Britishisms invading American English

[Lord of Oop North]

A main floor room with a toilet and sink is usually referred to as a powder room in this part of Canada.

Indeed! A proper Torontonian Gentlemen always provides a private space for his guests to do a few lines.

[MinDonner]

More Americans should adopt the word "bollocks". It could only be a good thing.

On the reverse, the first time I visited America it was kind of a rite of passage, so I made a point of deliberately adopting a few less-obvious Americanisms (eg. the US pronunciation of "cigarette", saying "waiting on" instead of "waiting for", that kind of thing) - it was intended as, I dunno, some weird tribute, like a verbal tattoo. If there's a pretentious reason for taking on parts of a dialect, maybe that's one.

:dunno: Meh. These days I just buy postcards.

[Fragile Bird]

Indeed! A proper Torontonian Gentlemen always provides a private space for his guests to do a few lines.

"Like"

[Lightning Lord]

Min, what's the british version of cigarette? My Brit friends say it the same way my American friends do. And "waiting on"? I've used that, I guess, but much more common is "waiting for."

My English is Britished to all hell. But, I haven't been converted on lorry, lift, or boot. I'm a fan of bloody, bollocks, football, brekkie (breakkie?), and pitch. Pancakes will always be what I pour maple syrup all over and gorge on floury sugary goodness for breakfast. British people have pancakes, too, and that's fine, but it's not what I want.

[Ormond]

I'm on Jem's side. If you'd asked me where the bathroom was in my old flat, you would have been directed to the room that contained the bath, not the room that contained the lavatory, which was next door. Putting the loo and the bathtub in the same room is, IIRC, a post-WWII thing - even in my parents' house, built in the 1970s and 1980s, they were in different rooms.

This is fascinating information. I don't recall ever having seen in my life an American home where the bathtub was NOT in the same room as a toilet, except for a few very old rural homes where the "toilet" was an outhouse and so not even inside the home at all.

[deleted01]

"Bollocks" should be said every day by everyone everywhere. Ever.

We do have a lot of American TV over here, so it's not really surprising that we pick up Americanisms, but I don't really use them.

In my house now we have a toilet on its own, then a bath and a sink in the next room, and then a shower cubicle, a toilet and a sink in the next room (part of the extension since it was changed into a student house). So they are called the toilet, bathroom, and shower room respectively. If I'm going to the shower room to use the toilet, I say I'm going to the loo. It's a bit more polite. I've never heard of anyone being offended by someone saying "loo". If we said bathroom people would assume we're going to have a bath. I can't remember what I said to FB when I asked to use the toilet in her hotel room - did I say loo? :lol:

[Arch-MaesterPhilip]

More Americans should adopt the word "bollocks". It could only be a good thing.

On the reverse, the first time I visited America it was kind of a rite of passage, so I made a point of deliberately adopting a few less-obvious Americanisms (eg. the US pronunciation of "cigarette", saying "waiting on" instead of "waiting for", that kind of thing) - it was intended as, I dunno, some weird tribute, like a verbal tattoo. If there's a pretentious reason for taking on parts of a dialect, maybe that's one.

:dunno: Meh. These days I just buy postcards.

I say bollocks on occasion but not nearly as much as I should.

[Usotsuki]

Indeed! A proper Torontonian Gentlemen always provides a private space for his guests to do a few lines.

Eventually we all get evicted from Bohemia. :(

When I leave the table at a dinner party these days it's to use a little inter-dental toothbrush as recommended by my profoundly scary dentist.

In a few short years your friends won't be even thinking about doing lines any more, they'll be using those private minutes to keep up with their oral hygiene routines, check their email and calculate when they have to leave in order to avoid an extra hours pay for the babysitter.

[Pebble thats Stubby]

Now here I always thought that "cloakrooms" were mud rooms (no potties, just a place to put your muddy boots) "ensuite," I've always heard referred to as a master suite, master bedroom with bath attached. For example, our house was listed as two and a half baths. We have two rooms with toilet, tub and shower upstairs and the laundry room has a toilet and sink along with the washer and dryer is downstairs.

And I see that "cloakroom" does indeed mean lavatory to some. If anyone asked me for a cloakroom, I certainly would not send them to the bathroom, er toilet, er, loo, whatever. I would rather have them tell me they need to pee.

well I'm guessing the word "cloakroom" comes from the even older Guardrobe, where they did indeed hang their robes and cloaks as the smell would deter moths from eating their clothes.

When speeking however most people don't use Cloakroom. Just like no-body asks for the Water Closset or WC but that is what is normally always on the signposts.

[Fragile Bird]

"Bollocks" should be said every day by everyone everywhere. Ever.

Agreed. :P

I've never heard of anyone being offended by someone saying "loo". If we said bathroom people would assume we're going to have a bath. I can't remember what I said to FB when I asked to use the toilet in her hotel room - did I say loo? :lol:

IIRC, both loo and toilet.

[naz]

For the record, I've seen the "half-bath" being referred that way more often when speaking of the total number of bathrooms in American homes, e.g., "This apartment has two bedrooms and one and a half bathrooms.". Otherwise, I've more often heard it referred to as a "powder room". The former is more like real estate lingo. However, since more people these days are becoming fluent in real estate lingo, I've heard the term "half-bath" being used on its own more often, too. (Does what I said even make sense? I feel like I just contradicted myself.)

Anyway, if you look at most floor plans and architectural drawings, bathrooms will be referred to as such almost exclusively in the residential domain. In public or commercial buildings, we always label the rooms as "toilets". E.g., "Men's Toilet" or "Public Toilet" or "HC (Handicapped) Toilet". Every once in a while, you'll see them labeled as "Restroom", but that's mostly a term I've heard used verbally, as in "Where is the restroom, please?"

Yes, it's odd that Americans will refer to even public toilets (with no bathing facility whatsoever) as "bathrooms", but I see that as indicative of Americans' informalizing of public spaces; they refer to the toilet room at home as a "bathroom", so in public it's also the "bathroom".

ETA: I've never heard of the term "cloakroom" being used to refer to what we call a powder room. That's a new one for me.

[lionhead]

Another one for going to the bathroom you Americans need to pick up is 'I am off for a shite".

To pronounce hover your mouse over the word in the link:

http://howjsay.com/index.php?word=shite

[IheartTesla]

Most Indians are educated in British English, so when you go to the US and start talking 'rubbers' and 'dickies' instead of 'erasers' and 'boot', much hilarity ensues.

Still, I'd hate being called a wanker for either carrying on in the culture I was brought up in, or taking on aspects of the new culture I am assimilating into. No one is a fully finished product when you meet them, yeah? Maybe they are still in transition. So I'd be a little understanding before jumping into all sorts of assumptions about why someone uses some phrases.

[buy one get one free]

Just like no-body asks for the Water Closset

I have used the term "water closet" in reference to the little doored room containing the toilet that is part of the bigger room containing the shower/bath and sink. To a much lesser extent (and mostly just to sound extra hick) I've also used it in reference to the half-bath/cloakroom that is a toilet and sink on the main floor of the house.

[Alcibiades]

I'll say this for British culture too: we Americans have never come up with political humor half as funny as "Yes, Minister" or "The Thick of It." "Yes, Minister" is a common reference point now that I work in a bureaucracy myself. All we ever managed to produce was "The West Wing," which I think was painfully idealistic in hindsight (though i loved it back then). We've got "Veep" now, which is essentially an adaptation of the British show.

[Hereward]

I love The West Wing, although the sentimentality could be cloying from time to time, and the foreign relations segments were usually painfully unrealistic and borderline embarrassing.

[Alcibiades]

I love The West Wing, although the sentimentality could be cloying from time to time, and the foreign relations segments were usually painfully unrealistic and borderline embarrassing.

Yeah, I should probably watch it again. All I remember now is Bartlett walking to Congress to end congressional gridlock (haha, imagine if Obama tried that) and invading Israel/Palastine to end the conflict there.

[The Iceman of the North]

I love The West Wing, although the sentimentality could be cloying from time to time, and the foreign relations segments were usually painfully unrealistic and borderline embarrassing.

Are there any US shows where foreign relations are not painfully unrealistic and borderline embarrassing.

[Mlle. Zabzie]

Yeah, I'm still not sure what the problem is. I've borrowed all sorts of words from all over the place. Every once in a while, a Britishism seems like the right word or phrase. So sue me. (Really, try. It'll be fun, I promise). I've also picked up/borrowed Yiddishisms from various friends/colleagues here. Some of them have picked up Southernisms from me. Also pretentious?

[naz]

Most Indians are educated in British English, so when you go to the US and start talking 'rubbers' and 'dickies' instead of 'erasers' and 'boot' 'trunk', much hilarity ensues.

FTFY