Americans vs Brits

[WeirdHandDryers]

What’s the difference? Because there is a massive difference but I can’t put my finger on what it is! I love America so this isn’t an American bashing thread, would just love to know if anyone else sees the massive difference between the average Brit and the average American?

I've a friend who live in Texas , it takes 24 hours to drive across it

Is that how far it is from Tulsa?

Well swearing is Anglo Saxon so I imagine that is why Americans are unfamiliar with it

Of course they're not, they've invented so many euphemisms to be able 'not to swear' and make themselves feel superior, ass is my favourite. They don't talk about titbits, they have tidbits.
We've spent a lot of time in the States and generally love the place, we've met some wonderful people but I generally feel that the veneer of hyper politeness is just that, a veneer, as long as you go along with them they're polite but once you go off-piste it cracks.
We were in a queue for something or other here and an American was arguing with the desk, everything they disliked was 'But in America that's not a problem!' 'But in America we do it this way!' and eventually someone pointed out that she wasn't in America.
I recall in 1992 listening to a report on the Olympic 100m, an American had won the silver and by the end of the piece we knew everything about him except his inside leg measurement, as it was finishing someone mumbled 'The gold was won by Britain's Linford Christie'.

they've invented so many euphemisms to be able 'not to swear' and make themselves feel superior, ass is my favourite.
But they say fanny in polite company

I know it's a cliche but in my experience Americans really are a lot more open about expressing their emotions than the repressed Brits :p Take the Thanksgiving tradition of everyone declaring something their thankful for. To me it seems a bit performative and cringey but tbh we'd probably all be happier if we were more willing to talk about our feelings.

I think Americans are also more likely to sing their own praises in a way that might seem boastful to a Brit, but to them it's just confident communication.

British people love moaning and they don't say what they mean
Americans seem to have more belief in things in general whether it be their country, institutions, work etc. (rightly or wrongly)

The brits like an understatement. the americans like a BIG statement.

the british can use an affectionate insult and do often, there is no such thing in america

I think americans are polite, pretty loud but then the british can be loud as well depending on the group

we're all about the booze wheras the americans have more of a clean living type attitude.

americans are confident and imo generally good communicators. the british are more reserved.

americans are more likely to freely express emotion wheras we can't think of anything worse than laying it all out (mostly)

i think there are a lot more subtitles in the english language and subtleties in society in general than in american society in terms of social class. I think americans have crafted their country to be logical wheras we have many quirks which don't make too much sense.

and they hold 'world international' sports competitions which only they are entered in hahaha

We're a nation of cynics, there's a kind of pride and belief in their country which we do not have which i think we could benefit from a at times.

british humour is more sophisticated than american humour imo

It's like chalk and cheese. Every nation have their own nuances. How can you compare? I am pretty sure there are good and bad points of both nationalities.

Delusion and pharmaceuticals, not necessarily in that order.

onthenaughtystepagain

Well swearing is Anglo Saxon so I imagine that is why Americans are unfamiliar with it

Of course they're not...

I was being facetious.

Oh my goodness, they have a thing called a fanny bag and they refer to trousers as pants! Cringe

Self deprecation is often a form of humour in the UK - for the benefit of those among us who think it indicates a lack of confidence.

I assume you all know that "fanny" in the US does not mean what it does in the UK.

We certainly do. That’s the point.

We certainly do. That’s the point.

Well, I was wondering, considering the vast amount of ignorance about the US and Americans that is displayed on this thread by some posters. And then there is the outright Xenophobia expressed by others, as well.

Well, I was wondering, considering the vast amount of ignorance about the US and Americans that is displayed on this thread by some posters. And then there is the outright Xenophobia expressed by others, as well

To be fair senecafalls at least half of it has come from silentisla.

I'm sure these posters wouldn't be so amused if these comments were directed at Brits and would be a lot more defensive.

Medicaid, CHIP and various state programs provide cheap or free braces for children from low income families.

This is only true when orthodontic treatment is medically necessary, i.e. a cross-bite is causing pain, headache etc. or the teeth are so malaligned that chewing is negatively impacted. State-funded orthodontia is not covered for aesthetic purposes.

These threads always make me feel a little defensive as an American who loves MN and so much about the UK. It always feels a bit like really, underneath, I'm not so welcome.

DoubleNegative I agree .

It's not very 'underneath'. Did you see the comment about Americans having no class or style?

Honestly, the anti American comments that are allowed to stand on mn are shocking. Any other country and it would be deleted and the poster warned.

Methinks it smells a little of jealousy in some cases.

Americans are so easy to wind up. When in Mexico I love joining in some of the pool games (esp water polo/volleyball with all the Americans playing spectacularly bad laughing and alternating the phrases, never mind, it’s only a games, it’s theyaking part that counts. I’m sure I’ve seen steam rising from the pool😀😀😀

Agree with the lack of manners in the US. No pleases or thank you.
I lived over there for a while and they would just push in front of me in a queue. Then they’d get served as the staff clearly don’t get the whole queuing thing.

Also agree the whole
‘Have a nice day’ is fake and false.

Was happy to come back to the UK.

It always feels a bit like really, underneath, I'm not so welcome.

As an American, I like to think that I have developed a thick skin in the many years that I have been on MN, but yes, I feel that way sometimes myself.

And of course, most Americans who are on here are here because of some association with or appreciation of the UK. But threads like these do draw out some people who obviously really dislike Americans and get some kind of pleasure from making nasty comments. Also some of the comments display willful cultural ignorance; defining acceptable behavior according to one's own national norms is the very definition of insular, ironically an accusation often leveled at Americans but displayed in abundance by some of the (I assume) British posters on this thread.

Once again I would like to say that there are some very ignorant British people on this thread. Speaking as a Brit.

A lot of the comments gleefully putting down Americans are driven by chippiness and tall poppy syndrome.

As a born and bred Londoner, I see the same type of comments aimed at my home town and I think it comes from a place of inferiority complex. For example, there will be threads full of people slagging off London which are left to stand. I find some of them hurtful e.g. apparently all Londoners are ruder than everyone else, London is dirty and stinks, everyone’s stabbing each other, we’re somehow responsible for all the bad things in the country, we’re greedy and money obsessed etc. However, if people from London started a thread slagging off any other town, they would be destroyed.

Many Americans don’t really think about Britain day to day, it’s pretty insignificant to them, whereas we hear about the US every day so it’s not a surprise that some Brits will be resentful of Americans whilst Americans don’t think about us. Same goes for Londoners and smaller UK towns.

Some people from smaller places sometimes feel the need to take down the top dog a peg or two to make themselves feel better. I wouldn’t let it worry you.