The European View on all things American

[goater24]

You can keep you jelly beans and jolly ranchers Jack, if that all you got on us apart from grits waffles and taco bell then I know I'm onto a winner. You also can't brew beer and the fact that you don't get 'ale' illustrates that point.

This is going to devolve into nationalism, isn't it? Keep your beer, we do whiskey way better.

Well I am a nationalist dude, but whiskey is not one of my prefered spirits. I prefer Gin and rum I'm afraid. But if you'd put down your guns and had a straight up fist fight we would knock your boys silly. Anyways fella tell me more about those frat parties. You do smoke weed like champs though! Blunts are hardcore!!!!

 

[goater24]

You also can't brew beer and the fact that you don't get 'ale'ustrates that point.

Quoted for truth. I'm not one for overt displays of patriotism, but the day the US brews a better bitter than the UK is the day Hell freezes over.

Now my friend, would you like a pint of Broadside, Admiral's Reserve, or Hobgoblin?

I'm actually a dark wytch fan if we are talking wytchwood ale but broadside is quite hearty. I love my local breweries and manchester we have 4. Robinsons, J W Lees, Hydes my personal favourite and Joseph Holt. Have you ever done a brewery tour? Thoroughly reccommended sir!

Now whos just supped my Bishops Finger?

 

[Specter_]

Keep your beer, we do whiskey way better.

i beg to differ:

 

[samsprinkle]

Well, until a recent bout on Youtube I was convinced that all Brits acted like the people on Monty Python(whoo!). And I also found out that Brits thought OUR football is stupid! The outrage! You beat the shit out of some guy. What is MORE fun!? Honestly? Tell me now!

 

[joystickjunki3]

Also are frat parties like the films?

Yes, but with less censoring.

I've always thought Europeans had better candy than us. The Brits don't nance about when it comes to chocolate bars and the Germans have dedicated 44 years of quantum physics research to perfecting the gummy bear. We've still got you beat on Jelly Beans though.

thats because some of the ingredients needed for good chocolate doesn't grow in the US, it needs to be imported, odd thing is Cocoa plants dont grow in Europe though!

You can keep you jelly beans and jolly ranchers Jack, if that all you got on us apart from grits waffles and taco bell then I know I'm onto a winner. You also can't brew beer and the fact that you don't get 'ale' illustrates that point.

I'm pretty proud to say that there are some really good American beers, but they're almost all microbreweries. Also, I'm American and I prefer ales. If you ever get the chance, try Yuengling (it's a lager, but a good one). Anyways, I tend to only drink Guinness and such. But Chimay is a personal favorite.

EDIT: For the record, there are frat parties just like the ones in movies, but everyone who isn't a complete dumbass doesn't care about them anyways. Frats/Sororities in most parts of the country suck ass and make Americans (or just American college students) look bad.

 

[countrysteaksauce]

I'm sorry America but the beer is way too watered down.
That's right Bud, I'm looking at you.
You end up having to drink the European stuff, Becks etc.

Also Frats are pointless; You have to pay a considerable sum, then you get hazed, and then your liver gets destroyed throughout the year.

 

[Steve Dark]

Well, until a recent bout on Youtube I was convinced that all Brits acted like the people on Monty Python(whoo!). And I also found out that Brits thought OUR football is stupid! The outrage! You beat the shit out of some guy. What is MORE fun!? Honestly? Tell me now!

You want violence? Watch Rugby. We don't take it in turns, and we don't prance around in chunky armour like nancy boys.

EDIT: Oh also, we invented your national sport. Though it does seem us English types invent all the games and still get beaten at them all...

 

[fluffylandmine]

After watching a television special where two American actors were sent to France to act like Texas stereotypes.

In the end only American tourists disliked them. The French thought that they were: affectionate, goofy, silly, fun, and lovable. So in conclusion, Europeans must think we are walking teddy bears.

Europeans in America are thought to be cold, modern art fanatics, bonkers. That is until an American meets a European.

We all have our misconsceptions though.

 

[TwistedEllipses]

I've tried to compare English and American-English words and it's a fairly even split between which make more sense.

American words that make less sense:
-flashlight: they don't flash
-french fries: they're not French
-hobo: wouldn't you abbreviate homeless to 'homo'?
-math: it's mathmatics

English words that make less sense:
-car boot: huh?
-ladybird: it's neither
-dummy: a pacifer does pacify, dummy just means fake. Fake what?

Both make sense:
-cell phone/mobile phone: cell=battery and they are mobile
-airplane/aeroplane
-sidewalk/pavement
-sneaker/trainer: used for sneaking and training
-trash can/dust bin

Draw in ridiculousness:
-nappy/diaper: they just sound stupid

 

[Mr Cwtchy]

I like cheeseburgers, even though they are bad for me, so I will give the Americans that.Of course, the world is so interconnected that all countries have something in common with each other.

 

[Vlane]

I once was a year in america (in Los Angeles to be precise) and I didn't enjoyed it.

Your standards for a good house are way lower then in europe and you have to be 21 to legally drink beer. That's ridiculous. Also the beer is not good.

 

[sirdapfrey]

Also are frat parties like the films?

You also can't brew beer .

http://www.yuengling.com/

EDIT: It's somewhat amusing to me that this thread about European opinions started by a European was essentially turned into a thread about alcohol by a European.

 

[Xanadeas]

I know quite a few British folk myself actually, even though I'm American. (Can thank Bill Gates for that.) The British have one MAJOR thing over us Americans: Doctor Who. I'm always being teased for being American by my British friends. Though in the US we seem to have a few things the Brits don't. Jolly Ranchers, Slim Jims, all kinds of foods... We love our food here. And /I/ know what irony is though I don't think many other people do. :/ There's also the language thing. A biscuit is a biscuit and a cookie is a cookie and crisps are potato chips.

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

Mostly I just look at america and think "What on earth are they doing", and "How exactly is that a good Idea" and various phrases like this!

Exactly.

 

[Helnurath]

Fish and Chips mate! lol Anyone else seen the Long John Silver's commerical?

To all of you Brits out there, LJS is a fast food seafood restaurant that is right now serving Fish and Chips London Style.

Also Brits have softcore pornography that comes on late at night on network TV.

 

[Jamash]

-dummy: a pacifer does pacify, dummy just means fake. Fake what?

Um, it's a fake nipple/teat, for suckling.

Another word I find strange is calling films "movies". I know it means moving pictures but that just sounds simplistic and a bit childish, especially when they call a cinema a "Movie House".

So it's a place where the moving pictures live. Ahh how cute.

Another language peculiarity is, in a car, calling the 'handbrake' the E-brake'. Handbrake makes sense because it's the brake operated by hand, but E-brake, what does that mean?

I've heard that 'E-brake' is short for 'emergency brake,' but that doesn't make any sense.

Since when does stopping your car from rolling down an incline when you park constitute as an emergency?
Also if you were to use the 'Emergency brake' to perform an 'Emergency stop', or use it in a emergency situation, then the wheels of the car would lock up and you would probably skid into whatever you were trying to avoid.

 

[Mechalemmiwinks]

We had a bit of a problem with childhood alcoholism and adults losing their jobs from lack of moderation....which led to prohibition, which generally failed, but we got some good laws out of it. That's what we do in the US: try a blanket law, then work it into a functional system. Not like some other countries, who just let people do whatever the hell they want, then end up with a population of working-class aristocrat wannabes.