Thanks Eddie.. it really is quite interesting!

I remember a few phrases that I have received odd looks for saying..

This was in California...

I wanted to buy some cigarettes...
I ask for '20 marlboro please' (in the UK, we ask for 1 packet like that, a half packet is, yep, 10 marlboro etc).. so the shop assistant starts to pull 20 packets (ie. 400 marlboro) off the shelf. Then I was asked how I would like to pay, cheque or something - this I didn't understand. (difference between bank debit card & credit card).

We refer to cigarettes as 'fags'.. so when I said to my US colleagues that 'I was just nipping out the back for a quick fag', I got some funny looks.

I asked my US colleague/friend 'How's your Porker?'.. to which he looked pretty angry. (UK: Porker = Porsche), he'd never heard of it, I think he thought I was insulting his wife!

Cheers
Stewart

: “So, how on Earth would fellow American members describe the
: season. ie. 'It's really Wintery/Summery out there'.. 'It's very
: Autumnal today'... so what would replace 'Autumnal' ?”

: That really made me think for a little. It’s common to use
: sports, due to the close association of baseball to
: spring/summer and football to fall/winter. You might hear
: something like “Perfect day for baseball.” for nice summer
: day or “Its starting to feel like football weather.” for a
: cool fall day. Of course that would be American football
: that’s played from September to December/January.

: I haven’t seen the series you mention but I would imagine that,
: not unlike many travel shows, it highlights what is different
: more that what is the similar. You’re right though, we are a
: vast country and could be split into any number of countries. Of
: course that was tried out about 150 years ago and it turned out
: to be a bit of a mess. It also comes up in Texas from time to
: time.

: I’ve always been fascinated with cultural differences and
: particularly the differences of American and British English. We
: speak the same language but it’s so different. Cars are a good
: example, wing/fender, windshield/windscreen, hood/bonnet,
: trunk/boot and (convertible) top/hood, to name a few. You could
: go on and on with little things. Some I get some I don’t.
: Torch vs. flashlight makes sense to me. A battery with no charge
: is flat vs. dead, not so much.

: And lastly Chicago style deep dish pizza is way better than New
: York style thin crust ;)

: Eddie