'Holidays' came about as part of milquetoasty Political Correctness and marketing.  Merchants tried to call Christmas 'Xmas' decades ago but it never caught on.  Some schools are afraid to call Easter, Easter so they call it 'Egg'.  It all makes you want to pound your head against the wall.

>go ahead and

You guys say "doesn't it?" a lot.  A speaker will assert a point and then say "doesn't it?" at the end of it  like he needs confirmation -- I guess it is used mostly when trying to make a point.  I hear it a lot in interviews.

Examples:
Says it all, doesn't it?
it makes you sick, doesn't it?

A few years ago, Matchbox 20 released a single called Bent, with a chorus that started:

"Can you help me I'm bent"

Apparently no one from the record company bothered to mention that in the UK 'bent' is well-known, and slightly derogatory, slang for 'gay'. Needless to say it didn't pick up much radio play.

Quotein the UK 'bent' is well-known, and slightly derogatory, slang for 'gay'.

Which brings us to smoking.

Seriously.  When you say you're going out to "have a fag" I have to bite my tongue to keep from saying

"Hey.  Two or more consenting adults *hand up* whatever."

No fags? Smerky tabs or Benson & Hedgehogs it is then.

QuoteI've never understood why Brits sometimes drop the "H" on other "h-starting words" but not on "herbs"...?

Words that originate from French and have a silent 'h' there, usually have the silent 'h' in English too - ditto the use of 'an' or 'a' before a word beginning with 'h'.


I am really in conflict with myself on English usage and grammar - part of me wants to go round 'slapping' correct English into ignorant strangers in the supermarket - the other part is all too well aware that one of its strengths is that it is a living language, and if enough people use it 'wrong' in the same way, it becomes right.

One thing I am sure about, English people who use that total 'upper class' invention known as 'received pronunciation' should be chained to the radiator in my local Holts pub for as long as it takes for the locals to kick it out of them.

How about once and twice (UK english) versus one time and two times (US english)

A two time in the UK is not good!

> have a fag

and smoking a fag.

> all right

I've confused a few young Canadians with this, 'yeah' being the unsure reply.

'Mad' is another one. In North America...someone who's mad is just annoyed. In the UK, it means they should be in an institution.

"I am not saying they are inbred, but there was def a greater chance of it happening there than in the city!

For the record, the town was also my idea of heaven"

>You guys say "doesn't it?" a lot

Or use "yer".
DaveN is notorious for ending every sentence with yer. "You just need 10 links to rank that sites, yer?"
Gets me every time and I have to constrain myself not to say yes every time. It's as if you want me to reassure you that you're right.

Kind of like when the US guys say "you know" (which they do a lot)

To me, US english is a lot easier to understand and speak. Just comes a lot more natural to me that the british english.

Think I got some redneck blood Dras?

I think Redneck is part of of Viking DNA, yer?

Heard this on British show on TV: "Sod off!"

Americans only know of sod as in "poor sod" but that used rarely and sod like rolls of lawn grass.

>>DaveN

I get a kick out of Dave on the podcasts, but I have a hard time understanding what he is saying, somehow accent and slang combine to make him hard to understand.

>somehow accent and slang combine to make him hard to understand.

Add in a few drinks and he might as well be speaking Arabic. Sure is entertaining though!

>Redneck is part of of Viking DNA, yer?

Think yer right.

>>Sure is entertaining though!

Yer. 

Love it when he gets on a roll about something.