OT: Two countries separated by a common language

On Thu, May 15, 2003 at 07:52:55PM -0400, Mark J. Reed wrote:
> The first time I ran across "gaol" - in a British novel
> I read  in college - I had absolutely no idea what it was.
> Even after reading enough context to determine that it referred
> to some sort of prison, it just never occurred to me that it could
> be an alternate spelling of "jail".  I mean, it so clearly must be
> pronounced "gay-ole", or perhaps "gowl" (rhyming with "fowl").  I
> just assumed it was some sort of foreign borrowing akin to "gulag".
Excuse me for replying to myself, but I just thought of another
Britishism that took me unawares: "biscuits".  The Hitchhiker's
Guide series scene in which Arthur gets into a biscuit battle with
someone in the airport struck me as very odd.  Biscuits in a bag from
a vending machine??  Having grown up in Georgia, I  knew exactly
what biscuits are, and they don't come from vending machines.
They're yummy doughy breakfast breads, similar to scones, but softer
and served hot, with butter or gravy, or perhaps a sausage patty.
Yum.  :)

-Mark

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