Telegraph.co.uk's top 10 most annoying Americanisms - we can do better.

Its not our constant lack of referral to it, it's the curiously American inability to call a brick a brick - you need the toilet. Saying you need the bathroom (or as you put it, restroom) means you could be doing anything from powdering your nose to hanging yourself using a towel. Just admit you need a piss.

What, so when you're in polite company, you just ask "can I piss in your toilet?" :p

Oh, there's another one. If in America, trousers are pants, what do you call pants?

Underwear, boxers, briefs, tightey-whiteys, panties, etc.

EDIT: This whole conversation brings up a question that's been in the back of my mind for a while: why are people so pissed off by synonyms? Clarkson even wrote in one of his articles about how annoyed he was at airline stewards asking him for a "beverage" instead of a "drink", and how it was supposedly another example of the PC brigade's evil plan to nannify the world.
 
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It could at least be 'maths'.

Why? It's not a plural. Do you use a math book or a maths book, if you are writing a paper people say check your spelling/grammar not spellings/grammars.

Its not our constant lack of referral to it, it's the curiously American inability to call a brick a brick - you need the toilet. Saying you need the bathroom (or as you put it, restroom) means you could be doing anything from powdering your nose to hanging yourself using a towel. Just admit you need a piss.

So it would be better to ask if you can use their toilet? It really annoys Europeans so much when we ask to use the room rather than the toilet? :lol:
 
Its not our constant lack of referral to it, it's the curiously American inability to call a brick a brick - you need the toilet. Saying you need the bathroom (or as you put it, restroom) means you could be doing anything from powdering your nose to hanging yourself using a towel. Just admit you need a piss.
Okay then, what do you call the room that has your toilet in it over in Scotland-land?
 
Okay then, what do you call the room that has your toilet in it over in Scotland-land?

I would call it the toilet or the loo, as the bath isn't in the same room so why would you call it a bathroom?
"Math" is one that grates, it just sounds wrong. You would say you were doing mathematics so why not maths?
 
What, so when you're in polite company, you just ask "can I piss in your toilet?" :p

No, I'd say "Can I use your toilet, please?".

There's nothing wrong with the word 'toilet' - it describes a functional, everyday object. Yet it seems to be entirely taboo across the pond :/

Why? It's not a plural. Do you use a math book or a maths book, if you are writing a paper people say check your spelling/grammar not spellings/grammars.

I use a maths book, and I use it to do my maths homework. Think of it like this : 'math/maths' is a shortened version of 'mathematics', not 'mathematic'.

It really annoys Europeans so much when we ask to use the room rather than the toilet? :lol:

It may just be me...

Okay then, what do you call the room that has your toilet in it over in Scotland-land?

It's the bathroom. But the toilet's in it. And when I go to the bathroom, it tends to be to use the toilet. Except when I'm having a bath, a shower, or brushing my teeth. None of which are activities you would do whilst round at a friend's or a restaurant for a meal.



Oh, just thought of something else that annoys me. When Wikipedia has a clash (of US vs UK, normally) of topics (eg color/colour, aluminum/aluminium), their policy is to go with the etymologically correct one, and if there isn't one, then whoever created the article first. This leads to my favourite-ever Wiki discussion, over the use of google and stats. I'm not saying that Wiki's policy is wrong, just why not stick with one or the other (or at least redirect UK IPs to UK-spelt wikipedia pages?).
 
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I don't know if it's an americanism, but I really hate the "heck" in place of "hell"...what's up with that? Is it that offensive?
 
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^Haha! Exactly! :lol:
 
Its not our constant lack of referral to it, it's the curiously American inability to call a brick a brick - you need the toilet. Saying you need the bathroom (or as you put it, restroom) means you could be doing anything from powdering your nose to hanging yourself using a towel. Just admit you need a piss.

Well, there is the matter that most people wash their hands after they use the toilet. ... To take off germs, you know ... And as such, it's easier to ask people: "May I use your washroom?" rather than "May I use your toilet, your faucet, your sink, your soap and your towels?"

But see, you would have been well aware of that if you washed your hands after went go to the loo, teeb. :p
Now, correct your ways before you end up with Ottobon's hygiene.

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I've found one Americanism I can't really bear that much: "God bless America!". Why would God bless America? Why wouldn't he bless the whole world? And if he would, what would America's advantage be? :?
 
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It's the bathroom. But the toilet's in it. And when I go to the bathroom, it tends to be to use the toilet. Except when I'm having a bath, a shower, or brushing my teeth. None of which are activities you would do whilst round at a friend's or a restaurant for a meal.

So how would you feel if I called it a restroom. Which I usually do... :p


Same as gosh, it's supposed to be a clean way of swearing. :rolleyes:

A lot of that comes from being raised in conservative Christian families. I know if I where to say hell in front of my grandmother she would wash my mouth out with soap, even to this day. On the other hand I could say heck and might get away with it. :lol:
 
I've never really liked "Have a good one"....don't know why, have a good what?

My friend will always correct someone if they say something like "I'm American"....he'll say "U.S. American" or "what America?"....which I guess is true. You're from the "United States" not simply "America"
 
I've never really liked "Have a good one"....don't know why, have a good what?

My friend will always correct someone if they say something like "I'm American"....he'll say "U.S. American" or "what America?"....which I guess is true. You're from the "United States" not simply "America"

You are an American because the word in the name of the country.
 
I think the "of" in United States of America is the operative word. So if someone were to say that they were from America, that could mean any part of North or South America. You are actually from the United States.

And before the USA came into existence, wouldn't the people already there be considered "Americans?"
 
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Exactly, "American" means of the continent, not the country alone. There was an episode of QI, where they delved with the question of what a person from the USA is called and there really isn't a universal name for it. :/
 
Don't forget that Mexico's full name is the United States of Mexico, so "American" makes sense in this context to distinguish it from other "United States".
 
Exactly, "American" means of the continent, not the country alone. There was an episode of QI, where they delved with the question of what a person from the USA is called and there really isn't a universal name for it. :/

Yankee?
 
Labcoatguy: Along with the United States of Canada, United States of Brazil, United States of Columbia, United States of Equador, etc?

argatoga: Don't let Spectre hear you say that! :p
 
The whole restroom/toilet/pissroom/loo deal is pretty odd. When I was in the UK, people would just look at us funny if we asked "Where aboot is your restroom/bathroom/washroom, eh?" and then after a brief mutual confusion about wtf we're asking for and why this limey bugger looks so confused, it's like "...oh yeah, *sigh* where's your toilet?" "Oi, roight roight, jus down vere and take a leff"

And I don't get "maths" either. It's from mathematics, sure sure, but it's a truncated word... it's like you're just adding the s back on, mathematicss. Shouldn't the proper punctuation be math's? Oi nutter, I'm going to go do some maths and sciences, specifically trigy and chemy :p

I can't think of any unmentioned americanisms right now, but god damn, Canadian TV annoys me so much with all the puns all the time. It's not even punny. Still beats the overly dramatic inflection, pauses, and completely made up accents on 'mericuhn TV though. (obviously not talking about dramas)
 
Math thing really don't sound right, I just don't get where the lack of a s at the end comes from, why?
Restroom? Your going for a pee where is the rest? your going to sit down and the fact you uranaite is just a bonus? Bathroom there is no bath what gives is that all about?.

"BBC America is showing re-runs of season 3 of Top Gear on Monday"
There is two in 1 sentance, WTF? is a re-run, they are going to do 2 laps of the track?. A season? why call it a season it is a series of episodes, a season is a time of the year but the way America shows it's TV you get 1/2 a series in one season, then they take a break and the rest is shown in another season.
 
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