How Do You Say It?

[2par]

Amie...haha. The movie is just called Fried Green Tomatoes here. I never saw the whole movie, but my husband just explained it to me.

[Amie]

I just thought of another one: "tabled"

If you "table" something at a meeting in the US, it means you bring it to the table for discussion.

If you "table" something at a meeting in the UK, it means you put an end to the idea entirely, ie you take it off the table for discussion.

So, if you say, "Can we table Charlie's idea?" at a meeting in the US, Charlie, will probably be pleased. But if you say the same thing in the UK, Charlie will probably feel like you think his ideas aren't worth discussing.

[fire-fly]

Its a bit of both here on that one too mate.

[fire-fly]

See ya means goodbye. That gets a few 

[Gyppo]

-   "moot" in the UK means "undecided" or "a point of debate"

Back in Anglo-Saxon days when a dispute - usually about territory or ownership of cattle - needed to be settled and the whole village or community needed to be involved they would 'blow the moot horn' to summon everyone to the 'moot' or meet.  Decisions made at the moot were legally binding.

[2par]

naw, I think when you table something, you put it aside.

[Spell Chick]

The part of the US I'm from doesn't use tabled in that way. Tabled, as I understand it, still means that it is put on the table to discuss at a later time because it isn't important right now. It's not as bad as totally tossing it, but it isn't pleasing.


The name for sweet, bubbly drinks is quite (ha ha) regional. Some places when you ask for a coke, they then ask you what kind. The name doesn't mean Coke, the brand. I was raised with pop and moved and now drink soda occasionally.

I live in the south now and we have Sweet Tea. It is always cold and always very, very sweet. You can also get Unsweetened Tea, but you better ask for that specifically or you will end up with Sweet Tea. Hot tea is available if you ask for it specifically as well.

What do you foreigners call caramels? Are they still a lolly? That just seems so wrong.

[510bhan]

What sort of caramels? Soft runny filling type? Chewy toffee/fudge-like? Hard boiled sweet like?

[JewelAS53]

We have sweets - which is anything in the sweetie/lolly/candy category except chocolate, which is chocolate.
Sweets can be hard or soft boiled, long or short, suckers or not.

We have biscuits, which are cookies in USA.

Tea and coffee are both hot, sweetened or not, with milk or not, depending on personal taste.

Beer is served cold.

And our spirits tot is bigger than the lot o' youses

[JewelAS53]

To table an issue, to me, is to open it up for discussion.

[Laura H]

In the Mid-South region of Southern USA-

As Spell Chick said, Coke or fountain drink is the name for soda. One might say, "let's stop for a coke," and come out of the store with a root beer or ginger ale.

If you're offered tea, assume it is iced tea and you should indicate sweet or unsweet.

 "Would you like tea?"

"Yes, please. Unsweet."

Hot tea is the stuff you steep.

A candy bar is any kind of chocolate bar, like Snickers of Babe Ruths. Chocolates connotes fancy little things in a box. Hard candies are just that, suckers are on the end of a stick.

Around here Crayfish are called Crawdaddy or Crawdads.

[Laura H]

To table an issue, to me, is to open it up for discussion.

Here it means to put off a decision.

[Amie]

I think I might have got the US and UK definitions of "tabled" backwards.  I never go to meetings where they use the word - my husband works for a multinational company (mainly US and UK) and he complains of this particular misunderstanding frequently (why they havent all worked it out by now I don't know - but I guess it's a big company and plenty of people to get confused )

[Alice, a Country Gal]

Please excuse me for getting swept away into my far distant past and slightly off subject.

I have to go back to Gyppo's "Drug Store" because it brought back such memories.

My very first memory of visiting a drug story was with Mother and one of her friends. I don't remember why I was the only child there, just the magic of the place.

Walking in the door of Collier's (the owner's name) Drug Store was, to me at that age, like walking into a small wonderland. There was a long counter with stools (fixed to the floor) on the right hand side and on the left there was shelves filled with cosmetics, creams, perfumes, etc. etc. etc.

Walking farther into the store, they led me to a booth where we took a seat and a lady came and asked us what we wanted. Mother and her friend ordered whatever they wanted then looked at me and asked what I wanted.

I had no idea what to say because I had never experienced such a strange place before. Mother took pity on me and ordered an Ice Cream Soda.

Okay, I knew "soda" could mean a soda water, which in turn could mean a root beer, or any other type of drink in a bottle to drink. (Was too young to worry about adult drinks at the time.) But I had no idea what an ice cream soda would be.

A tall fluted glass was sit in front of me filled with ice cream and something bubbly. Frothy, almost clear bubbles crowned the top of the glass and threatened to spill over they were so tall.

I took a hesitant taste with the long handled spoon and was swept into childish taste rapture.

That was my introduction to a drug store, one that drew me back at every opportunity.

Over time I also found Collier's sold much more than I saw that day. There was books, magazines, comics, a display of several candies and much more if you took the time to really look.

In one back corner a high counter swept around in a semi-circle creating the area where Mr. Collier reigned. From there he processed and sold the meds. ordered by the doctors.

Later, when I was about 11 or 12, Mr. Collier let me put what was to be my first camera on lay-away. A small Kodak camera that I paid off a little at a time over what, at the time, felt like ages.  
  

[JewelAS53]

xxx float = icecream soda, i.e. coke float (coke is the brown stuff here), Fanta float, etc