British phrases

[monster]

Originally Posted by Aliantha

Meat patties are made of minced meat.

And then, of course, us Brits have mincemeat to really confuse things.
Very popular this time of year, especially with vegetarians as long a real suet isn't used.......

[Aliantha]

I just made fruitmince pies the other day. They're a christmas favourite in our house this time of year.

[Urbane Guerrilla]

Originally Posted by barefoot serpent

the standard cannon ball weight for a ship-of-the-line?

Doubt it, as there really wasn't one then. Two- and three-decker ships ran to having multiple calibers: their heavier armament being on the lower decks, with lighter guns next tier up and, supplemetarily, carronades -- approximately, seagoing howitzers, though not fired on high trajectories, as the state of the gunners' art simply wasn't good enough to hit a moving target from a moving platform with plunging fire, but their lighter weight/lower velocity combination allowed them to throw huge balls with enough range to do just fine in broadside engagements at half a sea mile and less -- around a thousand yards -- while not having to deal with the much greater weight of a long gun of the same bore.

The great guns would run to 24- and 32- and 42-pounders. Lighter-armed vessels might have long twelves, notably as bow and stern chasers, while the broadside guns would be of a shorter-tubed description so as to better fit crosswise on the gundeck. Cannon balls seemed rather, in the early nineteenth, to skip over the 14-pounder, going from 12- to the greater smashing power and carry of the 18-pounder. The whole -pounder scheme is quite like the shotgun's gauge or bore system, but cannonballs are in balls of iron, not lead -- eighteen pounds of iron, melted, will form into the same exact size of sphere every time when zero-geed off the top of a shot tower and caught in a tub of water at the bottom.

The American frigates of this era, contemporary with the USS Constitution, were apparently much noted for their use of big carronades as most of their armament, producing a stable ship, formidably armed and throwing a huge weight of broadside, without having to pay a weight or stability penalty and able to mount these great big bores high up in the hull in consequence, which means they could use this heavy armament even in quite high sea states that could prevent a more conventional ship of the line from using its heavy battery because it couldn't open its lower gunports without being swamped. Severe weather could cripple a first-rater's fighting abilities.

Any idea why the wheelhouse is the bridge?

Griff, probably because a bridge usually (there are exceptions, like the Iowa class BBs) extends from one beam end to the other across a ship -- handy for the steersmen in docking and other close maneuvers, and for a captain to get a good look aft as well as forward, on either side. Quite the new invention, once conceived, which I think accounts for the use of such a term.

[DanaC]

Tudor ships had cannons onboard. I suspect 14 pounds to a stone originated before American frigates.

[wolf]

Originally Posted by Kitsune

I don't like that they edit books this way, but I understand that they do it because it is an easier sell. I think it would be interesting if we could compare two versions of the same book, side-by-side, and find the differences and see if much is changed in the overall meaning and plot.

Harry Potter would probably never have caught on in the States had the dreaded word "Philosopher" appeared on the first cover. It is also difficult to make the leap of logic that turns a type of young girl's dress into a sweater.

[wolf]

So, Brits and Aussies, how are you going to spend Boxing Day tomorrow, now that you probably don't have servants?

[Urbane Guerrilla]

And there's the kind of mince that comes in a brick-pack and needs to be moistened with something, say, apple juice and rum, to really behave like a pie filling. Mince-brick is better for spooning onto hot cereal, though, as its flavor is more concentrated than most mince in jars, which is more fluid.

[DanaC]

Hmmm Boxing Day? Well in my family that usually works out as a second, mini-Christmas day. Judah was at his dads for Christmas day, so he, my mum, my bro and me will exchange gifts and have a nice meal with a few glasses of port.

My eldest niece will be driving mum and dad potty with her new 'Fairground Grabber, candy machine'. It's loud, I had no idea when I bought it just how noisy it was! All the time she's trying to work the grabber, it makes fairgound/circus music *grins*

My youngest niece will no doubt by now, be deep in a book, having had her fill for the moment of her new playstation.

This afternoon, me, Judah and mum will watch some Battlestar Gallactica on jude's projector screen. I have no doubt that there will be a plate of mince pies involved somewhere. Oh and a line or two of coke......alright, I'm kidding about the coke.

[Cyclefrance]

Boxing Day = Bubble & Squeek - Christmas day's leftover vegetables mixed up all together and fried in a frying pan with a little oil (or turkey dripping - that's the fat off the turkey that's now solidified - sounds great doesn't it?)until hot all though and slightly scorched on the bottom, and then served with Cold Turkey (not the drug-related sort, although another two days and into Turkey casserole - that's the one that follows Turkey Curry - and you'll probably be needing them) and pickles (piccalilly, sweet pickles, mango chutney - whatever takes your fancy) plus some gherkins and/or pickled onions to round off the dish. And you thought we Brits were heathens when it came to cuisine - well, really!

[Urbane Guerrilla]

Well, if you take the Coke cans out of their carton...

[Sundae]

Originally Posted by Aliantha

Sometimes when I make rissoles (the australian word for what you call a hamburger) I put curry paste (and a few other things) in them. They're very yummy that way if you've never tried it.

Only just read this - we used to love rissoles at school! But mostly because if you said it the right way it sounded like arseholes.

"What's for lunch today?"
"Aah, rissoles!"

Kids, eh?

[Aliantha]

boxing day was spent trying to eat through all the leftovers and freezing what we couldn't stuff down our pie holes.

Would you believe we still haven't cut the christmas cake??? No one's had room for anything remotely related to dried fruit or rum since boxing day ended. lol

[monster]

I have a spare home-made Christmas pudding.....

[Cyclefrance]

Originally Posted by Aliantha

Would you believe we still haven't cut the christmas cake??? No one's had room for anything remotely related to dried fruit or rum since boxing day ended. lol

We only cut into ours last night - usually we get one from a friend who bakes them for charity, but this time we bought from M&S - thing was bloody dry!

Favourite food purchase for Mrs CF this year - Pink Champagne chocolate truffles - not sure where she bought them from, but no one else got a look-in!