Different Words
 

I have just come back from a week on 'holiday' and have been corrected by a couple of colleagues for saying 'holiday' rather than 'vacation'. They have been a bit stumped when I have pointed out that we work for a company called 'P****** Holidays', not 'P****** Vacations'.

The other one that gets me is that you buy ground coriander, but fresh cilantro:huh:

Others stupid words please.

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Coriander is the seed.

Anyway, I know certain word variations are daft... but when in Rome, you'd speak Italian. We're in America so its best to speak "American" at times.

...

Re: Different Words
 

I'm American, so I always wondered about this difference between Holday and Vacation. In the UK, if Holday = Vacation, how do you specify that it's a real Holiday day (like Christmas Day), as opposed to a Vacation (just a normal day that you take off for fun)?

In American English, it's clear....Holidays are only a handful of specific dates on the calendar, while Vacations are any day throughout the year that you choose to not work.

How do you make that distinction in the UK if the only word you use is Holiday?

Rene

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Because for one of them you're pissed all by yourself, and for the other one your pissed but surrounded by people that you have thought about running over accidentally.

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In the UK we call most of the holiday days by their name, ie Good Friday, Easter Monday, May Day or alternatively Bank Holidays. Holidays are what you personally take off.

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Yes, I get confused when people say 'which is your favourite holiday'? etc. I can't quite get my head around Halloween' being a holiday, nobody I know gets Halloween off of work. Then Christmas is generally known as "the Holidays' why?

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Is it a new thing? The company I work for is 50 years old and in its name its 'Holidays' we don't arrange Christmas, we arrange trips to Hawaii.

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Gas and petrol is quite confusing, especially if cars running on gas become more popular.

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We call 'em by their names here too, because with a few exceptions, the dates always change, ;)

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Ah, I know who you work for, :)

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In my old job, we'd use the word "leave". Of course, that assumes that the distinction is only relevant in the context of employment.

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and of course we use that term too, in the military, :), but then I take a LWOP day every week.

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the holidays are usually called Bank holidays in the UK.
personal holidays are just holiday or annual leave.

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Hey there MsE' is it just me, or did you become a moderator while I wasn't looking? :thumbsup:

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you have to watch these quiet ones. I bow to her superior multitasking, bless her heart!!!! :eek::thumbsup:

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Yep, busy lady! good for you MsE...keep 'those' posters honest :rofl:

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my Man was talking about driving on the pavement, which confused the hell out of me until I realized He was calling the road the pavement... which er, in the UK means that bit on the side where people walk, which in the U.S is a sidewalk... which seems a much more sensible name :thumbsup:

other words we argue over... herbs vs 'erbs.... aluminIUM vs aluminum.... oh and the laughter over my 3yr old son pointing out a "bin lorry" in the street, neither word being understood when a garbage truck went by :)

Re: Different Words
 

Easy.

"Monday is a holiday!"
vs.
"I'm off on my holidays next week."

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Be careful of the Aluminum Aluminium one, both words were invented my an English Chemist!! So both are English words!!

http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/aluminium.htm

At the end of the day, who cares? Its irrelevant, the English use a lot of old words, that are not pronounced anything like they read, and so do Americans. Italians have different words too, as do the French, but most of us only speak one language, so cannot ask why? :rofl:

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"Keep death off the roads"

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Yeah I love that we have different words and it cause all sorts of laughter and confusion. I really do.
My wife always pisses herself when i mention my "dressing gown'. it does sound a bit ridiculous when you think about. Especially for a guy.

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Be careful not to make a fool of oneself over the Aluminium. Aluminum debate. Both English words, invented by an English Chemist!!

http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/aluminium.htm

Anyway, what does it matter what different words are used? How boring if everything was the same? I'm guessing in France, Italy and many other countries, they use different words to describe different things, good on em I say!! :thumbsup:

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Here in the United Kingdom a Vacation is strictly considered to be a medical term.....meaning the emptying of the bowels....a bowel movement in other words. Not a wholesome topic of convo admittedly but the American lady did ask.

Edinburgh has many American visitors to the city and I have been asked for directions to "the restroom"......I always think of a bedroom when I hear that word but I do know what Americans mean by it. Why do they call it a "rest" room? You just pop in there, do what you need to do, quick wash and dry and then it's out through the door again smartish...hardly a "rest" is it? As Judi Dench said in the film "Mrs Henderson Presents: "Americans...strange people but very polite!"

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:lol:
The first time an American asked me where the restroom was in London, I started directing them to a restaurant before a colleague intervened.

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underpants is the one that cracks me up when DH uses it. :lol:

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I've heard of evacuating your bowels or even an evacuation in that sense. Then that brings to mind refugees and that really, really doesn't bear thinking of. :blink:

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Aluminum is used a lot where I work - I've gone fully native on that

The double negative - "he didn't do nothing.." so he did do something?

The somewhat positive "I could care less" instead of "I couldn't care less"

the rest seems to be around the use of language

"I take it personal" - personally
"travel safe" - safely
"my son got bit" - bitten
"real good" - really

Sounds perfectly normal to me now, but when I was last in the UK and accidentally popped out a "real good", everyone looked at me as though I was retarded. Fortunately I just explained that I lived in the US and they seemed to accept it :D

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In medical speech here, I've always heard that referred to as an evacuation.

Damn, I should have kept reading and I would have seen Cindy already beat me to this!

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you should call them his thunder gruds..;)

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So is that a piss take fail or down the nose fail? :lol:

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As a former nurse's aide, I had a lot of experience with it. :blink:

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What about TP, I have heard it referred to in ads and in mags, and then the next thing is either murder or how to have an orgasm! why do Americans find it sooo had to say toilet paper? Mad,:rofl:
my boys 4 have the whole difference between restroom/bathroom sorted, me...where's the loo/toilet:D I just forget and don't get why you can have sex in the city and prudity???:unsure:

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26 years ago I started my first day in the US office amongst a bunch of people who really didn't want me there.

Working out my first set of complicated international fares with pencil and paper, I made a mistake...

...my second mistake was calling out if anyone had a rubber.

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Well the next time my bowels want a vacation I hope they don't ask me to pay for it.....this bowel vacation thing could start getting expensive:frown:

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Genius.

I often ask the wife to get me some rubbers and sharpies from her work.

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LOL, I'll never be able to use that word again without thinking of this! :rofl:

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Just finished my morning coffee, time for a vacation!

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Bill Bryson's "Made in America" is a great read for anyone interested in the American English vs British English debate. He points out that a lot of what Brits think of as Americanisms actually have their roots in 18th and 19th century Britain. In many cases it's British English that has changed, with the supposed Americanism being more true to the roots of the word or phrase. It's a bit of a geeky book, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

He also points out that many words in English have their root in another language. In French the word herb has a silent H. The T in fillet is also silent. American English has retained the French pronunciations whereas British English has altered them. If you are an American having an argument with a Brit about "herb" then ask them how they pronounce the word hour.

I agree with MrEmjoy, (as usual,) that it's only polite to learn the language of your new country, even if it's just a few new words or phrases. We should also enjoy the differences, but it's better to not be judgmental about it or claim any kind of 'original' ground.

My favorite difference is a subtle one, and doesn't necessarily always hold. The adverb "quite". In Britain it's a synonym for "somewhat." In America it's a synonym for "very." This makes for some fantastic misunderstandings, as in "you are quite pretty."

I'm suprised no-one has mentioned fanny yet.

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well "we" won't, it's the prude thing dontchaknow? :lol:

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We as Brits should definitely make an effort to adopt the dialect of the locals to fit in.... but then we'd miss out on the shrieks when we use a British-ism "Oh your accent is SO cute say something else say something else!"
:rolleyes: