Proper English

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Hortons Norton said:
Don't know much about that but I do know my wife worked with this sweet girl from England, Every time she talked it just drove me crazy. The way she spoke and used her words was an amazing turn on. Don't know why but my wife stopped hanging around her for some reason???????? :?
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This one made me laugh.... I was in Rockford IL a couple of years ago and there was some open-air concert on - Waterfront rings a bell, but can't recall the details. Anyway, I'm a bit on the tall side, and some woman approached me asking about my height, and as soon as I started talking...'Hey, you're ENGLISH!'
I then became something more of a novelty than I was comfortable with!
It was flattering...for a while.

So... what's a zerk?
 
I think it's the female part of a grease gun that fits onto the Zerk fitting? (nipple) Used for pumping grease into bearings and other parts.
 
Hortons Norton said:
I think it's the female part of a grease gun that fits onto the Zerk fitting? (nipple) Used for pumping grease into bearings and other parts.
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Ahhh - grease nipple!

I found it disconcerting hearing U.S. Engineers talking about 'a couple of mils' ...I'm thinking Jeez - that's 80 thou!
Apparently not :?
 
Bobolink said:
I recall sitting in a restaurant in Florida some years back with a couple of friends. Having taken our order, the waitress came back & asked if she could sit with us. She said we spoke English very well. My friend replied "Of course we do, we invented it!"

A few of these variations of proper English are understandable but where does "Triple Tree" come from?

Bob.
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My guess is its something to do with three tubes going through each yoke, 2x stanchions the steering head :?:
 
B+Bogus said:
Would now be a good time to introduce the Rest of the World to Jeremy Clarkson?
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Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please dont....
 
ChuckW said:
Spanner = Wrench
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When I worked in Florida (Boca Raton) my co-workers just could not get used to the idea of 'I am just going out for a fag' eventually I had to train myself to say 'I am just going out for a cigarette' :)
 
L.A.B. said:
I think differences in US/UK spelling are unlikely to cause any real problems, but anybody relatively new to British bikes may find the differences in US/UK technical terminology slightly confusing, especially if English is not their first language, although it shouldn't take too long to master the differences, and I'm sure most of our regular members are reasonably fluent in both, but would a list of equivalent US/UK technical terms included in the information section possibly be helpful?

For example:

US-UK

Fender-Mudguard
Triple tree-Yoke
Ground-Earth
Fork tube-Stanchion
Gear shift-Gear change
Muffler-Silencer
Petcock-Fuel tap
Gasoline-Petrol


Any more suggestions?

Or are there any other tech. terms which members may not be entirely sure about?
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lab,instead of us / uk terms which are mostly easy to suss out,what about hobot terms and the rest of us terms,STEVE TALK ENGLISH BOY :mrgreen:
 
My Ozzie favourite "375 ml spanner" a can of your favourite brew!! In my case its a 375ml brown spanner, Carlton Draught!
Foxy
 
speirmoor said:
0 pronounced Nought instead of zero.Some other differences I remember
Bonnet-Hood
Boot-Trunk
Wing-Fender
Eubergine-Eggplant
Corguettes-Zuccini
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FRENCH WORDS : AUBERGINE, COURGETTE
 
SGOUD said:
FRENCH WORDS : AUBERGINE, COURGETTE
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Absolutely!

So why do I have to go to the US to get French Toast?
Never seen it in France....

And Why do US airlines call the main course the 'Entrée'?
 
And good old Yorkshire Pud came from Normandy. Well, that's what I heard once.
 
Pull = Take apart
Tear down = Take apart
Riding a Triumph = Taking apart
 
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