If you are in France and you say you hail from Shropshire Do Not say SALOP (short version) Which is B*****d to a Frenchman But Salopettes( Ski trousers) is acceptable But they are B*****ds to put on ! ***************************************************************************************** 11-30-06, 09:18 PM dance girl Razz Well Bedstor, now I know why in English speaking Canada we dont ever say salopettes! We call them snow pants.
And you try dressing a small child up in them plus the heavy jacket, hat, mitts , scarf and snow boots and you are just about to send them out the door to school when they whine, "I have to go to the washroom" Then it is acceptable to mutter any French language word you like under your breath! Eek
11-30-06, 09:43 PM juanruiz
quote: "I have to go to the washroom"
Do small children in Canada really say that?
11-30-06, 09:54 PM Tree Nope... that's not true.
I think they say: "I have to go to the bathroom". Wink
11-30-06, 10:27 PM dance girl bathroom, washroom they say both...actually if you were at somone elses house you would ask to use the washroom, at home you might say either.
Or as my kids would say,"I have to go peeeeeee.......nowwwwww" oops too late! Eek
12-01-06, 08:16 AM FredPuli
quote: Originally posted by dance girl: bathroom, washroom they say both...actually if you were at somone elses house you would ask to use the washroom, at home you might say either.
And 'bathroom' from an American or Canadian speaker is still likely to confuse us. You want a bathroom and, therefore, a bath, shower or wash? Why is it that a lavatory or toilet is 'a bathroom' ? Do North American homes only have this facility in a room that also has a bath in it? Confused
12-01-06, 08:42 AM dance girl Smile No Fred. Thats why you are more likely to ask to use the washroom or to be more polite the powder room when visiting. To ask to use the bathroom implies you are going to use all the facilities in there, use the tub, check out the medicine cabinet, and whatever else you might feel inclined to do in there. We are very polite here in N America and never say loo! Red Face
12-01-06, 09:17 AM juanruiz
quote: Thats why you are more likely to ask to use the washroom or to be more polite the powder room when visiting.
Which opens the door to a question for others: What euphemism is used in your area? My brother says "I have to use the facilities." Others simply say "Where's the john?" Older relatives, who remember the days before indoor plumbing say "I need to use the privvy."
12-01-06, 09:30 AM bedstor JR Is the Little Boys room or Little Girls room Title Used in the States?
Also the polite English way of excusing ones self "I'm just going to powder my Nose" (applies to both sexes)
12-01-06, 09:34 AM juanruiz
quote: Is the Little Boys room or Little Girls room Title Used in the States?
An aunt of mine (RIP) used that expression.
12-01-06, 11:32 AM FredPuli
quote: Originally posted by dance girl:
We are very polite here in N America and never say loo! Red Face
'Loo' is still the perfectly correct and classless Wink term for it in England. The word is from French 'lieu d'aisance'. The English have trouble pronouncing French lieu as is shown by our saying 'in lieu of' as 'in loo of'. There is no current, modern, euphemism accepted in England though some of our words do derive from a word for a place of washing e.g. lavatory and the original French for loo is, literally, 'place of ease/rest/ comfort' (Hey, it's a 'rest room' or 'comfort station' !).Expressions like 'the smallest room' or 'the little girl's/boy's room' are losing currency. Indeed, quite posh folk are inclined to the graphic : 'bog' (from Public School slang ) is quite popular.
Classless? As so often in England, what you call the place was a class- indicator. It was decidedly non-U (i.e lower class) to call it 'a toilet' but correct to call it 'a lavatory'. Just to show the curious subtleties of this 1950s class-distinction in vocabulary: we say 'lavatory' for the loo (or bog) in a home but may well say 'the toilets' (plural) for public lavatories in e.g. a hotel or railway station. Roll Eyes
12-01-06, 11:38 AM juanruiz In Spanish "baño" is still the generic term, while "excusado" is laughed at as being a euphemism used by the uneducated. In Spain the most common words for public bathrooms are "aseos" and "servicios".
12-01-06, 11:47 AM Professor I recall an animated cartoon from the 1980's where a little girl says, "Mommy, I have to go to the euphemism!" Smile
12-01-06, 04:38 PM VivienneHa Fred,I thought that the upper classes never said 'loo' (you might say they poo-hoo it !)but always said lavatory. I myself, being lower class with upper class pretensions say lav ! dance girl, my son used to love the captain underpants series
12-01-06, 05:47 PM FredPuli
quote: Originally posted by VivienneHa: Fred,I thought that the upper classes never said 'loo' (you might say they poo-hoo it !)but always said lavatory. I myself, being lower class with upper class pretensions say lav !
Lav is definitely working class ! Big Grin And at the other end, so to speak, what do people call the sweet course ? My children and their mother call it 'pudding' which, to me, sounds quaintly old-fashioned. It's the kind of word my grandmother would have used and I only use it when I expect pudding. They use it for anything served at that point Big Grin ( I prefer 'dessert' but perhaps that's French influence coming into play?)
12-01-06, 08:17 PM dance girl SmileAhhh... pudding..'spotted dick' comes to mind and 'apple crumble and custard'..Pudding should be stodgy..never mind the class connotations. Wink
12-01-06, 09:16 PM juanruiz
quote: ( I prefer 'dessert' but perhaps that's French influence coming into play?)
Dessert is the generic American name for the after dinner sweets.
12-01-06, 09:18 PM juanruiz
quote: 'spotted dick' comes to mind
Not sure I'd use that term in the US.
12-01-06, 09:24 PM dance girl Hmm ...it's a pudding but it seemed to fit in nicely with the level of the rest of the conversation this evening...that's probably why I thought of it. It's good with custard!
2-01-06, 09:26 PM juanruiz Nice UK county, Shame the French don't like you (piece of advice)
quote: It's good with custard!
No doubt. Or Watkin's Ale.
12-02-06, 03:05 AM FredPuli Watkin's JR? Hmm. Do you mean Watney's ? Watney's Pale Ale was a brand of bottled beer, may still be. It was sold as a keg beer too(Keg is sterilised beer which is carbonated by CO2 gas at the pub. It is not real ale, which is beer that is still fermenting slightly in the barrel and produces bubbles naturally ) Watneys is a brand, one of many owned by one of the very big brewers, but it suffered severe loss of image when it was taken as the very worst example of a beer which was as far as you could get from proper beer.At the time real ale was making a comeback and becoming fashionable. Watney's Red Barrel beer was the butt of many a joke. That may be why we don't seem to see Watney's much nowadays. (I expect the brewers use the Watney's breweries to make bad lager instead Smile ).
12-02-06, 08:00 AM juanruiz It's a 16th century English air by an anonymous composer, full of double entendre. Perhaps Ritz knows it.
12-02-06, 08:24 AM FredPuli
quote: Originally posted by juanruiz:
quote: It's good with custard!
No doubt. Or Watkin's Ale.
Just realised. Americans don't know what custard is. The M-W dictionary here gives two definitions neither of which applies to what dance girl is referring to Big Grin We would pour custard on to our spotted dick or jam roly-poly, for example. Generations of British children had those at school and they are still to be be found in the gentlemens' clubs of St James', in London (and elsewhere in Britain too).Nowadays the authorities tend to regard these as unsuitable for young children to have at school.
Have to say, JR, that you have a very optimistic hope of us and our knowledge of English culture. Big Grin C16 songs ? Blimey. Most of us never got beyond Cecil Sharpe's song books at primary school (he was a founder of the English Folk Song Society, or some such, and a collector of folk songs ) and some of the songs in those had been bowdlerized by the Victorians, if not by him, before we saw them Big Grin
12-02-06, 08:39 AM juanruiz
quote: Have to say, JR, that you have a very optimistic hope of us and our knowledge of English culture.
Yes, it was a bit presumptuous of me, for which I apologize. I am very much an aficionado of 16th century English music, and sometimes believe everyone is.
12-02-06, 09:45 AM bedstor
quote: Originally posted by FredPuli: Just realised. Americans don't know what custard is. Big Grin
Memo to English Members take a big sized Tub of Birds Custard over if you are visiting the States? And Educate those poor people about Real custard Wink If you have an Aldi supermarket in Town (Eastern States)Then they may have packets of cold custard on their shelves? (With the tinned Fruit) Not Birds but a good copy Smile
12-02-06, 09:59 AM dance girl Big Grin Yes all you North Americans try some custard on your spotted dick and you'll feel like you died and went to heaven! Bedstor thanks for the links, I never leave the UK without a tin of custard, a jar of Branston pickle and a Walnut whip Big Grin
12-02-06, 10:23 AM aminator2002 Um, custard has a broader meaning in the states than it does over there, I believe. It encompasses many different varieties of egg cream here.
And yes, it is available or can be made, but it sure is sickeningly sweet.
12-02-06, 11:14 AM dance girl
quote: Originally posted by aminator2002: And yes, it is available or can be made, but it sure is sickeningly sweet.
Yes it is pretty sweet and I think the British have a sweeter tooth than the North Americans. I know that the chocolate bars in the UK..like Cadburys for example are way sweeter and richer than your Hershey bars. Smile
12-02-06, 01:38 PM FredPuli
quote: Originally posted by aminator2002: Um, custard has a broader meaning in the states than it does over there, I believe. It encompasses many different varieties of egg cream here.
And yes, it is available or can be made, but it sure is sickeningly sweet.
Yes.It is certainly sweet when made from the powder. What we call custard is the mixture of Bird's custard powder and milk which is heated to make a hot pouring sauce.It used to be thought of as a poor man's cream substitute but the truth is that it is used where pouring cream would not be.As it's hot it is better on the hot, suet-based,sweet puddings (like spotted dick) or the likes of rhubarb crumble than cream is, and it has its own slight flavour. It has come back into cuisine, after many years out of fashion, and you'll find it offered in good restaurants (where they probably make their own mixture rather than use the proprietary powder ). There has , in any case, been something of a revival of these older heavier puddings. I was surprised to be offered apple crumble in Antibes this year, and in more than just one or two restaurants, too.It must be the coming thing in the Med. Big Grin
12-02-06, 05:35 PM Julieta Martinez
quote: Originally posted by dance girl: I know that the chocolate bars in the UK..like Cadburys for example are way sweeter and richer than your Hershey bars. Smile
MMMmmm Cadbury eggs that have chocolate shells and cream in the middle are absolutely the best in the whole world! I haven´t seen them here in Mexico, so if anyone has a heart, please send me a box!!!
12-02-06, 06:54 PM dance girl Smile Julieta, they dont sell them here at this time of year. Remind me in the spring and I will be sure to send you some! You can even get mini Cream eggs now..good too ..but you just end up eating more of them Big Grin
12-04-06, 02:30 PM VivienneHa I leave this topic for a day and it's gone from lavatories to Cadbury's creme eggs ! I'll try to catch up. I always refer to the sweet course of a meal as pudding.It is one of those examples of the English working class finding itself intune with the upper classs.On a weekend the working and upper classes will finish their pudding, go to the lavatory then retire to their sitting rooms and read The Sporting Life,whilst the middle classes will have eaten their sweet, gone to the toilet and sit in their lounge to read 'Hello' !!! Watkins Ale. I know it well. My daughter learnt this piece for her Grade 3 violin exam (needless to say I wouldn't care if I never heard it ever again).But not sure how it got into the conversation ? Custard.Just the very best thing ever,especially with Rhubarb Crumble. Spotted Dick,next best thing after Rhubarb Crumble Cadbury's creme Eggs.Ugh ! Here in the UK you can buy them all year round now,personally i'm never tempted whatever the time of year. Talking of pudding,I have to go and finish making my Christmas pud,i'm a bit behind this year,usually like to make it at least 4/5 weeks before Christmas. Viv
12-04-06, 02:49 PM juanruiz
quote: Watkins Ale. I know it well. My daughter learnt this piece for her Grade 3 violin exam (needless to say I wouldn't care if I never heard it ever again).But not sure how it got into the conversation ?
I'd tell you, but it would be deleted.
12-04-06, 03:12 PM VivienneHa I googled it but like dance girl only came up with references to early music,although interestingly one of the sites which sells CD's of early bawdy songs was called Dorian.com is their some connection to DG !? Big Grin
12-04-06, 03:53 PM juanruiz
quote: was called Dorian.com
Dorian is actually a major CD label specializing in classical music. Not sure it's headquartered in St. Louis, though.
12-04-06, 05:21 PM FredPuli
quote: Originally posted by VivienneHa:
I always refer to the sweet course of a meal as pudding.It is one of those examples of the English working class finding itself intune with the upper classs.On a weekend the working and upper classes will finish their pudding, go to the lavatory then retire to their sitting rooms and read The Sporting Life,whilst the middle classes will have eaten their sweet, gone to the toilet and sit in their lounge to read 'Hello' !!!
Talking of pudding,I have to go and finish making my Christmas pud,i'm a bit behind this year,usually like to make it at least 4/5 weeks before Christmas. Viv
Pud? We're OK: still got one big one left from last year !Something else Americans don't have, apparently (Christmas pudding I mean, not year old food, though they probably don't have that either )
Sadly Sporting Life is gone: have to make do with Racing Post. True what you say about working class and upper class being similar.It's not just that some vocabulary is the same, so are some of the 'bad habits' e.g the old upper class dropped their aitches and the 'g' from -ing( 'untin, fishin' and shootin') just as the old working class did. The middle class sent their children to learn not to do either Big Grin. There's a recent book on the English by an anthropologist [Watching the English by Kate Fox ] where the author came to exactly the same conclusion. She even noted that it was the middle class that washed their car ritually on a Sunday but the upper class and working class never bothered to wash theirs at all .They just waited for the rain to do the job . There were many, many other similarities. (She also noticed that the English habit of forming an orderly queue was so ingrained that when she found herself alone at a bus stop she formed an orderly queue of one: she stood alone solemnly by the stop sign, as the head of a non-existent queue. Nobody else came along to the stop, so she was alone when the bus came, but never mind, she'd formed her queue ! )
12-04-06, 05:25 PM juanruiz
quote: Pud?
Probably another word best not mentioned in the States. 12-04-06, 06:07 PM
FredPuli
quote: Originally posted by juanruiz:
quote: Pud?
Probably another word best not mentioned in the States.
Why?
'To be in the pudding club' is British for 'to be pregnant'. (Come to think of it a 'duff' is a kind of pudding , as in 'plum duff', and to be 'up the duff' also means 'to be pregnant '.'Duff' is a Northern English variant of the word 'dough')
12-04-06, 06:21 PM juanruiz While falling into disuse, "pud," as in to pull one's..., is a slang term for a part of the male anatomy. But one can never tell where it's still part of the vocabulary.
12-04-06, 08:51 PM dance girl
quote:
Originally posted by juanruiz: While falling into disuse, "pud," as in to pull one's..., is a slang term for a part of the male anatomy. But one can never tell where it's still part of the vocabulary.
No..I think you're pulling my leg!
No one says that anymore do they? ..maybe in Medieval Spain it's still a necessary part of the vocabulary!
quote: Originally posted by FredPuli: She even noted that it was the middle class that washed their car ritually on a Sunday but the upper class and working class never bothered to wash theirs at all .They just waited for the rain to do the job .
That definately proves I'm not middle class. Big Grin Jilly Cooper tells an apparently true story of an elderly aristocrat who is invited to stay the weekend at the house of some nouveau riche couple,they pride themselves that they have laid on every possible comfort and and every imaginable delicacy for the old boy,so are upset when he announces,clearly upset, that he has not been given any pepper, "White pepper or Black Pepper ?" enquires the hostess. "NO !" fumes the elderly gentleman "PEPPER!" The hostess tries again "Red Pepper ? Chilli Pepper ?" "NO !" is the reply "TOILET PEPPER !"
12-05-06, 09:56 AM dance girl Big Grin Good one Viv ! Why is it in North America they don't understand me when I say, "Pass the newspaper please" but when I say "pass the noospaper please" they do? I should just say pass me the Horse and Hound old chap? Big Grin
And speaking of toilet PEPPER we have double-sized rolls here..the greatest thing since sliced bread ! Big Grin
12-05-06, 11:09 AM FredPuli
quote: Originally posted by dance girl: Big Grin Good one Viv ! Why is it in North America they don't understand me when I say, "Pass the newspaper please" but when I say "pass the noospaper please" they do? I should just say pass me the Horse and Hound old chap? Big Grin
Would they understand "pass me the 'paper" ? Or do Americans always say 'newspaper'/ 'noospaper' in full ?
12-05-06, 11:20 AM aminator2002 Mostly we would just say "the paper" when referring to the newspaper.
12-05-06, 11:27 AM aminator2002 "pud" as in a part of the male anatomy is pronounced differently than "pud" as pudding or "sweetie pie". Either way "pud" is not used very often in America.
In Spain they say "pulling one's arm" instead of leg. Not sure if that was actually part of this discussion or not, just thought I'd throw it out there.
12-05-06, 11:28 AM aminator2002 The most frequent source of British embarrassment in the States must come from the use of the word "rubber." Wink
12-05-06, 11:50 AM juanruiz
quote: In Spain they say "pulling one's arm" instead of leg.
Or one's hair.
12-06-06, 02:22 PM dance girl
quote: Originally posted by aminator2002: The most frequent source of British embarrassment in the States must come from the use of the word "rubber." Wink
Yep..we make a few mistakes when we first get off the boat! I never ever ask for a rubber any more when buying an eraser in North America!
12-06-06, 07:04 PM frankvan Or that British version of keep your "chin" or your "courage" up! Roll Eyes
12-06-06, 07:38 PM bedstor
quote: Originally posted by frankvan: Or that British version of keep your "chin" or your "courage" up! Roll Eyes
Frank The word is Pecker=Beak=Nose also means something XXX Red Face if said in a certain way to an Englishman Wink Same as "END" in that context Smile
12-06-06, 08:05 PM dance girl Wink Ah yes "Keep your Pecker up"..don't hear that one much on either side of the Atlantic anymore. Only old people say it where I come from in England. But you know bedstor, you alluded to another meaning for the word, and I've always imagined the saying to refer to a really teeny one of those... "pecker"...it sort of sounds..insubstantial! Red Face
I just say "buck up"..or is that something different again ?
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But they are B*****ds to put on ! 
