robin1234

I expect GBS would have guffawed if he saw this headline in our local paper in New York State.

Rete

At least it didn't shout out "Village Mum On Toilet"

robin1234

In the US we have “mum” meaning chrysanthemum, but the main meaning of the word is “keeping silent.” I believe it means that in Britain too, but it’s probably not so beloved of headline writers in the UK as here …

Rete

From reading so many British novels, I was under the impression that "mum" was what you called your mother. If wrong, my apologies.

P.S. Aware of the meaning of mum in the US. Mum's the word!

robin1234

Well yeah, that’s the whole point of the thread!!

scrubbedexpat091

In BC people seem to say mum but then spell Mom, it confused the living daylights out of me when I first moved here, then you have my wife born and raised in BC where most say mum and spell mom, but say's mom like Americans do, but her brother says mum but spells it mom.

The weirdness of Canadian English a mix of UK and US with some Canadian stuff thrown in.

Not sure about schools, but in day to day life luckily for me its generally acceptable if US spelling is used, I try to add the extra and different letters to words spelled differently here but it takes some pretty conscious thinking and typing to use Cheque instead of check, centre vs center, defence vs defense etc

But then some words like tire are spelled the US way, and of course can vary a bit across the country, apparently Parkade isn't used everywhere in Canada.

robin1234

Just another weird one I’ve come across recently. Past tense of broadcast? I’ve noticed (in US sources) they’ll sometimes say (as an example) “The performance was broadcasted last Wednesday.”

That looks very odd to me. I didn’t look up the etymology, but I assume that “broadcast,” as in radio or TV content, is simply the same word as “cast” or “broadcast,” as in sowing seed by hand. I think the past tense is “cast” or “broadcast?”

I see there’s huge discussion online, people saying broadcasted is nonstandard but becoming an acceptable variant.

kimilseung

I am glad that you explained that to us. I was a tad confused.

Nutmegger

I have also heard “forecasted” in connection with the weather predictions, in a situation where I would just use forecast.

robin1234

well, here’s another version of the sentence even more confusing..
“Potsdam village mum on settlement amount with toilet garden impresario..”

My thought was that people unfamiliar with American usage might not know what “mum” meant in the sentence ..

Other stories have “flushed with success” “wiped out” etc. etc.

But months later, I can tell you that Hank Robar’s toilet gardens in Potsdam have expanded and appeared in several new locations.

Lion in Winter

lizzyq

One that always grates on my British ears is the US use of "normalcy" rather than "normality". Then I wonder if the US term is "abnormalcy" or "abnormality"? My US spell checker suggests the latter - in which case why two different endings?

robin1234

I think that originally “normalcy” was a rather precise technical term, meaning the state of being the norm. See this early instance of the word from the OED;

1857 C. Davies & W. G. Peck Math. Dict. 386 If we denote the co-ordinates of the point of contact, and normalcy, by x″ and y″. (OED)

Gradually, in American English, it entered common usage as a synonym for “normality.”

jandro

The British equivalent in this case could be "keeping shtum" although I think that's usually used when you want to remain silent to avoid trouble.

zzrmark

I could care less but if you talk to me about burglarizing the winningest coach you can expect a Glasgow kiss...