tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post4327548627848970086..comments2024-03-16T00:21:43.240+00:00Comments on Separated by a Common Language: milk teeth and baby teethlynneguisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-60176839232361576632011-07-25T00:08:25.458+01:002011-07-25T00:08:25.458+01:00Continuing with Boris' and Rachael's comme...Continuing with Boris' and Rachael's comments, I can confirm that also in Uruguay (by the way, we have just won the soccer/football Copa America championship for the 15th time!) it is "dientes de leche",(milk teeth) and applied mostly to people (as in "humans"). <br /><br />On another note, it is interesting to see the various shifts in meaning experienced by the innocent term "people", from the merely descriptive, to the excluding-other-communities-one (as in "Americans" or "Brits"), to the somewhat-offensive (as in "you people")...Nelida Kreerhttp://www.traducciones-montevideo.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-38053702677727801752011-07-21T20:24:37.988+01:002011-07-21T20:24:37.988+01:00Apparently it's milk teeth in Spanish too, at ...Apparently it's milk teeth in Spanish too, at least in El Salvador. Some students taught me that term last year...dientes de leche. I thought it was quite funny. I'd only ever heard baby teeth before that. I had no idea that's what they say in England.Rachaelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-53446696619036647052011-07-20T09:19:52.688+01:002011-07-20T09:19:52.688+01:00I always thought of "milk teeth" as the ...I always thought of "milk teeth" as the more technical term, but the everyday term has always been "baby teeth." For both humans and animals, unless I'm in conversation with a dentist or vet.Juliehttp://www.julieannmaahs.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-20027281941855298782011-07-18T18:43:52.373+01:002011-07-18T18:43:52.373+01:00khunbaobao-
£1 really isn't much, you can'...khunbaobao-<br /><br />£1 really isn't much, you can't even buy a chocolate bar and a can of drink for that, much less a toy or a bag of crack.Solonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-32079788327503805162011-07-18T17:17:47.811+01:002011-07-18T17:17:47.811+01:00An interesting thing about knowing two languages i...An interesting thing about knowing two languages is the "wait, this expression exists in language X too?" moment. For me, language X is usually Russian because I only actively spoke Russian outside the home as a child and therefore never learned the more adult (in a non-sexual way) expressions, but "milk teeth" just gave me one of those in reverse. "Milk teeth" is a verbatim translation of what Russians call them. Yet, I've never heard it used in the US.Boris Zakharinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16560756640621720539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-37344733470270595482011-07-18T16:13:59.773+01:002011-07-18T16:13:59.773+01:00While I appreciate your comment [Reading about how...While I appreciate your comment [Reading about how much money the tooth fairy tends to leave these days has left me depressed and fearful for a completely spoil(ed/t) generation.] I think the advent of cell phones, iPods and designer clothes in elementary school point to it being a bit late for that! Entertaining blog, thank you. This is my first comment.khunbaobaohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15658046085295050474noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-15145632987803385642011-07-18T14:12:17.628+01:002011-07-18T14:12:17.628+01:00In 1950s England I had loose teeth, and when they ...In 1950s England I had loose teeth, and when they came out I got 6d from "the fairies". I didn't hear of a specialist "tooth fairy" until much later. Perhaps that came from having a middle-aged mum who repeated what she had heard forty-odd years earlier?<br /><br />Kate (Derby, UK)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-19503548046246742382011-07-18T07:23:48.980+01:002011-07-18T07:23:48.980+01:00Wiggly is the word of choice around here too (Cali...Wiggly is the word of choice around here too (California).pussrebootshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02167235847991793325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-65005400559968259462011-07-18T07:12:36.677+01:002011-07-18T07:12:36.677+01:00They were always baby teeth for me (Am). Animals ...They were always baby teeth for me (Am). Animals had milk teeth. And they were loose, not wobbly. Maybe wiggly.<br />And what of wisdom teeth? Any differences there? <br />My son never put his teach under his pillow for the tooth fairy. He decided to bank them, and collect at some later point. Am a bit nervous about what the final bill will be when he decides to do that, what with compounding interest. He's twenty now.catnaphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00031329272992613813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-65283656743281925982011-07-18T04:07:41.472+01:002011-07-18T04:07:41.472+01:00Having just been to the dentist here in California...Having just been to the dentist here in California with my two children. The literature given to me about their teeth uses the term "milk teeth" but the dentist used the term "baby teeth" when speaking about them.pussrebootshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02167235847991793325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-34743061469555127212011-07-18T00:23:19.503+01:002011-07-18T00:23:19.503+01:00Tom Stoppard nailed this use of 'people' i...Tom Stoppard nailed this use of 'people' in <i>Night & Day</i>. Two hacks are talking about the Vietnam War:<br /><br />GUTHRIE: Do you know how many people were killed in that war?<br />WAGNER: Not exactly.<br />GUTHRIE: Fifty-four.<br />WAGNER: Oh. People.<br />GUTHRIE: And eighteen missing.David Crosbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01858358459416955921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-31259240779801862762011-07-18T00:21:36.095+01:002011-07-18T00:21:36.095+01:00This comment has been removed by the author.David Crosbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01858358459416955921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-78150282752057175432011-07-17T16:04:52.873+01:002011-07-17T16:04:52.873+01:00Of course I can't lay my hands on any of the e...Of course I can't lay my hands on any of the examples I've seen down the years, but I think American media are just as guilty of saying 'people', when they mean 'Americans' as British media are of using 'people' to mean 'Brits'. I suspect most print media still haven't got used to the fact that they are consumed internationally these days.<br /><br />As for milk/baby teeth, although I (British, in my 50s) understand 'milk teeth', I think I normally use 'baby teeth'. As others have said, the going rate was 6d when I was that age. I don't know the current rate, though I do have a nephew who's the right age. Must ask my brother some time.RWMGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04271851970303022440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-79355470386576231772011-07-17T16:04:35.768+01:002011-07-17T16:04:35.768+01:00Lynne, Mia
Would you have felt even a flicker ann...Lynne, Mia<br /><br />Would you have felt even a flicker annyance if Matthew Englel had written <i>"Why do some Americanisms irritate <b>folk?"</b></i>David Crosbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01858358459416955921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-13596829669246491202011-07-17T15:20:50.629+01:002011-07-17T15:20:50.629+01:00When my brothers and I lost our (AmE) baby teeth, ...When my brothers and I lost our (AmE) baby teeth, we got $1 per tooth. This was in the late '90s.<br /><br />And about that BBC article...What's with the whole "Americanisms irritate <i>people</i>" thing? What, exactly, does Engle think Americans are? Daleks? Something less than human? I'm sorry, that's the most irritating part of that article.Mianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-47947095768575544642011-07-17T14:03:00.098+01:002011-07-17T14:03:00.098+01:00Because of the weight of American media, the Engli...Because of the weight of American media, the English get more American words, phrases, et al; but we get plenty from England, too, not just from public television and NPR. Lately, I've noted "sacked" for "fired" a lot - without going into it, the list is really quite a long one. But yes, that BBC story was absolute nonsense.Marc Leavittnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-47715115323783150632011-07-17T13:19:31.648+01:002011-07-17T13:19:31.648+01:00My first though, when I saw the title of your post...My first though, when I saw the title of your post, was "Surely Grover isn't old enough to be losing her milk teeth yet?"!<br /><br />I, as a child, got 6d (2.5 p) per tooth, as was the custom then; my daughter got 20p. I don't know what the going rate is today, but I'm sure my grandson will find out when he reaches that stage. Right now, though, he only has 6 milk teeth, so that's still some years away! <br /><br />My family always put the tooth on a saucer under an upturned glass, so the tooth fairy was less likely to disturb the child when making the transaction. One of my friends, though, didn't have a tooth fairy at all, but Mr Mouse left a chocolate under his pillow in recompense for the tooth, which I thought (although luckily was too tactful to say) was very unfair!Mrs Redboots (Annabel Smyth)https://www.blogger.com/profile/11270027663691257254noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-35496264688494725102011-07-17T04:32:54.107+01:002011-07-17T04:32:54.107+01:00Well my first tooth gardnered a (double the going ...Well my first tooth gardnered a (double the going average) respectable £2, aaaall the way back in 1994, and the subsequent front teeth £1 each. Canines[AmE- eyeteeth?] and premolars were not deemed acceptable.<br /><br />I expect children today take direct transfers or Amazon vouchers in lieu of any coinage of large enough value.<br /><br />P.S. Arwel- a Mars bar costs 65p.Solohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09740368155249391858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-14250564476729771762011-07-17T02:19:56.025+01:002011-07-17T02:19:56.025+01:00My daughter gets a $1 US coin. She's 7. Earlie...My daughter gets a $1 US coin. She's 7. Earlier on, we gave her stuff such as pencils and crayons, but the public school network got us off that.Roger Owen Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05298172138307632062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-87043962522439176412011-07-17T00:59:58.790+01:002011-07-17T00:59:58.790+01:00Out of interest, what is the tooth fairy's goi...Out of interest, what is the tooth fairy's going rate these days? In my day it was 6d (2.5p), probably because it was the smallest silver coin in circulation. Considering that this was the price of two Mars bars I suppose it's 50p or even £1 now...arwelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18182394262693605482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-45167478172169029512011-07-16T22:58:53.646+01:002011-07-16T22:58:53.646+01:00I still hate the dentist who when I was a student ...I still hate the dentist who when I was a student (before x-rays) whipped out three baby teeth saying that grown- up teeth would come through. They never did and I still have the gaps...fredbloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02149107753127167063noreply@blogger.com