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Why are the British confused about us calling bread rolls “biscuits” when they call bread rolls “puddings”?
James Wane
We aren’t, and we don’t. You are misinformed. In Britain, the word ‘biscuit’ means a hard baked cookie, like a graham cracker. Since this is the normal use of this word in the UK, we don’t automatically think of the plain scone-type baked goods for which Americans use the word ‘biscuit’. US EnglishRead more
We aren’t, and we don’t. You are misinformed.
In Britain, the word ‘biscuit’ means a hard baked cookie, like a graham cracker. Since this is the normal use of this word in the UK, we don’t automatically think of the plain scone-type baked goods for which Americans use the word ‘biscuit’. US English is a different dialect of English, and there are many words which have different meanings from U.K. English (jumper, braces, suspenders, tap etc.)
What on earth makes you think we call bread rolls ‘puddings’? In the U.K., pudding is any dessert, not just the blancmange-stuff which Americans use that word for. It is correct in the U.K. to say “I’m having apple pie for pudding.”.
See lessHow do native speakers tell I’m foreign based on my English alone?
John Peter
It may be little things like not using native idioms, that you would pick up from living in the UK. But, hey. That’s just a guess. Also, I don’t think I would’ve noticed you were foreign from what you wrote, if you didn’t point it out.
It may be little things like not using native idioms, that you would pick up from living in the UK.
But, hey. That’s just a guess.
Also, I don’t think I would’ve noticed you were foreign from what you wrote, if you didn’t point it out.
See lessIs this statement, “i see him last night” can be understood as “I saw him last night”?
John Peter
Yes, I understand it. I hear a lot of this incorrect grammar from my wife. I would expect that the person that spoke this was possibly Chinese. In Chinese there are no tenses or plurals. No he or she pronouns. The context tells all. So it might have been a direct translation from Chinese.
Yes, I understand it. I hear a lot of this incorrect grammar from my wife. I would expect that the person that spoke this was possibly Chinese. In Chinese there are no tenses or plurals. No he or she pronouns. The context tells all. So it might have been a direct translation from Chinese.
See lessGoogle Analytics reads like a seismic chart lately
Barry Carter
Yet another update?? Could be a refined version of the Feb 7 update that shook us up. Traffic went up and down and settled to near normal after about 10 days. But last seven days have not shown any change – if anything, traffic and page views have increased a little!
Yet another update?? Could be a refined version of the Feb 7 update that shook us up. Traffic went up and down and settled to near normal after about 10 days. But last seven days have not shown any change – if anything, traffic and page views have increased a little!
See lessWhat is a nice way to end an interview that is clearly going badly?
John Peter
I’ve also ended interviews as a candidate on the phone myself. They asked a question that I didn’t’ have the answer to and I told them that I didn’t know. The next 2 questions were in that same direction, with them knowing that I’d already said I wasn’t particularly fluent in that area but they keptRead more
I’ve also ended interviews as a candidate on the phone myself. They asked a question that I didn’t’ have the answer to and I told them that I didn’t know. The next 2 questions were in that same direction, with them knowing that I’d already said I wasn’t particularly fluent in that area but they kept on. At that point I said, “Let’s just stop here. We both know that I’m not doing well answering your questions and to be honest, that you’re restating the same topic after being told that already I don’t know probably means we wouldn’t be a good fit.” Too many people forget that it’s a two-way street and they seems shocked that anyone would actually end their interview.
See lessDoes Google force employees who have offers from Facebook to leave immediately?
John Peter
When I was at Facebook, 2013–2016, the rumor I heard was the opposite. It was my understanding that Google practically had a policy of counter-offering anyone who got an offer from Facebook, and that seeking an offer from Facebook was a strategy Googlers used to up their compensation. Ironically, FaRead more
When I was at Facebook, 2013–2016, the rumor I heard was the opposite.
It was my understanding that Google practically had a policy of counter-offering anyone who got an offer from Facebook, and that seeking an offer from Facebook was a strategy Googlers used to up their compensation.
Ironically, Facebook had the opposite policy: If you get an offer from elsewhere, it was Facebook’s policy not to counter-offer. Facebook’s view is that if they start counter-offering, they will get into a compensation arms race. And besides, if you really want to go work somewhere else, then maybe you should. There are lots of people who would love to work at Facebook; they don’t need to try to convince you to stay if you want to leave. And if you’re just bluffing, well good on them for not falling for it.
See lessIs there an English equivalent to the French expression: “il faut d’abord apprendre à marcher avant de courir”?
Barry Carter
While we do say this literally sometimes in English, we have a more common idiom that many people would probably think of first, if they weren’t translating. You have to crawl before you can walk. At least in American English, this idiom is very popular.
While we do say this literally sometimes in English, we have a more common idiom that many people would probably think of first, if they weren’t translating.
You have to crawl before you can walk.
At least in American English, this idiom is very popular.
See less