UK and America are two countries separated by a common language, UK and US Q&A

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Continuation of the previous thread where posters from the UK ask questions like 'what the hell is going on with the gaps in US toilet doors'; and posters fro the US ask things like 'what is with wearing stripes'

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/a2149133-to-think-there-is-something-wrong-with-Americans?msgid=48969042#48969042

Like this.

We have forced air; the same system heats and cools. I live in Florida so we don't have to have the heat on very often. I did live in a house up North that had a gas fireplace that was the main heat source, supplemented by electric radiant heating.

There are whole towns on the west coast of Scotland without gas, something to do with rock (wasn't really paying attention in chemistry when it was explained) but people that moved there did find it surprising.

There is a new series on TV here in the States called Outlander (based on the books by Diana Gabaldon) set in 18th Century Scotland. It's breaking new ground as far as language is concerned; much of it is in Gaelic, with no subtitles, and there are also a lot of Scots words thrown about with no subtitles or translation. Clearly, the US producers are expecting their audience to understand much from context. (It's a US production but filmed in Scotland primarily with actors from the UK and Ireland.)

We're watching Outlander. I really like it. I think Jamie is super dreamy.

I think TV companies are just weird about accent and speech, I'd be subtitled on TV outside of Scotland, but I've never met anyone who couldn't actually understand my accent yet. (You know if I use real words and make an effort not to say things like wurruld instead of world, lol)

I've seen American tv shows were they use subtitles for American people. Granted, some of us speak a bit lazily, but I've never had a problem understanding anyone if they were speaking English. I guess maybe other people do, though. There was one time I was speaking to a co-worker about seeing the movie Love Actually, and she said, "is that one of those movies where they speak English?" to which I responded, "Yes. What language to you think we're speaking now?" And she said she doesn't like movies with people with accents. :/ My husband and I watch a lot of Japanese horror movies, so I'm used to subtitles, but they bug me when the person is speaking English.

No mains gas is normal in rural Cornwall. It is normally only the towns that have it, the rest of us have to make do with oil heating. I miss gas, I much prefer it to cook with.

Really, steff? I only watch it for the historical and cultural enrichment . . .

Oh and this

I mean!

I know there are attractive American actors, but I don't seem to be interested in any. I'm all over Henry Cavill, Idris Elba, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston, David Tennant, and let's not forget Prince Harry.

When there's a breakfast/meal scene in an American film/program, why is the bacon always streaky? Don't you have other cuts of bacon?

Randy appears to be a name that isn't considered funny in America and yet over here would get sniggered at. Are there any British names that would be considered funny in America?

Sad to say, Steam, we don't have back bacon in the US. Sometimes I order it from Amazon because I love bacon butties.

I can't think of names that are funny because of a sexual reference like Randy, but Nigel, Rupert, Rufus, and Clive would probably elicit a snigger just because they sound funny to most Americans. Poppy and Pippa are also names that Americans don't usually have.

As much as I love and adore Benedict Cumberbatch, I would think most Americans would think of Benedict Arnold when we hear the name. He was seen as a traitor, and is still mentioned in the history books, so it's not a name many would choose.

Fanny is a name that is used in the US, though not nearly as common now as it was 50 years ago. Fanny means "tushie," "bum," "bottom," "behind," "gluteus maximus," or whatever else you want to call it here in the US, but, of course, it refers to a woman's lady parts in the UK.

The bacon thing confuses me. Are American pigs different to British ones or are they butchered differently? Surely that bit isn't just chucked away?

The pigs aren't different, they are butchered differently here than they are there.

Our bacon is cut from the belly; British back bacon is belly and loin. In the US, loin is cut separately.

British back bacon is the food of the gods, especially on a Scottish morning roll.

Pastamancer my parents are in rural West Country and not on mains gas - they got gas bottles attached outside the kitchen. 2 big bottles, on a switcher so when one runs out it switches to the other one, you then replace the empty one and never run out. Apparently a bottle lasts for quite a few months so it's not too much of a faff, and you can have a hob that actually turns up and down.

I mean Rab C Nesbett was subtitled in England
I'm not sure he was, I could never understand a word.

I did see Big Fat Gypsy Wedding when I was in the States. That was subtitled.

I notice American spellings and they jar, but on a talk forum I wouldn't care, I'd just assume that the person was American.

I have a question for Americans.
What is meant by downtown? What part of the town or city is it?
You hear it a lot in films but is it the town centre, the residential bit, the suburbs?

Usually downtown is the center of town, where most of the businesses are.

I notice American spellings and they jar, but on a talk forum I wouldn't care, I'd just assume that the person was American.

Yeah, when I first joined here on MN, I thought someone made a typo, until it happened repeatedly. British spelling throws me for a loop sometimes and I don't know if someone is misspelling a word, or if that's the way they were taught to spell it.

Ok so this is from Phineas and Ferb, but I have noticed it in other things too!

What is an "area" such as the Tri State area mentioned in P&F (I recall there was a Tri State area in Toy Story 2....er...too!)? And where is Capitol City? Is there one in each state cos there seems to be or is it just Washington DC? I remember reading a book where the main characters took a trip to Capitol City and they were in the deep south but didnt leave their state iirc.

Oh and why is Graham pronounced Gram, is it a silent H thing? In the UK it is Gray-um, which I concede doesnt work phonetically either! I suppose we should all say it "grAH- Ham!"

I live in SW Ohio, and the tri-state area here is the SW corner of Ohio, the SE corner of Indiana, and the NW corner of Kentucky. Essentially, it's anywhere three states meet.

Each state has its own capital city. Ours in Ohio is Columbus. The capital is where all the state government business is conducted. Washington, DC, is the capital of the United States, and where all the federal government business is conducted.

Now I have a question. I am watching The Great British Bake Off (season 4), and it's the cake challenge. One of the contestants just said he'd never seen an angel food cake before. Surely that's an anomaly, right? Although, a lot of them are greasing their angel cake pans, which is a mistake.

Steff Thank you, the Tri State thing is so obvious now you have pointed it out! I suppose where I live would be considered that too as I live right on the border of 3 counties, so in the Tri County Area, or perhaps the Tri Shire Area :o

Is capital spelt capitol in the US? I spelt it that way as that is how it is in the books.