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Old 11-02-2010, 07:25 PM   #69 (permalink)
duga
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Quote:
Originally Posted by right-track View Post
Here's a short list of Americanisms that can really grate an Englishman's sensibilities.
Taken from The Telegraph;

1. “Happy Holidays.”
Translation: “Merry Christmas but I realise you might be Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Bahai, something even more exotic, agnostic or Godless and I don’t want to offend you.”

2. “Have a Nice Day.”
Translation: “I would like you to have a pleasant time today” or “I hate you” – or anything in between.

3. “You’re welcome.”
Translation: Meaningless Pavlovian response to thank you.

4. “Do the math.”
Translation: “Work it out yourself, stupid.”

5. “Let’s visit with each other.”
Translation: “We should spend time together.”

6. “How are you today?”
Translation: “We mean nothing to each other, but let’s pretend.”

7. “Good luck with that.”Translation: “You have no chance at all.”

8. “Oh my gosh!“
Translation: “I fear you may feel that taking the Lord’s name in vain is blasphemous.”

9. “Can I use your bathroom?“
Translation: “I would like to use your lavatory.”

10. “Not so much.”
Translation: “That’s completely wrong.” Used on me in classic fashion by a Clinton aide back in February.
A lot of this is just sarcasm...something I'm sure isn't foreign to other fellow humans. I've never said let's visit with each other once in my entire life, nor has anyone ever said it to me. And just what is wrong with saying you're welcome? People in other countries don't have some kind of response to thank you?

I'll give you happy holidays, though. That's annoying as hell.
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