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Dr Robin Bignall
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2004 5:19 pm
Post subject: Re: Lost/displaced Briticisms |
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On Thu, 15 Jul 2004 09:16:52 +0800, Robert Bannister <robban@it.net.au>
wrote:
| Quote: | Dr Robin Bignall wrote:
On Wed, 14 Jul 2004 11:49:33 +0100, Phil C. <nobody@nowhere.com> wrote:
On Tue, 13 Jul 2004 22:46:08 +0100, Dr Robin Bignall
docrobin@ntlworld.com> wrote:
That width of garage door does not seem to have changed over the years. If
you go back to the days of the A30 or Triumph Herald, you could only fit
two adults comfortably in the rear seat, maybe with a small child between
them. Most family saloons these days will seat three adults across. I am
always struck by how narrow these older cars look when I'm driving behind
them. I've seen double garages built with two standard-sized openings
separated by about six inches, rather than one wide up-and-over door, so
it's still difficult to get cars through the doors, and with two cars
inside it's still impossible to open the car doors more than a foot or so.
Strangely, the number of persons per car has declined as the width has
increased. Perhaps the growing obesity problem is the explanation.
It's partially due to increasing affluence. Up to about ten years ago, the
wife and kids used the family car and the husband commuted to the office by
train.
But, prior to that, the man drove the car to work and the stay-at-home
wife had to use bus or bike. Nowadays, I see a number of young women
driving expensive, 2-seater cars.
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So do I. Does one's heart good, doesn't it! But seriously, the increase in
affluence has not been limited to men, although judging from the recent
flood of complaints from women against companies in the financial sector,
equal pay and status for equal work is something that has still not been
achieved.
--
wrmst rgrds
Robin Bignall
Hertfordshire
England
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Dr Robin Bignall
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2004 5:30 pm
Post subject: Re: Lost/displaced Briticisms |
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On Thu, 15 Jul 2004 04:30:02 GMT, Michael DeBusk <m_debusk@despammed.com>
wrote:
| Quote: | On Wed, 14 Jul 2004 20:37:47 +0100, Molly Mockford
nospamnobody@mollymockford.me.uk> wrote:
And many local authorities tend to spread sand, sometimes mixed
with grit, instead of salt. I suppose it's cheaper.
It costs about one-third as much per ton as salt, but about three times
as much has to be applied to be effective. Considering that it
therefore takes three times the manpower and three times as many
trucks, or three times as many trips back to the base to refill, sand
can actually cost more to use.
Sand is most useful when it's too cold for salt to work.
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During my last trip to France in February, halfway between Calais and Paris
on the new A16 autoroute, I ran from bright sunshine into a blizzard that
was so heavy that I slowed down to about 20 mph. Within minutes I was
overtaken by a gritting tanker lorry which must have been activated almost
the minute the snow started (something you'll rarely see in England - it
usually takes hours). The lorry was throwing out a fine slurry of
salt/sand/water mixture which covered the three lanes completely. It also
covered my car, and I had to stop to clean the windscreen. I had read that
in freezing conditions salt is ineffective unless it's put down in
solution, but this is the first time I've seen it done.
--
wrmst rgrds
Robin Bignall
Hertfordshire
England |
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Brian {Hamilton Kelly}
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2004 12:26 am
Post subject: Re: Lost/displaced Briticisms |
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On Thursday, in article <cd4lru$18b$1@enyo.uwa.edu.au>
robban@it.net.au "Robert Bannister" wrote:
| Quote: | But, prior to that, the man drove the car to work and the stay-at-home
wife had to use bus or bike. Nowadays, I see a number of young women
driving expensive, 2-seater cars.
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Hmm, in the UK, they're mostly driving completely inappropriate 4x4s,
such as Range Rovers, Mitsubishi Shoguns, Toyota LandCruisers, etc.
--
Brian {Hamilton Kelly} bhk@dsl.co.uk
"I don't use Linux. I prefer to use an OS supported by a large multi-
national vendor, with a good office suite, excellent network/internet
software and decent hardware support."
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Molly Mockford
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2004 2:51 am
Post subject: Re: Lost/displaced Briticisms |
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At 08:35:32 on Thu, 15 Jul 2004, John Hall <nospam_nov03@jhall.co.uk>
wrote in <cpfWIMDEPj9AFwD6@jhall.demon.co.uk>:
| Quote: | Husband drives to station, with wife in passenger seat. Husband kisses
wife goodbye and departs. Wife switches to driver's seat and drives car
home. I used to see this a lot, and was amused that it was obviously
unthinkable that the wife should drive her husband.
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I used to be one of them, in the early 80s. The great advantage, from
my point of view, is that I didn't have to wake up until the station,
when I had to take over the car.
--
Molly Mockford
I think I've been too long on my own, but the little green goblin that
lives under the sink says I'm OK - and he's never wrong, so I must be!
(My Reply-To address *is* valid, though may not remain so for ever.) |
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Robert Bannister
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2004 6:59 am
Post subject: Re: Lost/displaced Briticisms |
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John Hall wrote:
| Quote: | In article <2i6af0t2u4rvr5n18cha0ablfoon3qv73e@4ax.com>,
Dr Robin Bignall <docrobin@ntlworld.com> writes:
Up to about ten years ago, the
wife and kids used the family car and the husband commuted to the office by
train.
Husband drives to station, with wife in passenger seat. Husband kisses
wife goodbye and departs. Wife switches to driver's seat and drives car
home. I used to see this a lot, and was amused that it was obviously
unthinkable that the wife should drive her husband.
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More unthinkable was the fact that she was often in her dressing gown
with her hair in curlers.
--
Rob Bannister |
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Dr Robin Bignall
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2004 5:31 pm
Post subject: Re: Lost/displaced Briticisms |
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On Thu, 15 Jul 2004 23:26:48 +0100 (BST), bhk@dsl.co.uk (Brian {Hamilton
Kelly}) wrote:
| Quote: | On Thursday, in article <cd4lru$18b$1@enyo.uwa.edu.au
robban@it.net.au "Robert Bannister" wrote:
But, prior to that, the man drove the car to work and the stay-at-home
wife had to use bus or bike. Nowadays, I see a number of young women
driving expensive, 2-seater cars.
Hmm, in the UK, they're mostly driving completely inappropriate 4x4s,
such as Range Rovers, Mitsubishi Shoguns, Toyota LandCruisers, etc.
|
I suspect they're young mothers on their way to or back from the school
run. At my age, mothers with kids almost at university age look like
*young* women.
--
wrmst rgrds
Robin Bignall
Hertfordshire
England |
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Bill McCray
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2004 7:19 pm
Post subject: Re: Lost/displaced Briticisms |
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On Thu, 15 Jul 2004 08:35:32 +0100, John Hall
<nospam_nov03@jhall.co.uk> wrote:
| Quote: | In article <2i6af0t2u4rvr5n18cha0ablfoon3qv73e@4ax.com>,
Dr Robin Bignall <docrobin@ntlworld.com> writes:
Up to about ten years ago, the
wife and kids used the family car and the husband commuted to the office by
train.
Husband drives to station, with wife in passenger seat. Husband kisses
wife goodbye and departs. Wife switches to driver's seat and drives car
home. I used to see this a lot, and was amused that it was obviously
unthinkable that the wife should drive her husband.
|
I used to see that often. I wondered about it, because I would never
have considered doing it that way.
Bill McCray
Lexington, KY, USA
Swap first and last parts of username and ISP for address. |
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Harvey Van Sickle
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2004 8:22 pm
Post subject: Re: Lost/displaced Briticisms |
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On 16 Jul 2004, Bill McCray wrote
| Quote: | Husband drives to station, with wife in passenger seat. Husband
kisses wife goodbye and departs. Wife switches to driver's seat
and drives car home. I used to see this a lot, and was amused
that it was obviously unthinkable that the wife should drive her
husband.
I used to see that often. I wondered about it, because I would
never have considered doing it that way.
|
Same here. I sometimes still see the switch happen at the other end of
the day -- less often these days, but occasionally.
--
Cheers, Harvey
Ottawa/Toronto/Edmonton for 30 years;
Southern England for the past 21 years.
(for e-mail, change harvey to harvey.van) |
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nemo
Guest
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| Posted: Sat Jul 17, 2004 9:40 pm
Post subject: Re: Pronouncing "semi" |
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Donna Richoux <trio@euronet.nl> wrote in message
news:1ggxip8.geef6f63a42bN%trio@euronet.nl...
| Quote: | nemo <nemo@naughtylass.wet> wrote:
Don A. Gilmore <eromlignodNOSPM@kc.rr.com> wrote in message
news:2lio55Fd271qU1@uni-berlin.de...
"nemo" <nemo@naughtylass.wet> wrote in message
news:lOVIc.42281$I%1.38110@fe1.news.blueyonder.co.uk...
Semi is pronounced "Sem" to rhyme with them, and "mi" to rhyme with
me.
See-My is the US pronunciation...
No it isn't.
Yes it is - in the same vein as Hee-Low as the abbreviated form of
helicopter. I have *never* heard anyone in the UK use See-My - not even
on
the BBC.
It's the first syllable we are doubting, whether anyone in the US says
"see." Americans say both "sem-mee" and "sem-miy" (as in the word "my")
but the first syllable is never "see". Unless you are aware of some
special regionalism or jargon term that the rest of us are not. Which
meaning does it have, in that case?
(Bart Simpson phone prank going through my mind -- "Seymour Butts.")
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 )
Not to mention Mike Hunt!
"Swine! I told you not to mention Mike Hunt!" |
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