Funny Things that 'Foreigners' Do -

[Red Mantis]

Originally Posted by Southern Star

Opinions were poloarized - indeed, while owners of cars such as the Austin Healey and Mini Cooper extolled the handling, steering and breaking advantages of their cars over domestic products, they were often blind to the lack of creature comforts and reliability that went hand in hand.

Sigmund, your slip is showing!

"Breaking advantages"...har har...

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by Red Mantis

Sigmund, your slip is showing!

"Breaking advantages"...har har...

You beat me to it.

LOLOL

[drew.ward]

I have had several friends find the Jeep nod/wave odd. It's quite similar to the things you've mentioned. It's so common that I have to say I find myself somewhat insulted (not intentionally) if someone else in a Jeep doesn't wave.

[anjou]

Translation of some words from one nation to another causes raised eye brows.

Pop is a generic name given to any fizzy or soft drink.
Whisky is only made in Scotland, but not known as Scotch by us.
Sticky tape or scotch tape is known by the brand name in uk of Sellotape, which in Australia is a brand of rubber(condom)
A rubber in the uk is a pencil eraser.
Americans call an electric shock a "bang"
So when you guys tell us with great surprise that you had a great bang, we are also surprised by your reference to a sexual encounter.

We do Hoover a lot. Seems appropriate that J Edgar should lend his name to a bag of crap.

[anjou]

As for "granny bars", they are called "Fanny Bars" around these parts..

And theres another one of those words that has a whole different meaning

[TaoJones]

Originally Posted by anjou

Translation of some words from one nation to another causes raised eye brows.

Pop is a generic name given to any fizzy or soft drink.
Whisky is only made in Scotland, but not known as Scotch by us.
Sticky tape or scotch tape is known by the brand name in uk of Sellotape, which in Australia is a brand of rubber(condom)
A rubber in the uk is a pencil eraser.
Americans call an electric shock a "bang"
So when you guys tell us with great surprise that you had a great bang, we are also surprised by your reference to a sexual encounter.

We do Hoover a lot. Seems appropriate that J Edgar should lend his name to a bag of crap.

I have to take exception to a few of your assertions, Anjou.

- Whiskey (American and Irish preferred spelling) is not "only made in Scotland." It is made everywhere. See: Whisky - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The whiskey made in Scotland is called Scotch by all but the Brits, who think that "whisky" always refers to what others call Scotch, but there are many whiskeys made from many grains. If the Brits are unaware of this, and have never tried other whiskeys, they haven't lived.

- Scotch tape is an American brand name for pressure-sensitive cellophane tape manufactured by 3M, and the name has a pejorative origin. See: Scotch Tape - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

- I am 61 and have never heard another American call an electric shock anything but an electric shock, or, just shock (the electric part is understood.) I have not once heard an American call an electric shock a "bang." A sexual encounter is referred to as a bang by many, along with countless other clever names. The term "more bang for the buck" simply refers to military high explosives, and the cost associated with producing them. It has come to be applied whenever someone desires "more" of anything while spending as judiciously as possible.

- J. Edgar Hoover has no association with the Hoover vacuum cleaner, whatsoever. Hoover is an American floor-care company that dates from the early 1900s. See: The Hoover Company - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia A vacuum is for removing dust and debris from floor surfaces, mostly, but is primarily for cleaning carpeting. Thus, the contents of a vacuum are not "crap" as that word is generally applied. Your understanding and usage of "crap" may be different than mine.

I'm reminded of the Mark Twain quote: "It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so."

TaoJones

[Golden Wattle]

Hi Anjou,
I have never heard of Sellotape being a condom brand in Australia.
Durex may be what you are thinking of.

GW

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by Golden Wattle

Hi Anjou,
I have never heard of Sellotape being a condom brand in Australia.
Durex may be what you are thinking of.

GW

I heard it was "XXXX" brand of Condoms and of course XXXX Beer! With the TV ad "I can feel a 4X coming on!"





Mark
(Currently drinking VB after a hard day doing SFA!!!!!!!)

[Live to Dive]

In the 60's Marshall McLuhan spoke of the 'global village' - of the inevitable effect of high-speed international travel and communication. While we are not quite there yet, surely no one can deny at least a 'trend' towards globailization. We are all the beneficiaries of an explosion in access to international artists, film, food, wine and liquor, fashion and technology. In short, as time goes on, I suspect that the famous French expression 'Vive la difference!' will become largely an historical footnote.

Brad[/quote]

I have to agree. Once you could go to another country and actually experience their culture, even on a short visit.

Now, no matter where you go, there's a Macca's a pizza hut and a KFC on every other corner. I spent some time near Jinan in China, crowds of people would stop and stare at me in the street (discreetly I hasten to add but visible none the less) as they had either never seen a foriegner (low wey) or very rarely and yet there were KFC's there. The travel experience I'm afraid is dying entity.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by TaoJones

- J. Edgar Hoover has no association with the Hoover vacuum cleaner, whatsoever. Hoover is an American floor-care company that dates from the early 1900s. See: The Hoover Company - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia A vacuum is for removing dust and debris from floor surfaces, mostly, but is primarily for cleaning carpeting. Thus, the contents of a vacuum are not "crap" as that word is generally applied. Your understanding and usage of "crap" may be different than mine.

Americans take things a little bit too much at face value

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by TaoJones

... I am 61 and have never heard another American call an electric shock anything but an electric shock, or, just shock (the electric part is understood.) I have not once heard an American call an electric shock a "bang."...

I got a jolt, jolted, or zapped often refers to an electric shock, in North America. A very mild shock is often called a tingle.
These slang terms may be slightly more common among electricians, that the general public.

[Southern Star]

Goes to show what happens when you don't proof-read, although as you point out, most 'foreign' cars of that era had advantages in both braking and breaking.

While we are at it, I just noted another typo in the same passage - " 'polo' arized". Interestingly (or not) that typo also works on another level - lets face it, the opinions of some from that era concerning cars were based less upon what was practical, than upon what made a fashion statement.

While we are at it, there is also the famous 'poloponies' line from Ralph Cramden (any Honeymooner's fans out there - I mean, that was a slice of early 50's 'culture' , if anything was). So yes, now that I think of it, opinions at that time were poloarized!

Brad

[hellosailor]

Tj, something like ten years ago Mercury did a lot of radio ads for their new "Mystique". And chose an actor who kept calling it the "Mercury Mistake".

Then there's a thick-tongued fellow who does tv ads for AllState (insurance) who delivers a tag line that might be "you're in good hands" or "you're in good stan" because his accent, plus the tag line's abstract logic, are just unintelligible. (They've changed that recently.)

Where's Tom Brokaw when you need him? Folks think enunciation must be a painful medical procedure. I still shudder to recall Jimmy Carter talking about being a "knee-ook-le-ah" engineer in the Navy. Personally, I wouldn't let someone play with a reactor unless they could call it by the correct name, but fortunately he got promoted to management. Hmmm....

[David_Old_Jersey]

Talking about cross cultural adverts.......

A year or 2 back a US airline (United?) was showing a series of TV adverts in the UK featuring a loud, oversized and demanding new yorker, with the selling point that they were used to meeting the expectations of very demanding passengers.

I am sure I was not the only person who decided NOT to travel on an aircraft with a high risk of sitting next to folk like that

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

Talking about cross cultural adverts.......

A year or 2 back a US airline (United?) was showing a series of TV adverts in the UK featuring a loud, oversized and demanding new yorker, with the selling point that they were used to meeting the expectations of very demanding passengers.

I am sure I was not the only person who decided NOT to travel on an aircraft with a high risk of sitting next to folk like that

In addition to which; United Airlines Breaks Guitars

➥ United Breaks Guitars | Dave Carroll Music.com

➥

YouTube - United Breaks Guitars