Americanisms in British English Writing

Discussion in 'Word Mechanics' started by OurJud, Jul 29, 2016.

  1. Shadowfax

    Shadowfax Contributor Contributor

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    I just googled "You're toast", and found that it means (in Canadian) "You're in deep trouble."

    And all along, I thought it was derived from "You're brown bread" (after all, what is toast but bread that has been browned?), which is cockney rhyming slang for "You're dead". So, those bullets fit right in!
     
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  2. Sack-a-Doo!

    Sack-a-Doo! Contributor Contributor

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    LOL! And I suppose they mean pretty much the same thing when you look at the threat level implied by both.
     
  3. OurJud

    OurJud Contributor Contributor

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    Think we have our wires crossed. I was merely explaining where the term derived, not that it's okay to use it in the UK.
     
  4. Sack-a-Doo!

    Sack-a-Doo! Contributor Contributor

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    Not to mention the respite we take from time to time from American TV... when we go watch the British stuff. :)
     
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  5. tonguetied

    tonguetied Contributor Contributor

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    I would tend to believe that "you're toast" derived from the concept of being "burned" meaning someone has taken advantage of you in a broad sense, also severely beaten (out performed not physical abuse). So being toast meant that you were really "burned" severely - again, not second or third degree fire burns.

    It would be handy to have a reference similar to a thesaurus based on geographic locations since it is obvious language varies greatly within relatively small areas. So that if you were trying to write a story in an area that you don't live in you could maintain some accuracy and said thesaurus should be incorporated into your word processor. Maybe this exists already. Now I want an English muffin, who knows what you U.K. people call it.
     
  6. Sack-a-Doo!

    Sack-a-Doo! Contributor Contributor

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    Scone, I suspect. :)
     
  7. tonguetied

    tonguetied Contributor Contributor

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    Huh. I think of a scone as something like what Panera Bread serves, sort of a sweet solid biscuit. I am only familiar with the Thomas English Muffin version, been to England but that was in the mid 70s so no memory of what I ate, anyway the Thomas English muffin is sort of a doughy biscuit, maybe that is even sourdough, that is loaded with air pockets. My geo-thesaurus will need pictures! In color too.
     
  8. Tenderiser

    Tenderiser Not a man or BayView

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    If beans are known by their colour, why are (whitey-beige) haricot beans known as navy beans? I assumed it was something to do with the Navy. Now I'm confused again.
     
  9. Sack-a-Doo!

    Sack-a-Doo! Contributor Contributor

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    This is an Americanism. It was a staple food for the U.S. Navy in the early 20th century according to Wikipedia and W.H. Foods (whoever they are).
     
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  10. BayView

    BayView Huh. Interesting. Contributor

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    I think English Muffins may be crumpets?
     
  11. bonijean2

    bonijean2 Ancient Artists And Storytellers Rock

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    Not familiar with this one but probably referred to as fava in America too.
     
  12. bonijean2

    bonijean2 Ancient Artists And Storytellers Rock

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    Dumbo, was a baby elephant and the main character in a well known Walt Disney animated movie. Famous quote, crow 1 "Did you ever see an elephant fly?" Thus, not to be confused with Jumbo, an English elephant or super-sized fries.
     
  13. matwoolf

    matwoolf Banned Contributor

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    Grrrr, grrr, rrr, g..
     
  14. matwoolf

    matwoolf Banned Contributor

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    He wasn't English, he was an immigrant.
     
  15. Nightstar99

    Nightstar99 Senior Member

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    I don't know any more myself. I think we call them muffins, , but I generally associate them as being American.

    Generally if you ask someone for a muffin here they will think you want one of the cake type ones.
     
  16. Nightstar99

    Nightstar99 Senior Member

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    They definitely aren't scones. A scone is totally and completely different. Its more similar if anything to a biscuit.
     
  17. matwoolf

    matwoolf Banned Contributor

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    No, that's not true. Muffins are flat, dense, buttery and delicious.

    ...not the sugar cakes for 'people' in Starbucks.
     
  18. OurJud

    OurJud Contributor Contributor

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    Muffins, certainly in my neck of the woods, are as Mat describes.

    An oven-bottom muffin yesterday.

    [​IMG]
     
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  19. matwoolf

    matwoolf Banned Contributor

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    My god she's beautiful...
     
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  20. matwoolf

    matwoolf Banned Contributor

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    This is your alternative

    upload_2016-8-1_17-45-14.jpeg
     
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  21. matwoolf

    matwoolf Banned Contributor

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    I think that counts as a victory. Nothing unites true patriots like the muffin war

    ...every time.
     
  22. Spencer1990

    Spencer1990 Contributor Contributor

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    The cultural difference between bread names is riveting.

    For me, in the cultural wasteland of America, @OurJud posted a picture of an english muffin.

    ETA: But you couldn't call an english muffin a muffin. You would get a totally different thing packed with sugar, similar to the below "cupcake" sans frosting (in most cases).

    @matwoolf posted a picture of a filthy looking cupcake. Although, I think I might prefer the term "sugar cake" as that seems to be much more...succinct.
     
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  23. ChickenFreak

    ChickenFreak Contributor Contributor

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    At Bertram's Hotel, Agatha Christie, 1965:

    Lady Selina was continuing.

    “Only place in London you can still get muffins. Real muffins. Do you know when I went to America last year they had something called muffins on the breakfast menu. Not real muffins at all. Kind of teacake with raisins in them. I mean, why call them muffins?”

    She pushed in the last buttery morsel and looked round vaguely.
     
  24. tonguetied

    tonguetied Contributor Contributor

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    Wow, I usually think of bread as either whole wheat or rye, maybe pumpernickel or even French bread, and while I know that this is more about biscuits (in a very high level view) when I googled crumpet the top picture was just like a Thomas English Muffin, but then it showed some more images and even had what looked like pancakes. OurJud's picture reminded me of a bagel with some odd thing on the top. Furthermore it seems that over time the same group/area may have changed the name or what the specific name referenced. So if there was a geo-thesaurus it would also have to have time references for a writer to remain accurate to their story line. How does everything get so complicated?

    And finally a few posts that I fully understood from matwoolf - I always hear "Jeremiah Was a Bullfrog ... never understood a single word he said," in my head, when I see mat's posts, love to read them but really never know what he is saying. (I miss the monkey) :)
     
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  25. matwoolf

    matwoolf Banned Contributor

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    I was going to sat what a ghastly beast you are @tonguetied. However, as you hail from Atlanta, probably got yourself a pretty drawl and a southern manner...eh, eh, mam or sir. [The] good execs from Cokeland call my wife on the conference calls, you see. I know your people.

    Bullfrog...
     
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