To think my mum should lay off a bit?

[TheCunnyFunt]

She has a friend visiting her from America, this his first visit to the UK. He calls things by their american name or not quite the proper name. Few examples, DD's dummy, he calls it a 'pippy', everytime he says pippy my mum does 'It's a dummy over here'. They went out for dinner and he had a pudding with custard, he called it 'custard sauce', again my mum did the 'It's custard'. They had a fry up and he called the fried bread 'fry bread', I'm sure I don't need to tell you what my mum did. Basically everything he says that isn't quite right she'll and correct him. He is really lovely and this doesn't seem to faze him, but I just think it's really patonizing of her. He's here for 4 weeks, I know I wouldn't be able to stand 4 weeks of constant corrections.

Am I being unreasonable in thinking she should bite her tongue in future? I don't want them to end up rowing about it and for him to leave with them on bad terms. My mum lives on her own and has done since I left 4 years ago, so it's nice for her to have company but I don't think she should spoil it like this!

Yes, she needs to shut up - it's very rude.

I think that ultimately it is up to her friend to say something if he doesn't like it, but if you don't think he's the type then why not have a quiet word about it and point out that it is excrutiating to witness and likely to be wildly irritating for him?

I suppose it's always possible that he does the same thing to her when she visits the US, or he's asked he to correct him, or that it's some sort of private joke, or that it's been discussed previously in some way and he really doesn't mind...I try to see the best in people, me!

How well do they know each other?

he will probably be biting his tongue and won't be planning any return trips to visit.
He's spent a small fortune to come over here to stay/visit...she needs to realise that he didn't come to be belittled, ridiculed and critisized for his cultural differences...
Poor guy...maybe he can stay elsewhere...or at least minimize his time with your mum by going off to do his own thing without her

He's remarkably patient to put up with what sounds like a series of unnecessary contradictions!

I think it was George Bernard Shaw who said that Britain and the USA were countries divided by the same language and, in fairness, it does make sense to use the correct words for some things when in either country - in America I do refer to "sidewalks" rather than "pavements", for example but that's because pavement has a quite different meaning.

However, your mother is being ridiculously picky and rather controlling here since it matters not a jot whether custard is custard or custard sauce. It's quite clear what her American friend is referring to.

This is the second time they have met, the first time my mum went over there for 8 weeks (extended from 4). They met on Second Life and talk to each other every day via skype. My mum lives US hours.

Thing is, when she went over there, he paid for EVERYTHING. Food, day trips, everything they did, he paid for. Same now he's come here, that's how lovely he is. He's paying for everything they do here.

Speaking as an American, I really hope she soon cures him of the "Pippy" thing . Pacifier, if you please.
Hands off, he's an Yank, we are Direct, he'll tell her soon enough if she's annoying.

so what does pavement mean?

"Pavement" is taken to mean the surface of the road in the USA. Not the footway that you walk upon beside the road.

Ah ok. I meet with a few american ladies every week, and tbh, there is rarely an occasion for correction, though sometimes I have to ask what they mean exactly. Sounds like they're living in a 2 ronnies sketch that has deliberately been written to throw up as many UK/US english clashes as possible!

My best mate is American, I just tell her she's a crazy American, with her crazy words. Then catch myself threatening to spank my DD's heiney, and telling her to put stuff in the trash! Damn that stuff is catching! Haha!

you could say in a jokey/friendly way - lay off mum, they just say things differently in America, I'm sure he doesn't want to be corrected

I hate saying "pavement" for sidewalk. Sidewalk is a word that makes sense.

DH also does this thing of yelling at DC to "keep off the garden!" By which he means keep off the flower & vegetable beds. The lawn, however, is not "the garden" except when he refers to "I'm going out in the garden now" in which case the lawn IS the garden.
Is that a generally English thing?