Silly questions and queries from the UK

[Owenk]

So today's question:

1) I am reading Bag of Bones at the moment and there are numerous mentions of Railway Tie Steps - what I would call railway sleepers I am gussing. The big wooden things the rails are laid on and are aften used achitecturally in hard landscaping in gardens?

2) Is "hamburger" also used to refer to just the minced meat before it is formed into a pattie?

There are loads of otehr questiuons I think of at 2.00am and then forget by the time I come to ask.

 

[Doc Creed]

So today's question:

1) I am reading Bag of Bones at the moment and there are numerous mentions of Railway Tie Steps - what I would call railway sleepers I am gussing. The big wooden things the rails are laid on and are aften used achitecturally in hard landscaping in gardens?

2) Is "hamburger" also used to refer to just the minced meat before it is formed into a pattie?

There are loads of otehr questiuons I think of at 2.00am and then forget by the time I come to ask.

Exactly right. Yes and yes, very good.

 

[Neesy]

So today's question:

1) I am reading Bag of Bones at the moment and there are numerous mentions of Railway Tie Steps - what I would call railway sleepers I am gussing. The big wooden things the rails are laid on and are aften used achitecturally in hard landscaping in gardens?

2) Is "hamburger" also used to refer to just the minced meat before it is formed into a pattie?

There are loads of otehr questiuons I think of at 2.00am and then forget by the time I come to ask.

Hamburger is what you guys call "mince"

We have used the big wooden railway ties in our garden as edging but they are soaked in creosote and eventually will break down (we have found). Also wasps seem to like trying to build nests in them once they start to crumble and become friable.

 

[Neesy]

It's a secret, obviously otherwise they wouldn't be private. (If I could find a rolly-eye smilie it would be here.)

Here ya go:


Edit: I see Ms. Mod (moderator) had given you one previously - sorry! I did not see that
This one is sort of 'rolly eyes' but more like it is sayin "hmmmmm"

Spoiler

Ta-dah!

 

[blunthead]

I haven't had one in quite a while, but to my memory, they're not chocolate at all. I remember peanuts and caramel. Tasty enough. I'm just not much of a candy or candy bar guy.

Grandpa's correct, PayDays are...

PayDay (confection) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Salty.

 

[blunthead]

So today's question:

1) I am reading Bag of Bones at the moment and there are numerous mentions of Railway Tie Steps - what I would call railway sleepers I am gussing. The big wooden things the rails are laid on and are aften used achitecturally in hard landscaping in gardens?

2) Is "hamburger" also used to refer to just the minced meat before it is formed into a pattie?

There are loads of otehr questiuons I think of at 2.00am and then forget by the time I come to ask.

You are correct per railway steps.

Yes, the word hamburger refers to ground beef.

 

[not_nadine]

Grandpa's correct, PayDays are...

PayDay (confection) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Salty.

Nasty things. Once a five year thing. If.

But, they did make a chocolate version at one point. It was changed to the chocolate one in the expanded release of The Stand.

Bugged me.

Sorry if this has been posted.

 

[TheRedQueen]

Many of my favorite authors are British, or at the very least from Glasgow. (J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, J.K. Rowling, Anna Sewell, etc.)

At any rate, when I read their writing, it delights me. I can't put it any other way. I love the way the English language becomes this intelligent, proper, almost formal language in the hands of skillful authors.

My question is twofold; do real-life English* people speak in such a graceful way these days? And what do you all think of the way Americans have butchered the language?

*

Spoiler

What is the plural? It's driving me nuts! Britons? Englishman? Or have I read too many books?

 

[blunthead]

Nasty things. Once a five year thing. If.

But, they did make a chocolate version at one point. This is what was changed from the original Stand to the expanded version.

 

[blunthead]

Many of my favorite authors are British, or at the very least from Glasgow. (J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, J.K. Rowling, Anna Sewell, etc.)

At any rate, when I read their writing, it delights me. I can't put it any other way. I love the way the English language becomes this intelligent, proper, almost formal language in the hands of skillful authors.

My question is twofold; do real-life English* people speak in such a graceful way these days? And what do you all think of the way Americans have butchered the language?

*

Spoiler

What is the plural? It's driving me nuts! Britons? Englishman? Or have I read too many books?

Which Americans?

 

[Owenk]

Many of my favorite authors are British, or at the very least from Glasgow. (J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, J.K. Rowling, Anna Sewell, etc.)

At any rate, when I read their writing, it delights me. I can't put it any other way. I love the way the English language becomes this intelligent, proper, almost formal language in the hands of skillful authors.

My question is twofold; do real-life English* people speak in such a graceful way these days? And what do you all think of the way Americans have butchered the language?

*

Spoiler

What is the plural? It's driving me nuts! Britons? Englishman? Or have I read too many books?

I guess it depends to whom you are speaking. Certainly a lot of people I know do use the language beautifully still. However others butcher it. In the spoken form it varies greatly as well. I like to take care with written English but very often my trainees who are commonly from a scientific or mathematical background cannot write a simple letter and that makes me sad.

I don't think Americans have butchered English at all. Sai King, for example is a super writer. One of my favourite prose passages is from "On the Road" where Kerouac describes superbly his heart-breaking "love" for a Mexican girl he sees on the bus.

I think it might be a mistake considereding them the same language anymore as you have had a few centuries now to "do your own thing" with the language.

On of the reasons I started this thread is I find fascinating and interesting the differences between how we speak. I don't think on is better than the other just different. Also when it comes to the spoken language I find the different US accents and manners of speaking both delightful and pleasing. I think I said in a different thread I love the old New Engalnd accent the talking book version of Drunken Fireworks" is narrated in - not an accent or intonation I had heard before. Actually one of my favourite speaking voices is Huey Morgan from Fun Lovin' Criminals who hosts a Saturday Morning national radio show over here now.

P.S. I think English is fine as the plural, but never call anyone from Glasgow English or you are likely to cause a fairly major diplomatic incident!

Edit - forgive my typos - on the train to London which is a bit rocky and has indifferent internet coverage.

Edit edit - p.p.s. I am going to be brave and say this, and mean no offence by it, but personally I hate American spelling. As I say just a personal view you guys are free to do what you want with your language but I will stick with "colour" and "categorise" and "socks" etc etc.

 

[Owenk]

You are correct per railway steps.

Yes, the word hamburger refers to ground beef.

Is ground beef the same as minced meat?

 

[TheRedQueen]

Which Americans?

The ones that think "on fleek" is a word. Or that use cray-cray in conversation. Those Americans.

 

[Moderator]

Is ground beef the same as minced meat?

This is what ground beef/hamburger looks like for us.

 

[blunthead]

The ones that think "on fleek" is a word. Or that use cray-cray in conversation. Those Americans.

Oh. I'm not familiar with "on fleek". I couldn't agree more about a number of habits which I think are bad ("cray-cray"? You've got to be kidding me.)

 

[Owenk]

This is what ground beef/hamburger looks like for us.

Yup - like I said minced meat. Actually we would normally just say "mince." And so if you meet someone from over here who is being dense or stupid you could refer to them as "mince for brains...."

 

[Moderator]

Yup - like I said minced meat.

Do you have what we call mincemeat? My grandmother always made it with venison but apparently you can use beef as well and it's mixed with dried fruits (she used raisins and maybe currants), spices, and vinegar. She made cookies and pies with it. They make a non-meat version of it but it doesn't taste as good to me. All in what you've been brought up on, most likely.

 

[blunthead]

Yup - like I said minced meat. Actually we would normally just say "mince." And so if you meet someone from over here who is being dense or stupid you could refer to them as "mince for brains...."

Actually, brains do look a little like ground beef. Especially if it's been sitting out for a few days. I mean the ground beef.

 

[Owenk]

Do you have what we call mincemeat? My grandmother always made it with venison but apparently you can use beef as well and it's mixed with dried fruits (she used raisins and maybe currants), spices, and vinegar. She made cookies and pies with it. They make a non-meat version of it but it doesn't taste as good to me. All in what you've been brought up on, most likely.

Yes that is the traditional Victorian mincemeat. It is sometimes still made like that but the main purpose of using spices and sweet things was to cover the taste of slightly off meat. We still eat a lot (an awful lot) of the stuff made with just dried fruit/peel/sugar and if you are lucky brandy and it is eaten mainly in pies mainly at Chistmas.

Anyway I have successfully made it to London - excellent distraction from my journey SKMB and cheers as I am now happily sat in the pub!

 

[blunthead]

Do you have what we call mincemeat? My grandmother always made it with venison but apparently you can use beef as well and it's mixed with dried fruits (she used raisins and maybe currants), spices, and vinegar. She made cookies and pies with it. They make a non-meat version of it but it doesn't taste as good to me. All in what you've been brought up on, most likely.

When I was growing up I heard the term mince, or perhaps minced, meat pie from my parents. I must have even eaten some at some point since I seem to remember liking it.