Comprehensive list of Americanisms

[12fromcold]

Some I love, some I hate. Let's try and get them all here! Especially interested in the ones that are only a slight variation from the British counterpart.

Macaroni AND cheese
Hide and GO seek
GotTEN

I'll remember more and come back.

I love language, not fussed about what side of the pond it's from.

I've never heard of beverize before, I'm going to use that later I think. My husband works with a few Americans so I'll see if he gets it

But @WaxMyrtle I don't think youse is all that commonly used in Scotland. Kids use it but I don't know any adult who would - unless they had a particularly broad accent. Certainly in a work environment it would be very 'slangy' and maybe a bit unprofessional.

@WaxMyrtle I don't know why you're calling me 'sneering'....

I didn't suggest you were being negative, I was making sure everyone knew I wasn't being negative. But sure, carry on being horrid for no reason. Here, have a back.

Not sure if this is one, and would be interested in opinions, especially from US Mnetters:

Ocean, used where Brits would normally say 'sea'. As in, "I can see the sea from my hotel room".

I think Brits say sea because we're normally near a sea (Irish, North, normally Mediterranean on holiday etc) whereas Americans see the oceans (Pacific, Atlantic). That's my theory anyway

Doublenegative that was me with "stiff upper lip", genuinely, it's an Americanism! I heard it on Radio 4 the other day, first recorded usage was in a magazine in Massachusetts in the 1840s and was used extensively in the US in the 19th century but wasn't used in the UK until the 1890s.

(I'm originally American myself)

@ScreamingValenta, we call seas the sea and oceans the ocean. If my window looked out over the Mediterranean Sea, I would say "I can see the sea from my window", and if it overlooked the Pacific Ocean I would say "I can see the ocean from my window".

From my dad's house you can see Puget Sound, which looks like an ocean or a sea. But we still say you can see the Sound from his house.

That would make sense, thirdhair. I noticed it in a book by an American author, which had a scene set in Cornwall, where some English characters were discussing the 'ocean' and it jarred a bit, although in Cornwall it would be correct if they were on the north coast!

Third I’m genuinely mystified! When did I call you sneery?

I said, in reply to Trendy that the OP’s of some threads about American language can be sneering. I said nothing at all about you In fact I can’t find your earlier posts - have you name changed?

Here’s my post to Trendy who said these kind of posts could be embarrassing:

Trendy it can be, especially when the sneering OP gets it wrong (see any one of a million Halloween threads with Scots and Irish posters frothing at the mouth)

I wasn’t being “horrid” to anyone in this thread at all...

But @WaxMyrtle I don't think youse is all that commonly used in Scotland. Kids use it but I don't know any adult who would

Crooked I am axtuuScortis

Oooops!

Crooked I am actually Scottish and I can assure you that “youse” is alive and well.

On a slight tangent I found it fascinating when Ireland converted from pounds to euros. Everyone I've heard when I've been over there since says euro as singular and plural rather than the previous pound/pounds.

But that isn't an Irish variant usage (like someone in the UK saying 'I spent fifty pound on my new shoes') it's correct. The plural of 'euro' is 'euro'. Look at the notes an Irish hundred euro note says '100 euro'. A UK tenner says 'Ten pounds'.

Youse is definitely used in conversation in Scotland, not in formal settings but in casual ones. I don't personally say it, I don't think it's common in Doric, my mother tongue, but central belt definitely (or defin-Itly as they would say).
I searched to find where @WaxMyrtle called anyone sneery and it was not anyone on this thread, she was referring to people who start the annual shit stirring Halloween and Santa threads, and they are, generally, sneery. So @thirdhair if you started one of them and have taken offence I am on WaxMyrtle's side, they are started to sneer. Otherwise you owe her an apology. You do seem to have namechanged mid-thread since your first post on this thread was to accuse someone of calling you names, which can't really be true, can it?

chemenger

I've worked for an American company for a while but we have a big office in the UK ... I love a bit of confusion over language. I like to drop in English stuff in my presentations, then I feel I've done a
Good Job Some of my American colleagues cannot understand what I am saying if I say realise or specialise I have to give it my best zzzzzz realize and specialize, it changes the pronunciatio .

Some words become longer. Phenomenon becomes Phen onm men on. Some become shorter because you'd be there forever otherwise hence guac instead of guacamole.

What I've found is I have to adapt, where as I don't say things like " I have no idea what you are saying when a colleague says sweater. So I think maybe in the Uk we take on Americanisms openly.

Meeting room on the the 1st floor ( it's the ground floor in the Uk) so I was late to that meeting !

The confusion of Pants and the need to say panties

Explaining roundabouts here to American colleagues who have hire cars.

@overnightangel

You are correct, I misremembered
He says it for The Fourth Round
He's still wrong

MY BAD

@WaxMyrtle @chemenger

I am the Op of this post and haven't been sneering at anybody. I think I may have misunderstood @WaxMyrtle post saying Op being sneery etc.

Sorry for the confusion with the name change. I forgot to change it back when replying to this thread

Porsche pronounced portia

My American son pronounces it portia because he watches Top Gear.

I've never heard of beverize before, I'm going to use that later I think. My husband works with a few Americans so I'll see if he gets it

I've never heard it either but it's awesome (sorry... brilliant) and I plan to use it regularly

@DoubleNegativePanda

I wonder if people who've lived by the sea/ocean at some point in their lives are more likely to use the technically correct term for a given body of water? I've always been a landlubber, sadly!

I'm Scottish too @WaxMyrtle and that's why I said 'in my experience'. It is used, but not by adults I know really, and not in a work environment where people would be expected to talk more 'correctly' I guess. (oops Americanism!)

Porsche pronounced portia

But it IS pronounced Portia!

I like to drop in English stuff in my presentations, then I feel I've done a
Good Job

I've had some funny moments on conference calls when I worked at a big US company. I asked 'So has anyone else got any niggles with the system?' Long silence. No one had a clue what a niggle is.

So then I tried dropping 'not a sausage' into a conference call. Complete bafflement.

. I defended the thread earlier. I said it was much nicer than these threads usually are.

I didn't finish my point - which was that y'all is basically universally used, certainly in my work, whereas 'youse' might get a bit of a

Depends where you are Crooked and depends on your work environment.

I don’t use it personally either but that doesn’t mean it isn’t used.