Forum Home
PC World Chat
Thread ID: 148151	2019-08-18 05:40:00	It Used To Be - the American influence	Roscoe (6288)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
1463149	2019-08-22 00:30:00	Missed out "Touch base" Ken :);) 6. “Touch base”—it makes me cringe no end.	piroska (17583)
1463150	2019-08-22 06:22:00	38 of the Americanisms it seems the British public really can’t stand. 1. When people ask for something, I often hear: “Can I get a . . .” It infuriates me. It’s not New York. It’s not the ’90s. You’re not in Central Perk with the rest of the Friends. Really. 2. The next time someone tells you something is the “least worst option,” tell them that their most best option is learning grammar. 3. The phrase I’ve watched seep into the language (especially with broadcasters) is “two-time” and “three-time.” Have the words double, triple, etc., been totally lost? 4. Using 24/7 rather than “24 hours, 7 days a week” or even just plain “all day, every day.” 5. The one I can’t stand is “deplane,” meaning to disembark an aircraft, used in the phrase “you will be able to deplane momentarily.” 6. “Touch base”—it makes me cringe no end. 7. Is “physicality” a real word? 8. Transportation. What’s wrong with transport? 9. Does nobody celebrate a birthday any more, must we all “turn” 12 or 21 or 40? 10. What kind of word is “gotten”? It makes me shudder. 11. “I’m good” for “I’m well.” That’ll do for a start. 12. “Bangs” for a fringe of the hair. 13. Takeout rather than takeaway! 14. “A half hour” instead of “half an hour.” 15. A “heads up.” For example, as in a business meeting—Let’s do a “heads up” on this issue. I have never been sure of the meaning. 1 6. To put a list into alphabetical order is to “alphabetize it”—horrid! 17. People that say “my bad” after a mistake. I don’t know how anything could be as annoying or lazy as that. 18. “Normalcy” instead of “normality” really irritates me. 19. Eaterie. To use a prevalent phrase, oh my gaad! 20. I’m a Brit living in New York. The one that always gets me is the American need to use the word bi-weekly when fortnightly would suffice just fine. 21. I hate “alternate” for “alternative.” I don’t like this as they are two distinct words, both have distinct meanings and it’s useful to have both. Using “alternate” for “alternative” deprives us of a word. 22. “Hike” a price. Does that mean people who do that are hikers? No, hikers are ramblers! 23. Going forward? If I do I shall collide with my keyboard. 24. The most annoying Americanism is “a million and a half” when it is clearly one and a half million! A million and a half is 1,000,000.5, where one and a half million is 1,500,000. 25. “Reach out to” when the correct word is “ask.” For example: “I will reach out to Kevin and let you know if that timing is convenient.” Reach out? Is Kevin stuck in quicksand? Is he teetering on the edge of a cliff? Can’t we just ask him? 2 6. I hate the fact I now have to order a “regular Americano.” What ever happened to a medium-sized coffee? 27. My worst horror is expiration, as in “expiration date.” Whatever happened to expiry? 28. I am increasingly hearing the phrase “that’ll learn you”—when the English (and more correct) version was always “that’ll teach you.” What a ridiculous phrase! 29. I really hate the phrase “Where’s it at?” This is not more efficient or informative than “Where is it?” It just sounds grotesque and is immensely irritating. 30. My pet hate is “winningest,” used in the context “Michael Schumacher is the winningest driver of all time.” I can feel the rage rising even using it here. 31. My brother now uses the term “season” for a TV series. Hideous. 32. Having an “issue” instead of a “problem.” 33. I hear more and more people pronouncing the letter Z as “zee.” Not happy about it! 34. To “medal” instead of to win a medal. Sets my teeth on edge with a vengeance. 35. “I got it for free” is a pet hate. You got it “free” not “for free.” You don’t get something cheap and say you got it “for cheap” do you? 3 6. “Turn that off already.” Oh dear. 37. “I could care less” instead of “I couldn’t care less” has to be the worst. Opposite meaning of what they’re trying to say. 38. Dare I even mention the fanny pack? I quite agree with all you say about that. Thanks so much for posting.	Roscoe (6288)
1463151	2019-08-22 07:05:00	I think you're all off track! I've just returned from Aus and can tell you that after hours in the Brisbane and Auckland airports, you better start getting used to Asian language and dialects.	B.M. (505)
1 2 3 4