tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post5113548748732597435..comments2024-03-16T00:21:43.240+00:00Comments on Separated by a Common Language: catching up and catching breakslynneguisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-19827060555497616082017-02-01T12:08:15.833+00:002017-02-01T12:08:15.833+00:00Deleted now, thanks!Deleted now, thanks!lynneguisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-50994536034019806332017-02-01T11:29:51.791+00:002017-02-01T11:29:51.791+00:00This is so weird. The first comment, by Roger Owen...This is so weird. The first comment, by Roger Owen Green on 12 March, was repeated 14 days later, word for word, character for character, same line spacing, by Tiang Antrian, a name that links to an Indonesian manufacturer of stainless steel items. Is this a variation on the ploy of commercial entities posting random comments on blogs etc, or liking Instagram and Facebook posts, in the hope that people will click through the name and become customers? Copy the first comment and paste it under your own name. Looks like that's one piece of spam you not only missed, Lynne, but even replied to!KeithDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10451059429340892054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-91626231255542558252015-08-19T17:28:12.695+01:002015-08-19T17:28:12.695+01:00I've wondered the same thing. When surfing, yo...I've wondered the same thing. When surfing, you want to catch the wave just as it breaks, and ride the open face in front of the break. Most time spent surfing is waiting to catch that perfect break. Given the term appears to have originated during the height of the California surfer rock era, it seems like an extremely plausible origin to me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-3534679881109218412012-03-26T11:53:52.910+01:002012-03-26T11:53:52.910+01:00Parenting has inspired my Facebooking. That I keep...Parenting has inspired my Facebooking. That I keep up-to-date. It's the public and more academic stuff that is harder to keep up with!lynneguisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-87938497755120088622012-03-21T19:57:57.738+00:002012-03-21T19:57:57.738+00:00As it was I who raised the "berm turning"...As it was I who raised the "berm turning" question in the first place, I'd better explain what it finally turned out to mean. (First seen by me, by the way, outside Columbus airport in Ohio.)<br /><br />It seems that in Ohio "berm" is the local term for the shoulder of the road (what we call the "hard shoulder" in BrE). Now, at many traffic lights you are allowed to make a right turn "against the red". However, this doesn't mean you can sneak onto the shoulder (berm) to pass standing traffic and then make your turn. That is what the "No turn from berm" sign is reminding drivers.<br /><br />I did a quick google and found this: <br /><br />"(Ohio,) not only did you enchant me with your rolling hills, roadside cliffs and fall foliage, you made me laugh with your drive-thru ammo shops, your moonshine festival, your signs I didn't understand ("Caution: Pier Ahead" and "No Turn From Berm") and the random oil wells in otherwise normally landscaped front yards."<br /><br />Phew: I didn't just dream it, then. Still not too sure about "Caution: pier ahead", though...Kevinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10718209592445394736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-5769421235279371132012-03-21T19:54:04.638+00:002012-03-21T19:54:04.638+00:00This comment has been removed by the author.Kevinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10718209592445394736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-67562543286247381652012-03-21T19:48:43.182+00:002012-03-21T19:48:43.182+00:00This comment has been removed by the author.Kevinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10718209592445394736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-35563011736670649502012-03-19T22:48:46.520+00:002012-03-19T22:48:46.520+00:00As an AmE speaker, I can assure you that "No ...As an AmE speaker, I can assure you that "No turn from berm" is definitely regional, and not from any U.S. region I've lived or driven in. One could probably do an entire article on the obscure phrasings emerging from the convoluted minds of the bureaucrats responsible for creating road safety signs. In the states of Oregon and Washington, for example, a sign to warn of a sharp drop-off at the margin of the pavement would read "Abrupt Edge", whereas in the state of California, they seem to favor "No Shoulder". And a truly bizarre wording we've discovered since moving to Washington state is a sign attempting to warn the the visibility ahead is limited due to a sharp rise or dip in the road reading "Impaired Sight Distance".<br /><br />But back to the original "berm turning" question, the only context I can provide is that in some places, there is often a slightly raised section separating lanes of opposite-direction traffic. Normally that would indicate an absolute barrier, i.e. thou shalt not cross, not for turns, not for nothin'! In at least one state, Illinois, it is generally permissable to actually drive over such a barrier in order to turn into a driveway across the oncoming lanes of traffic, or to join your direction of traffic from a side driveway (assuming your vehicle's shocks and suspension are up to such abuse). At least so I was assured by an Illinois friend who blithely bumped and rattle across just such a barrier to make a turn. If a barrier like that were called a "berm" in highway-bureaucrat-speak, then it would stand to reason that they would need to post such a sign in places where berm-crossing was not permitted.Bill_the_Ponyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17881970907104408474noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-44426715805443358652012-03-19T14:25:59.460+00:002012-03-19T14:25:59.460+00:00What does "No turn from berm" mean pleas...What does "No turn from berm" mean please? I've tried googling it, and can't find it. There's apparently a word 'berm' which I've never met before which seems to mean some sort of a bank or possibly a baulk. But that doesn't appear to be the sort of thing you can or can't 'turn from'. It is meaningless to this Br-Eng speaker.Drunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-21464359924182436982012-03-19T12:38:18.744+00:002012-03-19T12:38:18.744+00:00Mrs Redboots: "And if I don't run, I'...Mrs Redboots: <i>"And if I don't run, I'll never be caught up at work!"</i><br /><br />No, that doesn't work for me (BrE, 50s) - to "be caught up at work" means unable to get away. To "catch up at work" means to complete all the tasks that need doing, which is what I assume Mrs R meant.Terryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01703548364118364764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-30336482936246657102012-03-17T15:52:17.801+00:002012-03-17T15:52:17.801+00:00Anonymous
Outside of driving contexts, there'...Anonymous<br /><br /><i>Outside of driving contexts, there's greater flexibility in the meaning of the word. </i><br /><br />I think the problem is that <i>pass</i> is just <b>too</b> flexible for many of us. All the meanings discussed so far are probably available in all English speaking regions — provided that they are clear from the context. <br /><br />In Britain and some other regions when it a question of going past something in order to get faster to the same destination, then we <b>might</b> use <i>pass</i> if that meaning was obvious. But usually it isn't, so we don't.<br /><br />In America, you've <b>formalised</b> that use to the point where it's the <b>default</b> meaning of <i>passing</i> -- just as in Australia they've formalised the 'in opposite directions' use.David Crosbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01858358459416955921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-77379023119550996812012-03-15T23:52:15.218+00:002012-03-15T23:52:15.218+00:00I can't think of a single instance in which I&...<i>I can't think of a single instance in which I'd say "get a break".</i> I wrote earlier. But to be honest -- now that David has pointed out that it's possible to take the words at no more than their face value -- of course I can think of lots!<br /><br />-- We have to be there from 8 till 1, although we do get a break, usually around 10.30.<br />-- There's always new stuff to do: I never seem to get a break.<br />etc. etc.<br /><br />Although there's a general underlying idea here of being allowed to stop work for a short interval, I do see now that I was being blinded by trying to find an idiom of the same order as "get a grip" / "get a life"...! Thanks, David.Kevinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10718209592445394736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-29758767087608382922012-03-15T20:05:42.535+00:002012-03-15T20:05:42.535+00:00I'm American, and I don't completely agree...I'm American, and I don't completely agree with what others have said. I agree that "pass" is usually equivalent to "overtake," but if I say that I live on a street that is just wide enough for two cars to pass (each other), I mean that there is just enough room for two cars going in opposite directions to get past each other, not that there is just enough room for one car to overtake another. I know it's not completely analogous to the other examples in that the subject is "two cars" rather than "one/a/the car," but I thought it was worth pointing out. <br /><br />Outside of driving contexts, there's greater flexibility in the meaning of the word. If I say that I passed someone on the sidewalk, I could have been going in either the same direction as or opposite direction from him or her.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-45267668425263590422012-03-14T12:21:50.168+00:002012-03-14T12:21:50.168+00:00My first instinct was to agree with Kevin that get...My first instinct was to agree with Kevin that <i>get a break</i> doesn't exist. I think the reason is that it really doesn't exist <b><i>as an idiom</i></b>.<br /><br />• <i>get</i> has one of its normal non-figurative meanings 'obtain' 'receive'.<br />• <i>break</i> has one of its recent but established meanings 'chance' — or alternatively 'pause'<br /><br />The meaning is simply the sum of the parts. <br />• if you obtains a chance, you <i>get a break</i><br />• If your employer allows you a new pause in your working day, you <i>get a break</i>.<br />Nothing idiomatic.David Crosbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01858358459416955921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-15577005104923154672012-03-14T11:56:21.981+00:002012-03-14T11:56:21.981+00:00Kevin: there are 88 'got a break's in the ...Kevin: there are 88 'got a break's in the Corpus of American English. Not all of them in the 'chance' sense, but many are. E.g. on National Public Radio: 'McDonald's got a break yesterday when Judge Robert Sweet dismissed the...' There are over 3 million google hits for the phrase 'I just can't get a break'. <br /><br />The British Natl Corpus doesn't have so many for 'get' a break, but it's over 20 years old, so not very good for informal English, which changes fast. The fact that a native speaker was calling it the BrE version is a better indication in that case.lynneguisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-2475544403061998532012-03-14T11:16:45.409+00:002012-03-14T11:16:45.409+00:00I've made some changes to the Passing lane ent...I've made some changes to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passing_lane" rel="nofollow">Passing lane</a> entry cited by jb. Looking up the official road rules of Britain, Ireland and Australia, I discovered:<br /><br />• All of them use <i>overtaking</i> when one vehicle passes another going in the same direction and they then both continue in the same direction.<br /><br />• In Australia only, <i>passing </i>is used when two cars driving in opposite directions meet and then continue without changing direction.<br /><br />• In Britain, <i>passing</i> is used when a car in a segregated lane — for example a lane dedicated to cars turning left — passes a car in another segregated lane. The <i>Highway Code</i> warns drivers intending to carry straight on to be aware of the possibility of vehicles <i>passing</i> on either side.<br /><br />I have no documentation, but my feeling is that we also speak of cars <i>passing </i> when they arrive at a crossroads from different directions and then each turn right (the equivalent of turning left in America) across the paths of the other.<br /><br />For English outside North America, I think the simple rule is to use <i>overtake</i> of any motion (including walking) if the two movers are on the same trajectory. If they are on different trajectories, or if one is stationary, then use <i>pass</i>.David Crosbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01858358459416955921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-87555891218438323522012-03-14T11:09:16.478+00:002012-03-14T11:09:16.478+00:00This comment has been removed by the author.David Crosbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01858358459416955921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-10387907366972087022012-03-14T03:00:52.977+00:002012-03-14T03:00:52.977+00:00@Ø:
Speaking of overtaking, AmE does not have so ...@Ø:<br /><br /><i>Speaking of overtaking, AmE does not have so much use for that word. Here cars pass other cars going the same direction. My impression is that in BrE passing on the road is something you do only to cars going in the opposite direction.</i><br /><br />Regarding that trans-Atlantic distinction, I thoroughly agree.<br /><br />(Apologies if I've said this here before: it's a bit of a hobby-horse of mine)<br /><br />In BrE you <b>pass</b> something that is either fixed in position, or at least coming the other way; you <b>overtake</b> something already moving in the same direction as yourself.<br /><br />I remember, on my first visit to the United States, being mystified as to why, time and time again, the driver of the car in which I was travelling kept passing "DO NOT PASS" signs.<br /><br />It did eventually dawn on me that "do not pass" meant "no overtaking".<br /><br />Mind you, I did have to ASK before the meaning of "No turn from berm" became clear to me ...and it seems that that is a regionalism the meaning of which is not clear even to many Americans.Kevinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-44402501287642532712012-03-14T02:44:07.424+00:002012-03-14T02:44:07.424+00:00>> Get a break is not so much BrE as general...>> <i>Get a break is not so much BrE as general English.</i> <<<br /><br />Not so much BrE (or even general English), I'd say, as outright non-English.<br /><br />I can't think of a single instance in which I'd say "get a break". Should I be getting out more?Kevinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-23435762283237743902012-03-13T20:47:24.635+00:002012-03-13T20:47:24.635+00:00Though I live and work in Edinburgh, I am very fam...Though I live and work in Edinburgh, I am very familiar with the [AME] "bring me up to speed / tell me what I need to know / dish the dirt" sense of "catch [me] up". It's perfectly common business-speak in my line of work (IT in the Finance Industry), though perhaps it is no coincidence that IT and Finance are both disciplines with strong transatlantic connections.<br /><br />I suppose an alternative explanation for me being familiar with the [AME] sense of “catch up” is that I spend way too much time on watching the near-constant re-runs of the “The Big Bang Theory” on E4 (despite Dr Sheldon Cooper being way too close to the mark when you work in IT and have two autistic children!)Joe1959noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-60480441722072282562012-03-13T19:18:16.377+00:002012-03-13T19:18:16.377+00:00Definitely agreeing with "cars pass other car...Definitely agreeing with "cars pass other cars going the same direction" comment. The left most lane (remember we drive on the right) is even called "the passing lane", and slower moving vehicles generally stay in the right lane: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passing_lanejbnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-6616411481900336072012-03-13T12:17:19.290+00:002012-03-13T12:17:19.290+00:00ø
Speaking only for myself, I would use pass only...ø<br /><br />Speaking only for myself, I would use <i>pass</i> only for stationary cars. I would simply <i>see</i> cars going in the opposite direction — or <i>meet</i> them.David Crosbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01858358459416955921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-51626469028999457052012-03-13T12:14:56.080+00:002012-03-13T12:14:56.080+00:00This comment has been removed by the author.David Crosbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01858358459416955921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-17028980267410132832012-03-13T00:56:22.978+00:002012-03-13T00:56:22.978+00:00Speaking of overtaking, AmE does not have so much ...Speaking of overtaking, AmE does not have so much use for that word. Here cars pass other cars going the same direction. My impression is that in BrE passing on the road is something you do only to cars going in the opposite direction.Øhttp://voidplay.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-73460053372975449512012-03-12T16:23:59.258+00:002012-03-12T16:23:59.258+00:00Is "give me a break" itself AmE as well?...Is "give me a break" itself AmE as well? I always thought of that jingle as referring to that set phrase which usually means "you've got to be kidding me" and not "give me something good for a change". Of course then there is no connection with the kit-kat being something good, but I always thought it's just meaningless wordplay.Boris Zakharinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16560756640621720539noreply@blogger.com