26 October, 2006

I Am A HUGE Hypocrite.

Brittney has a peeve. And I happen to think she's right, because it's one of my peeves too.

Too often food writers use the phrase "tuck into" to mean eat.


I am a hypocrite because I object to the fey use of Britishisms. And I'm the one who still spells like I work for The Daily Mail. Yes, I love the extra spark that those extraneous "u"s add to colour and favour. And I like the softer look of an "s" in places where Americans will typically put a "z". Prioritise vs. Prioritize. Which one looks more polite? I ask you.

But it stops there.

Unfortunately, I move in a world where a bunch of people are Harry Potter fans, and so they try very hard to talk as if they've grown up on that side of the ocean. And it makes me want to beat them severely. You don't tuck into a meal. You don't ring people on your mow-bye-all. When something is unusually remarkable it is "cool" or "awesome" or "fantastic". It is not "brilliant." If you are sick and require extensive treatment, you place an article in your claim. In other words, we take you to THE hospital, not just "hospital". When you are talking about a friend and you reference his sister you say "he has a sister named Cindy." You do not say "he has a sister called Cindy." Those things on your feet are either sneakers or tennis shoes. They are not trainers. You are either wearing a sweater or a sweatshirt, not a jumper. A torch is a flaming piece of wood, not a flashlight.

6 Comments:

At 8:29 PM, October 26, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Bloody hell ... I can't believe you're taking the mickey out of all the British wannabees. All they want to do is get in the lift and stay on their sssshhhedules. When you're out with the lads be sure to save some crisps for 'Ron. Had a chip buttie lately? I hope you don't get made redundant at your job ...

;)

I think I get a "get out of jail free card" on this one being married to an Englishman. I find myself using British words for things and don't even realize it; the other day I said something was "titchy" - and everyone looked at me like ... huh?? I didn't even realize at first that it was a British word. Now I don't pronounce words differently than I used to ... that's just lame and stupid. But I have unconsciously added a whole bunch of new words to my vocabulary.

Back to LOST ;)

~ lacy

 
At 8:31 PM, October 26, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh - and madonna is a freaking poser. Did you see her interview on Oprah? Woman ... you are an American. Deal with it.

~ Lacy

 
At 1:13 AM, October 27, 2006, Blogger Emmitt said...

I really hate the way people here say, "I'm going to THE Walmart" or they "I'm going to krogerS." We are going to have a row about it if I hear it again.

 
At 10:07 AM, October 27, 2006, Blogger Malia said...

Y'all need to take a chill pill.

 
At 11:48 AM, October 27, 2006, Blogger Kat Coble said...

Lacy, you I give a pass.

And I also give a pass to anyone who uses the words "whinging" or "gobsmacked" because those are two awesome words.

 
At 12:42 PM, October 27, 2006, Blogger melusina said...

I agree for the most part, although I think a couple of things there are dialect differences in the U.S. - saying "called" instead of "named", for example, is something I heard all the time up around Baltimore and Delaware.

And I don't think the Brits own brilliant, I've heard and used that all my life too.

Although like you said, some things just sound (or write) better the Brit way, but only a few. It took me awhile to figure out what "whinging" was though.

 

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