian, Middle Eastern, Indian or Hispanic. (I hate that last sentence but I'm quite tired and am too apathetic to edit it.) Everyone I know has this same problem, even if they or their parents were not born in the States. It really doesn't matter in any event b/c the race thing isn't as big a deal as many media outlets make it out to be. If you tell people what you are it'll be fine, especially if you have good food. (This is why America loves immigration, MOAR FOOD!) Really don't worry about it we're really easy to get along with despite rumors to the contrary. (Not applicable to terrorists/liberals/Rooskies)


P.S.: Where ya gonna move to? My experience may not be applicable in some places.


A good way to get a handle on average american's opinions, read P.J. O'Rourke's books.

Thanks for the response All the responses I've had seem to confirm that I will be considered black, but I'm glad to hear that at least that might not mean as much to the average American as I'm fearing. The skewed media image that gets sent to us is that US black people stick together and never socialise with anyone outside their own community, and US white people spend all their time feeling awkward and guilty whenever they come into contact with a minority. Or call them terrorists.

I'm likely to move to Chicago, New York state of San Fran as that seems to be where all the work is for my profession.

You may find that San Francisco best suits your purposes. It's got a long history of tolerance and still is a very tolerant place for those who might otherwise be marginalized elsewhere (it has the largest population of gays and lesbians in the United States). And it doesn't have a large enough population of Blacks to cause tension with other groups (all the Blacks are stuck across the Bridge in Oakland).

And the media image may not be all that skewed. America can be a very racially divided place. Racial groups do, by and large, tend to stick with their own kind. More often than not, there's a peaceful co-existence between those groups but ain't nobody holding hands around the campfire, singing "Kumbaya."

 

[DrOswald]

Oh, one more question: Is it true that American girls find British accents sexy? If so, I may have to plan a trip one year

If the women I know are to be believed, yes. But it isn't anything they will put out for.

 

[DSK-]

I have a somewhat strange/wierd question: Is there any greenery in and around the major cities of the US? I don't mean like with New York where you have Central Park but as in greenery in and around the city.

I once thought of how horrible it would be to live in a city filled without greenery. I'm kind of lucky that I live just outside of London with excellent transport links with some fabulous countryside.

 

[Shirokurou]

Heres a question about Russia for you. Are you all as fucking awesome as this guy?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWtxs5rl7jk

I never saw that vid before...
But yes we are.

 

[ScoopMeister]

This may sound like a dumb question, but as an American, what does "taking the piss" mean? I've heard it said several times, and several times it seems like it contextually means different things, and I've never figured out what.

It means making fun of in an insulting way. Kinda.
I didn't realise that was an exclusively British saying.

 

[Deadjim]

[/quote]

So while we're on the subject how come petrol stations in the U.K. always have sacks of charcoal for sale and ours don't? (Yes this is asked because of that Eddie Izzard joke that I didn't get until he explained it. He explained the joke he just never expained why?)[/quote]

Thats coz us brits are ever hope full of some sun and when there is sun we take advantage of it as much as possible... so bbq's all round?

 

[ScoopMeister]

Why is America so patriotic? It gets to the point of being irritating.

 

[YouBecame]

America: Do you have any rivalries between states/ geographic factors? In England we have quite a big North/South divide, for example, and wondered if something similar occurred over in the US

 

[JDKJ]

Why is America so patriotic? It gets to the point of being irritating.

Actually, they're not. But who's gonna pass up a perfectly good excuse to drink beer and eat barbecue and set off fireworks on the Fourth of July?

 

[DrOswald]

I have a somewhat strange/wierd question: Is there any greenery in and around the major cities of the US? I don't mean like with New York where you have Central Park but as in greenery in and around the city.

I once thought of how horrible it would be to live in a city filled without greenery. I'm kind of lucky that I live just outside of London with excellent transport links with some fabulous countryside.

Depends on the city, and your perspective. I used to live in the Mojave desert, where there was no greenery at all, unless you count tumble weed and Joshua trees, which are actually portals to hell. Many people don't even have grass yards, instead going with attractive gravel.

When I moved to Utah I was blown away how green it was. The trick is that Utah is a very barren place. A few years later I visited my uncle in Dallas, and once again it was almost stupid how much greenery there was compared to what I was used to.

It all depends on where you go, the natural climate of the area, and how determined the people there are to keep it green. San Fernando has a kind of dirty artificial greenery going on, which makes sense because it is actually a desert with very good irrigation.

Also, its not that bad to live somewhere without greenery. Mojave is all dirt and brown and all that, but that place has the most amazing sunsets you have ever seen, almost every night.

 

[Agayek]

Why is America so patriotic? It gets to the point of being irritating.

It's just part of the culture. It comes from being a rather young country, combined with the fact that we earned our independence in a decently bloody war. There really just hasn't been enough time for the cultural memory to forget the stance on patriotism needed to get through the Revolution. It's starting to fade, but it will likely still be a few decades before it's gone completely.

 

[DrOswald]

Why is America so patriotic? It gets to the point of being irritating.

We actually are not that patriotic, at least not most of us. What you are seeing is the small minority being extremely loud. We do care about our country, but it is more in a "I really hope the guy we elected doesn't drive this bus off a cliff" sort of way.

Also, you may be misinterpreting our pride in our military as patriotism. We have an very powerful military, both in terms of technology and manpower, and the average American takes pride in that. Even if the leaders often screw up their use of the military.

 

[Agayek]

America: Do you have any rivalries between states/ geographic factors? In England we have quite a big North/South divide, for example, and wondered if something similar occurred over in the US

It depends on where, actually. There's some pretty epic feuding between the states of Michigan and Ohio, which actually started over a land dispute when they joined the Union. I'm sure there's others, but I haven't been exposed to them sufficiently to recall offhand.

In addition, there's a number of stereotypes for people from any major region of the country. For example, San Franciscans are gay, Alabamans have 3 teeth and fuck their sisters, and anyone from New York is a colossal douche. I'm not really sure it counts as a "rivalry" per se, but there's so many different cultures in the US that stereotypes have arisen to cover just about all of them, and everyone knows them.