Why do some Americanisms irritate people? 9

[1DMF]

Well I went and did some research ,and find Strong to be right, and not my school teacher!

I was taugh UK lost in South Africa and that's why they speak dutch (well afrikaans), you do sometimes wonder why you go to school if they are going to teach you rubbish...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Vereeniging

Compounded by the fact if you watch Zulu & Zulu Dawn films, it quite clearly shows the British having their asses whipped!

So I always beleived the British had got a right good kicking and so left it to the Dutch... not quite so it seems, perhaps the Teacher didn't like the truth, or didn't like to be reminded about our Imperial past, who knows?

It reminds me of a QI episode when Alan Davis answered regarding people beleiving the world was flat (I was taught that at school also!), when they didn't, even Columbus thought it was pear shaped apparently.

Noway2 -> I don't get the joke?

"In complete darkness we are all the same, only our knowledge and wisdom separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you."

"If a shortcut was meant to be easy, it wouldn't be a shortcut, it would be the way!"

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[hjgoldstein]

==> people beleiving the world was flat (I was taught that at school also!)...

When were you at school? 1450 or before? (and I don't mean ten-to-three)

It is time for pacifists to stand up and fight for their beliefs.

 

[1DMF]

No I was at school in 845-1545 ;-)

I don't mean I was taught the world was flat, I was taught that people used to beleive it was flat, which apparently isn't true!



"In complete darkness we are all the same, only our knowledge and wisdom separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you."

"If a shortcut was meant to be easy, it wouldn't be a shortcut, it would be the way!"

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[N1GHTEYES]

1DMF:

Well I went and did some research ,and find Strong to be right

I think if we wrote a list of all the times Mike has been proven to be wrong, it would be a pretty short list. See what I mean about being the British Cecil Adams? In fact, I think we may have figured out where uncle Cecil gets his information from...

Tony

 

[strongm]

>all the times Mike has been proven to be wrong, it would be a pretty short list

My wife might disagree ...

 

[1DMF]

So if this is what is said about Cecil

On more than one occasion, Adams has been forced to retract or modify an answer when confronted by "the Teeming Millions"

I wonder how many times Mike has had to retract or modify?

The chaos theory dictates, he can't be right and I can't be wrong ALL the time ;-)

Though he may sigh at my independence statement , I stand by it, along with all the supporting evidence you can find on Wiki & Google.

Your enemy deciding to no longer fight is not the same as you defeating them!

Which was what I was taugh had happend in South Africa!

"In complete darkness we are all the same, only our knowledge and wisdom separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you."

"If a shortcut was meant to be easy, it wouldn't be a shortcut, it would be the way!"

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[djj55]

What I learned is school (pre college) was a waste of time. If they had taught us to study it would have been a great help.

Fast forward 35 years, a coworker's son is in preschool and he knows fractions. Granted it is an advanced school, but I did not even go to preschool!

djj
The Lord is my shepherd (Psalm 23) - I need someone to lead me!

 

[strongm]

>Your enemy deciding to no longer fight is not the same as you defeating them!

Nazi Germany decided to no longer fight the Allies on May 7th 1945. I guess that means that the Allies didn't defeat them. Glad that's sorted.

 

[hjgoldstein]

==>Nazi Germany decided to no longer fight the Allies on May 7th 1945. I guess that means that the Allies didn't defeat them. Glad that's sorted.

not to mention Japan...

It is time for pacifists to stand up and fight for their beliefs.

 

[1DMF]

now now, that's being ridiculous, the allies were in Berlin along with the ruskies. Nazi germany did not surrender, they were defeated,invaded and crushed, there lies the difference and the point I was making.

Ergo the proof that Mike isn't always right ;-)

If the colonies had crossed the atlantic and taken London , that would be a different matter...

It is quite clear that parliment refused to let King George continue fighting in America, at the time the French & Spanish were far more important hence the Napolionic wars not a decade later!

If the King had decided to commit fully to the American war, we would probaly speak French or Spanish in the UK.

You can check out Wiki or this other link and read for yourself...

http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/wars_american_independence.html

The End of the War
When news of the surrender at Yorktown reached London, it struck a final blow to British willingness to fight their rebellious colonials. Substantial British forces still existed in America, while the war against France and Spain continued. However, the war was lost in Parliament. On hearing of the defeat for the first time Lord North declared 'O God! It is all over' and although both George III and Lord Germain wanted to fight on, the mood of the country was against them. A series of votes against the war were held, at first with comfortable government majorities. However, on 22 February 1782 the government survived by only one vote, and finally on 27 February the government was defeated by nineteen votes. The next day Lord North offered to resign, but George III refused to let him. Despite the king's best efforts, Lord North finally resigned on 20 March, pre-empting an attempt to remove him in Parliament. The new government of Lord Rockingham was determined to make peace. Informal talks began in Paris in April. Initially, the American negotiators were meant to consult their French allies, and even follow their advice. The British aim was to retain their colonial territories outside the thirteen colonies, and if possible split the Americans from their French allies.

"In complete darkness we are all the same, only our knowledge and wisdom separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you."

"If a shortcut was meant to be easy, it wouldn't be a shortcut, it would be the way!"

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[N1GHTEYES]

>all the times Mike has been proven to be wrong, it would be a pretty short list

My wife might disagree ...

...and modest too. So, definitely not Cecil then.

BTW, I didn't say the list was non-existent, just short. Very short.

Now, where did I put those application forms for the strongm fan club?

<chortle>

Tony

 

[CajunCenturion]

==> Ms. Piggy
Of course. Ms. Piggy was the star of the show, but she was a bit of a camera hog.

==> I found that the Acadian (Cajun) English of New Orleans, is quite pleasing to the ears, like a sing-song, but sometimes never knew what they where talking about...
Next down you're in this area, you should try moving westward, out of New Orleans, into the Acadiana area. The Cajun influence becomes more pronounced as you move into the darker shaded areas. And the crawfish as just fine.

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[MCuthill]

noway2,

*chuckles*

Two Canadians sit down in a bar in Australia. A local, recognizing them as foreigners, comes up to them and says, "G'Day mate, where are you from?" In response the Canadians reply, "Saskatoon Saskatchewan." The Australian gives them a puzzled look and again asks them where they are from and gets the same reply. Not understanding their answer, he asks a third time and yet again receives the same reply. At this point, the Australian goes and sits back down with his friends who ask where the foreigners are from, to which he replies, "I don't know. They don't speak English."

Ironic. I am from Saskatchewan. ...and not that far from S'toon.

Mike
---------------------------------------------------------------
"To be alive is to revel in the moments, in the sunrise and the sunset, in the sudden and brief episodes of love and adventure,
in the hours of companionship. It is, most of all, to never be paralyzed by your fears of a future that no one can foretell."

 

[strongm]

>he may sigh at my independence statement

My sigh was not specifically about the War of Independence, but about the statement as a whole that "The British won in South Africa as much as the USA won the war of independence" because it was clear you were trying to imply that neither was a real victory. In the case of the Boer Wars you have already granted that you were taught the wrong stuff about this at school.

As for the American War of Independence, let's go with your argument that this was simply lost by the British in Parliament (and I'm sure that, no matter what you might find in wikipaedia, some would disagree with this simplistic analysis) - forcing a political change is a perfectly acceptable way of winning a victory; total military destruction of your opponent is not always viable, necessary or indeed beneficial.

>if you watch Zulu & Zulu Dawn films, it quite clearly shows the British having their asses whipped!

Zulu is about the remarkable victory of a small British force at Rorke's Drift

>now now, that's being ridiculous

Indeed. I was making a point.

>allies ... [] ... along with the ruskies

The 'ruskies' were part of the Allies ...

>Nazi germany did not surrender

I don't wish to be rude, but once again your grasp of facts is surprisingly frail:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/German_instrument_of_surrender2.jpg

But perhaps what you meant was they were forced to surrender by circumstances rather than making an arbitary decision simply stop fighting. In other words you were acknowledging that the circumstances may dictate the outcome. Which takes me back to the War of Independence: the Continental Army and at's allies forced a set of circumtances upon Britain that caused it to capitulate. That seems like victory to me.

 

[strongm]

>I guess I got the wrong impression when visiting the National Gandhi Museum in New Delhi!

Do you really want me to address that?

 

[BadBigBen]

CC,

that probably will be far into the future, unfortunately...

though I'd wish it was next week, finances just do not allow it at present...




Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"

 

[CajunCenturion]

This follow-up link was posted by sggaunt in forum1229, but I think it's quite appropriate for this thread.

Americanisms: 50 of your most noted examples

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[CajunCenturion]

==&gt; and Oh, how are those crawdads down on the Bajou these days?
For a totally objective answer, see Rand McNally Best of the Road Town Finalists.
Scroll down to the last section, Best for Food, and there you'll find Lafayette. :-D

Although it's not on their website yet, Lafayette was chosen from those six finalists as the overall winner for the Best for Food category.
And, the winners are…
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Good Luck
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[Annihilannic]

Of those 50 most noted examples I'd be curious what the American take (Americanism?) is on those. I think some of them are just wrongisms?

I'm glad "Can I get a..." was mentioned though. I always feel like answering "Sure, go right ahead...?" or "Never mind, I'll get it for you."

I also noticed a pet hate of mine in one of the comments, the superfluous use of "of"s such as "had of", "off of", "outside of".

Annihilannic.

 

[SantaMufasa]

...the superfluous use of "of"s such as "had of"...

Can you use that in a sentence? I don't believe I've heard that before.

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
“People may forget what you say, but they will never forget how you made them feel.