Clichés

Clichés.

From Across the Pond

That “pond” is an annoying way Brits refer to the Atlantic Ocean.  Anglocreep is making its way into American English, according to a recent article in the New York Times. What with the enormous popularity of “Downton Abbey” and an entire generation with the Harry Potter novels embedded in their brains, words once considered strictly British are now making their way into everyday American conversation.

Do you call your buddies “mates”?  Do you “ring” them on your “mobil”? How about saying “No worries”?  Do you “queue” at the movies? Do you excuse yourself to go to the “loo”?  Farewells have been abandoned for the once ubiquitous Italian “ciao” in favor of “Cheers!”

If you travel to the British Isles, just be careful when saying you will “chat up” someone.  Americans have taken it to mean you will talk—but across that pond, it means to try to seduce with words, to lure that person into your bed.

Food, the Universal Language

I took this picture in Spain a couple of years ago. It struck me as funny that “bagel” hasn’t been turned into a Spanish word but has been adopted in its English form, which comes from the original Yiddish:

ORIGIN early 20th cent. (as beigel): from Yiddish beygel .