deanb Posted December 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2011 Thomas the Tank Engine is narrated by Ringo Starr. About as British as they come. (though the newer CGI remake, of which Fireman Sam has also had, is Canadian made) btw we ended up watching some Postman Pat yesterday to amuse the wee ones and dad n stepmum were trying to work out if it was a new episode or not. Turns out you can tell cos he's not got "Royal Mail" on his van anymore. They felt he didn't "suit their corporate image". No wonder their profits have fallen every year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Battra92 Posted December 30, 2011 Report Share Posted December 30, 2011 (edited) Thomas the Tank Engine is narrated by Ringo Starr. About as British as they come. (though the newer CGI remake, of which Fireman Sam has also had, is Canadian made) The Railway series was one of my favorite book series and TV shows as a kid. My wife's 3 year old cousin is really into Thomas and on Christmas I helped him set up his new Thomas trains. I can still watch the old Ringo Star episodes but the new ones seem more infantile than the original (maybe it's the lack of railway terms or maybe it's nostalgia, I don't know ...) What surprises me a bit as I get older is how British children's literature could be rather dark at times. For example in the books (never was made into a TV version) an engine called Godred was "put in the back of the shed and got smaller and smaller" (they took his parts to mend the other engines) This all segues into more English vs English American -------------British Railway----------------Railroad RR Switch-------------Points Tie---------------------Sleeper (the wooden things under the rails) Caboose--------------Brake Van Conductor------------Guard Add/Cut---------------Couple / Uncouple Dispatcher------------Controller Freight car------------Truck / Goods Wagon Subway----------------Underground Trolley / Streetcar---Tram or LRV and for fun ... Quay (pronounced key) Wharf. I think this was the first British word I came across that neither I nor my parents knew and I had to look it up in the dictionary. Edited December 30, 2011 by Battra92 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted December 30, 2011 Report Share Posted December 30, 2011 I don't know about technical rail usage, but as far as common usage goes I'd agree with all of those except that around here we would say railroad instead of railway and couple/uncouple instead of add/cut. Also: Trolley / Streetcar---Tram or LRV That's not an LRV! THIS is an LRV! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Battra92 Posted December 30, 2011 Report Share Posted December 30, 2011 I don't know about technical rail usage, but as far as common usage goes I'd agree with all of those except that around here we would say railroad instead of railway and couple/uncouple instead of add/cut. Whoops, got that one backwards. ;; Railway in UK, Railroad in US. LRV also means Light Rail vehicle. Add and Cut might be antiquated terms but back when I was a rail nut I was really into steam so things may have changed since then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted December 30, 2011 Report Share Posted December 30, 2011 Yeah, with the LRV thing I was just making a (bad) joke. And there's plenty of differences in dialect across the US, so the cut/add thing could very well be regional. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted January 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2012 00:13 - Dean [PXOD]: fuck that's the worst version of Auld Lang Syne I've heard in a while 00:13 - Dean [PXOD]: btw do you do that in America? 00:13 - Let It Shibbs: do what? 00:14 - Dean [PXOD]: Do you have Auld Lang Syne? 00:14 - Let It Shibbs googles 00:14 - Chronixal: dean, no one but the scots know the lyrics to that =p 00:14 - Jaylew: I'm going to say no, because I had to Google it 00:14 - Jaylew: And I see Shibbs did too 00:14 - Dean [PXOD]: mmhmmmhmm,mmhmmhmm, AND AULD LANGS SYNE!!.mmhmmmmhmmmmjhmm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Battra92 Posted January 1, 2012 Report Share Posted January 1, 2012 My family always knew the lyrics but that's because my grandmother was a big fan of Guy Lombardo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuchikoma Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 So, while the Irish here have managed to keep them under wraps, Tenshi posted a Rubberbandits video the other day, and now I'm left wondering something... What is a "bag of Yorks?" or am I mishearing it? I tried Wiktionary and Urban Dictionary and neither can suggest a meaning for "yorks." Could this be the American candy? Or maybe something related to Yorkshire? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hot Heart Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 It is 'bag of yokes', but sounds like 'yorks' because of the Irish accent. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MasterDex Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 Hot Heart has it right. The Rubberbandits have some entertaining stuff. If you ever wondered what the Irish equivalent of a chav was then the Rubberbandits would give ya a good idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuchikoma Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 @ Hot Heart: AH! Now I also get ! Thanks. I searched for an answer, and I kept finding people who thought it must mean the York patties, but I had to wonder if they were even sold there and why you'd have a bag full... (but then... they're very silly, so...) @MasterDex: That's funny... even though we don't exactly have "chavs" here, that was still the term I was thinking of after watching them for a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MasterDex Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 We tend to use the term knacker to describe them. It's still used here as a derogatory term for travellers/itinerants/gypsies but it's been getting more common to use it in reference to a lower-class, urban troublemaker. Another term for them would be a skanger with the ang sound as in Bang. Oh and the morning after you've taking a few yokes, you'll probably be skagging, which is to say you're coming down off them and feel like shit. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunFlame Posted January 3, 2012 Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 Knacker? That's like bollocks/balls. Or something can be knackered, as it, it's in bad shape/worn out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted January 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 If it's knackered it's broken yes. And you can kick someone in the knackers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hot Heart Posted January 3, 2012 Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 Hmm, this brings a whole new meaning to 'knick knack paddywhack, give a dog a bone' 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MasterDex Posted January 3, 2012 Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 In the traditional Irish sense, a knacker was a traveller that bought and killed horses for glue and hide. Then there's the tinkers, who were tinsmiths in the old days. Because the knackers tended to be the rougher of the travellers, the term knacker began to be used to mean the "bad" kind of traveller and then from that, came to mean urban scumbag in recent times. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted January 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2012 So one Johnny hadn't heard: It's a bit arse first. A more polite version would be: Put the cart before the horse Any american versions? Or is arse first in use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hot Heart Posted January 8, 2012 Report Share Posted January 8, 2012 I've not heard 'arse first' but it sounds it's the other way of saying 'arse/ass backwards', which I'm sure Americans know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted January 8, 2012 Report Share Posted January 8, 2012 Yeah, I was going to say that I haven't heard that, but I have heard "ass backward". That doesn't really mean the same as putting the cart before the horse though. Putting the cart before the horse means you're getting ahead of yourself. For instance buying a car before you've passed your driver's test would be putting the cart before the horse. Doing something ass backward just means you're doing it in a stupid fashion, usually doing it in an overly complicated/difficult way when there's a simpler/easier way to go about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hot Heart Posted January 8, 2012 Report Share Posted January 8, 2012 Hmm, I've always understood 'ass backwards' to mean doing something in the wrong order not what you've said. I guess it can mean both. http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=ass%20backwards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuchikoma Posted January 8, 2012 Report Share Posted January 8, 2012 Never heard "arse first" either, though arse is understood, while rarely used. I wouldn't be surprised if it was more common in Canada than the US - it strikes me as something you'd hear near the East coast (Maritimes, settled largely by Scottish, Irish, English and Acadians.) One that may just be a weird Canadian term is "ass over teakettle." I don't know what sort of mental image it's supposed to convey, but basically it's like tumbling "head over heels" out of control. ("Head over heels" is weird too. Your head should always be over your heels...) We also use "ass backward," or at least among those I know, "bass ackward." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted January 8, 2012 Report Share Posted January 8, 2012 One that may just be a weird Canadian term is "ass over teakettle." I don't know what sort of mental image it's supposed to convey, but basically it's like tumbling "head over heels" out of control. ("Head over heels" is weird too. Your head should always be over your heels...) That sounds like how we'd say "ass over ankles". Just a more colorful way of saying head over heels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MasterDex Posted January 8, 2012 Report Share Posted January 8, 2012 (edited) I can't say I'm familiar with 'arse first' myself but head over heels has always made sense to me. If you're going head over heels, it's usually insinuated that you're tumbling or flipping - so that at one point your heels are above your head and your head has flipped over your heels. Edited January 8, 2012 by MasterDex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hot Heart Posted January 8, 2012 Report Share Posted January 8, 2012 I believe it was originally 'heels over head', as in doing cartwheel or somersaults of joy. Like that verger at last year's Royal Wedding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted January 8, 2012 Report Share Posted January 8, 2012 Heels over head makes a lot more sense. I mean, generally speaking your head is supposed to be over your heels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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