My neighbor, a few years back flew to England to visit his daughter who was going to school there. They were getting on the Sub-way and his daughter told him, “mind the gap dad”. He looked at her puzzled until she explained that he should take care not to trip where the car floor met the concrete floor of the station.
After two years there I happened to see her in a local store. She had picked up the slang and the accent so much I had a hard time understanding her.
Kind of like visiting Alabama. "Take that thar plars and cut that thar whar, whall I put on the new tars on my truck.
No offense to any Alabamiams!!!
When a Coke is any cola no matter whose label, Soda or Pop both refer to fizzy sugary drinks in different parts of the US and Fanta is generic for any fruit flavored soda fizzy drink in Europe. So avoid being a Hoser north of the border or a Tosser across the Atlantic!
Yeah, we all (or you-all -the plural of y’all) speak English but very different English. So if we knew every idiom for every English speaker, everything would be “Bob’s Your Uncle”!
A station wagon is what resorts in places like the Adirondacks sent to pick you and your luggage up at the train station in the days when train travel was the way for the well-to-do to travel. the name probably predates to automobile.
I have seen an MOT done on several episodes of the tv show Wheeler Dealers. It involves a white coated government inspector in a brightly lit state of the art facility. It is hard for me to imagine them misdiagnosing a bad wheel bearing.
That is because in MN, just like Buffalo NY and most points between a “pop” refered to soda pop and a ‘soda’ meant an ice cream soda.
About 8 years ago, a lunch takout restaurant opened in Buffalo. It was run by people from NY City-400 miles away.
They insisted they didn’t carry pop, they only sold soda (which is the term used in NYC) It is not smart to irritate the locals. They closed in less than a year.
Many years before that, a very fancy restaurant from NYC opened a branch in Buffalo. The headwaiter didn’t seat people even though they had reservations, waiting for them to grease his palm. The Buffalonians didn’t pay and didn’t wait, they just went someplace else and they never went back.
We used to have fun with the guy across the hall at school who was from NY. He actually adapted pretty well to the South Dakota dialect. In fact after school he became a local TV announcer. He still had trouble with sneakers though. But after all we explained what else would you wear playing tennis except tennis shoes? He’s the guy that would drive his VW from NY to SD following a couple feet behind semi trailers to save fuel and claimed he didn’t have to steer either.
In London, a “subway” is actually just a below-grade passageway to allow people to cross some of the very busy streets. The trains that run underground are called…The Underground.
A lot of Americans have become very perplexed by following signs directly them to the “subway”, only to find that it is only a short pedestrian tunnel under the street, and that it didn’t lead them to any kind of train. Until they catch on that they need to look for signs directing them to “the Underground”, they sometimes wander around in confusion.
I would disagree that a “soda” in Buffalo is an ice cream soda. I went to school in Buffalo and lived there many years. When I first moved there I was in a restaurant with friends and ordered a soda. I received a club soda. I had to learn to order a Diet Coke (or Pepsi) instead of a soda. I also confused the people at Dunkin Donuts when I ordered a “regular coffee”. In NYC that would be a coffee with cream and sugar. At DD in Buffalo it just confused them completely. The joys of language!!!
The one that confused me the most when I moved to New England was Milk Shake. A Chocolate Milk Shake is just Milk and Chocolate syrup - then shaken up. You have to order a Frappe if you want Ice-Cream.
Years ago I stayed in a hostel in London. The person in charge (called the warden) asked the female leader of a group: “What time shall I knock you up in the morning?”
If you think all this is confusing, try ordering an Egg Cream when you are in NYC. It has neither eggs nor cream and is a drink that contains milk, seltzer and chocolate syrup. And it won’t fix a bad wheel bearing (trying to stay on topic here).
I spose ring you up would be better than knocking on the door. But would they use the “tele” or would they be watching the “tele”? db reminded me that its “take away” and not to go which I suppose makes some sense since you take away your food. Then of course everywhere you go its mind your head or mind your step but I never saw a sign that said mind your mom/mum or mummy.
While we are having some fun at other’s expense, lets not forget what a great war leader Churchill was. “You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.”
I hate to say this because it seems the majority of poster’s in this topic have gotten on-board the European vs American conversation…but isn’t there a moderator on this site who might say the discussion has become completely off topic? Bing, I replied this to you because you were the first person to mention the language barrier without adding anything to the op discussion. Ironically, I have nothing to add to the op’s question either. Mostly because the answers are already covered and in part because I am aware, by this point noller has likely already made the repair to his/her vehicle.
But yes, it’s either a ball joint or a wheel baring. It’s not the tie-rod as someone previously mentioned. A loose tie-rod wouldn’t make the wheel itself move around. The ball joints, when in proper condition, will keep the wheel sturdy. You can feel that at the steering wheel, not the wheel itself. If the person who diagnosed the car, did so with the wheel still on the vehicle, it’s also possible there were loose lug nuts. Also unlikely, though. Nodder, you can buy a pre-packed hub/baring assembly online if there aren’t any part stores near you who sell such parts.
A ranch in Australia is called a station. A large property in the UK is called an estate. It seems English English and American English are not the only ones at odds.
Decades ago I watched Benny Hill and Monty Python. Many times I would have appreciated sub titles. I had to learn English automotive English when maintaining/repairing my British automobiles. When putting on new tars in Alabama did they also change the all? I have visited all Southern states except South Carolina and had no language problems. Three times to Alabama. The only anomaly was Rocket City (Huntsville) Northern and Dothan Southeastern could have culturally been separate planets. There was a fellow Army basic trainee from rural Kentucky who was unintelligible. Even to his fellow Kentuckians.
