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State is the condition something is in. But it has bad connotations, i.e "go clean your room its a state" or "the country was in a state of emergency" or, more importantly, "what a state the place was after the japanese came in and bombed it"
OK, that explains it. As somebody once said, "The Americans and the British are two people divided by a common language". To say "your room is a state" is British slang. In America you would say "your room is IN a state".
Phelps man, dont you think language is a wonderful thing? The accents and nuances and words that have different meanings depending on from which side of the pond you live? I love our differences, they create good, fun, forum topics like this one and friendly banter which gives all a distraction from our daily toil. There is an element of leg pulling but I think that most of us are big enough to take it as well as dish it out. Phelps, how much do you pay for fags where you come from?
Jona, AC/DC, Kylie, Elle Mcpherson... the list is ended! I think the best thing to come out of Australia is Qantas!
I often wondered how the movie "Free Willie" played in the UK. Especially the line "And now, ladies and gentlemen, it's time for the Willie Show!"
Thats great! I often wondered about the U.S. take on Michael Sadlier's 'Fanny by Gaslight'.
I worked for a British company and it was always fun to work with them and read reports from outages we were working on together. I found out quickly that I didn't speak English, according to the Brits of course. The worse headache I ever had was during the Sydney Olympics where I was on a conference call between London and Sydney. I had to keep track of the meeting and although we all spoke English, I had to pay attention. The Aussie was the most difficult to understand, not the accent but his idiomatic expressions just threw me. |
frenchduke wrote: State is the condition something is in. But it has bad connotations, i.e "go clean your room its a state" or "the country was in a state of emergency" or, more importantly, "what a state the place was after the japanese came in and bombed it"
Okay...again: State is roughly 'The condition something is in.' It has no negative connotations in the language that I (in Arizona, USA) use every day. No dictionary I could find mentions anything about 'negative conditions' so the joke refers to a slang usage of the word. The first and third sentences are slang uses of the word state. Because you have a certain way of using the word, does not mean that is part of the actual definition of the word.
Idioms...I love 'em. Whats your favourite? We have lots of good ones in Britain and I'm sure you lot from over there do to. One of my favourites over here (usually spoken by a woman chatting to friends) is... "so I turned round and said...". Come to think of it, the ladies seem to use them more than the men.
HotFlow wrote: Heh, the after effect of to much chess you analyze the joke rather then laugh at it... bet you guys are great fun at parties.
I agree. I think I am going to use that excuse from now on for any lack of humor I have. "Hey man c'mon it was a joke" "Oh sorry must be all the chess!"
One that made me go "what" was when I heard 'take the piss' from something. Like, "mate, you took the piss from my joke." |
I've seen TV shows in the U.S. where someone says "I'm really pissed" meaning they are annoyed. In Britain if you say that, it means you have drunk too much alcohol. (I say it often).
Ha!
The hilarity, an American in a London hotel lobby screaming, "I'm really pissed about this bill!"
One scene in the movie Snatch a character states 'who took the jelly from your doughnut?' Here, we would say 'who pissed in your cornflakes?' |
Sorry old boy I think you will find it was the 'jam' that was removed from the hypothetical doughnut. Thats just another example of our language differences. When I'm about to lose a game of chess, (which is often) I think to myself 'its curtains now'. In America do you think 'its drapes for me'?
What does that mean 'it is curtains?' Someone just used that in the daily puzzle. I suppose it means something like 'the loss is clear,' but why?
And by the way, people say jam here all the time too. It varies from region to region like 'pop' or 'soda.' There is a distinct difference though. Don't ask me what they are, but there are actual definitions for what constitutes jelly, jam, preserves, etc.
If you are still looking for the answer, it has to be Puerto Rico and Pennsylvania. There's nothing else.