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Re: CHAT: "have a nice day"

From:Matt Pearson <jmpearson@...>
Date:Monday, March 13, 2000, 19:57
Nik Taylor:

>> along with jelly/jam > >Hmm, I always thought of jelly and jam as being different things.
So did I. "Jelly" has a lot of pectin in it, making it quite firm--almost like gelatin. "Preserves" (or, as marketers now call it, "spreadable fruit") has little or no pectin in it, and is a lot runnier--almost like a lumpy sauce. "Jam" is somewhere in between. At least that's how things work in my idiolect...
>> sidewalk/pavement, trunk/boot, fender/bumper, >> rubber, fanny, etc. etc., and that brits/USans pretend to misunderstand each >> other about. > >I dunno, I think alot of people don't know those differences.
I agree. The British terms are far from well known on this side of the Atlantic--except among avid fans of Monty Python and "Absolutely Fabulous", and other Anglophiles. As a Canadian expatriate, it's a constant source of surprise to me how little most Americans know about the more subtle differences between American culture and the cultures of the other English- speaking countries. My boyfriend, for example, was totally unaware that Z is pronounced "zed" by most of the civilised world. In fact, he refused to believe me at first, and we got into a big argument over it. Matt.