iandouglas Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 the only difficulty I've had corresponding with an American is that he couldn't understand what I was on about mentioning a 'SatNav', I think they are referred to as GPS in the States. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ttaskmaster Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 GPS is the system by which a SatNav operates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyday58 Posted July 2, 2013 Author Share Posted July 2, 2013 Yup, GPS. I think the tendency over here is to lump everything under one convenient-to-remember term, like GPS. Goes with the schwa thing, we've become a nation of mumblers, single syllabics and slurrers. SatNav is one syllable too many for most Statians. GPS is like three one syllable words. Come to think of it, most pilots I fly with, even the women, have single syllable names: Dick; Bob; Tim; Ann; Clark; Jen. We also tend to apply brand names as generic terms. Coke is fairly generic for soda or cola of any kind. I remember wanting to by a "windsurfer" 20 or 30 years ago, not knowing "Windsurfer" was an actual brand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nayruf Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 I fly with, even the women, have single syllable names: Dick; Bob; Tim; Ann; Clark; Jen. Roger, Roger. What's our vector, Victor? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ttaskmaster Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 Roger, Roger. What's our vector, Victor? You have clearance Clarence! Dunn was over Unger and Oever was over Dunn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wild foamy Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 You have clearance Clarence! Dunn was over Unger and Oever was over Dunn. epic film ^.^ Used to have a few laughs at work, every time an aircraft has a fault the pilot records it in a logbook, the engineers then read the logbook and try to sort out the problem, reported problems included: Fault: Tapping noise in cockpit, sounds like troll with tiny hammer Engineer Action: Tiny hammer removed from troll Fault: Something loose in cockpit Action: Something tightened in cockpit Fault: Whining noise can be heard on takeoff and landing Action: Pilot removed from cockpit Fault: Aircraft is reluctant to taxi on ground, Hover taxi only Action: Aircraft handbrake checked for integrity and found to be engaged Fault: Pilots seat will not slide fully rearwards Action: Pilots lunchbox found behind seat it all got a bit silly towards the end and we were told to stop taking the piss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iandouglas Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 haha - like it I've been a member of the XJRider site (US) for some time - the Americans on there are polite and fairly serious people, humour was understated, quite different from a couple of UK forums I'd been on previously there was a Brit on there (who I have met) that wouldn't hesitate to use four letter words and sarcasm (although not in a horrible way) and I really think they had difficulty understanding what he was on about Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ttaskmaster Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 I do find a lot of humour differences between me and my American buddies... Whenever I'm being properly funny, it's very subtle and usually depends entirely on the context of what I say than anything else. Whenever I swear, I seem to breach all the US laws of decency and insult them quite seriously, yet by contrast, whenever they swear it is crass, childish and base beyond belief, without any art or refinement. We cross each others' lines so easily that I just tell them to always assume I'm making jokes. I did rather enjoy explaining to them the subtle differences between a shit, prick, nob, wanker, tosser, arsehole and complete c**t, and when each is best applied. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wild foamy Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 I thought communicating with civvies was bad, let alone foreign civvies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyday58 Posted July 3, 2013 Author Share Posted July 3, 2013 I did rather enjoy explaining to them the subtle differences between a shit, prick, nob, wanker, tosser, arsehole and complete c**t, and when each is best applied. Well? Heard them all, what's the diff? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ttaskmaster Posted July 3, 2013 Share Posted July 3, 2013 Well? Heard them all, what's the diff? It's mostly related to the severity of the insult. In the context of road users, for example, it's all about those who screw other people over - bullying, cutting up, no indicators, forced dominance, etc... Shit - Someone who knows the rules and uses them (occasionally bending them) along with road psychology to gain more advantage than one might reasonably expect. Fast filterers and decent 4x4 drivers are good at this, simply from knowing how their size affects other drivers. Prangs mostly minor and likely to be 'technically' your fault. 10% chance. Nob - Idiot who is useless at driving, but still tries it on. Usually fucks it up and blocks traffic. Sunday drivers, most often. 25% chance of minor prang. Arsehole - Useless idiot who succeeds where a Nob fails. Blocks traffic on purpose, speeds down a closing motorway lane and then forces their way in right at the end where the cones close the road, etc. Undertaking summer biker is typical. 50% chance of a minor prang, 25% chance of a major one. Wanker - Jammy git who actively tries to screw you over, thinks they're better than they are yet still manages to succeed half the time. Their fuckups are highly embarrassing at best. 50% chance of a major prang, minors unlikely. Tosser - Exactly as per wanker, but is as good as they think. Their fuckups kill people. Bad 4x4 drivers dominate this category. 25% chance of major, but prangs caused are far more serious. Prick - Stereotypical BMW driver. Someone who REALLY bullies/screws you over on purpose to get their own way. Parks where they like, has inferiority issues, etc. Usually escapes scot-free themselves, leaving you somewhere in the shit. 50% chance of that shit being serious. Complete C**t - Runs you off the road, bashes you out of parking spaces, drives with fog lights on all the time, hit-and-run, blatantly uninsured, probably driving stolen vehicle as well. 75% chance of seriously major prang and/or death. 30% chance they will die as well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyday58 Posted July 5, 2013 Author Share Posted July 5, 2013 Fabulous list. It's very well spoken, with authority, and there's also your icon. In the medical profession, maybe on the psychology side? Where do the cell-using-while-driving types fit in? Here it's every third or fourth vehicle WITHOUT someone on the cell. And arseholes are legion here as well. Any tie-up on our version on your M's shows that quite well. All of us here should probably try to translate this list for our own countries - seen pretty wild driving in Italy, France, Germany, Taiwan, The Netherlands. One thing. Here bikes stay in their respective lanes unless there is an opening. On the rest of the planet bikes routinely thread their way through traffic between vehicles in adjacent lanes, sometimes barely scraping through. Is this government-approved operations or just standard practice? Seems an excellent way to devote your bike to the local scrap yard and your body to science. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slice Posted July 5, 2013 Share Posted July 5, 2013 Filtering is LEGAL in the UK, simple as that really but it's frowned on if you do it at speed, should really only be used if the traffic is moving slowly or at a standstill but some arseholes try it at 90 MPH and get snotted so then we are all guilty by association. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ttaskmaster Posted July 5, 2013 Share Posted July 5, 2013 Well, since y'all got me being picky on the subject of precise language... That symbol is the Caduceus, icon of Mercury/Hermes (Roman/Greek), the messenger of the gods, guide of the dead and protector of merchants, shepherds, gamblers, liars, and thieves. It symbolises commerce and negotiation, exchange and reciprocity and just about anything else involving balance. In alchemy it represents all four base elements, make and female, good and evil and loads of other stuff. Because of the above and because it was also used on a Gary Numan album cover, it is thus tattoed in flick-shading on my left shoulder. Hence the avatar. It has naff-all to do with medicine or medical practice - That is the Rod Of Asclepius, a staff with a single snake and no wings. The misuse of one over t'other is mostly regarded as historical confusion, but is always being debated by some academic or other. Sorry... something about mobile phones? They'd be somewhere around Wanker. Same results, caused by lack of attention. They think they're doing fine, not realising they haven't a clue what's happening. One moment's distraction and SMASH... dead schoolchildren and bikers all over the road. Will likely complain that the *other* party should have been watching where they were going... but will shit themselves when you square up to them and demand they put their money where their (about to be smashed in) mouth is. Different countries, diferent cultures. UK driving is actually a relatively high standard on the whole, so we are fucking merciless and crucify anyone for the *slightest* mistake. HGV drivers are supposedly notoriously bad drivers, but when you really grill people on it and investigate, they tend to mean foreign HGV drivers... but we're too polite to say such things, of course!! Lane Splitting is what the UK calls Filtering. And it is perfectly legal here, albeit a very grey area. Motorists are taught to watch out for filtering bikes, particularly in stationary or slow-moving traffic. There aren't really any set speeds, but if you're hooning down between two lanes, you're likely going way too fast. 20:20 is a common guideline - Not more than 20mph faster than the traffic you're passing and not filtering if that traffic is going above 20mph. This, however, is a guideline ratio and so some go 40 if the traffic is doing 30. Filtering generally means between two lanes on a 2/3 lane road. It can also mean down the outside of a single lane, as it's technically a type of overtake. If there's a dividing rail between your side and the oncoming traffic side, or if you're going down the inside of a traffic lane, then it's pretty much illegal. Weaving is a 'whole nuther' ball game. This is basically switching lanes back and forth into the gaps between each vehicle, or flitting from one to another. At it's best, it looks like you're doing a slalom through road cones, but with cars instad. This is generally looked upon as "NOT GOOD" by the cops - If you're going above the speed limit then it's undertaking, dangerous/reckless driving, unneccesary lane changing and whatever else they can think up. If you're going under the speed limit, it's a slightly less-naughty version of the above. generally you're more of a hazard than they'd like. Pretty much the same as high-speed filtering, but worse. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike1949 Posted July 5, 2013 Share Posted July 5, 2013 Filtering is LEGAL in the UK, simple as that really but it's frowned on if you do it at speed, should really only be used if the traffic is moving slowly or at a standstill but some arseholes try it at 90 MPH and get snotted so then we are all guilty by association. Bearing in mind that you still have to stick to the Highway Code. i.e. "do not cross continuous white lines or enter thatched areas" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slice Posted July 6, 2013 Share Posted July 6, 2013 Yeah that mike!! Forgot that bit but as the question was asked by one of our colonists (Oh that is soooo NOT PC ) I thought it was ok but your still right nonetheless. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mailee Posted July 6, 2013 Share Posted July 6, 2013 Here are a couple more different words in uk /usa speak Indicators are turn signals and a torch is a flash light. and how about a fanny! it's your bum. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wild foamy Posted July 6, 2013 Share Posted July 6, 2013 and in the US, a fag is a homosexual, not a cigarette! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike1949 Posted July 6, 2013 Share Posted July 6, 2013 Bearing in mind that you still have to stick to the Highway Code. i.e. "do not cross continuous white lines or enter thatched areas" Yeah that mike!! Forgot that bit but as the question was asked by one of our colonists (Oh that is soooo NOT PC ) I thought it was ok but your still right nonetheless. I learned that from experience Slice, as I was filtering through town standstill traffic I got pulled over by the old bill, who I think wrongly said I was crossing continuous white lines, when I tried to explain as soon as I'd seen the arrows to get back in I did. Then he started on about not being observant I then thought, shut up or I will get into trouble. Anyway after a father to son lecture, he let me get on my way. Although I was old enough to be his dad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atocp Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 You think learning the 'English' translations in America is hard, try learning them in Scottish.http://www.firstfoot.com/dictionary An then yer arse fell aff. A term used when someone is bullshitting. Arse bandit Pejorative term for a homosexual Auldjin Anybody older than 40. Bampot A mildly unhinged person. Banger To describe someone that's mentally challenged "check the nick a that banger over there" can also be used when enquiring on how your pal got on with his new girlfriend. "Did ye banger?" baw bag scrotum Bawbag A useless person " Haw, see you Vogts, yerr a bawbag ya choob" baw hair a hairsbreadth. He missed me by a baw hair To name but a few.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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