• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

Weird Americanisms (UK vs USA thread)

Status
Not open for further replies.
I wouldn't want to be clapped. The applause isn't sincere and I despise people doing things out of 'kindness' when they really don't care. Save your energy.

I give presentations 5/7 days a week, several times a day.

See, I give heroes victory clasps when I get applause. Two to each side.
 
The not cheering for movies and such is not that strange. I watched WWE / ECW stuff all my life, and when I started importing the Japanese stuff, I was shocked at the cadence of the crowd. They still cheered, but it was...I guess I could say subdued and in the right places. After a great combination / high spot, they would politely clap. But no "You fucked up chants" or fun chants that go on during US indie / WWE stuff. Not saying one is better than the other, though, it's just different.
 
lol that Brits (is that PC?) still don't understand clapping at the end of a movie. Americans only do it when they really enjoy a film. It's far from standard practice. Why cheer for your favorite football team at a pub if the coaches and players can't hear you? The cast/crew not being able to hear you clap isn't really that great of an argument for NOT applauding.
 
So what kind of english pronunciation is the best (the most standard)? Because you anglo/american guys are fucking up everything.
Well Queen's English, the posh accen if you will,, is of course the most articulate. There's Received Pronunciation, which is the general south-east England accent and probably the standard. Others are much more region-specific.
Edit: there's also the BBC pronunciation, which was invented for TV IIRC. It's probably fairly familiar to a lot of the world.

lol that Brits (is that PC?) still don't understand clapping at the end of a movie. Americans only do it when they really enjoy a film. It's far from standard practice. Why cheer for your favorite football team at a pub if the coaches and players can't hear you? The cast/crew not being able to hear you clap isn't really that great of an argument for NOT applauding.
Brits is probably more PC than Yanks,. I very much doubt that anyone would be offended by it, as it's merely a shortening of British. You could argue that cheering in the pub is due to the social aspect of it, and of course the drink adds to that. But me personally, as someone who doesn't care about football (but can appreciate the sport if played well), I don't cheer at the TV.
 
Aren't scones hard and crunchy rolls? Buttermilk biscuits like what PaulLFC showed are soft, extremely flakey and come apart as you eat them. They would certainly NEVER have cheese. Buttermilk biscuits are ment to be eaten with a light dab of butter on top and white, sausage gravy.

Sure they would. I live in the south and I've had cheese biscuits, sausage and cheese biscuits. All kinds of variations on the basic biscuit recipe. And meant to be eaten with a light dab of butter and sausage gravy? Here, at least, they're far more often used for breakfast, cut open with egg/sausage/bacon/cheese/jam in the middle.
 
lol that Brits (is that PC?) still don't understand clapping at the end of a movie. Americans only do it when they really enjoy a film. It's far from standard practice. Why cheer for your favorite football team at a pub if the coaches and players can't hear you? The cast/crew not being able to hear you clap isn't really that great of an argument for NOT applauding.

Why do people think comparing sports to movies makes sense?

For one, you're actually supposed to cheer and react during a sporting event
 
lol that Brits (is that PC?) still don't understand clapping at the end of a movie. Americans only do it when they really enjoy a film. It's far from standard practice. Why cheer for your favorite football team at a pub if the coaches and players can't hear you? The cast/crew not being able to hear you clap isn't really that great of an argument for NOT applauding.

Completely agree.
 
Aren't scones hard and crunchy rolls? Buttermilk biscuits like what PaulLFC showed are soft, extremely flakey and come apart as you eat them. They would certainly NEVER have cheese. Buttermilk biscuits are ment to be eaten with a light dab of butter on top and white, sausage gravy.
Not really, at least not here. Rolls can either be called just "rolls" or have various other names depending on what part of the UK someone's from. We don't have biscuits that look like that picture, biscuits here are usually sweet and eaten with hot drinks - digestives, Hobnobs, cookies, Oreos, etc. Those are what we call biscuits. The closest we have to the picture are scones, as far as I know.

They're motherfucking biscuits.
Not here they aren't. Biscuits:

JammieDodgers_BourbonCreams_sfeerfoto.jpg
 
Why do people think comparing sports to movies makes sense?

For one, you're actually supposed to cheer and react during a sporting event

in the US part of the point of going to a movie theater is the opportunity to watch something with other people not live in your own little world like you're riding the tube or something
 
Not really, at least not here. Rolls can either be called just "rolls" or have various other names depending on what part of the UK someone's from. We don't have biscuits that look like that picture, biscuits here are usually sweet and eaten with hot drinks - digestives, Hobnobs, cookies, Oreos, etc. Those are what we call biscuits. The closest we have to the picture are scones, as far as I know.


Not here they aren't. Biscuits:

JammieDodgers_BourbonCreams_sfeerfoto.jpg

Those would most certainly be cookies here in the US. The vanilla looking ones look very similar to oreos.
 
For me as a german american english is easier to understand and speak, but sorry british english sounds way cooler and has more character to it. Especialy movies can be more hilarious that way, like Shaun of the Dead for example. Also get some kettles for gods sake!

I always found the differences in the pronunciation of "Z" really strange. I always thought why are the calling it Dragonball Zee?! But now i use it too -_-
 
Yeah, think people are confusing boiling with simply heating up.

No, I boil in the microwave. Since I don't have a kettle. Sometimes I boil with the stove. But if I just need water for tea or jello or ramen, microwave is the way to go. 4 minutes, walk away, come back, done.
 
Well, watching sport in a pub is a social event in England

Going to the cinema is not.

I think a lot of people here in America would say that going to the movies is a social event. You go with your friends to enjoy the movie together instead of staying at home watching it by yourself.
 
Why do people think comparing sports to movies makes sense?

For one, you're actually supposed to cheer and react during a sporting event

The people who you're applauding aren't there to hear it, which was a specific argument used to label applauding at the cinema a nonsensical activity.

Going to the cinema is not a social event? What are you even...
 
Add baking soda, baking powder (and buttermilk, for a Southern American touch) to the English biscuit, and you have the most basic American biscuit recipe. That's how they started in the South in the 1800s anyways.

Nothing at all like a scone or a dumpling. It's easy to find a recipe online to try it them for yourself.

The buttermilk might be hard to find, but in don't know if it's absolutely necessary. I'm sure that there are some recipes without it.

2 cups of liquid consisting of one tablespoon of vinegar and the rest milk.

Makeshift buttermilk recipe.
 
Not really, at least not here. Rolls can either be called just "rolls" or have various other names depending on what part of the UK someone's from. We don't have biscuits that look like that picture, biscuits here are usually sweet and eaten with hot drinks - digestives, Hobnobs, cookies, Oreos, etc. Those are what we call biscuits. The closest we have to the picture are scones, as far as I know.

You've heard of savory biscuits, right? Of course you have. Now imagine if someone pumped a whole lot of air into them. Wouldn't that make them fluffy and delicious? Well, that's the American concept.
 
I think a lot of people here in America would say that going to the movies is a social event. You go with your friends to enjoy the movie together instead of staying at home watching it by yourself.
Do people talk in the cinema in America? If not, it has to be one of the worst choices for a social event possible.
 
I think a lot of people here in America would say that going to the movies is a social event. You go with your friends to enjoy the movie together instead of staying at home watching it by yourself.

I understand that.

The comparison for me is when you go to the pub to watch a match with fellow fans you all interact and have a good time.

Speaking for myself and my friends here, when we go to the cinema we don't give a fuck about anyone else there or their experience.

If I could watch movies day one at home, I would.
 
Do people talk in the cinema in America? If not, it has to be one of the worst choices for a social event possible.

Well generally there's dinner before the movie, and drinks after the movie, for talking.

We enjoy our cinema art as a social outing. And discuss it before and after viewing. And if you can deliver a zinger line to make your entire group, and the people behind you laugh, you win the night.
 
Do people talk in the cinema in America? If not, it has to be one of the worst choices for a social event possible.

Um, well, there are some Americans who seem to speak more often in the movie theater, enough that there is sort of a negative stereotype associated.

I'll leave everyone else to identify.
 
He's a jokester. But Americans by and large do not boil water in the microwave. It's weird and considered an outlier.

Yeah, I'm afraid you're the weird one buddy. I absolutely boil water in the microwave, as does everyone I know. It's fast and convenient.
 
I think a lot of people here in America would say that going to the movies is a social event. You go with your friends to enjoy the movie together instead of staying at home watching it by yourself.

Yep it's common here for groups of teens to just go to the movies without a specific movie in mind to see. It's often just another social experience. We don't pretend like every dumb movie that comes to theaters is a Malick film.
 
Is that an American or British thing?
Yeah i can't tell.. Because in my 28 years on this earth i have never seen a single person in the US boil water in the microwave.

I also don't know anyone who tips for every single service. Restaurants/Delivery? Sure. Some of these things in this forum i can't tell if it's for here in america or what because i sure as hell don't do it.

Yep it's common here for groups of teens to just go to the movies without a specific movie in mind to see. It's just another social event.
This is exactly why i hate going to the theater.

Kids showing up and acting like fucking assholes while yapping and blinding me with their phones because their ADD doesn't allow them to stay off twitter for 5 fucking minutes. I would literally kill for a adult only no cellphone/talking theater. I like to sit down and enjoy the movie not stupid commentary from some half shitfaced frat guy or some loud mouth on a phone. If you want to go see a movie with friends more power to you but a theater is not a place to hang out and chat and check your twitter feed it's for shutting the hell up and watching a movie /rant

Now get off my lawn.
 
Yep it's common here for groups of teens to just go to the movies without a specific movie in mind to see. It's just another social event.

It's also pretty much the only social activity for teens to do. European cities are much more friendly towards those under the age of 21. In the United States you can go to the movies.
 
I'm clearly missing the beauty of social cinema. Please enlighten me.

You're not missing the beauty of anything, you just don't really understand the meaning of the phrases you're using to make your point. This is what a social event is.


More importantly, I'm American (Chicagoan) and I don't think I've ever boiled water in the microwave. I've used it to heat some water up for tea or hot coacoa, though. Never set out to boil anything.
 
Do people talk in the cinema in America? If not, it has to be one of the worst choices for a social event possible.

No one has full blown conversations because that would be considered rude to all the people trying to watch the movie. But if something cool happens and you whisper to your friend "wow that was badass!" or something, that is totally fine. It really doesn't interrupt the immersion of the film or anything.

The reason it is considered a social event is because you are enjoying the film in the company of friends. You can discuss the film before and after and that is what makes it fun.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom