attention aussies

[joannie_mhm]

I let a cabbie in front of me on the weekend and had a bit of a grumble when he didn't give me a thank you wave.

He was moving left to pick someone up who was on the side of the road with their hand out to hail. Karma got him and it turned out the guy was hailing a bus coming up behind us, not him

 

[Mariposa]

Do they actually use cream in their coffee? I have always wondered that.

I do. We call coffee with cream just that, and coffee with neither cream nor sugar "black". I believe this is common to all the major regions of the US.

If I asked for a "white" coffee I'd probably be asked if I wanted a white chocolate mocha or something - this is not anything I've ever observed in any US state.

Most people I know put their own cream in their coffee (at places like Starbucks, etc.) so they ask for it "with room" if the barista does not ask first, which they usually do.

Most of the people I know that use profanity use the "wanker" gesture here and there, but at least where I live it's referred to as "jerk off". Same meaning.

V is for Victory here. Not elsewhere :D

Always fun to see how different cultures do things

 

[n3ophy7e]

I give people the finger if they don't wave when I let them in and sometimes beep if I'm in a really shit mood.

Kudos to you!! I wish I had the balls to do that. People not waving to say thanks for letting them in is one of my biggest pet peeves EVER, oh how it angers me so.

If you want to offer someone a bong you can often just give the hand signal and raise an eyebrow.

Ahhh I love it. Classic Aussie %)

 

[Klue]

If I asked for a "white" coffee I'd probably be asked if I wanted a white chocolate mocha or something - this is not anything I've ever observed in any US state.

I wouldn't ask for a 'white' coffee at a cafe either. I would ask for a Flat White, or sometimes a short black (which is just a shot or double shot espresso in a small cup) I would say that 90% of cafe's, resturants and bars would serve esspreso as their basic coffee and you wouldn't ask for a 'white' coffee at all.

But, at home if I had friends over and I was making them a tea or an instant coffee I would ask them how they like it.

White with one (sugar)
White and no sugar
Milk and two sugars
Yeah, I'll have milk and sugar.

etc etc.

 

[Raz]

I don't really have anything to contribute to this thread except to say that the photos thus far are hilarious.

OH wait, yes I do, please hold (goddamn "please hold" totally doesn't work on a message board):

Oh, I have been a serious wanker from way back. I particularly enjoy throwing a tongue into the side of my cheek just to mix it up.

I have always thought the wanker sign with tongue in cheek is calling someone a cocksucker? Which might have a different connotation depending on company intent etc? Or is that just because I am a prevert. :D

 

[contrast dismissal]

I do that wanker sign all the time though no one else seems to any more. I can't control myself. Good to see there's at least one person still doing it.

my female friend walked around the apple store doing that right at the face of the employees before asking if they had an iTampon to compliment the iPad.

I guess the moral is Aussies are far less worried about political correctness and don't use stupid adjectives like 'wonderfully amazing'...

 

[belarki]

This might help you out donkeyPUNCH

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_English_vocabulary

 

[MazDan]

I understood that cream actually means what us Aussies would call milk but I might be wrong.

I certainly remember always asking for cream in my coffee and never once actually getting real cream....it was just milk.



I with Raz, I thought the tongue in the cvheek used with a wanker sign meant cocksucker.

 

[Busty St Clare]

I stand corrected Raz. This is the cock sucker signal...

Whilst the other is the "please sir, could I have a facial"

 

[drugfukkdrockstar]

I certainly remember always asking for cream in my coffee and never once actually getting real cream....it was just milk.

Oh man really? How disappointing! I don't get it though, milk is milk and cream is cream. *shrugs*

And here i was thinking American's drink these awesome delicious thick creamy coffees! Im still gonna try it one day though.

 

[MazDan]

I just did a little research and I think this wiki explains whats happenning without actually explaining it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cream

Check out the fat contents of creams in the US and Aus.

Pure cream is actually 35-56% fat but in the states there is very little that is actually sold as pure cream.

Its a bit weird to me. Cream is such a beautiful food...........why would they go and stuff it all up?

I hate to think what they have done to honey.

 

[belarki]

A generous spoonful of double cream in coffee is awesome! You get a little oily residue on top but it's oh-so-tasty to indulge in on a frosty winter's morning :D

 

[uTranceMe]

I'm a big fan of the "wanker sign" as a means of calling someone a fuckwit (I guess that might be a Aussie insult as well).

We used to call it "feeding the chickens".

 

[alanzs]

Americans tend to be more direct in their verbiage to others. It's a huge place, with over 300 million people and being coy or vague doesn't always work; hence the directness. imho....

 

[vanth]

We used to call it "feeding the chickens".

I thought that was a (terrible) euphemism for female masturbation? Also I agree that the tongue in cheek thing means cocksucker. I mean it doesn't really make sense otherwise, does it?

 

[contrast dismissal]

Americans tend to be more direct in their verbiage to others. It's a huge place, with over 300 million people and being coy or vague doesn't always work; hence the directness. imho....

definitely a good thing!
is it true though?

I always thought coy started out in england and america, and spread to the rest of the world.

I mean, compared to how direct east europeans are, American english still sounds pretty vague by comparison, but not as much as 'proper' brittish does, of course...