Differences between English and English (UK vs. US)

[mikeyw64]

Yes they cost more to erect and also take up more space but over here many roundabouts have proved to be very lucrative advertising spots

I’m a little late to this discussion, but here on the west coast, we have always called them “roundabouts”.  Officially, I think they’re called “traffic circles”.  They are popping up more and more often, but some folks still have a hard time getting used to them. (Especially the elderly).  I love them.

I suspected they were more efficient than four-way stops, but I also think they cause less wear and tear on your vehicle and save gas (or petrol) by having only to slow down rather than come to a complete stop and start again).  So roundabouts are a win-win. 

I think part of the problem for local governments in using them more is that they cost more money to build because they take up more space, resulting in more road material, rather than simply putting up stop signs and limit lines.

[Rhino]

on the bright side our gallon is still the correct size , 4.54 litres as  opposed to 3.78 for the US Gallon

I don't understand why you are still messing around with gallons and miles. I thought you were much smarter than us when it comes to imperial vs metric. Not sure what's worse, completely on the imperial system or having both.

[mikeyw64]

And since nobody has mentioned this yet,

Can we (Americans) please, for the love of God, follow suit with the rest of the world and SWITCH TO THE METRIC SYSTEM?  I mean, the English invented the English system and even they use the metric system?  Am I right???  Can I get an Amen??

Actually we use a mixture.

Food is sold in metric so is petrol (or gasoline) but distances on the roads are astill shown in miles and the count down markers to motorway turnoffs are in yards.

That said there are location boards every 500m on motorways giving your distance from the start of the motorway (and whichlane you are in A/B depending on direction) in kilometres.

Beer is still sold in pints in pubs although bottles & cans are metric

[B.D.F.]

Yeah, and a plumber asking for a 'torch' is not confusing?

:-)

On the 'gas' thing, yep, we get confused all the time. Sometimes someone's wife will say something such as 'I need gas', and the husband misunderstands her meaning.....

Brian

I know that but there is a potential for confusion

[B.D.F.]

No, I mean in some statements such as when Goldfinger is asked how much he wants and replies 'Ten millions' and similar. There are time when the word is used as the noun and it is pluralized in UK English; that is never done in the US when the subject itself is the world 'million'.

I would have to find a specific example to highlight the difference.

Brian

Nope, I would say "10 million tiddlywinks" however I would also use "millions of tiddlywinks" as an abstract.

Hmmm"flat", good question as to the origin, "apartment" is used in the more upmarket end (some might say pretentious) of the housing stock.

Ah it appears the word "flat" may come from the old english "flett" meaning floor and relates to the living accommodation being all on one level.


Why are "apartments" called that as they aren't "apart" from anything

[B.D.F.]

Yeah, the worst of all possible worlds- multiple systems all combined. 'Say, how many miles per liter does that vehicle get'?

And 'stones': what you use to reference a human's weight. I believe it is 14 pounds (not money pounds but weight pounds). But it is only used for people weighing, right? So let's see: if you bought some cable capable of use to 10,000 Newtons, then hang an elevator (lift) car from  it that weighs 2,000 kilograms, then fill it with 20 people who weigh an average of 18 stone (or is it 'stones')..... Good stuff! 

Brian

Actually we use a mixture.

Food is sold in metric so is petrol (or gasoline) but distances on the roads are astill shown in miles and the count down markers to motorway turnoffs are in yards.

That said there are location boards every 500m on motorways giving your distance from the start of the motorway (and whichlane you are in A/B depending on direction) in kilometres.

Beer is still sold in pints in pubs although bottles & cans are metric

[gPink]

Didn't NASA crash a lander into Mars because someone used the metric system and someone else didn't?

[just gone]

Well this seems to be the appropriate time, so I'm just going to throw a wrench into the works:


 

[VirginiaJim]

And since nobody has mentioned this yet,

Can we (Americans) please, for the love of God, follow suit with the rest of the world and SWITCH TO THE METRIC SYSTEM?  I mean, the English invented the English system and even they use the metric system?  Am I right???  Can I get an Amen??

No.

Well this seems to be the appropriate time, so I'm just going to throw a wrench into the works:


 

 

[VirginiaJim]

Yes they cost more to erect and also take up more space but over here many roundabouts have proved to be very lucrative advertising spots

Yes, that's just what we need with the idiot drivers over here.   They can't negotiate a circle and then have them try to read something at the same time.  Lovely.

[maxtog]

Yes, that's just what we need with the idiot drivers over here.   They can't negotiate a circle and then have them try to read something at the same time.  Lovely.

I like traffic circles.  Generally, you only have to just yield to your left when entering.   So you don't have to stop, and don't have to play the "4 way stop game" which is so annoying when it is busy.  It prevents cars from blowing straight through stop signs, a major cause of accidents.  They are also nice looking, and create a great place to put a monument or landscaping focus.  But traffic circles do take up a lot of space, their major downfall.

[VirginiaJim]

Just make them smaller.  It's not rocket science.

[smokin]

Here is a classic ,ZZ top in one of their songs sing "she has hair down to her fanny"
Different instantiations:
  Dictionary

fanny
fanny
ˈfani/Submit
noun
1.
BRITISH,AUSTRALIAN,vulgar slang
a woman's genitals.
2.
NORTH AMERICAN,informal
a person's buttocks.
verbBRITISHinformal

[mikeyw64]

Just make them smaller.  It's not rocket science.

We call them " mini roundabouts"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkWsVauzwTw

[maxtog]

We call them " mini roundabouts"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkWsVauzwTw

OK, those are almost silly looking.  On the painted one, most of the traffic going straight is not even swerving, much less driving in a circle.  Yet the rules still apply and it seems to act mostly like a traffic circle.  Still seems better than the dreaded 4-way stop.

[mikeyw64]

Ok a few more.

Rubbers: something we use to "rub" out mistakes made in pencil.

Faggots: traditionally made from pig's heart, liver and fatty belly meat or bacon minced together, with herbs added for flavouring and sometimes bread crumbs.

Up the duff: pregnant

And I'm sure all you guys can work this grouping out

Spending a penny/watering the daffodils/taking a whizz/having a slash

[B.D.F.]

President Nixon put us (the US) on 'a ten year plan' to go over to the metric system. Somehow I do not think that worked out quite yet.

Not really sure what the resistance is to the metric system in the US other than the usual 'everyone hates everything 'new' '. ?? At least the good news is that we have not done what our esteemed British colleges have done and partially adopted another measuring system and mixed it in with one already in use (and they keep doing that- anybody remember the Wentworth system? ?? ?? ??).

The metric system itself is neither here nor there but it does have two extremely useful aspects that the other systems seem to lack: 1) it is all divisible by 10, not a whole bunch of odd divisions (5280 feet in a mile, 3 feet in a yard, how many yards in a mile? How many in 5/8 of a mile?) and 2) it has only one unit system per measuring type. Meter for length, not inches, feet, yards, miles ad nauseum.

And as an added treat, the various systems cross pretty well in that cubic meter is 1,000 liters. Slick. Quick, how many fluid ounces in a cubic yard (get fresh batteries for your calculator.....).

Brian

And since nobody has mentioned this yet,

Can we (Americans) please, for the love of God, follow suit with the rest of the world and SWITCH TO THE METRIC SYSTEM?  I mean, the English invented the English system and even they use the metric system?  Am I right???  Can I get an Amen??

[B.D.F.]

Yeah, we call them erasers. But we also have a use for the word rubbers, which brings up an interesting question: in the UK, you could actually borrow a rubber, use it and return it to the person you borrowed it from? Would they take it (without 10' long tongs)? Can multiple people use the same rubber?

And on the dishes made with organs, which seem to be both plentiful as well as odd (steak and kidney pie..... not that must draw in a LOT of tourists). This too brings up a question: what do you Brits. do with the part of the animal we colonists call 'meat'? Cut it out of the way in order to get at the kidneys?

NOW this is getting fun! 

Brian

Ok a few more.

Rubbers: something we use to "rub" out mistakes made in pencil.

Faggots: traditionally made from pig's heart, liver and fatty belly meat or bacon minced together, with herbs added for flavouring and sometimes bread crumbs.

<snip>

[B.D.F.]

Nice Marty, throwing Mike off like that.

Mike- that is a picture of a spanner. There, saved your bacon Marty. 

Now the funny thing is that we have spanners in the US as well but they are not wrenches. They are used to tighten and loosen things, often things like gland nuts (Easy Boys!) and they come in two basic flavors: the outside 'hook' style used to grab onto notches cut into the periphery of a nut, and the true 'spanner' which has two protruding pins on the face of the tool that engage with holes in the edge of a round nut. The advantage of the later system is that no extra room around the nut is required to allow for a tool because the spanner grabs onto the face of the nut, not the outside. I have no idea in the world what 'our spanners' are called in the UK. ??

Brian

Well this seems to be the appropriate time, so I'm just going to throw a wrench into the works:


 

[B.D.F.]

Yeah, we already have really small traffic circles..... and we call them intersections.

Brian

Just make them smaller.  It's not rocket science.