English vs English

[Mr. GOH!]

Never heard of "chimney crows" before.

 

Edit: Turns up in U.S. sources if you google it, though. So I guess I never knew the specific name for that kinda thing.

Edit: Spoke too soon, the google hits were not to that phrase specifically.

Edited April 22, 2017 by Mr. GOH!

[TheFlyingGerbil]

when I did a google search it came up with cages you put on top of your chimney to stop birds nesting in it.

The meaning I had in mind was dried nasal mucus, or boogers if you will, though that is so American sounding to me and was not a word I'd heard as a child. I guess "nose dirt" would be the most common polite term here and bogey the most common children's term? Seems chimney crows is more my family vs the world.

[deanb]

We talking like black boogers, which I only ever get after a bbq or the steam gathering weekend at my grandparents village (loads of coal spewing machines gives the air a nice black sheen)
 

Anywho

 

[TheFlyingGerbil]

no just normal ones. I asked at work and no one had heard of it either so it's not even a local thing.

 I was watching a youtube video and two americans hadn't heard the word sieve. Is that normal? I've put a photo of one in the spoiler. What would you call it if not a sieve?

Spoiler

 

Edited April 24, 2017 by TheFlyingGerbil

[deanb]

I think they'd call it a "strainer"? Though to me a sieve is for sifting flour n the like, and a strainer for use with draining pasta, usually with a lot less fine holes, sometimes almost solid with large holes. I own a tiny sieve for icing sugar too (which I know has a different name in the US). Housemate has a smaller double sided spring loaded thing for loose tea too.

Or it's possible Americans call it a sieve and the two in the video have just never baked. I know if I was to set a challenge to find some items in our kitchen based on their proper names rather than "it's the ceramic pot with a lid" they'd struggle to find items.

[Mr. GOH!]

I've heard 'em called bats in the cave. As in "Hey, you got a bat in the cave."  Never chimney crows.

"Booger" is very childish and is not really a nice word to use ever.

"Snoodle" or "shnoodle" is a cutesy way to say it. Sometimes it's used as a code word, sneaked into another phrase to let the listener know they have a bat in the cave.

 

That picture is of a sieve, although most folks here commonly call it as strainer or a colander (although I would argue that a colander doesn't have a handle and should have built-in feet or a base to rest on - what Dean described as "almost solid with large holes" are colanders, here). Most English-speaking Americans would call it a strainer.

A sieve for dry goods is usually called a sifter here, too.

Edit: Yeah, most folks here are ignorant of any cooking term more technical than "pan," "grill," "oven," or "bowl." Most wouldn't know what a sieve is at all. It's sad, really.

 

 

 

Edited April 24, 2017 by Mr. GOH!

[TheMightyEthan]

"Booger" is the default term around here, although I agree with GOH that it's not a nice term (not like terrible, more on par with butt, just not something you say in polite conversation).  There really isn't a non-childish term for it that I'm aware of.

I would have called that thing in the picture a strainer if you'd asked me what it was, but I also would have known what you were talking about if you'd said sieve.  Sieve is a word I would have expected everyone to know, and am astonished to learn there are adults who are unfamiliar with it.

[Mr. GOH!]

There's a reason for the old joke:

A: "You, sire, have a mind like a sieve!."

B: "Thank you!"

 

[deanb]

"you digging for gold?" is a way to call out someone picking their nose.

Booger would be used over here. Snot would be the usual word I guess. No idea what a decent term would be. I guess "nasal mucus" would be the scientific term but nobody would ever use it.

[TheMightyEthan]

In my experience snot refers exclusively to the liquid variety, and booger refers to the solid.

[Thursday Next]

 

[deanb]

headlights on hoovers?!?!?!

[Thursday Next]

The G-Tech air ram has headlights. (Not that it isn't a weird feature mind).

[TheMightyEthan]

It's completely standard!  I have literally never used a push-vacuum that didn't have one!

[deanb]

Does it have full beams and low beams, indicators for when you're turning into the kitchen? Traction control for going around corners on the laminate.

[Mr. GOH!]

I have never used a vacuum with headlights. Seems weird to me.

[TheMightyEthan]

Only one light.  All but the smallest, cheapest ones have them. Or so I thought.  Looking at vacuums on Amazon it looks like it's about 50/50.  Weird, because every vacuum I've ever bought or used has had one and it's not like I've ever specifically looked for that feature.

 

*Edit - But anyway, this has gotten blown way out of proportion. The point of my original tweet was not that vacuums need lights, it was that if they are going to have lights those lights should be bright enough to actually illuminate things, which none of them ever are.

 

[deanb]

Maybe it's just a Kansas thing? The large mountain ranges block the sunlight coming in, and the flat floor disorientates them so they don't know if they've hoovered that part of the room or not.

Anywho for comparison I did check around and it seems that "Shark" (tbh never heard of them until now) and G-Tech (which Thursday mentioned, they're kinda new, run a lot of adverts. Seem kinda like the Casper Beds equiv for hoovers) are only ones that consistently do lights. Dyson is the big brand over here and not a single one of theirs does lights so I'm gonna guess from an engineering standpoint they're totally pointless things for vacuums to have.

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/home-appliances/floorcare/vacuum-cleaners/337_3169_30257_xx_xx/1_20/relevance-desc/xx-criteria.html

Also Henry with headlights would be pretty scary/useless. (which it seems you guys don't have in the US, but you should spot him fairly easy).

[Thursday Next]

Wait wait wait... "Half fast"?

[TheMightyEthan]

Is that supposed to be an Americanism? Cause I've never heard it before.

[Thursday Next]

It appears to be a misuse of "half arsed" due to being a homophone which I spotted on twitter and having looked up seems to be used interchangeably in the US.

[TheMightyEthan]

If so it's used rarely, I've only ever encountered "half-assed", at least in writing.  Obviously in speech it would be hard to tell the difference, but at least around here people typically just say "half-ass" with no past-tense.

[Mr. GOH!]

People in more urbane and educated parts of the U.S say it correctly, e.g. "Destiny's storytelling is really half-assed." Although "half-ass" is correct as a verb, e.g.: "Don't half-ass laundry duty; do separate cold-water and warm-water loads."

 It does not surprise me the Kansans and other Southerners would half-ass the pronunciation of the adjective, though.

[deanb]

Apparently at some point I was going to ask:
What's the end goal of Americas Got Talent? Over here they play at the Royal Variety Performance

 

Anywho come to state:
Some of us found out that in the US MMS (picture messaging) is part of the data plan, and over here it's usually separate from plans (even on pay monthly it's a premium service). Which would probably do nothing to explain any variety (if there is one) in the ubiquity of FB mesenger/whatsapp/etc. between the two nations. But yeah in the UK SMS is very much a one-on-one text affair for the most part. Once upon a time in the cameraphone years some people might send the odd picture message but that's about it and group texts is very much a thing you put up with from your iPhone friends/colleagues that don't know any better.

[Thursday Next]

As it is Ungrateful Colony Day... Otherwise known as "the 4th of July" and not "July Four", or "Seven Four"... I would like to know, why do you get every other day on the calendar the wrong way round? You can get it right. Do you just choose not to?