Chocoholic Confusion Explained

[Occhidiangela]

could be opel, thanks for putting a seed of doubt in my mind... next time *you* want a favour...
Ford Kia? Are you getting confused with the ford Ka?
Well, if you are you're lucky that it didn't go over there. Those things are so unbelievably tiny and cramped etc. Blech! (I'm not a 'big cars' person, I just never liked the Ka when I travelled in one - maybe it grows on you).

I've never heard of a twingo, perhaps it has another name again.

-Bob
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You are correct, Ford Ka. The Renault Twingo won a number of design awards in Europe back in the mid 90's.

Yes, they are both little cars, and at the time, my kids were 4-9, so not large and easy to fit into the back. Both my wife and I are less than 6 feet tall. So, small cars, which fit nicely through cramped European streets and parking lots, are a very practical travelling choice. Also, use less gas. With gas prices in Europe being what they are, that is a consideration! :lol:

Occhi

[eppie]

Vauxhall cars are sold as Opal cars on mainland Europe. -Bob

It is Opel (as already remarked). And to be correct Opel's are sold as Vauxhalls, not the other way around. :D

Anyway, this is all just a case of company takeovers. Because Opel is now owned by GM (for some time now). And I guess before that Vauxhall was bought by Opel.

To get back to the subject: what we in europe call beer, is in america actually.....

[Occhidiangela]

It is Opel (as already remarked). And to be correct Opel's are sold as Vauxhalls, not the other way around. :D

Anyway, this is all just a case of company takeovers. Because Opel is now owned by GM (for some time now). And I guess before that Vauxhall was bought by Opel.

To get back to the subject: what we in europe call beer, is in america actually.....
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. . . called "beer." Or, more precisely -- if you refer to European beer -- "imported beer." :D

Do I win a pint of Oranjeboom? (Hmm, did I spell that correctly?) Amstel?

Occhi

[Bob]

slushie -- very finely ground ice mixed with a flavorful syrup, guaranteed to give you the frozen sinus headache of your life.

We have those, they're called slush puppies

prom -- borrowed from Spain, to Mexico, formerly known as Promenade. A human mating ritual where all the young people would dress up and strut around the town. Now, it is associated with the final two years of secondary education known as the Junior and Senior Prom. As far as I can tell, it is still a mating ritual. At that time in my life, I was dating an Iranian girl who ended up returning to her country to join in the revolution.

My local park has a promenade, there's some lovely flower boxes there

burrito -- a little burro, or a mexican sounding name for some beans, cheese and meat wrapped up in a soft flour tortilla.

I think you're mistaken, it's a D2 unique item, isn't it?

walmart -- The brain child of Sam Walton. If merchandising were a virus, it's name would be Walmart. There are places where Walmart stores are so densly packed that they share the same employees. They attempt to sell everything, including gas, food, clothing, housewares, plants, sporting goods, etc.

Yes, they also took ASDA over in the UK and are slowly trying the same thing here. I'm having difficulty persuading my family to boycott ASDA in a vian attempt to stop them getting a foothold, anyone got some suggestions? (although we should get SOME help from the competition comission)

seven eleven -- the most successful of the small convenience stores that sell just a little of everything, and pop up on every corner of America and nearly every freeway off ramp. My favorites are the stores named "Kum and Go", or "Pump and Munch". Sorry, they just make me laugh.

What we call convenience stores...

nine eleven (just because we'd call it twelve nine) -- Er, ok, yes the date. Sept 11. In Euro its 2001/11/9 rather than 9/11/2001. It seemed my mind just refused to recognize what you were talking about. I must be ready to move on.

no, in Europe (or the British bit anyway) it's 11/9/2001

bases (first base etc... I understand the general concept but no clue on the one-to-one mapping)-- If we are talking baseball, then the batter runs to 1st, then 2nd, then 3rd, then Home. If we are talking about dating then there some association to how far in the mating ritual one has progressed. A home run is obvious, but 3rd, 2nd, and 1st base seem to vary by locality.

Have to set up a home due to mis-use of contraceptives OR run from the scene to another state or country before you get caught by the US equivalent of the child support agency?

the civil war (or any american history including references to tea and slavery etc :P ) -- Ah, well we've all had them in one form or another. Ours was extremely bloody, and there are still places in the South that distiguish between Yankees and Damned Yankees.

See, now had you eased off us a bit you could have avoided your civil war entirely and just continued fighting Britain and then... hey, has anyone got a time machine?

president,govenor,senator -- Again, no difference. They are all hogs at the public trough. Politicians are politicians throughout the world.

Oh, you've seen the national talking shop, er, er, assembly.

-Bob

[ShadowHM]

No, no.  I think he was talking about getting to 1st, 2nd or 3rd base, as it relates to interpersonal communications.
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Ah...

Well then, whybish, may I recommend the song "Paradise By the Dashboard Light" by Meatloaf ? It gives an example of the mating rituals involved with a running commentary on a baseball game juxtaposed. It is also one of my top favourite rock'n'roll duets. :P

[Occhidiangela]

Ah...

Well then, whybish, may I recommend the song "Paradise By the Dashboard Light" by Meatloaf ?  It gives an example of the mating rituals involved with a running commentary on a baseball game juxtaposed.  It is also one of my top favourite rock'n'roll duets.    :P
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Indeed, one of the finest encapsulations of the teenage raging hormone syndrome ever recorded. :D

Occhi

[whyBish]

Another NZ anecdote from too far back in my past to recollect where I read it had the words 'laundry detergent' mean 'washing powder'

It's amusing to see it in reverse. I often marvel at how such common daily things would not be understood overseas. It's strange to think that Americans haven't heard the delightful voice of Bic Runga, or that if I start talking about Number eight, it's to do with ingenuity (The cultural fable here is that a Kiwi can use number eight fencing wire to fix/invent anything).

University was a good chance to see how much 'foreigners' find strange. The news here reports every car crash, every housefire, every murder... with a population of 4 million, they aren't that frequent... I can only imagine how far removed the average American is from the news stories.

Are any of these terms understood?
"Pulling your leg"
"Such a dag"

I've also heard, but can't comprehend, that Hokey Pokey icecream is only available in New Zealand http://p.vtourist.com/1148067-HokeyPokey_I...New_Zealand.jpg

[Occhidiangela]

Are any of these terms understood?
"Pulling your leg"
"Such a dag"

I've also heard, but can't comprehend, that Hokey Pokey icecream is only available in New Zealand http://p.vtourist.com/1148067-HokeyPokey_I...New_Zealand.jpg
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Pulling Your Leg

That is a familiar expression here, though it seems to be less common than:

Pulling your chain
Jerking your chain
"Yer bangin' me, right?" (Also, right up there in the couth department "Yer f***in' me, right?" and "Yer s***in' me, right?")

I am trying to remember the Dag in "Such a dag" but I have not heard that expression for ages, and had to have it explained to me back then.

Occhi

[whyBish]

Pulling your chain

Amusing. It's "Yanking your chain" over here, but not over in Yankee land :P

[Occhidiangela]

Amusing.  It's "Yanking your chain" over here, but not over in Yankee land  :P
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We use both.

Pulling seems to be more common than yanking, but that may be a regional thing. North/South/West. Both carry trace inferences to self abuse, which leads us to the less common, if pithy,

"Are you jerkin' me off?" which presents "are you pulling my leg" in the tripod sense. :P

Occhi

[whyBish]

"are you pulling my leg" in the tripod sense.  :P

Occhi
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I didn't want to know that :P

Funny, I always thought "yaanking the chain" came from flushing the old version toilets, and never considered "pulling your leg" that way... I don't think I'll be using those terms again :P

[Occhidiangela]

I didn't want to know that  :P

Funny, I always thought "yaanking the chain" came from flushing the old version toilets, and never considered "pulling your leg" that way... I don't think I'll be using those terms again :P
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That may be where the chain bit originated, but languages mutate. Contextual slang is tricky. These terms may not have the same connotation in Kiwiland, so don't let me scare you.

Occhi

[Zarathustra]

No, no.  I think he was talking about getting to 1st, 2nd or 3rd base, as it relates to interpersonal communications.
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The "bases" are so subjective, it's impossible to put a hard definition on any of them. I thought I knew them as a kid, then they changed over the years. *shrugs*

I'd assume that anyone referring to intimacy in terms of bases has all the definitions worked out, including errors, balks, and bad calls by the ump. :lol:

[Occhidiangela]

The "bases" are so subjective, it's impossible to put a hard definition on any of them.  I thought I knew them as a kid, then they changed over the years.  *shrugs*

I'd assume that anyone referring to intimacy in terms of bases has all the definitions worked out, including errors, balks, and bad calls by the ump.  :lol:
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Getting to first base is "interpersonal communication?" As I remember the metaphor, it had little to do with 'communication' and a lot to do with raging hormones.

I thought it measured the degrees of petting that, to be consistent with the imagery, attempted to overcome tags(hand well placed to deflect roaming fingers), a well aimed throw from the outfield (cop at the window), the ground rule double(arms crossed), or the catcher blocking the plate to prevent what was rather crassly termed "a score."

This use of sports imagery leads to some fun (albeit sophomoric) spinoffs along the lines of "he shoots, he scores -- NO, it hit the corner of the goal" or "looks like the goal line stand put an end to the one night stand." Glad there was no sportscaster on any of my car dates.

The universally understood sports metaphors applied to hormonal pursuits gave Woody Allen a great comedic line, spoken by Diane Keaton, in his film "Play It Again Sam."

"Why do you keep yelling 'slide, slide?'"

Occhi

[TaMeOlta]

. . . called "beer."  Or, more precisely -- if you refer to European beer -- "imported beer."  :D

Do I win a pint of Oranjeboom?  (Hmm, did I spell that correctly?)  Amstel?

Occhi
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No way .... its bee yah :P and we all drive kahs out hee yah :whistling:

[ShadowHM]

:rolleyes: Correction to the original linked information about the candy bars: The writer of the story received an email from an employee at the Canadian factory, and posted it.

Here it is:

It's time to roll out some feedback! First, from the answer about Mars bars and Milky Ways from a couple of weeks ago, Tim M. says:

My apologies but I feel I need to correct (and enlighten) you on your answer about Mars bars. Seeing as I actually work at the only Canadian plant that manufactures these bars I feel that I am somewhat of an authority on this. That and the box of Milky Ways I keep in my desk drawer.

While it is true that the American Mars bar is not sold in Canada (unless your local convenience store owner gets some from the U.S.), the Three Musketeers is the same in the U.S. and Canada: chocolate-flavoured nougat covered in milk chocolate.

The regular Mars and the Milky Way are almost identical, the only difference being that the bar sold in Canada (Mars) is actually a darker chocolate than the American Milky Way. The Milky Way is pure milk chocolate and has more caramel than its Canadian Mars bar cousin. I much prefer the Milky Way to the Mars bar but since I get both for free I don't complain.

[whyBish]

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Adding to my list:
Ivy league
Sophomore
Honour Role
Magna Cum Laude (sp?)