[brenda1652]

a grinder is a hot or cold large sandwich on a long roll (torpedo or submarine shape), split and layered with veggies, meats, cheeses, meatballs, sausages, whatever you want. They are also called also called subs (like the ones served at Subway shops) as well as heroes. In CT and some other areas in New England, it is called a grinder. Yes, a grinder is also a power tool, we don’t seem to have an issue with that though. But in CT we have a large naval base that launches the US nuclear subs. They are not only staffed with Navy servicemen and women but also many civilians and when you refer to subs in CT, it is in reference to the real deal. I love the idea of “tea” instead of supper, implying something light and with a nice hot cup of tea (and I am also taking on the “cuppa” word, which works nicely). and I must correct myself: we do have “dinner: at holidays, it is a large midday meal and supper is leftovers at night.

[with love Heidi]

Ah, so it’s like a Subway. I would call it a salad roll, depending on what’s in it. 🙂

[juliamom2009]

@sahmcolorado – yes, western Massachusetts is totally different from Bostonian English! We eat a sub for lunch, get our liquor at the packy, and my parents (really old-school Bostonian) drink tonic – they call any carbonated beverage (Coke, ginger ale, etc) tonic.

I moved to SoCal and had a job where I was on the radio and broadcast across the western US and I used to get so much crap from the field people that I intentionally did away with my Boston accent. I lived in Toronto for about 5 years, and must have picked up a bit of theirs, because now people ask me if I’m Canadian occasionally!

[Anonymous]

I remember that we also said packy for liquor store. I had to get used to saying dinner instead of supper when I moved out here to Colorado. I also lived in Georgia for 10 yrs and, of course, everything was different there, too.

[Anonymous]

@brenda1652

And here I’ve been carefully teaching my children to say “Native American”. However, I think I mostly prefer it because Columbus was just lost and confused and Indians live in … em… India. 😉 I had no idea that the actual people themselves prefer to be called Indians.

[Reeni]

he was from the Italian countryside!

[brenda1652]

as far as Indian’s preferences: the Nations and Tribes are just that, independent of each other, with alliances along the way.. Then along came whites, grouped all of them together and labeled them Indians. Anyways, no Indians were consulted about changing things to another label. The feeling is that they were labeled once by white folks an do not care to be labeled again by them. Yes, Indians are also in India, not an issue as far as American Indians are concerned. Google some tribal web sites, they are wonderful sources of info as well as story telling, music, and history. My husband is Eastern Cherokee, his family escaped the Trail of Tears and hid and are not on the Rolls, not trusting the gov when once again they were offered an east coast reservation. Cherokee had towns, plantations, written language and newspapers even when Andrew Jackson decided to drive them out to Oklahoma. When trying to group all the tribes together, Native American term is used, but as individuals, Indians use the word Indian or a tribal designation. Canada uses “The Nations”, a great term in that it recognizes the sovereignty of the various tribes as well as not attempting to mislabel the individual members of The Nations. This is probably confusing. Perhaps by example: you could say that various countries belong to The Commonwealth, yet we do not refer to individuals as “Commonwealthers”or “Native Europeans” but rather we recognize them by the country of allegiance. When teaching kids to go beyond the general term of Native American, I would encourage them to find out (asking is fine) the particular tribe you may be interested in. The various tribes and alliances are as different in language/traditions/needs/wealth/government as the countries in the rest of the world. This is why I personally use the term The Nations, as Canada has done, much more respectful. You will find the term Native Americans all over the place, except in use at Pow Wows, which are so much fun and open for all folks to visit and join in. ‘nough of that, respect is what is important, right? and we all share that. Let’s pray for world peace with the current escalation of tensions between the US and Russia and the acts of genocide that keep occurring all over the world. so sad, like we never learn.

[cybele727]

University v college??

I think Americans go to “college” generally, even if it is a university, and Ukers go to uni because colleges are inside of universities, right? Like King’s College at Cambridge Uni.

Here in the US, colleges are smaller and will grant an advanced degree (M.A./M.S./M.B.A.) but not a terminal one. Universities are larger and grant Ph.D., M.D., J.D. etc.

So if you went, where did you go? Uni or college?

[brenda1652]

I went to a University ( GO UCONN! ) which is comprised of many colleges, one for each major. When you fill out job applications they ask if you have a college degree, no mention of university. What has always been interesting is how in the US we put the word “the” or “a” in front of hospital and university but not so for college or school. Brits do not put “the” or “a” in front of any of them I believe. So how the heck did “the” and “a” end up here? lol.

• This reply was modified 10 years ago by brenda1652.

[Sarvi]

The school I went to is called a university, and within it are schools, grouped by discipline. So it’s the University of X, and has the Y Dental School, the Z Business School, etc. I think that’s common in the US, but don’t know if it’s standard. My Uk friends seem to have gone to Universities with colleges within them, but you can study for example Classics at Trinity or Classics at Balliol, and one or the other might be more prestigious for that subject. There’s a school, or group of schools, here in California, called the Pomona colleges and you know that sciences are stronger at one and music at another — and if you want to go to Pitzer you’re hopefully independently wealthy because good luck making a living as a professional poet 🙂

[dubhels2003]

That college/university one is strange in the UK. I generally use college to refer to somewhere that delivers further rather than higher education. For example York College mainly teaches post 16 further education rather than higher education (degree or higher). That said, the college does teach one or two degrees…

Generally higher education is delivered by universities. Some universities are collegiate (Oxford, Cambridge, Durham) so they are comprised of colleges. However those universities are in themselves collegiate in different ways, Durham is different to the Oxbridge two, although it probably doesn’t want to think of itself as so!

Really, is it any wonder that English is considered such a difficult language to learn!

[dubhels2003]

PS, where does packy for liquor store come from?

[Sherry]

Can anyone guess what these Aussie words mean, sanga, snag and loo.

[brenda1652]

packy, short for package store, with bottles going into paper bags or packages.
loo: toilet/bathroom ?

• This reply was modified 10 years ago by brenda1652.

[with love Heidi]

I’m concerned about getting a “terminal” degree! . In Australia anything “terminal” is something that will kill you fairly quickly!