Sunday, April 11, 2004, 21:10 GMT
I am told that the British expression "the full Monty" means "complete", "total", "the whole shebang", "the whole nine yards". But due to the popularity of the movie by that name, Americans seem to think it has a much narrower meaning: doing a striptease!
I like the expression "the full monty" so I try to work it into conversation whenever appropriate, just to see the surprise and confusion on my fellow Americans' faces :)
By the way, Americans themselves seem confused about "the whole nine yards". It used to refer to a full load in a concrete mixer, but due to our culture's insane preoccupation with gridiron football, a lot of my friends now say "the whole ten yards" because obviously nine yards won't make first down so the original expression doesn't make sense to them!
I like the expression "the full monty" so I try to work it into conversation whenever appropriate, just to see the surprise and confusion on my fellow Americans' faces :)
By the way, Americans themselves seem confused about "the whole nine yards". It used to refer to a full load in a concrete mixer, but due to our culture's insane preoccupation with gridiron football, a lot of my friends now say "the whole ten yards" because obviously nine yards won't make first down so the original expression doesn't make sense to them!