Question for Americans

[Sweetlip]

Quote:

Originally Posted by haha They can't; the term pom has officially been declared inoffensive.

It always used to used as part of a set phrase, "whinging Pom" but you don't hear so much whinging now and so the phrase is all but extinct.

Australia had a big migration of Poms in the 50's and sixties on a plan that brought them to Australia for ten pounds sterling. Notwithstanding that great deal, a lot of them were disappointed with so much of Australian lifestyle and/or the temporary ex-WW2 "Nissan" Hut accommodation that they lived in at the migrant hostels until they made other arrangements. So many of them whinged about everything and earned that title "whinging Pom."

Interestingly enough, many of them did return back to England but half of those returned back to Australia. For all of its isolated, outdated lifestyle in those days, Australia was (and is) a wonderful place of opportunity with clear air, great beaches, egalitarian lifestyle etc and lots of Poms really prospered here.

England remains the arch enemy of Aussies in the sporting arena though and it is such a shame when Australia wipes out the Poms in test match cricket 5 - 0.

We also like beating the yanks in swimming at the Olympics and other meets.


...and oh, BTW, our crocodiles make your alligators look like pussycats.... Hahaha! (Steve Irwin used to say that so it must be true. )

[dex]

Joke:
How do you know a jet plane of Brits has landed?








The engins are off but the whinning continues.

[Sweetlip]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dex Joke: How do you know a jet plane of Brits has landed? The engins are off but the whinning continues.

Why did you feel the need to pre-warn us that that was a joke?

[dex]

Many Americans do not know about the Brits' pension for whinning.

[Sweetlip]

Oh.


Thanks.

[bssc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FinanceDude "Yanks" isn't offensive, you are called a "yank" if you wander south of the Mason-Dixon line...........

One of my ex-gfs would be offended by that since she was from Louisiana and one of her great ancestors signed the Louisiana articles of succession. Calling a Southerner a Yank is considered an insult.

[bssc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by saluki9 Individual freedom from the nanny state Even more old fashioned.

Nanny state is a term that conservative americans use to refer to laws that they do not like, for example laws that restrict guns, cars and sharp objects. Liberals use terms like reactionary or backwards to describe laws they do not like, such as those that restrict non-heterosexual relationships and allow for the unlimited exploitation of the environment.

Interestingly enough, there are times where liberal and conservative interests converge. Right now, at least in the state of Arizona, there is a huge crackdown on smoking. The nanny state liberals don't like it since it is unhealthy while the reactionary conservatives don't like it since it is immoral and unGodly. The same attitude seems to existing towards DUIs (driving under the influence).

[bssc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sweetlip ...and oh, BTW, our crocodiles make your alligators look like pussycats.... Hahaha! (Steve Irwin used to say that so it must be true. )

One of the ladies in my MegaCorp's office in Sydney, NSW, would teach me Australia. She used Steve Irwin to define the phrase wanker. She also taught me that arvo is the afternoon, tomato sauce is ketchup and Mexicans are people from Melbourne.

[Texas Proud]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bssc One of my ex-gfs would be offended by that since she was from Louisiana and one of her great ancestors signed the Louisiana articles of succession. Calling a Southerner a Yank is considered an insult.

But overseas we are all 'yanks'... even from the south.. they don't know the 'local problem'...

[haha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FinanceDude "Yanks" isn't offensive, you are called a "yank" if you wander south of the Mason-Dixon line...........

I never heard this in years down South- only yankee, never yank. I think Yank is from foreign wars, not from regional rivalries/hatreds.

Before the South become polluted by them, yankees were not very popular down there, and IMO it was a well deserved unpopularity.


Ha

[Sweetlip]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bssc One of the ladies in my MegaCorp's office in Sydney, NSW, would teach me Australia. She used Steve Irwin to define the phrase wanker. She also taught me that arvo is the afternoon, tomato sauce is ketchup and Mexicans are people from Melbourne.

Well, being a Queenslander , even further north, we would call anyone south of Queensland a Mexican, including your friend in Sydney.

All of the rest of what you say is true. Steve Irwin was over the top in terms of affecting the extreme of Aussie "ockerism" and would be regarded as a "wanker" by most Aussies - until the extent on his fame in teh USA made our collective jaws drop. His zoo is about an hour's drive north of my home. Many of us, including me, worry a bit for how much the Irwin legacy depends on exploiting his kids. Sometimes, if I see Bindi's face on TV one more time, I'll ...

It just seems to me that the poor kid will end up like a Judy Garland, always living in a unreal existence, and maybe having some serious adult problems later in life. I saw that his widow said that they watch a video of Steve every morning. Gosh! Is that brainwashing the kids or what?

[Sweetlip]

Quote:

Originally Posted by haha I never heard this in years down South- only yankee, never yank. I think Yank is from foreign wars, not from regional rivalries/hatreds.

We understand the North - South sensitivities. Although, we have never had a civil war in Australia (we are all too busy having a bloody good time!) so we cannot begin to understand the intensity of feeling that there must have been, say in the early 20th century when memories of the 1860's conflict would still be in people's minds.

"Yank" is what we call all Americans. We had a close relationship with thousands of yanks in WW2. General Douglas Macarthur took up residence in my city at that time and yanks were stationed widely across Queensland.

As they used to say, "Over paid, over sexed and over here!"

[Sweetlip]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bssc Nanny state is a term that conservative americans use to refer to laws that they do not like, for example laws that restrict guns, cars and sharp objects.

Thanks for explaining that term. I was wondering what it meant.

They can restrict guns all they like, in my view. Aussies don't really have the same passion for keeping guns that many Americans do. We bear arms when we have to - mostly to fight someone else's wars.

Whilst we have some of the most venomous and dangerous animals on the planet, carrying a side arm in the bush is not likely to protect us from any natural perils. We have no bears, tigers, lions, hippopotami, wild elephants etc. Just the world's most poisonous spiders, snakes and that sort of thing. A snake will only attack if surprised or trodden on and will usually slither away from a confrontation if it can. We do have lots of water hazards such as sharks and crocs in northern areas but you cannot swim well with a sidearm and in any case, crocs and snakes are protected species so you cannot kill them anyway.

As kids at school, we learn how to avoid angering snakes and how to handle other natural perils. none of which involves needing a gun.

Australia has a huge mix of nationalities now making up our demographic, many of whom are refugees from war-torn countries. Some of those people bring some bad habits into Australia such as knife carrying and in recent years when some of the young guys get full of beer and bad manners, knives have been produced with tragic consequences but that is a very un-Australian phenomenon.

One of the real shames of modern Aussie life is seeing our cops all wear weapons. That was not the case 20 years ago. Most danger to the cops' safety remains attending domestic disputes when emotions, grog, and maybe other substances take the rationality away from the situation that they are trying to defuse.

Because 90% of Australia's population lives on the coast and we love watersports, we do have a healthy respect for sharks ad they feature regularly in our news coverage, such as this article from today's newspapers ...

[Gotadimple]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sweetlip All of the rest of what you say is true. Steve Irwin was over the top in terms of affecting the extreme of Aussie "ockerism" and would be regarded as a "wanker" by most Aussies - until the extent on his fame in teh USA made our collective jaws drop. His zoo is about an hour's drive north of my home. Many of us, including me, worry a bit for how much the Irwin legacy depends on exploiting his kids. Sometimes, if I see Bindi's face on TV one more time, I'll ...

You know, this is an interesting comment about Steve Irwin. I have a mate in South Australia who was absolutely distraught at his death. I always thought he overplayed the chances he had by putting himself in danger for the camera. So, I guess, I'm one yank who didn't see 'his magic.'

--Rita

[Sweetlip]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gotadimple I always thought he overplayed the chances he had by putting himself in danger for the camera.

Hi Rita - that is probably a fair comment - although there are plenty of Aussies who would do the same sort of thing and have done so for the cameras.

Don't get Steve mixed up with your average Aussie. The overwhelming majority of us these days are city dwellers and not adventurers, notwithstanding that our national ethos is wrapped around the vast. dangerous, emptiness of our country.

So many of our early explorers who found the paths through the mountains to the fertile plains beyond or who walked across the finding routes for overland telegraph lines and the like were stark raving lunatics who went off into the bush with little preparation, and the wrong supplies - like taking office equipment and sugar which they dumped along the way but also taking insufficient ammunition with which to hunt food. To some extent, we identify well with these hopefuls who had a go at doing something impossible in 100+ degree heat in the driest continent on earth.

[Meadbh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FinanceDude "Yanks" isn't offensive, you are called a "yank" if you wander south of the Mason-Dixon line...........

Growing up in Ireland, our American relatives (mostly from New England) were affectionately referred to as "the Yanks". When they planned a visit, people would ask when the Yanks were coming.

Yankee - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Over time, however, and in the United States, the term has since reverted to its 18th century geographic indication of New England[1], except when the speaker is from the South. Outside the United States, Yank or Yankee is one of the lesser derogatory slang terms for any American, whether from New England or not."

[Sweetlip]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meadbh Outside the United States, Yank or Yankee is one of the lesser derogatory slang terms for any American,

Yeah - it is not a derogatory term at all. I could tell you far more derogatory terms but I won't. They are very rude. Even when they are spoken though, it is only in a mildly derogatory sense as Aussies would use with one another.

[starter82]

Quote:

Originally Posted by clifp They are also call thongs in mainland US.

I only know of one person that calls them thongs. For everyone else, they're flip flops. Of course, flip flops aren't sandals.

Quote:

"Yanks" isn't offensive, you are called a "yank" if you wander south of the Mason-Dixon line...........

I guess it depends who you are. "Yankee" and "yank" generally come across as rather derogatory.

As is probably expected, different parts of the United States use different words or use the same words differently. Despite this, usages are mainly standardized.

With respect to "drug store/drugstore"/"pharmacy". For me, the establishment expressed by these terms is identical [some carry principally drugs, some principally carry other products, but that's a difference between the stores, not the terminology]. Usage might be a bit different depending on the region. Within larger stores (such as Wal-marts, grocery stores, etc.), there will be a mini sub-store called a "pharmacy". I've never seen one of these store-within-a-stores called "drug store".

At these stores-within-a-store stores, you generally have to pay for drugs (services, or anything else located behind counters, such as expensive goods) at the pharmacy section. This is also true of when insurance is involved. You can find all sorts of things in stand-alone pharmacies, including alcohol in states that allow it. Chain pharmacies vary by area. Believe it or not, there are still small, local pharmacies.

[lets-retire]

Quote:

Originally Posted by starter82 I only know of one person that calls them thongs. For everyone else, they're flip flops. Of course, flip flops aren't sandals.

That's because if you wore a thongs on your feet people would look at you funny. Not to mention they don't make very good foot wear. Other than being rather sexy I don't see how they make very effective underwear either.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by starter82 I only know of one person that calls them thongs. For everyone else, they're flip flops. Of course, flip flops aren't sandals.

When I was growing up in Hawaii, in the mid-20th Century, the teens I knew called them "zori's". If you called them anything else, the other teens would tease you and say you sounded like a coast haole. I guess our parents called them flip-flops or slippers.

Oh, and my father called them "go-aheads", but that was just him - - I don't think anybody else called them that.