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Originally Posted by JayMcGee
do they have canals over there?
the other variation is of course 'I wouldn't touch it with yours'.....
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yes.
http://www.americancanals.org/
but so many people use phrases without understanding their origins that I wouldn't use a lack of canals as an indicator that the phrase wouldn't be used, anyway. Take for example "One Fell Swoop" -how many people even say it right, never mind have any idea as to it's possible origins. hmm, come to think of it, does anyone outside the UK use that one?
Do they have canals in Australia? And do they use that phrase there? It seems funny to hear Aussies use so many of the phrases that Brits do but Americans don't -no wonder so many Americans can't tell Aussie and Brit accents apart!
I really am at a very muddled stage after 6 years here where I sometimes really have to think about which phrases and words come from which side of the pond, and which one I need to use in a particular circumstance.
My kids' doctor (unintentionally, she says) played a mean trick on me. My daughter had a verruca that wouldn't go away, so we took her to see the doc. The doc has a Brit husband so understood what I was talking about, but never let on that Americans call them something different (Plantar Wart), then nearly peed herself laughing at the confusion caused at reception when I tried to book an appointment to have the offending growth removed. How on earth can you properly enjoy Charlie and the Chocolate Factory without knowing what a Verruca is?
