9 ms·
I was at an anniversary of a English / American couple twenty tears ago, and a speaker gave a brilliant but mind bending speech, in which he told simultaneously
by sam_goody 5y ago
I was at an anniversary of a English / American couple twenty tears ago, and a speaker gave a brilliant but mind bending speech, in which he told simultaneously two different stories, depending on the dialect. It began with:
"Well, I had a flat, see? So I took a lift..."
(He hitched a ride after puncturing his car's tire, or he took the elevator from his apartment..)
That's all I remember. It continued with something in his boot (a car's trunk / footwear), and then.. who knows?
I've searched for something similar, since I have neither the vocabulary nor the talent to create something like that. Anyone here knows of something similar?
- cosmodisk 5y agoI was on my way to my flat when I got flat,so he gave me a lift all the way to the lift.
- sandworm101 5y agoProbably the least understood: Pants. There is a line from a Doctor Who episode, "My house full of soldiers and I'm in my pants." That joke doesn't make sense in America. I was watching QI a couple years ago. One of the guests was a Canadian actor who had been working in the UK for years and still she still had not realized the different uses of the word.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- sul_tasto 5y agoI don’t get it.
- PaulDavisThe1st 5y agoUK english: pants == underwear US english: pants == trousers
- sandworm101 5y ago"Pants" can also mean that something is ridiculous. There was story a while ago about a Chinese building that looked like a pair of trousers. "The building is pants" means that the building is silly, not just that it looks like pants. https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-20526220 https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-20526220
- joncrocks 5y agoIt's more like rubbish/bad/not very good.
- kingcharles 5y agoThis. "Pants" as an adjective is a synonym for "rubbish".
- OJFord 5y agoI think they mean they don't get the joke even knowing the correct interpretation. (I'm British so read it as underwear naturally, and also don't get it.)
- zuminator 5y agoI don't think it's meant to be a joke with a punchline, more like an absurdly comical Dr. Who-esque situation. "You think you had a bad day? Well, I..."
- everybodyknows 5y agoSuppose the speaker is female.
- kwhitefoot 5y agoWhy? It's at least equally awkward to suddenly find your house full of soldiers while you are in your underwear whether you are male or female. In fact I would say that it would be more embarrassing for many men. Male underwear is not really meant for public display.
- Lio 5y agoYeah that line from Dr Who is complete pants[1]. 1. Turns out there’s another British slang meaning for pants.
- OJFord 5y agoI was once a confused and amused British child when the policeman in The Simpsons said his handcuffs were 'in [his] other pants'. (I rather vividly recall acting out the discovery of one's pants not containing handcuffs, and changing into some with toy handcuffs hanging out...)
- Anon1096 5y ago"Took a lift" is a stretch for American English. We'd say "got a lift" for getting a car ride. If someone said that phrase to me I'd assume they're speaking British English and adjust my comprehension accordingly.
- yissp 5y agoThese days I'd probably interpret it as "took a Lyft".
- hutrdvnj 5y ago"Well, I had a flat" And flat could be interpreted as flatrate.
- echelon 5y agoWe've been inundated with British television and media (and even British-sounding actors in American productions!) to the point that the apartment interpretation was the only one I understood without reading further.
- tokai 5y agoIsn't lift a serviceable synonym for car jack or anything else that elevates a car?
- Lio 5y agoYeah we, Brits, wouldn’t “take a lift” in a car either. We’d “get a lift” or “got a lift with so and so”. If we were using a lift as in elevator we’d “get in a lift”.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- kingcharles 5y agoIt was his TYRE that had a puncture, not his "tire", you insensitive clod! :)