As someone who can see the San Gabriel Mountains every day, here are a couple of things I’ve learned. The Santa Ana winds are so powerful because they come from the North and are compressed by the canyons, increasing their power. It was pointed out by my favorite meteorlogist that this time the often challenging Santa Ana winds were combined with winds from a different direction to create the horror show we just went through. I live in a pocket that is mostly sheltered from the winds, but I got my share this time. Luckily, there were no fires that were close to me. (Reposted from What are you listening to RIGHT NOW?)
Keith “Keef” Knight* moved from San Francisco to L.A. to North Carolina. One of our friends used to live in Pacific Palisades, where she ran a day care business in three successive rental houses. All three houses, where we visited her, are gone. A manager who used to work closely with us lived in Altadena for many years. She was spared this horror, having passed away a few years ago.
*The co-creator and subject of the unfortunately named Hulu show Woke (which is still available).
I finally attended Michigan's ConFusion, an SF convention that was ill-timed during the days when I had a day job. I had a good time, sat on some panels, hung out with friends, heard John Scalzi read from an as-yet-unpublished novel, sold many books, and made a video. A blog will follow:
It's cool that you finally got there. I have Michigan friends who have been attending for years. But I never went during the whole time I lived in Michigan, unfortunately.
Captain Comics > Mark Sullivan (Vertiginous Mod)February 1, 2025 at 12:36am
I am old. I live in the American South, which is slow to change. And I call shenanigans.
Whoops-a-daisy!: That is, in fact, something only children in the American South say. Adults don't say it, except ironically. True 60 years ago, true now.
Full of beans: Yes, Southern Americans say this, and have said it, my whole life. I didn't know until this article that it orginated in Britain. And so what? Our whole language originated in Britain. Many slang terms originated in Britain. Southern Americans do not care of its origin. What they do care about is that their parents and grandparents said it, so they say it. That isn't evidence that British slang is "invading" America. This article is full of beans.
C-word: In Britain, no big deal. In America, south of the Mason-Dixon (and likely above), it's the worst possible word you can use. If you're British and think that we're all BBC watchers and use the C-word like you do, then go ahead, say it. You will not make it back to Britain alive.
Wanker: Southern Americans do not use this. Most Southern Americans have no idea what it is.
Take the piss out of: In Britain, it means yanking someone's chain. In the American South, piss means urine. Say "take the piss out of" to a Southerner, and they will try to figure out where the urine comes into it. They will not understand what you mean.
Pissed: In Brtiain, it means drunk. In the South, it means angry.
Mummy: No, sorry, our mothers are mom. Or mommy. Our grandmothers are Nana or Memaw. I've lived in Texas, Florida and Tennessee, with relatives from Arkansas, Kentucky, Alabama and Mississippi, for more than 60 years, and never heard different. I have no idea what British grandmothers are called.
Aunt: Apparently, all Brits call say "AWNT" when referring to aunts. That's true in the American South, too. But: Only Black Southerners say it. White Southerners say "ANT." I don't know why this is, but it is. And it has been that way for at least six decades.
Gobsmacking: I think most Southerners recognize the meaning from TV and/or from context, to mean "surprising." But they don't use it. Or "gob" on its own. I would be surprised if anyone I asked in my neighborhood knew what "gob" meant.
JD DeLuzio > Captain ComicsFebruary 1, 2025 at 7:59am
Canadians tend to be familiar with Britishisms, though that C-word is still pretty strong, some of us use the term "flat" (a mother-in-law house is a "Granny Flat" for example) and:
Wanker: Southern Americans do not use this. Most Southern Americans have no idea what it is.
We definitely use this word-- and I suspect (heh heh) most Southern Americans do know. Oh, the word? Yeah, they might not know the word.
Take the piss out of: In Britain, it means yanking someone's chain. In the American South, piss means urine. Say "take the piss out of" to a Southerner, and they will try to figure out where the urine comes into it. They will not understand what you mean.
A lot of Canadians would know the phrase, but we don't tend to use it with this meaning.
Pissed: In Brtiain, it means drunk. In the South, it means angry.
In Canada, it means both, but not at the same time. We just juggle three meanings here.
The Baron > Captain ComicsFebruary 1, 2025 at 12:09pm
I grew up in Boston, Massachusetts in the late 60's and early 70's, and...
C-word: In Britain, no big deal. In America, south of the Mason-Dixon (and likely above), it's the worst possible word you can use. If you're British and think that we're all BBC watchers and use the C-word like you do, then go ahead, say it. You will not make it back to Britain alive.
I can assure that if you use this word on a woman North of the Mason-Dixon Line, then if she didn't punch you in the face, someone adjacent to her would. It's one of the few "fightin' words" left. You would be safer calling someone a "dumb motherf***er".
Wanker: Southern Americans do not use this. Most Southern Americans have no idea what it is.
Never heard this one "in the wild" in this country. I believe that "jerkoff" would be the nearest American equivalent.
Take the piss out of: In Britain, it means yanking someone's chain. In the American South, piss means urine. Say "take the piss out of" to a Southerner, and they will try to figure out where the urine comes into it. They will not understand what you mean.
I've never heard it used in the North, either. You might hear an old-timer speak of "taking the mickey out of" someone. I mostly hear of someone "messing with" someone else, although in my college days, we spoke of "zooing" on someone.
Pissed: In Brtiain, it means drunk. In the South, it means angry.
"Pissed" or "pissed off" means angry in the North, too. I remember Simon Pegg saying that the one change that the one line that they changed in the script for Shaun of the Dead with an American audience in mind was replacing "Sjhe's pissed!" with "She's drunk!"
Side note: Where I grew up, "pisser" (pronounced "pissuh") meant "good" (and "wicked pissuh" meant "very good"). It was often used sarcastically, as in "Well, isn't that just pissuh!" when something went wrong.
Mummy: No, sorry, our mothers are mom. Or mommy. Our grandmothers are Nana or Memaw. I've lived in Texas, Florida and Tennessee, with relatives from Arkansas, Kentucky, Alabama and Mississippi, for more than 60 years, and never heard different. I have no idea what British grandmothers are called.
My mother was "Mummy" when I was real little, but at some point, I changed it to "Ma". I'm not precisely sure why, it may have been because I realized that none of my coevals used "Mummy".
Aunt: Apparently, all Brits call say "AWNT" when referring to aunts. That's true in the American South, too. But: Only Black Southerners say it. White Southerners say "ANT." I don't know why this is, but it is. And it has been that way for at least six decades.
Where I grew up, "aunt" was pronoyunced "ahnt", with the same "a" sound as in "car" (pronounced "cah"). If anyone had spoken of their "ant" around those parts, people would have assumed that they meant a member of the family formicidae and not their own family. I''ve also heard Andy Griffith speak of "Aint Bea", and Louisville, Kentucky native Jim Cornette speak of his "Aint Lola".
Replies
As someone who can see the San Gabriel Mountains every day, here are a couple of things I’ve learned.
The Santa Ana winds are so powerful because they come from the North and are compressed by the canyons, increasing their power.
It was pointed out by my favorite meteorlogist that this time the often challenging Santa Ana winds were combined with winds from a different direction to create the horror show we just went through. I live in a pocket that is mostly sheltered from the winds, but I got my share this time. Luckily, there were no fires that were close to me.
(Reposted from What are you listening to RIGHT NOW?)
Keith “Keef” Knight* moved from San Francisco to L.A. to North Carolina. One of our friends used to live in Pacific Palisades, where she ran a day care business in three successive rental houses. All three houses, where we visited her, are gone. A manager who used to work closely with us lived in Altadena for many years. She was spared this horror, having passed away a few years ago.
*The co-creator and subject of the unfortunately named Hulu show Woke (which is still available).
Misinformation about California Fires
Gobsmacked! – the British invasion of American English
ARTICLE
(I've noticed some of this, but there is a lot more)
I finally attended Michigan's ConFusion, an SF convention that was ill-timed during the days when I had a day job. I had a good time, sat on some panels, hung out with friends, heard John Scalzi read from an as-yet-unpublished novel, sold many books, and made a video. A blog will follow:
It's cool that you finally got there. I have Michigan friends who have been attending for years. But I never went during the whole time I lived in Michigan, unfortunately.
I am old. I live in the American South, which is slow to change. And I call shenanigans.
Whoops-a-daisy!: That is, in fact, something only children in the American South say. Adults don't say it, except ironically. True 60 years ago, true now.
Full of beans: Yes, Southern Americans say this, and have said it, my whole life. I didn't know until this article that it orginated in Britain. And so what? Our whole language originated in Britain. Many slang terms originated in Britain. Southern Americans do not care of its origin. What they do care about is that their parents and grandparents said it, so they say it. That isn't evidence that British slang is "invading" America. This article is full of beans.
C-word: In Britain, no big deal. In America, south of the Mason-Dixon (and likely above), it's the worst possible word you can use. If you're British and think that we're all BBC watchers and use the C-word like you do, then go ahead, say it. You will not make it back to Britain alive.
Wanker: Southern Americans do not use this. Most Southern Americans have no idea what it is.
Take the piss out of: In Britain, it means yanking someone's chain. In the American South, piss means urine. Say "take the piss out of" to a Southerner, and they will try to figure out where the urine comes into it. They will not understand what you mean.
Pissed: In Brtiain, it means drunk. In the South, it means angry.
Mummy: No, sorry, our mothers are mom. Or mommy. Our grandmothers are Nana or Memaw. I've lived in Texas, Florida and Tennessee, with relatives from Arkansas, Kentucky, Alabama and Mississippi, for more than 60 years, and never heard different. I have no idea what British grandmothers are called.
Aunt: Apparently, all Brits call say "AWNT" when referring to aunts. That's true in the American South, too. But: Only Black Southerners say it. White Southerners say "ANT." I don't know why this is, but it is. And it has been that way for at least six decades.
Gobsmacking: I think most Southerners recognize the meaning from TV and/or from context, to mean "surprising." But they don't use it. Or "gob" on its own. I would be surprised if anyone I asked in my neighborhood knew what "gob" meant.
Canadians tend to be familiar with Britishisms, though that C-word is still pretty strong, some of us use the term "flat" (a mother-in-law house is a "Granny Flat" for example) and:
Wanker: Southern Americans do not use this. Most Southern Americans have no idea what it is.
We definitely use this word-- and I suspect (heh heh) most Southern Americans do know. Oh, the word? Yeah, they might not know the word.
Take the piss out of: In Britain, it means yanking someone's chain. In the American South, piss means urine. Say "take the piss out of" to a Southerner, and they will try to figure out where the urine comes into it. They will not understand what you mean.
A lot of Canadians would know the phrase, but we don't tend to use it with this meaning.
Pissed: In Brtiain, it means drunk. In the South, it means angry.
In Canada, it means both, but not at the same time. We just juggle three meanings here.
I grew up in Boston, Massachusetts in the late 60's and early 70's, and...
C-word: In Britain, no big deal. In America, south of the Mason-Dixon (and likely above), it's the worst possible word you can use. If you're British and think that we're all BBC watchers and use the C-word like you do, then go ahead, say it. You will not make it back to Britain alive.
I can assure that if you use this word on a woman North of the Mason-Dixon Line, then if she didn't punch you in the face, someone adjacent to her would. It's one of the few "fightin' words" left. You would be safer calling someone a "dumb motherf***er".
Wanker: Southern Americans do not use this. Most Southern Americans have no idea what it is.
Never heard this one "in the wild" in this country. I believe that "jerkoff" would be the nearest American equivalent.
Take the piss out of: In Britain, it means yanking someone's chain. In the American South, piss means urine. Say "take the piss out of" to a Southerner, and they will try to figure out where the urine comes into it. They will not understand what you mean.
I've never heard it used in the North, either. You might hear an old-timer speak of "taking the mickey out of" someone. I mostly hear of someone "messing with" someone else, although in my college days, we spoke of "zooing" on someone.
Pissed: In Brtiain, it means drunk. In the South, it means angry.
"Pissed" or "pissed off" means angry in the North, too. I remember Simon Pegg saying that the one change that the one line that they changed in the script for Shaun of the Dead with an American audience in mind was replacing "Sjhe's pissed!" with "She's drunk!"
Side note: Where I grew up, "pisser" (pronounced "pissuh") meant "good" (and "wicked pissuh" meant "very good"). It was often used sarcastically, as in "Well, isn't that just pissuh!" when something went wrong.
Mummy: No, sorry, our mothers are mom. Or mommy. Our grandmothers are Nana or Memaw. I've lived in Texas, Florida and Tennessee, with relatives from Arkansas, Kentucky, Alabama and Mississippi, for more than 60 years, and never heard different. I have no idea what British grandmothers are called.
My mother was "Mummy" when I was real little, but at some point, I changed it to "Ma". I'm not precisely sure why, it may have been because I realized that none of my coevals used "Mummy".
Aunt: Apparently, all Brits call say "AWNT" when referring to aunts. That's true in the American South, too. But: Only Black Southerners say it. White Southerners say "ANT." I don't know why this is, but it is. And it has been that way for at least six decades.
Where I grew up, "aunt" was pronoyunced "ahnt", with the same "a" sound as in "car" (pronounced "cah"). If anyone had spoken of their "ant" around those parts, people would have assumed that they meant a member of the family formicidae and not their own family. I''ve also heard Andy Griffith speak of "Aint Bea", and Louisville, Kentucky native Jim Cornette speak of his "Aint Lola".
Baron,
Do you listen to Jim Cornette's podcasts?
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