Drug store, Druggist or Chemist, sure. 

The funniest is how we call the School Principal if she is female ... she is the "Headmistress"

i was rolling under the table laughing when I heard a group of Aussies that came back from texas in a visit to a church there, and told us how talking about the local school and her "head mistress" they got into real trouble with the locals who felt very insulted.

 

Marc1,

One good anecdote deserves an anecdotal rejoinder. Here goes.

We were in a bar (in Toronto, years back), when my friend's New Zealand girlfriend joined us a little later that Friday afternoon.

She came in and announced in a loud voice the she "had just been scr**d". That brought conversations to a halt, for a moment.

That phrase was Kiwi slang for getting paid. Her Canadian boyfriend quickly set her straight.

I will never forget that incident for the rest of my life.

SLAG.

Mm ... not sure that is accurate. I am no Kiwi but been across the tasman many times and never heard that. 

They do however pronounce the vowels in a peculiar way. 

Better becomes bitter and the number six becomes sex. if you go into a lift that announces the levels you can tell the locals from the visitors in a flash.

i went to the post office at Auckland's airport and they asked me if I had a "litter" to post. I answered i had no dog and would never to such thing ... but had to post a letter. They ignored me and turned around to tell each other pointing out the window, that the "Sivven Sucks Sivven" had just landed ...

1 hour ago, Marc1 said:

Mm ... not sure that is accurate. I am no Kiwi but been across the tasman many times and never heard that. 

They do however pronounce the vowels in a peculiar way. 

They sure do. Easy to tell as soon as they ask how hard do I hut the mital. And that's why I have 'blecksmuth'  on my overseas visitor sign for the benefit of Kiwis.

And I have not heard of the aforementioned 'paid' reference either.

And Marc, you wouldn't get away with calling a lady principal a headmistress here. I have worked with many a female principal over the years and I'm sure they would be offended by that. Maybe we're different in Qld. (We often are.)

Yea ... it's very British, and old australians use it. My daughter's (very) expensive private school also used it. Not sure if Queensland is different from the big smoke.

Surely the ankle biters just say principal. 

Our smelting group was headed by a lady and so we  referred to her as the iron mistress (which is also the name of a movie about Jim Bowie and his knife...)

My aunt told a story about the first time she traveled to England to visit relatives. She was checking in to an inn, the owner carried her bags to her room and then asked her when she'd like to be knocked up. She didn't know quite how to respond, but told him she was married. They had a good laugh after they got the meaning sorted out.

First night our AFS student from Sri Lanka had dinner with us we had a very interesting discussion on the differences between "knocking off" and "turning off" the lights. 

(I well remember that famous line in the Sherlock Holmes story: `The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb': "Sorry to knock you up so early Doctor". I can also buy an eraser in the UK, and I know the capital of Assyria...)

12 hours ago, ThomasPowers said:

 I can also buy an eraser in the UK, and I know the capital of Assyria...)

I understand the eraser reference, but I'm missing something with the capital of Syria.  ???

Assyria;  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4b4bGAoVR7g

Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Bridge of Death scene: What is your name?  What is your quest? What is the capital of Assyria?

Visitors to the forge today included a couple from Michigan. I asked  whereabouts and he said something about being near the thumb. I had no idea what he meant until he explained that Michigan is shaped like a hand and people there often describe their location in terms of hand features. I checked out a map and it does look a bit like a hand - possibly wearing a baseball glove. Always learn something interesting from overseas visitors. Netherlands and Sweden also in today. The Swedes liked the stamping on the side of my anvil!

You know the line Qantas pilots use on the Japanese visitors ... "welcome todaay" works only with aussie accent.

On 3/7/2018 at 12:48 AM, VaughnT said:

Still trying to find a Brit who can explain the difference between a git and a twit.

You've found one......

Wile E Coyote is a twit, while Roadrunner is a git.

 

On 4/6/2018 at 4:54 PM, Smoggy said:

Wile E Coyote is a twit

I resemble that remark...

One of my favorite Carson show moments was when Olivia Newton John was a guest. Johnny said he'd love to visit Australia and she told him to, "Be sure to knock me up if you do."

Then there was the American TV crew shooting the Americas Cup races down under. The interviewer kept asking locals who they were rooting for. The poor guy had no idea why people were getting mad, little kids were snickering, one woman slapped him and nobody but NOBODY would talk to him. None of the Australians on the crew clued him in either. They probably put themselves in the hospital laughing. Finally a gentleman whispered to him what he was actually asking folks in Australian.

Ahhh, I LOVE commonwealth English. 

Frosty The Lucky.

10 hours ago, Frosty said:

 None of the Australians on the crew clued him in either.  Finally a gentleman whispered to him what he was actually asking folks in Australian.

I can imagine how the crew wanted to keep that one going!   And I wonder how many confusing looks there have been about people wearing thongs.

6 hours ago, ausfire said:

I can imagine how the crew wanted to keep that one going!   And I wonder how many confusing looks there have been about people wearing thongs.

You should've seen the look on Olivia Newton John's face when Ed McMahon said she deserved to get a swat on the Fanny for saying things like that on TV. 

I think the Australian use of Thong is is why say flip flops. Sure it's a better descriptive phrase maybe but toe splitting sandals are thongs in my brain dictionary. 

Frosty The Lucky.

Quite a few of your fellow citizens in today, Frosty. A group of three ladies travelling from Tampa, Florida, another from Atlanta, Georgia and a very interesting gentleman who wrote his address in our visitors' book as "The Bronx".  I knew he was American, not just  because he had USA on the front of his baseball cap, but he saw my scrap art lizards made on a 'wrench'. We say spanner.

Had a tour group from Utah recently too. I don't think they were handling the heat too well.

If they were from Southern Utah the heat would be like home. Up by Salt Lake City it doesn't get nearly as hot. I am near the Utah border and we usually hit 115 F (46C) at least a couple of times during the summer.

17 hours ago, BIGGUNDOCTOR said:

If they were from Southern Utah the heat would be like home. Up by Salt Lake City it doesn't get nearly as hot. I am near the Utah border and we usually hit 115 F (46C) at least a couple of times during the summer.

Many years ago I drove a moving van through Utah across the great salt lake.  I drove at least a hundred miles without seeing another living thing, not even birds or bugs.  Just a road through white salt out to the horizon in every direction.  

I still recall thinking I was imagining a giant green lizard on the horizon.  Turns out it was a Sinclair gas station with a huge fiberglass dinosaur on their sign!  

 

7 minutes ago, rockstar.esq said:

Many years ago I drove a moving van through Utah across the great salt lake.  I drove at least a hundred miles without seeing another living thing, not even birds or bugs.  Just a road through white salt out to the horizon in every direction.  

I still recall thinking I was imagining a giant green lizard on the horizon.  Turns out it was a Sinclair gas station with a huge fiberglass dinosaur on their sign!  

 

That was a deliberate marketing strategy for that and other Sinclair stations where they could make it work. I remember the one peaking around a giant redwood when I was a little kid. I miss the Sinclair "Brontosaurus". Yeah yeah, I know but that's what Sinclair called it. Last one I saw was on an episode of "American Pickers" . <sigh>

Frosty The Lucky.

Lots of Sinclair Dinos around the Las Vegas valley, and Southern Utah.  I would love to have one on my property, but the prices are fairly steep.

 

I had one of the waxy low temp plastic ones from the NY Worlds Fair for many years; too many moves since then.

Wow, thanks for the flash back, Thomas. I had one of those dinos too, probably now in the same place as yours- migration over the years back to their origin. I remember everyone wanted Belgian waffles but I just wanted a hot dog.

Steve

I can truthfully tell my kids and grandkids: "Yes I remember the Dinosaurs!"