I like using slang expressions.
Anyone want to swap a few?
I just remember really enjoying learning slang from different countries when I was on the backpacker trail in Oz and NZ back in '98. The man I was backpacking in sin with was British and we enjoyed each other's linguistic differences a great deal.
From him I got:
I can't be arsed for "I can't be bothered" (I've even infected my 76-year-old Mum with this one!)
Then it all went pear-shaped for "Then it all went wrong"
and (one of my faves! though I keep forgetting to use it in appropriate moments, usually because I'm TOO flabbergasted!)
What are you LIKE?! for an expression of surprise at someone's actions
From me, he got:
Out in the boonies for "out in the back of beyond" or, more simply, "in the middle of nowhere" (usually refers to somewhere deep in the country or somewhere remote)
and
Where do you get off?! for, um, probably "What are you LIKE?!" only it's not as kind as that - more righteous indignation. As with "What are you LIKE?!" this phrase is used with all different pronouns: "Where does he get off?!" or "Where do you get off?!" You might say, for example, "Where do you get off, telling me how to drive?!" Guess it's a bit of a "how dare you!"
More recently I got "pants" from a British girlfriend, but I have to confess I'm still not entirely sure how it's supposed to be used....
You got most of them from Zild. "What are you like?" is a definite Austraaalianism.
- Pfranz
Not a slang expression, but a lesson in the King's English from my tour of duty in London.
When we finally ventured out on the highways surrounding the city, we were intrigued by the number of villages/towns named Adverse Camber--around almost every turn, but never clearly visible from the road.
villages/towns named Adverse Camber--around almost every turn, but never clearly visible from the road. 
Yes; here on the continent, we sometimes see signs that read Dip in Road, but there's never anybody there.
I've seen road works signs saying "Repairs to Tired Road Surface" - don't you feel for it, being on duty 24x7?, and for "Worn Out Tarseal", to which the same injunction applies ...
- Pfranz
...but a lesson in the King's English from...
what are you thinking, my *new freind...
A friend of mine told the tale of his wanderings around on the German Autobahnen. His traveling companion noted, "This town, Ausfahrt, sure is big!"
must be the translation for a town in France that I could never catch a bus to. I'd wave and wave, but the busses headed to Complet never stopped for me.
And I'm surely not the only one to wonder why they allowed that incompetent French highway engineer De Tour to mess up so many of our American roadways.
Yup, have a British boyfriend to thank for expanding my slang horizons. All I want to know is, who/what is "billio"(sp??), as in "he was driving like billio" ??
DSW
Greetings, DSW! you've come to the right place. I'm sure one or many Brits will clue you (and me! I'd never heard this one) in on 'billio' soon.
"Driving like Billy-O" is the "kerrect" spelling, and it's just slang for "the mostest of the verb in question", i.e. drive like billy-o, sing like billy-o, swear like billy-o and ain't billy a talented sonofabitch?
- Pfranz
"A friend of mine told the tale of his wanderings around on the German Autobahnen. His traveling companion noted, "This town, Ausfahrt, sure is big!"
During my tour of duty in Germany, I saw a number of newly reporting personnel claiming residence on "Einbahnstrasse" (one-way street)
"What are you like?" is a definite Austraaalianism.
You sure 'bout dat? I've heard it used in Britland by Britspeakers and I thought I'd heard it on BritTV too....No, that doesn't necessarily mean it's not Antipodean in origin, but I have to say, I ain't never heard an Aussie use it, but I've heard it on the lips of Brits many a time.
Sod a dog is extremely satisfying as an expression of dismay, if you don't think about what it means....Got that one from Notting Hill (the fillum, not the place!)
I remembered another one of my former boyfriend's sayings, t'other moment (earlier today, might have been - the days are all merging on me at this point), but now it's gone....I'll be back!
We city slickers know this, but are always surprised our country cousins have signs all over pointing it...
"Slow Children"
and there really are signs on Manhattan streets that say "Don't even think of stopping, standing or parking here!"
My daughter in law saw some NYC traffic department tow trucks in operation, and was amazed-- they can remove an illegally parked car in under a minute -- and only take 2 minutes for cars that are parallel parked. the tow trucks are designed that the operater doesn't even have to get out of the truck. they make Repo men look slow!
When we were tripping around the US of A last year, we were always amused when we went through an intersection that had signs up at the approaches saying "Don't Block The Box". We had a lot of fun coming up with various ways of blocking boxes ...
- Pfranz
Since we've taken a turn down street sign lane, I've always loved this sign in the parking lot of a nearby Italian eatery:
In reply to:
Parking for Martini's customers only. All others will be considered inconsiderate and rude.
Did I mention it's hand painted with a floral border that includes morning glories?
"Don't Block The Box".
What the...?
"What are you like?" is a definite Austraaalianism.
I've never heard it either, but then Australian tends to mean East Coast.
Out in the boonies
When I was a kid, we spent a lot of time there, but as I get older and more civilized, I tend increasingly to call it simply, BFE.
k
I tend increasingly to call it simply, BFE.Beyond Fringe of Eternity?
Bold Feckless Everywhere?
Brutal Friendless End-of-the-road?
please explain....
re:"Don't Block The Box".
What the...?
This is a common Manhattan street sign. Manhattan is the easest place in the world to get around, since 90% of the streets are gridwork... (starting just above SoHo, all streets have numbers... starting at 1, and going up to 225 (in Manhattan) with the same numbers extending into the Bronx (260th Street or so) the high the number, the farther North you have gone.. Mid Town extends from about 33rd St, (empire state building,) to the 70's (Lincoln Center) (40 blocks or so, about 2 miles, or 3.5 K)
Avenues are generally numbered too, 1st Avenue being the closest to the edge of the continent (east side) and 12th next to the North (Hudson) River--(west side).
the gridwork results in most intersections being square or box shaped.. to prevent "gridlock" (traffic jams) it is illegal to enter the "grid" or box, unless there is enough room to travel through the box, and exit on the other side..
if there isn't, you are "blocking the box" if you are blocking the box when the light changes (at rush hour, in midtown) you risk a $350 fine!--and since you are contributing to gridlock-- the traffic cop is a foot patrolman, who walks up to your gridlocked car, and tickets you on the spot! there is no where for you to escape to!
in other areas the fines are smaller, and less likely to be impossed, since they are unlikely to become "gridlocked"--
so, should you plan a visit to the big apple, take the subway, don't drive, but if you do, don't block the box--other cities use the term, even when the local intersection are not always 'boxes'--just as gridlocked is used for traffic jams.
Do you know when the term came into use? I never heard it before, but I left NYC area in 1968.
I knew about the rule not to enter an intersection if you can't leave it, but the term "block the box" is new to me. Certainly the size of the fine is imposing...
some time during the Koch Administration.
diamond pattern where painted on high fine grids...as a warning.. and most cops are pretty nice to out of towners.. but there is no telling...its one way to tell if a movie scene is really in NY or if they are using Toranto as a NY stand in (the traffic signal lights in Toranto tend to be horizontal, too, an other give away the you are no in NY.. )
we almost never have horizontal traffic signals except under the els, (and there are no more els in Manhattan, (except 1 small patch at 125th street)
The traffic signals in St. John's are supposed to be vertical. When we first moved here we marveled at the way all the lights were held by cables and allowed to swing freely. After the first moderately* windy day where the lights flew horizontally of their own accord, much like flags, we then understood. Traffic lights as we had previously known them would've been snapped off.
* moderately on the St. John's scale is still pretty damn windy
diamond pattern where painted on high fine grids
I understand the diamond pattern and I understand painted. But what do you mean by 'high fine grids' please?
We too have a number of strategically placed box junctions where the road surface is painted with yellow diamonds - not to be entered unless the way off is clear. Unfortunately they are not well enforced, so gridlock is not uncommon in the rush hour.
what do you mean by 'high fine grids' please?Jumping in here, I took this to mean that the "boxes" with the highest fines for being blocked, are marked with a grid of diamonds - just speculatin'.
I always thought it was just a (possibly written, possibly not) "rule" of driving, that you don't drive into an intersection you can't leave? Or maybe I'm just an exceptionally perlite driver.
hahahahahahahaha! Whew, that was funny!
Right, yes. I'm being dumb, thinking of fine grids and wondering why they would be painted high where you wouldn't see them! Strange how you (me anyway) get a notion and don't always re-examine it. Thanks MG. Are there low fine grids I wonder?
Are there low fine grids?
One might infer the existence of low fine grids from the existence of high fine grids. One need not expect their being advertised.
One need not expect their being advertised.
How true.
As dear ol' Dad usta say : "New York will be a great city - if they ever finish it."
isn't much on the Wondervue scale. Wondervue is a town in the foothills (pronounced foo-thills by some) west of Boulder, Colorado.
The anemometer is a twenty-four foot (7 meters plus) tall steel pole set into bedrock. There's a big ring at the top of the pole that holds a logging chain. By town ordinance each link on the chain has to weigh 1 pound (ca 500 g.)
If that chain isn't moving the locals start heading further up the mountain because they consider the air so still that breathing's impossible.
They start to get comfortable when the bottom part of the chain is wagging back and forth.
When the chain stands out from the pole at a 45 degree angle they break out the kites.
But the kites come down when the chain stands straight out from the pole, and when the links start snapping off the end of the chain they admit that it's starting to get a might breezy.
One old timer still talks about the time the wind whipped off all the links and then bent the pole right over flat but most of the locals think he might tend to exaggerate just a bit and they say the pole only bent about 60 degrees from vertical.
A bit of Googling reveals something about a top wind speed of 140 mph (224 km/h) in Wondervu, compared with 120 mph (193 km/h) in St. John's. So they're really not that far off. Last night we had gusts up to 144 km/h (90 mph). The house was shaking on its foundations, our pictures were rattling on the walls, the windows were rattling, the usual...
Mod God got it right, dxb, it is the boxes that you are most likely to get a ticket or fine in that are marked with the diamond shapeds grids.. and a fine of $350 (225 pounds sterling or so) is not to be sneezed at.. and it might have gone up with the last round of increases..
common parking tickets in NY are now $115 dollars, (for stopping in a no standing zone, or a time out on a parking meter) Blocking the grid also results in "points"- a notation on your drivers licence, and 3 or more points will result in higher car/driving insurence premiums, and 6 results in your right to drive being revoked.
and, yes, it is a general rule no to enter an intersection unless there is room to proceed through it... and if everyone followed the rules, no fines or police would be needed.
driving in NYC (all of the boro's in places, more places, of course in Manhattan) have high pedestrian traffic and NY has lots of jaywalkers... driving in Manhattan is so extra-ordinary, NY state does not give driving tests in Manhattan-- no part of manhattan is considered 'normal driving' and all you need to be able to do is normal driving to get your licence! the pedestriams make it hard to be sure you'll be able to clear the grid.
in many (US)cities, walking is a novelty, or done just from the parking garage. NY is one of the few US cities with a large percentage of the population that not only doesn't own a car, (and when crossed against income graphs, its is really skewed!) and a significant percent that doesn't know how to drive! i know middle class, educated, employed men that live in Manhattan and don't know how to drive. inspite of this, NY traffic jams are ledgendary.
i think gridlock started as NY traffic term, and it has come to mean a traffic jam (which is a term that did originat in NY!)
here in civilised New Hampshire, the sign says :
Do not block intersection.
Harumph ®