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"Half ten" - nine-thirty or ten-thirty?
Really?? It sounds so old-fashioned to you? That's very interesting! In British English, it's still a common word.
Candy, I'm as surprised that it's still in use in the Uk as you are that it's long gone here, archaic.
That's interesting. While we're on time expressions, I believe "noon" is relatively archaic in the UK while it's a completely normal and frequent word used here in the US.
I'm pretty sure that as I kid I learned "fortnight" from watching Britcoms. ;-) I would normally just say "two weeks" though.
"That's interesting. While we're on time expressions, I believe "noon" is relatively archaic in the UK while it's a completely normal and frequent word used here in the US."
Really? Hmm. Yes, noon is used all the time here in the US. We need to her from Brits on this.
Really? Hmm. Yes, noon is used all the time here in the US. We need to her from Brits on this. "
Oops. Now that I know that Brit is an insult, I'm changing the wording of this post to say: "Really? Hmm. Yes, noon is used all the time here in the US. We need to hear from Britons on this." Better, I hope.
LOL, I looked at the word "Britcoms" without reading the rest of the sentence and thought you mean communists at first. Then I realized it was "comedies", of course.
<<LOL, I looked at the word "Britcoms" without reading the rest of the sentence and thought you mean communists at first. Then I realized it was "comedies", of course. >>
Oh that is funny!
One British word that I love is "gormless". My mother uses it all the time because her mother came from England. I was a teenager when I realized that most Americans have absolutely no clue what it means. ;-)
I learnt the word "fortnight" in primary school and it took me four trips to the US to realise that it's not internationally used. I use the word all the time in writing but not so much in speech.
I know the word 'noon' of course, but I'm not sure I'd ever use it in speech. 'See you at noon'....hmm, sounds a little 'off' to me! ;) I'd much rather say 'midday', or just 'at 12 pm'. (It IS 12 pm, isn't it?! And midnight is 12 am??)
<<One British word that I love is "gormless".>> Sometimes it's so surprising that everyday words are unknown in other countries! I would never, in a million years, have guessed that 'gormless' was not an American word. Some other words I'm sure you don't use are, for example, 'bloke', 'to fancy someone' and 'bollocks'. :-)
Nope, sorry -- no fortnight, no half-ten, and no gormless over here. I know what fortnight means, I could hazard a guess at what half-ten might mean, but gormless -- WTF?
One in a great while we "fancy" something, but it's more commonly used (and even then it's not that common) a la "tickle your fancy", rather than as a verb. Noon is common, but midday sounds ever so slightly old-fashioned, unless you're saying "midday meal". We never use bloke or bollocks.
Prat -- another term you won't hear over here! (But I think I can figure it out from context...)
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