39 Comments

Loved this, and had a chuckle or two, too. The language differences between the Brits and Americans can be charming (I, too, am a fan of the British accent - everything sounds so civilized, regardless of what's been said). Perhaps some of it's rubbed off on me; I told a co-worker that I loved British TV and movies, and she said, "Ah, I can kinda tell. You say stuff and I don't really know what you're talking about." 😂

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Watched a lot of Dave Allen in my younger days. Some lovely memories. And yeah, Substack really drives home the differences sometimes, in English vs American English. A fun read.

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He was very sharp on everyday life I think 😁. Thanks Beth

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Took the STSC Omnibus over here, hello!

Gosh, growing up in Finland speaking Swedish, they taught us British English. Then I moved to... Santa Monica! I still think the word "queue" is way better than "line."

One of my most painful stumbles while adapting to English 24/7 was when I said: "What's the clock?" My husband claimed he loved the expression. To me it sounded like the scene from Casablanca. "What watch?" "Ten watch." "Such much?"

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Thanks, Minna 😂

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Insane, isn't it, Alicia? I don't think all British accents sound sophisticated 😂. I've not heard the kind Vs nice distinction before, but that sounds about right from my limited experience. I would like to go to NY one of these days.

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Who know that "ass" could provoke such a fantastic blog post and this ensuing discussion! Loved reading this. That observation about the differences between New York and LA English is spot on. Similar to how people will say the East Coast is "kind" and the West Coast is "nice." I'm an East Coast girl through and through. But oh, how I would love to speak with a sophisticated British accent!!

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Love it! I will defend “different than” (and different from) but there's no excuse for “I could care less." And I'm intrigued by the book about NY English! You haven't fully experienced American English until you've had the NY experience, though it's not for the faint of heart ;-)

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😁 I can't wait to get to NY. I've never been. Glad we agree on caring less!

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I can’t believe you quoted my stupid-ass comment

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😂

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Long ass story. Love it. Reminds me of a phrase from my firefighting days, when we’d complain about “hiking our ass out” from wherever the helicopter dropped us. Always had the visual of giant buttocks strapped to our backs.

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Lol. I sometimes say to my wife, I'm gonna get my ass to bed, to which she always replies: What about the rest of you? 😂

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Rather less romantic than Emerson’s notion of becoming a transparent eyeball!

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"Less romantic" 😂

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You made me laugh out loud--and I now live in LA!

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Lol glad to hear it, Mary. I thought of you while I was writing it. I thought as a writer you would enjoy the language focus 😀

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Absolutely. And this: LIKE is till a preposition??? Apparently NOT!

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Jan 6, 2023·edited Jan 6, 2023Liked by Terry Freedman

I would tend to favor tiny ass or small ass over short ass, which I have not yet heard. That does not mean it is not in use, only that I have never heard it because I am somwhat of a tight ass when it comes to slang. I learn new words daily, for example I learned what dead chuffed means just the other day. I bet you are dead chuffed with this post. I would be.

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Feb 1, 2023Liked by Terry Freedman

In California, we might say, " Get your skinny ass over here and have a beer with us." Or something like, "Check out this big-ass flower I brought you. Or "Man! That was one long-ass movie if you ask me." Just thought I would add a few from here on the Left Coast.

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Thanks, Sharron. I'm starting to see that ass can be used in a multitude of contexts 😂

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lol. Another one you might like then, Jeanne, is "well", meaning "much", as in:

* well chuffed.

*Well bad

*well good

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Great-ass post, Terry! And wow - jam AND cream - and STUFF - in a doughnut? (Donut?)

I've been thinking about the fact we are 'two countries divided by a common language' thing myself this afternoon, in fact. I'd thought it was George Bernard Shaw - but 't internet attributes it to either him, Wilde, or even Winston Churchill! But that confusion over that quote's attribution only serves to emphasise the fact that the differences are so, well, different....!

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Thanks, Rebecca! LoL. Yes, probably donut 😁

Shaw said what you said in an email, two nations divided by a common language, while Wilde said the Americans and the British have everything in common except language. We're right, Rebecca. It's the internet that's wrong!

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🤣 I think they're all making a similar point!

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This is hilarious. It has me wondering if "short-ass" is a common usage. I've used "long-ass" plenty of times but never "short-ass." To paraphrase the great comic Mitch Hedberg, I wonder if "long-ass" is to "short-ass" as "nonchalant" is to "chalant."

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Oh what a great quote! Reminds me how whenever I say I'm feeling discombobulated, my boyfriend loves telling me to "get back bobulated."

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😂

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I could imagine someone snarking about a short-ass man. But Terry will not have experienced the true range of innovative American English until he spends some time in the South. My college baseball teammates described diving for a ball as “getting nekkid.” And one time they mocked an opposing pitcher’s height by yelling, “Hey, Sawed-Off!” Never a dull moment in the dugout in Tennessee.

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Omg 😂 I had to look up sawed off!

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LOL. Thanks, Sherman! I love that Mich Hedberg quote. I haven't heard of him. Gonna have to look him up.

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Hedberg is one of the greats. Died too young to ever see real fame.

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Yes, 37 I just found out. I've found him on Youtube, so will have a listen later. Thanks, Sherman!

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Terry, I love this post. The great thing about English is how it can evolve and bend to better serve needs of its speakers. In American English “ass” can be an adjective—an intensifier.

Long-ass = really long.

Cold-ass = really cold.

Big-ass = really large.

Dead-ass = really serious (serious as a death).

Someday I’m hoping to do a story on H. L. Mencken’s American Language books, which are highly dated but which capture the inventiveness of American usage and slang.

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LOL Thanks for clarifying, Joel. I didn't know ass could be used in so many contexts. So does short ass make sense, as in meaning incredibly short? I agree with you wholeheartedly about how English evolves. I love the way different peoples use it (including in different regioons in the UK)!

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Yep, short ass works!

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LOL

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I had a similar relationship with Buffy. But then I ended up marrying a Bond Girl.

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LOL. Me too!

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