<p>^^I did notice that for years the recorded airport voice warning you about the moving walkway or the tram doors closing had an English accent in Minneapolis of all places. I guess travelers just found a local Minnesota accent to be too irritating or something.<br>
;-)</p>
<p>Another accent trend I’ve noticed is that villians in American movies and TV shows have English accents far more frequently than the good guys do. I guess it’s sometimes the modern equivalent of wearing a black cowboy hat.</p>
<p>I’m at a loss when someone else sneezes. I grew up hearing “g’zei gezunt” (Yiddish for "go in health!) which few around me understand today. So that leaves me with “gezundheit” which I figure is German. If I know they know modern Hebrew, I say “Labriyut” (to your health!)</p>
<p>I’m not comfortable saying “Bless you!” to a stranger, since the verb lacks the subject (God Bless You) or supplication (May God Bless You). I sure don’t want to oppress anyone with theism nor suggest that I’m the one bestowing blessing upon their mucous-filled suffering head. Most people say “Bless You” to me when I sneeze in public, to which I saw “Thank you” since I know it was very well-intentioned. Or I say, “Thanks, I need all the help I can get” which generates a smile back. </p>
<p>So I say nothing to public sneezes, which feels very rude and uncaring.</p>
<p>I noticed recently that my brother’s unfortunate speaking habits. He often adds, “…and stuff” to the end of most of his sentences. </p>
<p>I never noticed these little quirks until I heard my mom add, “and stuff” to her sentences after she had visited my brother. Should I mention it?</p>
<p>I don’t think there is much, if any, residual theism in saying “Bless you” when somebody sneezes.
Indeed, in the South, “Bless his heart” is kind of a mild insult.</p>
<p>YES! Where did that one come from? It’s the expression du jour when it comes to people who have been kidnapped. Drives me crazy, too, coureur.</p>
<p>When it comes to public sneezing, I think “bless you” is now secular and carries no religious overtones. Think of it as “bleshu,” if that makes a difference.</p>
<p>paying3, you can do what our family does and say “Gesundheit!” It’s one of only two German words that made it to the second generation (the other being Prost!) Translated literally it’s “Health!”</p>
<p>You know I’m going to give that a try. Next time someone sneezes, hear me roar: “Back off!” but with an English accent so they know I’m seriously bad.</p>
<p>…Whoa, I just wrote “seriously.” This thread is sticking to me like fly-paper.</p>
<p>What you’re talking about for the most part are simple mechanical problems that can be fixed. Try growing up in a culture that prides itself in uber-complicated sentences, analogies, metaphors, and the like, and **then **learn English :-)</p>
<p>And if that’s not bad enough, try improving your English by watching British or American TV shows (subtitled) while sticking a narrow piece of cardboard in front of the TV tube to hide the subtitles…</p>
<p><em>I</em> don’t have any USH’s (she says while adjusting her halo, patting herself on the back, and smirking all at the same time). My pet peeve is contestants on tv cooking competition shows who says “marscapone” (it’s mascarpone)</p>
<p>“Out of pocket” bugs me. I always thought this meant expenses you had to pay yourself–out of your own pocket–like medical or business expenses that weren’t reimbursed.</p>
<p>Now I always hear it used to mean “unreachable by cell-phone” or something like that.
Why?</p>
<p>Here’s a new one I hear: “put a pin in it,” to describe something that is a placeholder.</p>
<p>And “hard stop,” to describe a meeting/phone call - I have a “hard stop” at 3 pm, meaning I can’t stay a few minutes longer. Well, shouldn’t every meeting be a hard stop, unless you’re discussing issues of national security or something?</p>