I’ve written several times (most recently here) about the phenomenon of American characters in British novels using British expressions, seemingly because the writer didn’t realize they were British expressions. I’ve just read a book by an American novelist, with American characters, where Britishisms abound. The book is The Plot, the author Jean Hanff Korelitz. In … Continue reading Britishisms in an American Novel
Reader Key from New Zealand comments: Is “puffer jacket” a NOOB?… I’ve noticed several journalists using it recently; it first stood out to me in an Atlantic piece where (American) Marina Koren said Jeff Bezos was wearing a “puffer jacket” to one of his space things. I believe the usual American term is “down jacket”? … Continue reading “Puffer jacket”
I’ve noted in the past examples of British writers (unwittingly?) putting Britishisms in the mouths of American characters. Actually, I’m surprised it doesn’t happen more often, as well as the opposite case of American writers having British characters utter Americanisms. There are so many big and small differences in the dialects: how can we possibly … Continue reading American Character, British Lingo
I’m a big fan of the British author Anthony Horowitz’s mysteries. They’re old-fashioned, in the Agatha Christie vein, but also very clever and also frequently with the self-conscious meta aspect I’m partial to. Like in The Word Is Murder, there’s a character named “Anthony Horowitz” who’s a mystery writer. And a key part of Magpie … Continue reading The Case of the Misplaced Britishisms
While we’re being timely, in addition to “jab,” Gigi Simeone mentioned that she had come across U.S. writers/speakers using “care home,” where normally, she said, Americans would say “nursing home.” I wasn’t aware of ever encountering “care home” in a source from any nationality, so I looked it up in the OED, which has a … Continue reading “Care Home”
Reader Evan Geller sent in this quote from Florida writer Diane Roberts in the Washington Post: DeSantis, a fervent Trump partisan and sports fan who’s shown signs of harboring presidential ambitions, has seen his popularity shrivel of late, possibly because of his cackhanded approach to the pandemic in Florida: opening up too soon, refusing to … Continue reading “Cack-Handed”
Correspondent David Griggs sent from England a note saying “you may be interested” in an example of the word “clobbered” in the New York Times. He was clearly implying it was a NOOB, but the word — meaning “to badly beat or defeat” — didn’t strike my ears as such. I checked the Times archive … Continue reading “Clobber”
I’ve written briefly a couple of times about the off-color term “bollocks,” originally meaning testicles and since used in all sorts of colorful ways. (The link is the more recent post, and it has a link to the previous one.) I recommend the comments on both, many of which are relate to how offensive the … Continue reading ‘Bollix’ [or ‘Bollocks’ or ‘Ballocks’] Up’
This happened on Twitter the other day. Just for your reference, the initial tweet was by Mignon “Grammar Girl” Fogarty, a popular blogger on matters of language and usage and a resident of Nevada. I’ve blacked out the name of the person who asked “crisps or chips?” but the Internet says she’s an … Continue reading “Crisps”
I was watching Better Call Saul the other night (Season 5, Episode 9, to be precise), and the character Kim Wexler exclaimed to Lalo Salamanca: “That‘s what you’re on about?” I covered the expression “to be on about” something in 2013; it’s kind of the British equivalent to the American “going on and on about.” … Continue reading Anachronistic “On About” and Anomalous “Catch Him Up”
notoneoffbritishisms.com 