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Bell Cheeses at work



LlcoolJ

Mama said knock you out.
Oct 14, 2009
12,982
Sheffield
Another one you can thank the Yanks for. In a slight reversal one of my American colleagues was getting his knickers in a twist about the number of his countrymen in our New York office who have started referring to their cell phones as mobiles, he sees it as the thin end of the wedge - very un-American

Even more amusing as they've missed the boat on that one as well. I don't know anyone who calls their phone a "mobile" any more. It's just a phone these days. Mobile sounds like something your grandparents would say (was going to say your parents but even my mum doesn't say it). [emoji6]
 


Guinness Boy

Tofu eating wokerati
Helpful Moderator
NSC Patreon
Jul 23, 2003
33,821
Up and Coming Sunny Portslade
Do you ever find yourself using a word or phrase which is very common in the UK, and get greeted with a blank stare when no one understands what you're on about? I had it the other day when I used the word "fortnight". Apparently that hasn't made its way across the Atlantic. I guess I should have realised when people talked about bi-weekly meetings instead of fortnightly meetings.

:lolol:

Takes me back to when I was working for a Canadian company and we were paid every two weeks. The UK office was Crawley but head office was Toronto and we used to get a fair share of Canucks over to work on projects and as managers. Typical pub conversation

"Do you guys also get paid every two weeks?"
"Yes we get paid every fortnight"
:tumble:
"Fortnight? Don't you get paid the same as us in Torono?"
"Yes we get paid every fortnight"
*beer is spilled on a lumberjack shirt*
 


pearl

Well-known member
May 3, 2016
12,717
Behind My Eyes
Do you ever find yourself using a word or phrase which is very common in the UK, and get greeted with a blank stare when no one understands what you're on about? I had it the other day when I used the word "fortnight". Apparently that hasn't made its way across the Atlantic. I guess I should have realised when people talked about bi-weekly meetings instead of fortnightly meetings.

I work with an American:
Them - why has someone written P.T.O. on the bottom of this page?
Me - because that's what they want you to do.
Them - Wat?!
Me - Don't you understand P.T.O?
Them - Of course I understand P.T.O.
Me - then do it
Them - take paid time off!?
 


Lyndhurst 14

Well-known member
Jan 16, 2008
5,114
Do you ever find yourself using a word or phrase which is very common in the UK, and get greeted with a blank stare when no one understands what you're on about? I had it the other day when I used the word "fortnight". Apparently that hasn't made its way across the Atlantic. I guess I should have realised when people talked about bi-weekly meetings instead of fortnightly meetings.

All the time - we were in a meeting negotiating some contrast costs and said 'it's all swings and roundabouts really' - got some very strange looks. Another time one of the Brits said 'there's not enough room to swing a cat' and I think they were going to report us to the ASPCA.

Don't know about Canadians but Americans really don't get irony or sarcasm
 


Badger

NOT the Honey Badger
NSC Patreon
May 8, 2007
12,750
Toronto
All the time - we were in a meeting negotiating some contrast costs and said 'it's all swings and roundabouts really' - got some very strange looks. Another time one of the Brits said 'there's not enough room to swing a cat' and I think they were going to report us to the ASPCA.

Don't know about Canadians but Americans really don't get irony or sarcsam

I find Canadians are generally pretty switched on when it comes to irony and sarcasm. You get the odd plum who takes everything you say at face value, but that's the same in the UK.
 




FamilyGuy

Well-known member
Jul 8, 2003
2,371
Crawley
I was visiting an office in Dallas in an unusually cold spell and complained that "I haven't brought a Jumper" and got some very strange looks.
 


Peter Grummit

Well-known member
Oct 13, 2004
6,769
Lewes
I was visiting an office in Dallas in an unusually cold spell and complained that "I haven't brought a Jumper" and got some very strange looks.
I worked in Dallas and for 9 months of the year a sweater is anyone outside for more than 5 minutes.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
 


weetle

New member
Jul 8, 2003
12
I've been a long term lurker on this thread but receiving an email today asking me to "onpass this document" has finally compelled me to join in.
 




Guinness Boy

Tofu eating wokerati
Helpful Moderator
NSC Patreon
Jul 23, 2003
33,821
Up and Coming Sunny Portslade
I worked in Dallas and for 9 months of the year a sweater is anyone outside for more than 5 minutes.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

I always though a sweater was what you ended up with at 1.55 am in The Event as the first notes of the slow songs started and you'd had too much Kronenbourg.
 


edna krabappel

Well-known member
NSC Patreon
Jul 7, 2003
47,228
I had to listen to somebody talking about "cross-fertilisation of departments" recently :ohmy:
 


Badger

NOT the Honey Badger
NSC Patreon
May 8, 2007
12,750
Toronto
I always though a sweater was what you ended up with at 1.55 am in The Event as the first notes of the slow songs started and you'd had too much Kronenbourg.

:lolol:

That's always the point where one of my mates would pull some hideous fat girl, just so he didn't feel like he'd ended the night empty-handed.
 




timbha

Well-known member
Jul 5, 2003
9,834
Sussex
:lolol:

That's always the point where one of my mates would pull some hideous fat girl, just so he didn't feel like he'd ended the night empty-handed.

And of course us guys looked like Patrick Swayze/John Travolta/other hunk at that time of night
 


dazzer6666

Well-known member
NSC Patreon
Mar 27, 2013
52,024
Burgess Hill
I find Canadians are generally pretty switched on when it comes to irony and sarcasm. You get the odd plum who takes everything you say at face value, but that's the same in the UK.

Definitely......Canadian sense of humour much closer to British than the Yanks in my experience. Very dry and funny.
 


Bodian

Well-known member
May 3, 2012
11,603
Cumbria
Do you ever find yourself using a word or phrase which is very common in the UK, and get greeted with a blank stare when no one understands what you're on about? I had it the other day when I used the word "fortnight". Apparently that hasn't made its way across the Atlantic. I guess I should have realised when people talked about bi-weekly meetings instead of fortnightly meetings.

But this is just why we have 'fortnight'. Bi-weekly can mean either twice a week, or once every two weeks!
 






Shuggie

Well-known member
Sep 19, 2003
666
East Sussex coast
Do you ever find yourself using a word or phrase which is very common in the UK, and get greeted with a blank stare when no one understands what you're on about? I had it the other day when I used the word "fortnight". Apparently that hasn't made its way across the Atlantic. I guess I should have realised when people talked about bi-weekly meetings instead of fortnightly meetings.

My proudest day in California: hearing young Jesus telling someone from Colorado “that’s bollox”
 








8049

Well-known member
Jan 26, 2015
326
Berkshire
On the subject of annoying office buzz words does anyone else get asked to "socialise" things? I got asked the other day "could you socialise this with the client?". Do you mean "send it to them"? :shrug: :rant: :wozza:

One that seems to be coming our way is when someone "double clicks" on something. It means "to talk about in more depth"

Weirdest one I've ever heard was to "keep rolling the peanut forward" - still don't know if that's actually a phrase anywhere or he made it up.
 


jonnyrovers

mostly tinpot
Aug 13, 2013
1,181
Shoreham-by-Sea
One that seems to be coming our way is when someone "double clicks" on something. It means "to talk about in more depth"

Weirdest one I've ever heard was to "keep rolling the peanut forward" - still don't know if that's actually a phrase anywhere or he made it up.

Ever been told to ‘get all your ducks in a line’? My response was that I haven’t got ducks I’ve got squirrels, and they’re on acid.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 



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