"In back of", as the opposite to "In front of".
I mean, it makes sense, but it sounds bad.
Rambunctious is a word I hear a lot used by Canadians in normal conversation. The first time I heard the word I thought the guy saying it had just made it up.
backcountry, opencountry, downcountry - What?
Calling someone a "jerk" in America is NOT the same as calling someome a "wan1<er" in the UK.
Fanny ≠ cvnt
Moving away from North America, "outwith" is the best word that Scots have and the English don't - every time I hear it I see a Venn diagram in my mind.
When you were in Wensleydale?
Erstwhile, 'appen.
I'm also taken that Americans don't use "and" in numbers. "Give me hundred ten", not "a hundred and ten".
Their pronunciation of Aluminum is historically correct, unlike their mangling of nuclear.
I like various bits of redneck/southern slang and I do like the drawl.
Examples would be "y'all", "goddang", "britches" etc. Wouldn't use them myself but I do think its fun to hear.
Just use the correct term of footway instead i.e. the bit next to the carriageway that you walk on.
I was also aware of "footway" but its not really in general usage compared to "pavement"
Ah but 'pavement' in America has a totally different meaning as it's used to described a metalled road hence the use of 'sidewalk'.
Moving away from North America, “outwith” is the best word that Scots have and the English don’t – every time I hear it I see a Venn diagram in my mind.
See also 'squint' as in not straight or level.
Persisting in calling ‘trousers’ ‘pants’, for example, would not have helped me very much.
Depends where you are in the country. Up here in the North they'd still be pants and calling them trousers would be considered a little lar-de-dar.
A word like ‘punter’, however, still seems seedy-sounding to me
A punter is a prospective customer. Its other meaning as a purveyor of services from ladies of merchantable virtue I'd never heard of until a few years ago.
Worth a punt doesn’t mean worth a shag.
I rather suspect that's of US origin - it's a type of kick in American Football.
In the 80’s, when people still smoked, a mate of mine at a party in New York asked for a fag.
Did he try to bum one?
Gawk is used in Northumberland for staring.
In the NW also. "Quit thi gawkin an gerron wi it."
Gawk is/was in fairly common use in the Scottish Central Belt and Borders too.
Worth a punt doesn’t mean worth a shag.
I rather suspect that’s of US origin – it’s a type of kick in American Football.
I’d always take worth a punt to mean worth a try deriving from a punt being a bet in English slang and punters being the betting house’s customers and then evolving to just customers
Gawk is/was in fairly common use in the Scottish Central Belt and Borders too.
Yeah that, outwith, yonder (yon) and squint are pretty common usage the further north you go.
I rather suspect that’s of US origin – it’s a type of kick in American Football.
Which is based Rugby Football terminology, the term punt was used in the first known written rules of any type of football in 1845.
Back when I smoked, and used to travel to the US for work, I learned that “jeez, I could murder a fag right now…” wasn’t going to be understood the way I meant it. Just the once.
Is verbalising nouns an American thing? I quite like some of it in the brevity it provides. Hearing them refer to St Patrick’s Day as “patties day” is almost endearing.
I could listen the Canadian accent all day, especially the Newfoundland variety.
Let's face it, if you're in Newfoundland it takes them a whole day to say anything.
Ah but ‘pavement’ in America has a totally different meaning as it’s used to described a metalled road hence the use of ‘sidewalk’.
Pavement technically* refers to the construction make up of the road/carriageway and/or footway here as well, including all sub layers. Not sure when it took on the meaning of the footway generally though.
*In civil engineering highway design any way.
Is verbalising nouns an American thing? I quite like some of it in the brevity it provides.
Not sure about brevity. In the UK, the verb to steal from houses is burgle, the noun is burglar. In the US, it's burglarize and burglarizer.
Not sure about brevity.
To medal.
Making nouns into verbs has happened all the time. Most verbs started that way. I can imagine an 18th Century Jacob Rees Mogg (tautology alert) admonishing a yeoman farmer "You're not ploughing that field my man, you're turning the soil with a plough"
Oh, and anaesthesiologist.
Hmm.
To win a medal.
To medal.
Medalling.
In the US, it’s burglarize and burglarizer.
It's still burglar in the US, isn't it?
an 18th Century Jacob Rees Mogg (tautology alert)
Well, I laughed.
burglarizer
Did you just make that up?
Tardy for late and period for full stop can both do one.
What's wrong with tardy? It's been in my vocabulary since secondary school and I'm 63 🙂