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Madam FlameBRONZE Member
Satisfying HOPs Lust For Fire
308 posts
Location: Salem, Oregon, USA


Posted:
Heheheheeee!! I just love reading people's posts sometimes. I find our language differences to be very fascinating. In the united states, a torch is called a flashlight & a portaloo is called a porta-potty. Sometimes I don't understand ceratin terminologies. Like what does "skinny up" mean? So i thought I'd start a post on our language differences, if anything else it'll help me decifer what people are saying. ubbloco

Never settle for normal.devil
Average thinking brings average results.


KatchGOLD Member
Beach bum
162 posts
Location: Singapore


Posted:
Written by: Custom Bug



And I'm amazed no one has said paraffin is called kerosene





In my country it's called gaas (with the accent being on the second a)...

Struggled a bit with the term paraffin, until I got a whiff of the fuel... "ah.... Kerosene!"
ubbrollsmile

Experience is that marvelous thing that enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.
-Franklin P. Jones


vanizeSILVER Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
3,899 posts
Location: Austin, Texas, USA


Posted:
Written by: Zavie



men!

I study foreign languages (English being one of course, with German) and I'm supposed to be pretty good

But ow I'd love to laugh as much as you guys do because I don't get half the jokes....!! shrug ubbcrying

Anyways I really like to hear about all language differences as well...






not quite the same thing, but...



while I lived in south africa I noticed that, while watching movies (especially comedies), most of the audience didn't catch like 50% or more of the jokes. now some of that was just missing references to american pop culture or so, but a lot of it was the subtly different meanings of words - double entandre and puns are not just often but usually missed because so many words are used differently even though it is supposedly the same language we are speaking.



I'm serious - at least 50% just swish over their heads - they didn't get. I'd be sniggering away and no one else would even crack a smile. My friends would look at me like I was daft (well, that much is true... ubbangel).



It is the same here in germany actually, but here I don't expect them to get those kinds of jokes, and it is interesting that native german speakers don't really seem to miss any more jokes than native english speakers in South Africa.



Of course I didn't get South African humor at all. Not sure that was a english to english translation problem though - just a bizzare sense of humor....

-v-

Wiederstand ist Zwecklos!


Fleancejourneyman
99 posts
Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia


Posted:
I really like to use classic obscure aussie sayings to my non-aussie freinds.

"Flat out like a lizard drinking" is probably my favourite. Always brings confused looks. By the by, it means to be very busy.

I don't care who you vote for

Just don't vote for the guy who likes war, destruction and earning money over earning respect.


Rouge DragonBRONZE Member
Insert Champagne Here
13,215 posts
Location: without class distinction, Australia


Posted:
"dry as a dead dingo's donger" if we want to be silly and bogan aussie ubblol

i would have changed ***** to phallus, and claire to petey Petey

Rougie: but that's what I'm doing here
Arnwyn: what letting me adjust myself in your room?..don't you dare quote that on HoP...


Xopher (aka Mr. Clean)enthusiast
456 posts
Location: Hoboken, New Jersey, USA


Posted:
"He's so crooked you could use him to unblock a sink" is one I got from The Borribles.

But there are a BUTTLOAD of American expressions for stupid, ugly, or both. (Some of these may be used in UK and Oz, too; I don't know.)

ugly as a bag of hammers
press hir face in dough, you'll bake monster cookies
dumb as a box of wood
not the sharpest knife in the drawer
a few bricks short of a load
a few sandwiches short of a picnic
hir deck is missing the aces and kings (variation on "not playing with a full deck")

...to name a few. Also for "if you believe that, you're stupid":

Yeah, and I have this bridge (or beach house in Florida) to sell.
Yeah, and monkeys fly out of my butt.
Yeah, and I'm Marie of Rumania (Emily Dickinson!).
OK, and did you know that I was just elected King of England?
True. And also, George W. Bush is brave, smart, and compassionate (oops!).

and for "if you believe that, you're crazy" (slightly different):

On what planet? (variations like "What color is the sky on your planet?" and "What planet are you from?" and "Not on this planet.")
You're on crack.
What have you been smoking?

and for "if you're just realizing that, you're stupid":

Well, Duh!
Yes, and George Washington is dead. Just thought you'd like to know.
(or more gently)
Comes the dawn.
The penny drops.

There are lots more of all of these, but that's all I can think of right now.

"If you didn't like something the first time, the cud won't be any good either." --Elsie the Cow, Ruminations


MedusaSILVER Member
veteran
1,433 posts
Location: 8 days at Cloudbreak, 6 in Perth, Australia


Posted:
Damn....I forgot to bring in the sheet of paper I got from my Language and Terminology class last night...blah.

Last night in class we were discussing this exact topic....the differences in language and the idioms that are used in different countries around the world.

We were given this huge list of different idioms and their equivalences in different languages....some of them were extremely funny.

I will try to remember to bring them in so you can all have a good laugh about it tomorrow.

margitaSILVER Member
.:*distracted by shiny things*:.
3,777 posts
Location: brizvegas, Australia


Posted:
a friend of mine is teaching english in japan biggrin and ages ago she sent me a list of bizarre things her students have said. unfortunately i can't find the list now...but i assure you it was very funny!! japanese english - what could be funnier!! ubblol

*no offence intended to anyone! this list was really really funny - either the students just don't get english or my friend isn't a very good teacher!! ubblol*

do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and good to eat!



if at first you do succeed, try not to look too astonished!



smile! :grin: it confuses people!


...{SAFE}..."if i jump in the fire, will you?"
633 posts
Location: USA, wishing I was in SA


Posted:
Written by: vanize


while I lived in south africa I noticed that, while watching movies (especially comedies), most of the audience didn't catch like 50% or more of the jokes.
Of course I didn't get South African humor at all. Not sure that was a english to english translation problem though - just a bizzare sense of humor....





to be honest vanize, sometimes american humor just isnt funny! no offence or anything , but ive been living here in the US and some of these TV shows... man frown

but here's a thought " some how the english have managed to get the humor thing right . even americans can honestly say that they were rolling around on the ground crying like little girls , while watching 'Monty Python's quest for the Holy Grail' !!! " biggrin

good one englishmen. (im still waiting to see the "Office" )

i like breaking the Law frown , of Gravity wink !


MedusaSILVER Member
veteran
1,433 posts
Location: 8 days at Cloudbreak, 6 in Perth, Australia


Posted:
Written by: ...{homemadeSA}...



but here's a thought " some how the english have managed to get the humor thing right . even americans can honestly say that they were rolling around on the ground crying like little girls , while watching 'Monty Python's quest for the Holy Grail' !!! " biggrin






On this one I HAVE to disagree....this may make me the most unpopular person but I would not call those funny.

In fact most of the English humour that I have seen have not tickled or even slightly nudged my funny bone.

Rowan Atkinson would be the least favourite actor on my list.

SkulduggeryGOLD Member
Pirate Pixie Crew Captain
8,428 posts
Location: Wales


Posted:
I was just laying in the bath listening to the radio when "From our own correspondent" came on. The last report made me think of this thread. It was about Australian slang and how people moving to Australia sometimes find it hard to understand. Its a Radio 4 program and can be listened to on-line here . You might have to wait a couple of days for them to update the listen again thing as it seems to still be playing last saturdays program. The gist of it is that someone has started up night school classes to help people understand the Aussie slang so they feel that they fit in better. biggrin

Feed me Chocolate!!! Feed me NOW!


DominoSILVER Member
UnNatural Scientist - Currently working on a Breville-legged monkey
757 posts
Location: Bath Uni or Shrewsbury, UK


Posted:
Jasper Carrott does a joke on this about the duel meaning of Durex.

[In a chemist in Australia]

Jasper (quietly) : Er... pack... packet of Durex please
Chemist hands him a roll of Sellotape
Jasper : What the hell am I supposed to do with this?

Apparently Durex is a brand of Sellotape in Oz, he then goes on about how Ozzies must be making the same mistake in Britian.

Give me a lever long enough and a place to stand and I can beat the world into submission.


MedusaSILVER Member
veteran
1,433 posts
Location: 8 days at Cloudbreak, 6 in Perth, Australia


Posted:
Just to clarify we do not have a brand of sellotape by the name of durex...they are a brand of condoms here in Australia.

So I think that comedian was just making stuff up because he couldn't come up with something original.

Rouge DragonBRONZE Member
Insert Champagne Here
13,215 posts
Location: without class distinction, Australia


Posted:
i was confused as well medusa! i thought he was talking condoms! ubblol

i would have changed ***** to phallus, and claire to petey Petey

Rougie: but that's what I'm doing here
Arnwyn: what letting me adjust myself in your room?..don't you dare quote that on HoP...


KaelGotRiceGOLD Member
Basu gasu bakuhatsu - because sometimes buses explode
1,584 posts
Location: Angels Landing, USA


Posted:
I'd have to say as a 18 year old in America... we don't use any of these...



Written by: Xopher (aka Mr. Clean)



"He's so crooked you could use him to unblock a sink" is one I got from The Borribles.



But there are a BUTTLOAD of American expressions for stupid, ugly, or both. (Some of these may be used in UK and Oz, too; I don't know.)



ugly as a bag of hammers

press hir face in dough, you'll bake monster cookies

dumb as a box of wood

not the sharpest knife in the drawer

a few bricks short of a load

a few sandwiches short of a picnic

hir deck is missing the aces and kings (variation on "not playing with a full deck")



...to name a few. Also for "if you believe that, you're stupid":



Yeah, and I have this bridge (or beach house in Florida) to sell.

Yeah, and monkeys fly out of my butt.

Yeah, and I'm Marie of Rumania (Emily Dickinson!).

OK, and did you know that I was just elected King of England?

True. And also, George W. Bush is brave, smart, and compassionate (oops!).



and for "if you believe that, you're crazy" (slightly different):



On what planet? (variations like "What color is the sky on your planet?" and "What planet are you from?" and "Not on this planet.")

You're on crack.

What have you been smoking?



and for "if you're just realizing that, you're stupid":



Well, Duh!

Yes, and George Washington is dead. Just thought you'd like to know.

(or more gently)

Comes the dawn.

The penny drops.



There are lots more of all of these, but that's all I can think of right now.






Strange American teenage slang for saying hello and goodbye:





hello:

What up?

sup?

or the infamous wassssssssssssssup?

yo

hey



goodbye:

Take it easy

Peace out

Have some chillax pills

Let's make like a fetus and head out



Those are just some random US slang - If you want to hear more just ask. As for describing stupidity and whatnot- We just let loose the four letter words and combine random swears w/ nouns/adjs and references to your mother.



ummmm, I better not post any, feel free to PM me if you want to hear some unique insults. wink



:EDIT- I change my mind. We DO use "are you on crack?" and "what the hell have you been smoking?"...
EDITED_BY: KaelGotRice (1094469275)

To do: More Firedrums 08 video?

Wildfire/US East coast fire footage

LA/EDC glow/fire footage

Fresno fire


MedusaSILVER Member
veteran
1,433 posts
Location: 8 days at Cloudbreak, 6 in Perth, Australia


Posted:
I finally remembered to bring that thing from my class. (Yes I have a memory like a sieve).

So this is foriegn idioms: Basically it is English idioms then their equivalents in a foriegn language translated into english.

Some are funny, some are just plain weird so here we go:

First is English and Italian:

Naked as a jaybird - Naked as a worm
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush - Better a finch in the hand than a thrush on a branch
To kill two birds with one stone - To catch two pigeons with one bean
To eat crow - To swallow the toad
To eat like a pig - To eat like a buffalo
Don't bite off more than you can chew - Don't take a step longer than your leg
Pride goes before a fall - Pride rode out on horseback and came back on foot
To go by fits and starts - To go by hiccups
There is honor amongst thieves - A dog doesn't eat a dog
Once in a blue moon - Every death of a pope.

English - French
Don't waste your breathe - Save your saliva
To turn up like a bad penny - To arrive like a hair in the soup
To talk to yourslef - To talk to angels
Let's get back to the subject - :et's get back to our sheep
To pull a long face - To make a funny nose
He laughs in your face - He laughs in your nose
By rule of thumb - From the view of the nose
To be knock-kneed - To have your legs in an X
Put that in your pipe and smoke it - Put this in your pocket with your handkerchief on top
It's greek to me - It's chinese

English - Spanish
To hit the ceiling - To scream at the sky
Go fly a kite - Go fry asparagus
There's always room for one more - Where six can eat, seven can eat
To have the tables turned - To go out for wool and come home shorn
To cut off your nose to spite your face - To throw stones at your own roof
To slam the door on your face - To slam the door on your nostrils
Give him an inch, he'll take a mile - Give him a hand and he takes a foot
To be alive and kicking - To be alive and wagging your tail
You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear - A monkey dressed in silk is still a monkey
To swear a blue streak - To toss out toads and snakes

English - Yiddish
Go jump in the lake - Go whistle in the ocean
You can only do one thing at a time - You can't dance at two weddings at the same time
He's as slow as molasses - He creeps like a bedbug
He repeats himself - He grinds ground flour
Where there's smoke, there's fire - When bells ring, it's usually a holiday
Are you in a hurry? - Are you standing on one leg?
Drop dead - You should lie in the earth
He makes a lot of trouble for me - He makes my wedding black
Go fight city hall - Go fight with god
Thanks for nothing - Many thanks in your belly button

Xopher (aka Mr. Clean)enthusiast
456 posts
Location: Hoboken, New Jersey, USA


Posted:
KaelGotRice, I'm not surprised that most of these are unfamiliar to an 18 yo. I'm about your parents' age, probably. I have heard some of the ones you mention; it took me a while to realize that the appropriate response to 'wassup' is not to describe what is, in fact, up, but to say 'wassup' in return.

I have also noticed that folks roughly your age seem to say 'whuhappen?' ("what happened?") when they mean what I would express by 'pardon?' or just 'what?' (i.e. "I didn't hear you; please repeat"). This confused me no end at first, since I hadn't been talking about anything that had actually happened, but I'm used to it now.

But Generational Dialects is another, albeit an equally interesting, thread.

"If you didn't like something the first time, the cud won't be any good either." --Elsie the Cow, Ruminations


Xopher (aka Mr. Clean)enthusiast
456 posts
Location: Hoboken, New Jersey, USA


Posted:
Most UK humor leaves me wondering why the UK audience is laughing. "Keeping Up Appearances"? Embarrassing to watch, but not funny.

Monty Python was an exception. "Holy Grail" did absolutely nothing for me, but that was because I'd already heard every single line in it 100 times by the time I actually saw the movie. But some phrases in it have entered my speech permanently ("and there was much rejoicing!").

OTOH, most of the humor on American TV leaves me pretty cold, too. Watching stupid, venal, selfish people doing stupid, venal, selfish things is depressing, not funny. And if I want to watch people lie, cheat, steal, and try to talk their way out when they get caught, I can just stay at work a couple of extra hours.

"If you didn't like something the first time, the cud won't be any good either." --Elsie the Cow, Ruminations


SkulduggeryGOLD Member
Pirate Pixie Crew Captain
8,428 posts
Location: Wales


Posted:
I'm from the UK and I don't find "keeping up appearances" funny. It makes me cringe to have to see it!

Feed me Chocolate!!! Feed me NOW!


Xopher (aka Mr. Clean)enthusiast
456 posts
Location: Hoboken, New Jersey, USA


Posted:
Thanks, Skulduggery. Maybe it's not just that I don't get it, then.

I love Patricia Rutledge in her Mrs. Wainthrop persona, btw.

"If you didn't like something the first time, the cud won't be any good either." --Elsie the Cow, Ruminations


SkulduggeryGOLD Member
Pirate Pixie Crew Captain
8,428 posts
Location: Wales


Posted:
Have you ever seen her in the Alan Bennett "Talking heads" monologue? Its one of her finest moments (that I've seen). Patricia Routledge is a great actress... how she ever ended up in Keeping Up Appearances is beyond me!

Feed me Chocolate!!! Feed me NOW!


Xopher (aka Mr. Clean)enthusiast
456 posts
Location: Hoboken, New Jersey, USA


Posted:
Oops, spelled her name wrong. Hey, comedy is hard, and so is making a living as an actor. You take what you can get.

But we're way, way OT at this point, so I'll leave it at that.

"If you didn't like something the first time, the cud won't be any good either." --Elsie the Cow, Ruminations


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