Ask the Brit a stupid question

[Marka Ragnos]

Baby Ruths are awesome.

They're different from Snickers. Not sure how but they are

 

Whole peanuts instead of pieces, a chocolate nougat rather than plain nougat centre, and the chocolate is a little softer.

[MakemineVanilla]

I've used quite when describing something that was surprisingly good. 'It was quite good ya know'

 

The use of the word 'quite' to prefix good shows the Brit's native instinct to avoid the sort of superlative inflation which litters American speech.

 

I think it was that profound philosopher Sir Edward of Izzard, who identified the problem the American's have, of having declared a hamburger awesome, they find they have run out of appropriate words when they come to describe a cosmic event. 

[Risso]

 

I've used quite when describing something that was surprisingly good. 'It was quite good ya know'

 

The use of the word 'quite' to prefix good shows the Brit's native instinct to avoid the sort of superlative inflation which litters American speech.

 

I think it was that profound philosopher Sir Edward of Izzard, who identified the problem the American's have, of having declared a hamburger awesome, they find they have run out of appropriate words when they come to describe a cosmic event. 

 

 

I think it was Bill Bryson though who commented on the reason why our colonial cousins are so prone to hyperbole and it dates back to the old frontier spirit.  The argument goes that it's difficult to use the same restrained language that was used back home for describing the Thames or the Peak District when confronted by the Mississipi or The Rockies for the first time.

[chrisp65]

 

 

I've used quite when describing something that was surprisingly good. 'It was quite good ya know'

 

The use of the word 'quite' to prefix good shows the Brit's native instinct to avoid the sort of superlative inflation which litters American speech.

 

I think it was that profound philosopher Sir Edward of Izzard, who identified the problem the American's have, of having declared a hamburger awesome, they find they have run out of appropriate words when they come to describe a cosmic event. 

 

 

I think it was Bill Bryson though who commented on the reason why our colonial cousins are so prone to hyperbole and it dates back to the old frontier spirit.  The argument goes that it's difficult to use the same restrained language that was used back home for describing the majestic Thames or the serene Peak District when confronted by the muddy Mississipi or The lumpy Rockies for the first time.

 

[Marka Ragnos]

 

 

I've used quite when describing something that was surprisingly good. 'It was quite good ya know'

 

The use of the word 'quite' to prefix good shows the Brit's native instinct to avoid the sort of superlative inflation which litters American speech.

 

I think it was that profound philosopher Sir Edward of Izzard, who identified the problem the American's have, of having declared a hamburger awesome, they find they have run out of appropriate words when they come to describe a cosmic event. 

 

 

I think it was Bill Bryson though who commented on the reason why our colonial cousins are so prone to hyperbole and it dates back to the old frontier spirit.  The argument goes that it's difficult to use the same restrained language that was used back home for describing the Thames or the Peak District when confronted by the Mississipi or The Rockies for the first time.

 

 

That's awesome! What an INCREDIBLE insight! I haven't heard Britain's go-to American Anglophile quoted for a while -- centuries! 

 

The point is demonstrably true, too. It's especially visible in early American literature such as the early 19th century journals of Meriwether Lewis (of Lewis and Clark fame) and of course writers such as Melville (e.g. Moby Dick is big -- a huge read about a huge monster). Lewis has to stretch language again and again to fit it around the natural wonders he witnesses as the first European on the great plains. 

 

Lewis is by far the better writer, but Clark's far less literate jottings also speak to this point even more transparently. Here's a little taste ...

 

The black Mountains he Says is verry high, and Some parts of it has Snow on it in the Summer    great quantities of Pine Grow on the mountains, a great noise is heard frequently on those mountains"—  [11] 〈no bever on Dog river〉, on the mountains great numbers of 〈an〉 goat, and a kind of Anamale with large Circuler horns, This animale is nearly the Size of an Argalia Small Elk. White bear is also plenty—  

 

 

Still, unlike most Americans, you can't fool me.  I know the English too well. I have heard innumerable examples of British hyperbole. Indeed, there are parts of Fleet Street that seem to have turned exaggeration into a form of ink they use for everything they print. 

[Risso]

You're my favourite new poster.

[Ghost]

Isn't Harry Kane the new messiah? 

[villa4europe]

No sir andros of Townsend just put him back in his place

[snowychap]

I think it was Bill Bryson though who commented on the reason why our colonial cousins are so prone to hyperbole and it dates back to the old frontier spirit.  The argument goes that it's difficult to use the same restrained language that was used back home for describing the Thames or the Peak District when confronted by the Mississipi or The Rockies for the first time.

Amusing but so obviously bollocks.

 

Edit: It's like a Bryson book in two sentences.

Edited March 31, 2015 by snowychap

[Risso]

 

I think it was Bill Bryson though who commented on the reason why our colonial cousins are so prone to hyperbole and it dates back to the old frontier spirit.  The argument goes that it's difficult to use the same restrained language that was used back home for describing the Thames or the Peak District when confronted by the Mississipi or The Rockies for the first time.

Amusing but so obviously bollocks.

 

Edit: It's like a Bryson book in two sentences.

 

 

To be fair he was quoting somebody else :

 

"a few pointed out that the American continent required a more expansive vocabulary, like the anonymous essayist in North American Review who plaintively noted: 'How tame will his language sound, who would describe Niagara in language fitted for the falls at London bridge, or attempt the majesty of the Mississippi in that which was made for the Thames?"

 

And I used to like Bill Bryson until he disappeared up his own arse.  Some of his earlier stuff like the travels around small-town America were genuinely excellent.

[mjmooney]

"One Summer (America, 1927)" is excellent.

[MakemineVanilla]

 

 

I think it was Bill Bryson though who commented on the reason why our colonial cousins are so prone to hyperbole and it dates back to the old frontier spirit.  The argument goes that it's difficult to use the same restrained language that was used back home for describing the Thames or the Peak District when confronted by the Mississipi or The Rockies for the first time.

Amusing but so obviously bollocks.

 

Edit: It's like a Bryson book in two sentences.

 

 

To be fair he was quoting somebody else :

 

"a few pointed out that the American continent required a more expansive vocabulary, like the anonymous essayist in North American Review who plaintively noted: 'How tame will his language sound, who would describe Niagara in language fitted for the falls at London bridge, or attempt the majesty of the Mississippi in that which was made for the Thames?"

 

And I used to like Bill Bryson until he disappeared up his own arse.  Some of his earlier stuff like the travels around small-town America were genuinely excellent.

 

 

As a country America definitely does awesome geography rather better than anything Britain can offer but it still doesn't account for the fact that people who might even have seen The Grand Canyon are still prone to describe a hamburger as awesome.

 

My guess would be that the endless inflation of superlatives has more to do with Madison Avenue than the struggle of early pioneers and geographers to translate their ineffable gob-smackedness into words. 

 

The genius of Bill Bryson and the reason he is so beloved by many Brits, especially for his Notes from a Small Island, is the way he intuitively understands British sensibilities.

 

We like flattery but we prefer it if it is made deniable by a good dose of irony, or at least we used to. 

 

Worse still, we really like praise from Americans - if anything we produce is liked by Americans, we feel obliged to go nuts about it ourselves.

 

When he describes the British idea of pleasure - sitting on top of Snowdon in drizzle drinking luke warm tea from a thermos flask - and compares it with American 'want it now' hedonism, we somehow feel flattered by his acknowledgement of how stoical we are in the face of our country's irredeemable naffness.

 

Which is exactly what Cleese did with the whole Waldorf Salad episode of Fawlty Towers.

 

Even now, you can't always get the waldorfs.

Edited April 1, 2015 by MakemineVanilla

[lapal_fan]

I bet a hamburger tastes more awesome than the grand canyon, to be fair MMV..

[MakemineVanilla]

I bet a hamburger tastes more awesome than the grand canyon, to be fair MMV..

 

Don't let on but compared with the grey, grease-oozing, hamburgers the mobile vendors used to sell in the centre of Birmingham years ago, an American hamburger is definitely, like, totally, f****** awesome. But mum's the word.

[Risso]

and to be fair, some of the Americans I saw whilst on holiday a few weeks ago, were almost certainly "profoundly reverential" when it comes to their burgers.

[MakemineVanilla]

and to be fair, some of the Americans I saw whilst on holiday a few weeks ago, were almost certainly "profoundly reverential" when it comes to their burgers.

 

This seems to substantially support your claim:

 

[mjmooney]

Best burger I've ever had was in Swenson's, Baltimore harborfront.

[P3te]

I saw awesome far, far more than an Irishman in his 30s ever should after moving to Canada 6 years ago. It makes me cringe inside every time, too, but I can't help it

 

I also say "Saint Ber-nard" instead of "Saint Bernard" when talking about the dogs, and "gar-ah-je" instead of "garage"

 

[Risso]

I saw awesome far, far more than an Irishman in his 30s ever should after moving to Canada 6 years ago. It makes me cringe inside every time, too, but I can't help it

 

 

 

What did you see that was so awesome?!

[P3te]

Everything apparently.