tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post6688270476013476886..comments2024-03-16T00:21:43.240+00:00Comments on Separated by a Common Language: strikes and prying in the Grauniadlynneguisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-50398198070801310732007-05-15T13:57:00.000+01:002007-05-15T13:57:00.000+01:00This has made me think of words or phrases that me...This has made me think of words or phrases that mean opposite things in BrEng and AmEng. <BR/><BR/>I remember when being in the US once, I was talking to someone who had just got their cancer results. <BR/><BR/>They told me that they'd "lucked out". I, responded with lots of sympathy. They looked at me very oddly. <BR/><BR/>In England, whilst "lucked out" itself is not a phrase we say that we are "in luck" so I assumed he was talking about being out of luck.<BR/><BR/>Needless to say, we were both happy when we worked out the confusion.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-25885551344964045052007-05-15T10:33:00.000+01:002007-05-15T10:33:00.000+01:00New York is the cheapest place to fly in the State...New York is the cheapest place to fly in the States, typically, because there's lots of competition as well as continuing flights from other parts of the world. <BR/><BR/>Before Christmas, which is to say back when the pound was worth <I>only</I> $1.90, the Guardian did a comparison that figured in flights, hotel, import duty, etc. and came to the conclusion that it was worth it if you spent above a certain amount and bought certain kinds of things (for which the difference was greatest--I think iPods were one such thing).<BR/><BR/>But it must also be remembered that the British travel much more readily than Americans anyhow. Besides the encouragement of the exchange rate and the desire for better weather, most Brits have 6 weeks of holiday/vacation per year, as opposed to the American norm of 2. A lot of people are going because they heart NY and shopping offers a great excuse to go.lynneguisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-26012318744139637262007-05-15T07:36:00.000+01:002007-05-15T07:36:00.000+01:00Is it really cheaper for British people to fly to ...Is it really cheaper for British people to fly to New York to shop than it is to buy the same amount of things at a local store? Or is it just the "thrill" of shopping in a place like New York? Airfare must not be very expensive.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-28893778643454982622007-05-15T00:32:00.000+01:002007-05-15T00:32:00.000+01:00Yes, Joel, crow-bar is good BrE. I don't know pry...Yes, Joel, <I>crow-bar</I> is good BrE. I don't know <I>pry-bar</I>, but would certainly understand it if I heard it. <BR/><BR/>An informal BrE word for a small crow-bar is <I><B>jemmy</B></I>, but in AmE, this is usually <I><B>jimmy</B></I> (OED says it's also used in some BrE dialects). <I><B>James</I></B> is another word for the same thing--a bit tongue-in-cheek, I think. I've not heard this in AmE--nor in its natural habitat in BrE. I just know it as a Scrabble word. My friend the Postman and I have verbal duels in which I have to say a male name that is also a common noun for every female name he says. Oh, the fun we have.lynneguisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-71425294972686252152007-05-14T11:22:00.000+01:002007-05-14T11:22:00.000+01:00That should be a "plaintiff", of course. I guess r...That should be a "plaintiff", of course. I guess reading the Grauniad is rubbing off on me.<BR/><BR/>Ginger YellowGinger Yellowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06103410278129312943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-40241578234762961002007-05-14T11:21:00.000+01:002007-05-14T11:21:00.000+01:00"Because of the vagaries of British Libel law, its..."Because of the vagaries of British Libel law, its lawyers advised it not to use the real names of institutions that could sue it for libel."<BR/><BR/>I very much doubt that is true. Under British libel law, as long as the defamee is identifiable (as "The Grauniad" or "The Daily Hellograph" surely are), then a plaintee can claim libel.<BR/>It's more likely to be just an extension of the Eye's widespread use of silly nicknames for people and institutions.<BR/><BR/><BR/>The Guide is great. Beyond the TV listings, there's the inimitable Charlie Brooker, the film listings, usually at least one decent feature and all the previews. Disclaimer: a friend of mine writes for it now and then.Ginger Yellowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06103410278129312943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-6997530734879533932007-05-14T10:50:00.000+01:002007-05-14T10:50:00.000+01:00I guess that would explain why OED doesn't have an...I guess that would explain why OED doesn't have an entry for 'pry-bar'(an alternate term for 'crow-bar' in my usage). Is 'crow-bar' standard in BrE?Joel A. Shaverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13245999265015451845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-41236939925159638502007-05-12T23:31:00.000+01:002007-05-12T23:31:00.000+01:00Glad to hear you weren't intending to insult me, D...Glad to hear you weren't intending to insult me, David! Safire and I don't see eye-to-eye politically, but also his linguistic proclamations are often problematic. Not that mine aren't, but...you know...professional pride. He's an amateur!<BR/><BR/>I must make an apology to Better Half, who's reminded me that he regularly reads more than just the Guide...he reads the Family section religiously because he's addicted to the Living with Teenagers column. I try not to take that as a commentary on what it's like to live with me. He has been seen to read other sections too. Poor BH, I abuse him so...lynneguisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-3181245133975854602007-05-12T20:07:00.000+01:002007-05-12T20:07:00.000+01:00'The Grauniad' comes from 'Private Eye'. Because o...'The Grauniad' comes from 'Private Eye'. Because of the vagaries of British Libel law, its lawyers advised it not to use the real names of institutions that could sue it for libel.<BR/><BR/>'The Torygraph' is another Private Eye name. 'The Vicar' is another one.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05952564820382472228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-34184528406802624362007-05-12T17:28:00.000+01:002007-05-12T17:28:00.000+01:00"the only section that I can bear not to read is t..."the only section that I can bear not to read is the sport(s) section": dear lady, that's the only bit of the Darniuga that tends to get its facts right. As for "strike": it might just be a botched attempt to use an Americanism. You must hear those quite often?deariemehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06654632450454559188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-26333212795155323122007-05-12T15:53:00.000+01:002007-05-12T15:53:00.000+01:00I'm no angler, but my first thought was fishing; '...I'm no angler, but my first thought was fishing; 'strike'(AmE, at least) is the jerk when you've hooked one, I believe.Janhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03173219179480606941noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-81460964192228918892007-05-12T14:46:00.000+01:002007-05-12T14:46:00.000+01:00I suspect you are referring to political differenc...I suspect you are referring to political differences rather than linguistic. Or maybe it's a generational thing. But no insult intended, nor imagined. I have known people who bought the Sunday Times simply to read his column in the magazine. People who were not the least bit sympathetic to his politics. <BR/><BR/>But perhaps there are unfavorable comparisons that I don't know about. If so, I'll take it all back!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-73821737827760670272007-05-12T11:31:00.000+01:002007-05-12T11:31:00.000+01:00P.S. Am I the only person for whom Bloglines is ha...P.S. Am I the only person for whom Bloglines is having a problem with this blog? (Any idea what could be wrong? The other Blogger blogs on my Bloglines are not having troubles. I even tried changing the feed...no good.)lynneguisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-56585642061881820002007-05-12T11:29:00.000+01:002007-05-12T11:29:00.000+01:00Like zhoen, I would naturally use pry in contexts ...Like zhoen, I would naturally use <I>pry</I> in contexts like <I>pry the lid off (of) a paint <B>can</B></I> (BrE <B><I>tin</B></I> or <I><B>pot</B></I>). I believe I have used <I>prise</I>, but would only do so in a particularly hard-or-delicate-to-pry/prise situation.<BR/><BR/>The_sybil: I hadn't even thought of the (BrE <B>ten-pin</B>) <B>bowling</B> meaning, but of course you're right! I think that the baseball meaning is more entrenched as an exclamation. The umpire stands behind the <B>batter</B> (which in cricket would be a <B>bats[wo]man</B>) and yells <I>Strike!</I> or <I>Strike one/two/three!</I> when the occasion arises. This is sometimes, and stereotypically, stretched out to <I>Stee-rike!</I> Googling 'stee-rike', I get 555 hits and about three times that many for 'steerike', indicating that this pronunciation is fairly well recogni{s/z}ed as needing its own spelling.<BR/><BR/>David, are you trying to insult me with the comparison to Safire? (You may have succeeded!)lynneguisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-48545327735725988862007-05-12T06:37:00.000+01:002007-05-12T06:37:00.000+01:00Why does this post remind me of William Safire? Ne...Why does this post remind me of William Safire? New York, baseball, the weekly paper, and an interesting tale?<BR/><BR/>Strike, in its variants, is such a potentially confusing word!<BR/><BR/>Incidentals: I'm surprised to see that the entry in my 1973 SOED covers almost one and a half pages. What does that length tell us, and what words have longer entries? <BR/><BR/>Not-so-incidentals: striking out could be confusing in some contexts; strike seems to have contradictory meanings that go well beyond international differences in use: striking a deal is not the same as striking for a better deal. One might mean agreement while the other might mean disagreement. Similarly, struck off, meaning remove, contrasts with stroke, as in leaving a mark.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-31792863592690249372007-05-12T05:54:00.000+01:002007-05-12T05:54:00.000+01:00From my BrE standpoint I'd assumed that the "strik...From my BrE standpoint I'd assumed that the "strike" reference in that <I>Graunaid</I> article referred to ten pin bowling, where a "strike" is when you knock down all ten skittles at once.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-77958334062355324112007-05-12T04:37:00.000+01:002007-05-12T04:37:00.000+01:00strike out: one can do this on one's own, but you ...strike out: one can do this on one's own, but you can also do it with a member of the opposite sex. The later seems to use the baseball origin, but the former? Is it a bit like strike up a conversation and are these related to strike oil?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-27451976294871679172007-05-12T02:54:00.000+01:002007-05-12T02:54:00.000+01:00I don't think I've ever used prise. Know it, don...I don't think I've ever used prise. Know it, don't use it, don't hear it used. (Am/E)Zhoenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03515663141425057088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-91073593050361931402007-05-12T02:14:00.000+01:002007-05-12T02:14:00.000+01:00Thanks for clarifying that, Lynne.I certainly agre...Thanks for clarifying that, Lynne.<BR/><BR/>I certainly agree about the misinformation in the UD <I>Grauniad</I> entry. I believe the good old <B>Manchester</B> Guardian had a reputation for excellence, but standards began to slip when the paper was moved from Manchester to wherever it's based now (some town down south, quite close to Brighton, I understand).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com