tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post2235870046883730656..comments2024-03-16T00:21:43.240+00:00Comments on Separated by a Common Language: The third 'Untranslatables' month summarylynneguisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-21926463305038855702014-04-10T22:32:11.662+01:002014-04-10T22:32:11.662+01:00Massachusetts-
I'm pretty sure fancy in "...Massachusetts-<br /><br />I'm pretty sure fancy in "footloose and fancy-free" actually refers to ideas, thoughts or imaginings, as in "flights of fancy" or more clearly "fancy that!"<br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02138260302522477243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-56316769066345197572014-02-06T08:36:29.424+00:002014-02-06T08:36:29.424+00:00May I (BrE) propose another untranslatable? "...May I (BrE) propose another untranslatable? "Cut" in the sense of "muscular and having low-body fat" (I think) - it might also contain an element of "nice to look at" and I wonder if it is only/usually applied to males. For example the dopey female sidekick in the first Thor film says "You know, for a crazy homeless person he [Thor] is kinda cut..."<br />Apologies if you've done this before. I'm quite new to your blog and haven't read all of it!wisobnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-54501237424979050702014-01-04T21:49:04.993+00:002014-01-04T21:49:04.993+00:00I grew up in Texas and have spent time in various ...I grew up in Texas and have spent time in various other places since then (mostly the South, but elsewhere as well). I have heard "howdy" used in most of these places, fairly commonly in Texas and among mountain folk -- not all of whom are "unsophisticated" or "uneducated." Language variation has often been perceived as indicating these negative qualities in the speaker (witness for another example the attitudes of some English persons, and even some Scots, towards speakers of the Broad Scots language), but isn't it past time for such prejudice to disappear into the past?<br />Liviana (SuccubaSuprema)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07191032294285487395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-39914255376162967752014-01-04T16:40:04.566+00:002014-01-04T16:40:04.566+00:00As an AmE speaker from the western US, I don't...As an AmE speaker from the western US, I don't perceive "howdy" to be a part of everyday language. For me it's an outdated dialectical expression. I could use it for effect, but I'd definitely be laughing. In my mind I'd be hearing Minnie Pearl, a long-time performer at the Grand Old Opry in Nashville, Tennessee, who had a great time spoofing her unsophisticated, uneducated country roots. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjX1LpSow_gPWnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-63671270806791335622013-12-31T01:06:37.888+00:002013-12-31T01:06:37.888+00:00I, in the UK, have heard and used 'furlough... I, in the UK, have heard and used 'furlough' in a very specific but related sense for missionaries who are spending time back in their home country. I'm pretty sure US missionaries use it in a similar sense. Depending on the particular circumstances, it may or may not be paid leave, but it is always temporary.Roshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02669423378438380019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-7138296455254696842013-12-22T22:36:42.373+00:002013-12-22T22:36:42.373+00:00I am familiar with all but one of the Americanisms...I am familiar with all but one of the Americanisms, but: <br /><br />I am surprised to learn "buyer's remorse" is AmE; I would have classified it as academic jargon (albeit somewhat popularised) rather than dialect-specific. <br /><br />I had an inadequate understanding of "kicking the can down the road", which I inferred meant "delaying making a painful decision" without any necessity for a short-term fix in the meantime.<br /><br />The one AmE term I don't remember ever having encountered at all is "run interference". My knowledge of American football is minimal; what I thought was "interference" is apparently <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pass_interference" rel="nofollow">"pass interference"</a>, which is illegal, whereas the metaphor of "run interference" is apparently a legal action, and indeed the primary role of most players.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-38020007346421361722013-12-18T09:56:05.620+00:002013-12-18T09:56:05.620+00:00On a Tuesday National Public Radio story about fig...On a Tuesday National Public Radio story about fighting HIV in Africa, a South African doctor is speaking about how the government there once denied that the virus was the cause of AIDS: "It was a really tragic time. The Minister of Health, the President, the whole Cabinet were just "<b>running interference</b>".<br /><br />So the expression has made its way to English speakers worldwide, but its US meaning - intervening in some way to distract in an attempt to clear the way for someone else - is sometimes lost. Here it seems the doctor meant to imply direct interference with health care workers by a misguided government.Peter Morknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-82543390975331323912013-12-12T14:49:13.576+00:002013-12-12T14:49:13.576+00:00In the U.S. we generally refer to 'gardening l...In the U.S. we generally refer to 'gardening leave' as 'administrative leave', i.e. paid leave for a specific business or administrative purpose but with the expectation that the person placed on such leave MAY eventually return to work. For example, most U.S. police forces have a policy of automatically placing an officer on administrative leave if they are involved in a shooting, and they remain on admin leave until the investigation of the shooting is completed and the officer exonerated or terminated.Bill_the_Ponyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17881970907104408474noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-48617513587456015622013-12-11T23:34:25.996+00:002013-12-11T23:34:25.996+00:00'Gardening leave' is paid. So it sounds as...'Gardening leave' is paid. So it sounds as though it isn't quite the same as furlough. <br /><br />The essence of gardening leave is that the person is not working but is under restraint from going to join a competitor. There's a widespread belief (which usually turns out to be correct) that if an organisation sacks someone, rather than they leave of their own accord, the organisation can't then restrain them under any covenant that stops them working for someone else and taking their contacts etc with them. But if they are still employed and being paid, even though not actually doing anything, they can still be required to serve the employer's interests.<br /><br />If a person is laid off, and not paid, then if they find other work during the period of lay off, good luck to them. They also can't be required to come back if they don't want to or have meanwhile found something they prefer.Drunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-64929671452278806882013-12-11T16:51:49.783+00:002013-12-11T16:51:49.783+00:00I am familiar with both 'cheek' and 'c...I am familiar with both 'cheek' and 'cheeky' from years of growing up reading British literature (Winne-the-Pooh, Dr. Doolittle, etc.) but even now it sounds ineffably British to my AmE West-Coast ear. I've heard both 'plead the fifth' and 'take the fifth' all my life, though the latter is often the start of a pun around acquiring a bottle of whisk(e)y, i.e. the 'fifth of a gallon' that used to be the standard size of a hard liquor bottle.Bill_the_Ponyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17881970907104408474noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-29182896318508983212013-12-10T18:53:35.404+00:002013-12-10T18:53:35.404+00:00"Curate's egg" definitely implies so..."Curate's egg" definitely implies something that's mostly bad, but "good in parts" (and those two phrases in quotation marks are closely associated). It also implies an effort being made to find and appreciate whatever tiny flecks of good there might be.<br /><br />Without context, I would take "mixed bag" to mean a miscellany of any kind. It doesn't necessarily imply a mixture of good and bad aspects of the same thing.<br /><br />I only think of "furlough" in terms of US armed forces on leave. Is its more general application to the workforce something new?<br /><br />An approximate BrE translation of "furlough" might be "gardening leave", although this is usually restricted to politicians and civil servants. It's involuntary time off work, either as punishment or while an investigation or the like is conducted.Robbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13817438530048331339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-7778693719782357662013-12-10T14:13:07.519+00:002013-12-10T14:13:07.519+00:00Scott Wood
Many, quite possibly most of us who ha...Scott Wood<br /><br />Many, quite possibly most of us who habitually use the expression <i>a curate's egg</i> are aware of that cartoon as we say it. Although parts of the thing were <i>'excellent'</i>, it was unquestionably a bad egg. It took <i>'true humility'</i> to find any merit in it.David Crosbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01858358459416955921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-27928140197386640522013-12-10T08:03:17.316+00:002013-12-10T08:03:17.316+00:00The wikipedia article on "curate's egg&qu...The wikipedia article on "curate's egg" says, "Some authorities define it as something that is an indeterminate mix of good and bad and others say it implies a preponderance of bad qualities."<br /><br />The relevant definiton of "mixed bag" on urbandictionary.com is "Paradoxical or contradictory. Has both good and bad aspects and/or sides, but the bad may or does outweigh the good."<br /><br />While I'd hesitate to call urbandictionary.com an "authority", the above matches my sense of the idiom.Scott Woodnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-38573645174528709952013-12-09T16:42:14.091+00:002013-12-09T16:42:14.091+00:00As an American, I've never heard "to take...<i>As an American, I've never heard "to take the Fifth"; I know the expression as "to plead the Fifth."</i><br /><br />A somewhat random counterexample: the <a href="http://faculty.fmcc.suny.edu/mcdarby/pages/buffylyrics.htm" rel="nofollow">closing lines</a> from <i>I'll Never Tell</i> from the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.Ginger Yellowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06103410278129312943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-91457882044323612292013-12-09T03:11:44.765+00:002013-12-09T03:11:44.765+00:00Anonymous
That's "Hello sweetie".
...Anonymous<br /><br /><i>That's "Hello sweetie".</i><br /><br />So it is! I did actually check that by the simple test of googling, but managed to find someone who'd made the same mistake.<br /><br />I could only guess what the radio show <i>Hello Cheeky</i> was like. I must have been living outside Britain when it was on.David Crosbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01858358459416955921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-74427707632755381192013-12-09T02:56:07.434+00:002013-12-09T02:56:07.434+00:00@David Crosbie:
"endearing as in Hello cheeky...@David Crosbie:<br />"endearing as in Hello cheeky! (River Song's regular loving greeting to Doctor Who)"<br /><br />That's "Hello sweetie".<br /><br />Hello Cheeky, on the other hand, was a popular light entertainment Radio 4 comedy programme (as I'm sure many of us remember well) with many well-known comedy names such as Garden and Brooke-Taylor. Its tone was indeed cheeky in the grand tradition of British innuendo. "Your round". "Maybe I am, but I'm a whole heap of fun". Ah they don't write 'em like that any more.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-6669564914233185912013-12-08T11:27:00.215+00:002013-12-08T11:27:00.215+00:00Scott Wood
For me at least, a mixed bag presents ...Scott Wood<br /><br />For me at least, a <i>mixed bag</i> presents a rough balance of good and bad. A <i>curate's egg</i> is predominately bad. Follow the link to the Wikipedia entry and the cartoon which created the phrase.David Crosbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01858358459416955921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-3035195200139027242013-12-08T02:35:58.311+00:002013-12-08T02:35:58.311+00:00Wouldn't "a mixed bag" work as an Am...Wouldn't "a mixed bag" work as an AmE equivalent of "the curate's egg"?Scott Woodnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-64942727373914021402013-12-07T23:47:58.096+00:002013-12-07T23:47:58.096+00:00I (American from above) agree with Brett. I under...I (American from above) agree with Brett. I understand what "cheeky" means but certainly deem it a Briticism. That being said, I think the term is widely known. There is a bar down the street (here in Denver) that serves only Belgian beer. It's called the 'Cheeky Monk'. The name plays off the Trappist (monk brewed) style of Belgian beer as well as the hopelessly British sounding phrase (to American ears that is) of cheeky monkey.<br /><br />Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12319942981396129418noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-34509780680782046402013-12-07T23:15:13.548+00:002013-12-07T23:15:13.548+00:00As an American, I know for a fact that I learned a...As an American, I know for a fact that I learned about the British sense of "cheek" from Doctor Who. The Doctor uses it at the beginning of The Invasion of Time, and K9 doesn't understand what he means. Neither did I, so I looked it up in a dictionary.<br /><br />"Spring from prison" sounds completely unremarkable to me. I would say that it does not necessarily imply that the person escapes, merely that they get out unexpected, which could be managed entirely through legal means.Bretthttp://unrealisticdialogue.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-72936024143612672002013-12-07T22:45:10.092+00:002013-12-07T22:45:10.092+00:00@Dru,
I (Western American - early 40s) have never...@Dru,<br /><br />I (Western American - early 40s) have never heard "to spring" used as a transitive verb to mean "escape from prison" (what's an example? It sounds like it should have an intransitive use). For me, the transitive use of "to spring" means to surprise - as in "I have just sprung the news on her."<br /><br />@Brits in general,<br />For me, there is a distinction among furlough, lay-off, and fire. A furlough is always a temporary lay-off. To lay-off is the most general - but tends towards the permanent. Lay-offs are also often regulated by state laws. To fire is to get rid of an employee for personal reasons. A person who is furloughed or laid-off can receive unemployment benefits, while a person who is fired cannotMatthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12319942981396129418noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-8271383984681438332013-12-07T22:17:37.237+00:002013-12-07T22:17:37.237+00:00This comment has been removed by the author.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12319942981396129418noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-60198197597417704852013-12-07T22:14:39.770+00:002013-12-07T22:14:39.770+00:00"Chugger" in AmE would have the sense of..."Chugger" in AmE would have the sense of "one who imbibes a beverage rapidly, as beer or milk", from the verb 'to chug', if it were to be used as a neologism. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-35857645801438007852013-12-07T14:01:38.294+00:002013-12-07T14:01:38.294+00:00Dru
One entry in Michael Taft's Blues Concord...Dru<br /><br />One entry in Michael Taft's Blues Concordance. From <i>Dying Pickpocket Blues</i> record by Nolan Walsh in 1929. <br /><br />The eponymous prisoner is in the New York City Workhouse and sends a message to <br /><br /><i>my friend back in Cincy, although I know she will feel blue<br /> ...<br />Although she has been a real pal : and she answers to all my calls<br /> I've ruined her health : trying to spring me from this vault</i>David Crosbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01858358459416955921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-17275984765039151652013-12-07T13:40:52.747+00:002013-12-07T13:40:52.747+00:00I (English 60+) have never encountered 'run in...I (English 60+) have never encountered 'run interference' and would not have been able to guess from context what it meant. I've also never encountered 'to eyeball' with the meaning 'estimate' The idiomatic use of 'eyeball' to me means 'to go head to head with someone aggressively' as in 'eyeball to eyeball'.<br /><br />I'd also guessed 'kick the can down the road' wrongly, to mean 'to make a noise in a yobby fashion and waste time without getting anywhere'.<br /><br />I have heard of pleading 'the fifth' via a friend who is an expert in comparative constitutions. <br /><br />Incidentally, does US English use 'to spring' as a transitive verb in the sense of enabling someone else to escape from prison?Drunoreply@blogger.com