HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: sr@mp.co.umist.ac.uk (Simon Read)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british,alt.usage.english
Subject: Re: Back from the UK
Date: 12 Jan 93 17:59:17 GMT
	<1993Jan11.233015.28726@csi.uottawa.ca>
Organization: UMIST Sun 630, Manchester Computing Centre, UK

In article <1993Jan11.233015.28726@csi.uottawa.ca> misrael@csi.uottawa.ca (Mark Israel) writes:

   In article <1993Jan11.020701.9391@news.columbia.edu>, gmw1@cunixa.cc.columbia.edu (Gabe M Wiener) writes:

   > Just got back from London, among the goodies toted back this trip are
   > some more US/UK differences worthy of discussion:
   >
   >
   > a) "Scheme"

In English " you schemeing, lying git" would be a quite acceptable use
of the word. However so would "pension scheme", "savings scheme",
"housing scheme"; these carry no hint of scam, or deception. I suppose
context is the distinction. 

   > b) "Toilet"
   >
   > Britons tend to use this word as a substitute for what Americans 
   > would call the "bathroom" or the "restroom" or (I hear, in some 
   > parts of the country) the "washroom."  

I was born and partly raised in the US and on coming to GB I was often
(severely) critcised for using "bathroom" to mean "toilet". It is
often regarded as incorrect, a "bathroom" is after all a room
containing a BATH, and most "toilets" don't!

   > c) "Store" vs "Shop"
   >
   > In America, the standard terminology for a place of retail sales is a 
   > "store" whereas in the UK it's a "shop."

   > The most pronounced use of the word "shop" in the US is in the phrase 
   > "coffee shop"

      Britons might say "coffee bar", or "coffee shop".

Actually this Briton would say "coffee bar" to mean somewhere that
sold the liquid form for constumption on the premises, and a "coffee
shop" would sell the solid variety for consumption elsewhere.

   > d) The word "quite"
   >
   > I acquired a catalog of musical instrument kits (lutes, harpsichords,
   > etc) and it had a legend to show the level of difficulty of the kits.
   > The list read:
   >
   > 	 * = Easy
   >       ** = Quite easy
   >      *** = Average
   >     **** = Quite Challenging
   >    ***** = Challenging
   >
   > To my eyes this looked strange, as I would say that something "quite
   > challenging" is more challenging than something "challenging," 

The fact that "Quite Easy" is harder than "Easy" but "Quite
Challenging" is not as hard as "Challenging" I think indicates a
confusion in the use of the word here. The context and inflection used
when speaking the word are important.

"Quite" is really a non-word here. It is best *never* used as it adds
very little meaning (in this dialect of the language - before I get
"flame grilled").

Simon Read
----------
Simon.Read@umist.ac.uk
Xref: sparky soc.culture.british:18557 alt.usage.english:10486
From: R.J.Woolley@lut.ac.uk
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british,alt.usage.english
Subject: Re: Back from the UK
Date: 12 Jan 93 16:35:26 GMT
Reply-To: R.J.Woolley@lut.ac.uk (Late Login Merchant)
Organization: Loughborough University, UK.

In article <ll41omINNdhr@news.bbn.com> rnewman@bbn.com (Ron Newman) writes:
>In article <1993Jan11.233015.28726@csi.uottawa.ca>, misrael@csi.uottawa.ca (Mark Israel) writes:
>|>    British houses often have the bath in a separate room from the
>|> toilet, so the euphemism "bathroom" wouldn't work.  Of course,
>|> "water closet", "W.C.", "the loo", etc. are often used.
>
>On a recent trip to Italy, I was surprised to find public
>rest rooms often labelled "WC", since I understand that to
>be a strictly British usage, and "W" isn't even a letter in
>the Italian language.
>
>-- 
>Ron Newman		rnewman@bbn.com

It's also a colloquism in France - Le doublevaycay (to spell it phonetically)

Rob.
<R.J.Woolley@uk.ac.lut>
From: martin.baines@uk.sun.com (Martin Baines - Sun UK - SE Manager Cambridge)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: Eastern hemisphere electrical power
Date: 8 Jan 1993 15:20:32 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems Ltd
Distribution: world
Reply-To: martin.baines@uk.sun.com
NNTP-Posting-Host: bottomdog.uk.sun.com

In article 24149@philmtl.philips.ca, ray@philmtl.philips.ca (Ray Dunn) writes:
[deleted earlier thread]
>The most common type of accident here in Canada is caused by coming into
>contact with the overhead exposed external supply coming into the house,
>for instance by an alumin(i)um ladder falling against them.  Several
>accidents of this type a year are reported here in Montreal.  Distribution
>of the supply in the UK at the local level is almost universally
>underground, certainly in the vicinity of buildings.

Spot the Townie. In many parts of rural Britain power to homes is
still delivered on overhead wires. In fact the wiring to and in my
house is *amazing*: power for my neighbour passes through wires
in my house and onto an overhead wire to next door. Inside the
wiring is a mix of many generations of wires, switches, plugs,
fuseboxes and circuit breakers. All part of the colour of living
in a house older than the USA.

Martin

---
"You might say that, but I couldn't possibly comment"

Martin Baines, Sales Support Manager,
Sun Microsystems Ltd, 306 Science Park, Cambridge, CB4 4WG, UK
Phone: +44 223 420421                 Fax: +44 223 420257
JANET:     Martin.Baines@uk.co.sun    Other UK:  Martin.Baines@sun.co.uk
Internet:  Martin.Baines@UK.sun.com
X.400:     g=martin s=baines prmd=sunir admd=mci c=us
From: pete@minster.york.ac.uk
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: British Imperial Weights and Measures
Date: 8 Jan 93 10:49:38 GMT
Organization: Department of Computer Science, University of York, England

Martin Baines - Sun UK - SE Manager Cambridge (martin.baines@uk.sun.com) wrote:
> 
> Bring Back James Burke!

What?! Have someone _scientifically literate_ on Tomorrow's World?

pete
--
*Peter Fenelon -- Research Associate -- Software Safety Assessment Procedures*
Dept. of Computer Science, University of York, York, Y01 5DD (+44/0)904 433388
EMAIL: pete@minster.york.ac.uk `There's no room for enigmas in built up areas'
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: ckp2n@faraday.clas.Virginia.EDU (Christina Powell)
Subject: Re: British Imperial Weights and Measures
Organization: University of Virginia
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1993 20:45:57 GMT

Geraint.Jones@comlab.oxford.ac.uk  writes:
> various delightful souls contributed:
> (  >>>"A Pint's A Pound the Whole World Round"
> (  >>
> (  >>A pint of water weighs a pound and a quarter.
> (  >
> (  >" A Litre of water's a pint and three quarters"
> (  
> (  no, I believe you're thinking of "two and a quarter pounds of jam
> (  weigh about a kilogram"
> (   
> (    -- or do you have to subtract 32 first?  Or is it afterwards?  I never
> (       could remember.
> 
> Oh, oh! Five and ten and twenty-one: winter, spring and summer sun.  Ahhhh.  

No, no, no!  It's "30's hot, 20's nice, 10 is cold and zero's
ice"!

Chris
From: Geraint.Jones@comlab.oxford.ac.uk (Geraint Jones)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: Back from the UK
Date: 12 Jan 93 21:28:58 GMT
Organization: Madeleine Schneider and her Orchestra (Second Fiddles)
Originator: geraint@clts1.comlab

rnewman@bbn.com (Ron Newman) and nadeau@bnr.ca (Rheal Nadeau), severally, 
remark :

(  On a recent trip to Italy, I was surprised to find public
 ) rest rooms often labelled "WC", since I understand that to
(  be a strictly British usage, and "W" isn't even a letter in
 ) the Italian language.

(  For that matter, WC, water-closet, and waters, are all used in France.
 ) Which amuses us Canadiens enormously.

W.C. is used in this sense almost throughout (carefully...) western continental
Europe.  It's like zoned time.  And iron rails.  I blame it on the railways.  g
___
No, in all seriousness now.  Great British Ideas.  But limited.
From: dam@dcs.glasgow.ac.uk (David Morning)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: British Imperial Weights and Measures
Date: 6 Jan 93 15:31:17 GMT
Organization: Glasgow University Computing Science Dept.

Alan.Holmes@brunel.ac.uk (Alan J Holmes) writes:

>In article <Dec28.193108.50491@yuma.ACNS.ColoState.EDU> hugh@lamar.ColoState.EDU (Hugh Graham) writes:

>>"A Pint's A Pound the Whole World Round"

>I was under the impression that:-

>A pint of water weighs a pound and a quarter.

Not in America though where a gallon is a bit less than an imperial gallon,
hence fuel consumption figures expressed as mpg look rotten for American
cars.
I presume a US pint is also smaller than the imperial pint.


Dave

--
Organization: Rohm and Haas Company
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1993 09:54:54 EST
From: Aengus Lawlor <RBYAML@rohvm1.rohmhaas.com>
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: Truly English?
 <C0J116.Gys@newcastle.ac.uk> <1993Jan8.120809.19731@dcs.qmw.ac.uk>
 <1ik23jINN68s@curie.lif.icnet.uk>

In article <1ik23jINN68s@curie.lif.icnet.uk>, pt@curie.lif.icnet.uk (Paul Taylor
<pt@acl.icnet.uk>) says:
>
>Pompous? Us?
Or as Miss Piggy said:
"Pretentious? Moi?"
>
>Paul

Aengus
(who hopefully hasn't made a mistake in _this_ posting!)
--
RBYAML@ROHMHAAS.COM                    Aengus Lawlor
RBYAML@ROHVM1.BITNET                   (who used to be ALAWLOR@DIT.IE)
"How about some of that famous Dublin wit, Barman?"
"Certainly, sir. Would that be Dry or Sparkling?"
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: hallam@zeus02.desy.de (Phill Hallam-Baker)
Subject: Re: Channel Islands/Nazis
Reply-To: Hallam@zeus02.desy.de
Organization: Deutsches Elektronen Synchrotron, Experiment ZEUS bei HERA
Date: Sun, 10 Jan 1993 01:15:21 GMT

In article <93009.1730022893684@QUCDN.QueensU.CA>, Andy
<2893684@QUCDN.QueensU.CA> writes:

|>In article <C0LuMx.I0J@dscomsa.desy.de>, hallam@zeus02.desy.de (Phill
|>Hallam-Baker) says:
|>>
|>>In article <C0LC3J.HyC@newcastle.ac.uk>, w.p.coyne@newcastle.ac.uk writes:
|>>
|>>|>wilcox@vax.oxford.ac.uk writes:
|>>|>
|>>|>>In article <1993Jan8.001325.23995@nuscc.nus.sg>, hiscrp@nuscc.nus.sg (C R
|>>|>Pennell) writes:
|>>|>>>
|>>|>>> The BBC world Service had an item on the news yesterday (Thurs) about
|>>|>>> newspaper reports on material which had just come out on the
|>cooperation
|>>|>>> between the local elite in Jersey and Guernsey in the Nazi roundup of
|>>JEws
|>>|>>> when the Channel Islands were occupied during WWII. Unfortunately, I
|>only
|>>|>>> picked up the last 2/3 of the report, and I didn't catch the name of
|>the
|>>|>>> newspaper which printed the story. Please would someone post more
|>>details.
|>>|>>The Guardian certainly did. You'll probably also find that most of the
|>rest
|>>|>of
|>>|>>the papers did, with appropriate headlines. `War Criminals in the Channel
|>>|>>Islands' (Daily Telegraph). `My wartime nightmare: how collaborators
|>killed
|>>|>my
|>>|>>mother' (Daily Mail). `A Jew in Jersey: Distraught Islander tells all'
|>>|>>(Today). `Jerry Jersey Jew shock' (Mirror). `Huns Hunted' (Sun).
|>>|>
|>>|>   Why is this story only released now.  I realise the documents were
|>>|>secret but there was no law preventing the papers in the last few
|>>|>decades from interviewing survivers and asking them about colaboration.
|>>
|>>Oh come on now! The memory of Winston Churchill is attacked on the grounds
|>>that
|>>he should have given in. This is the moment that the govt choses to release
|>>these records. Come on man where on earth are your cynicism glands!
|>>
|>>The other side of the story is the manner in which the NAZIs intimidated the
|>>officials. If you were faced with a list of thirty names and asked to chose
|>>which twenty were to be shot if you refused to do everything you were told
|>>without question you might find that your actions would have been very
|>>similar.
|>>
|>
|>My reading was that there was one official who refused to comply. I think
|>your being a bit too soft on these folks, why couldn't they have just said
|>"There are no Jews in Guernsey" ?

Because the pillocks had kept all the island records, including the census. It
was therefore very easy for the NAZIs to work out who were the native population
and who were refugees.

Of course if you were being truly cynical you might consider that the reason
that Whitehall wanted to supress the records was their incompetence in allowing
information collected under a guarantee of secrecy to fall into enemy hands.

Question is why are the Jersey records still secret?


--

Phill Hallam-Baker
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: nasser@nasser.net.com (Nasser Modiri)
Subject:  Wanted: Computer News Middle East Address
Organization: Network Equipment Technologies, Redwood City
Distribution: uk
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1993 20:51:21 GMT



Does anyone know either the address or the phone number of the
Computer News Middle East magazine. This is a
London based magazine.
I am very much interested to receive the January, 1993 issue of this
mag.

with much thanks
nasser


Dr. Nasser Modiri Senior  Engineer           *-------*   E-mail: nasser@net.com
                  Network Equipment Tech   @/  -   o  \@  Tel:    (415) 780 5474
                  800 Saginaw Drive        (   ) | (   )  Fax:    (415) 780 5001
                  Redwood City, CA 94063    \         /
                                             \_______/
From: cam@castle.ed.ac.uk (Chris Malcolm)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: Eastern hemisphere electrical power
Date: 12 Jan 93 06:27:05 GMT
Organization: Edinburgh University

In article <1993Jan11.202823.19054@ttinews.tti.com> jackson@soldev.tti.com (Dick Jackson) writes:
>In article <1993Jan8.132747.6928@its.bt.co.uk> tjo@its.bt.co.uk (Tim Oldham) writes:

>My fifth form physics teacher (Loopy Lloyd) told us of an ex-pupil (ex of
>him, not of this world) who could (allegedly) determine the voltage of a
>source by sticking his first two fingers across it and seeing how high up
>his arm the palpitations went.  As others have said, its the current
>through the heart that's important vis-a-vis death.

I was a kid when some houses were supplied with 250V AC and some with
250V DC. Householders often didn't know which they had, so the
electricians would find out by sticking their thumb into a live lamp
socket. AC buzzed. If I have no tester handy I still test for live
wires by brushing them with finger. The only people I've ever heard of
being killed by 250V shock were in situations which involved water.

By the way, if 250 volts can produce a lethal current across the
heart, how come killing by electrocution takes so long?
-- 
Chris Malcolm    cam@uk.ac.ed.aifh          +44 (0)31 650 3085
Department of Artificial Intelligence,    Edinburgh University
5 Forrest Hill, Edinburgh, EH1 2QL, UK                DoD #205
From: mmh@dcs.qmw.ac.uk (Matthew Huntbach)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: Silly Bible semi-pedantry [was: Re: Happy Christmas!]
Date: 8 Jan 93 13:36:00 GMT
Organization: Computer Science Dept, QMW, University of London, UK.

In article <1993Jan8.120602.8518@infodev.cam.ac.uk> gdb15@cl.cam.ac.uk writes:
>In article <1993Jan8.114307.19012@dcs.qmw.ac.uk> mmh@dcs.qmw.ac.uk (Matthew Huntbach) writes:
>
>>No, not my first. When things get a bit slack on s.c.b or
>>uk.politics, I go off and do a bit of Prod-bashing on
>>soc.religion.christian. Great fun - almost as much fun as
>>defending the Prods in NI in s.c.celtic.
>
>Well I never...  So you take opposing points of view on different
>groups?  Does that mean there's a group somewhere where you spend your
>time jeering at the Liberals, or defending the impoverished north
>against the affluent south?
>
I'm quite consistent - I can distinguish between opposing
Protestant theology, while defending the rights of Protestants
in NI not to be forced into the Republic.

I could probably do a better jeer at the LibDems than most
people if there were enough simple-minded Paddyphiles in a
newsgroup somewhere to make it worthwhile. I've yet to meet
anyone who understands the south of England enough for me to
want to write in defence of the north however.

Matthew Huntbach
From: kcarroll@stein.u.washington.edu
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Bancusi's Bird - where?
Date: 7 Jan 1993 19:51:35 GMT
Organization: University of Washington
NNTP-Posting-Host: jane.pathology.washington.edu

Is this sculpture in the British Museum or at the Tate?
(my bet is the Tate)
From: mmh@dcs.qmw.ac.uk (Matthew Huntbach)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: --Body Shop & Wind vs. CO2
Date: 5 Jan 93 09:30:38 GMT
Organization: Computer Science Dept, QMW, University of London, UK.

In article <1472200003@igc.apc.org> tgray@igc.apc.org (Tom Gray) writes:
>The Body Shop, a tremendously successful cosmetics firm based in
>the United Kingdom that has made environmental consciousness a
>centerpiece of its business philosophy, announced in May that it
>plans to use a windfarm to offset carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
>associated with its electricity consumption.
>
>The Body Shop and its founder, Anita Roddick, have become well-
>known in recent years for policies such as recycling its
>containers, banning the use of animals in testing its cosmetic
>products, and campaigning to halt the destruction of the Earth's
>rain forests.  Such well-publicized efforts on behalf of the
>environment have led to fanatically devoted customers, according to
>Inc. magazine, and explosive growth in sales.
>

Does anyone else remember the very first Body Shop? It doesn't
seem very long ago (15 years?) that it opened as a one-off in the
backstreets of Brighton. The name was a joke as it was next
door to an undertakers. In those days the North Laines where it
was situated was a run-down area full of discount shops where
my parents would go when they couldn't afford Sainsbury's.
Nowadays it's full of trendy boutiques, of which the Body Shop
was one of the pioneers, though the original Body Shop has been
closed down.

Matthew Huntbach
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: godfrey@vxdesy.desy.de
Subject: Re: Back from the UK
Followup-To: soc.culture.british
Organization: (DESY, Hamburg, Germany)
Date: Wed, 13 Jan 1993 02:32:48 GMT

In article <3984@wyse.wyse.com>, jmunro@wyse.wyse.com (Jim Munro x2497) writes:
>>In article <1993Jan11.020701.9391@news.columbia.edu>, gmw1@cunixa.cc.columbia.edu (Gabe M Wiener) writes:
>>> d) The word "quite"
>>>
> 
> Yes, the word 'quite' is often ambiguous. When used literally as in 'the cup is quite
> full', it generally means 'almost full'. When used as a qualifyer for a positive,
> such as 'the book was quite good', or 'he is quite nice', its a form of understated
> praise which really means that the book or the person were in fact very good, but
> the speaker does not want to appear over enthusiastic, after all that would never
> do!
> 

This last part is quite incorrect, and I do mean that in the sense that
quite is used below - with a negative.  'He is quite nice' and 'the book
is quite good' definitely do NOT mean very nice and very good as you claim,
but mean LESS THAN VERY NICE and LESS THAN very good.

Perhaps you've been out of the UK too long!  You are correct in your
explanation of its use with a negative, however, and you are also correct in
saying that "quite full" means almost full.

> When used in connection with a negative, such as 'she is quite horrible', it is
> a form of over emphasis and means thet 'she is totally horrible'.... quite.
> 
> 
> Jim Munro
> 
>  
> 
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british,soc.culture.europe
From: icpa@iat.holonet.net (Tony Rodriguez)
Subject: International Software Jobs]
Organization: HoloNet National Internet Access BBS: 510-704-1058/modem
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1993 04:03:04 GMT


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supported organization for experienced software professionals who want to
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information on membership with the ICPA.


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Tony Rodriguez

Director ICPA


International Computer Professional Association
2261 Market Street, Suite 309
San Francisco, CA 94114
USA

Tel: (415) 695 - 7618
Fax: (415) 252 - 5769

email icpa@holonet.net
From: curt@nereus.East.Sun.COM (Curt Harpold-Sun-Vienna VA-Systems Engineer)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: American humo(u)r (was Re: Studying Me
Date: 12 Jan 1993 11:05:07 -0500
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Inc. - Vienna, Va.
NNTP-Posting-Host: nereus.east.sun.com

In article <1isuc6INNogn@west.West.Sun.COM> ian@sun.com writes:
>In article 1170@ttinews.tti.com, jackson@soldev.tti.com (Dick Jackson) writes:
>> Frankly, I like it here. The living is easy, and apart from the
>> nearby quasi-random machine gun bursts it is very pleasant in So. Cal.
>
>Do many others reading this in the USA hear gunfire from their homes?

I do, several times a week.  But then again, I live on Capitol Hill in 
Washington, D.C., currently known as "Murder Capitol of the U.S.".

......curt
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: hiscrp@nuscc.nus.sg (C R Pennell)
Subject: Re: Channel Islands/Nazis
Organization: National University of Singapore
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL4
Date: Sun, 10 Jan 1993 09:39:39 GMT

all sorts of people write - time to shorten it down

Phill Hallam-Baker writes: 
(in reply to s.o. else whose name is now lost in a maze of >>s but who wrote:
: |>My reading was that there was one official who refused to comply. I think
: |>your being a bit too soft on these folks, why couldn't they have just said
: |>"There are no Jews in Guernsey" ?)
: 
: Because the pillocks had kept all the island records, including the census. It
: was therefore very easy for the NAZIs to work out who were the native population
: and who were refugees.
: 
: Of course if you were being truly cynical you might consider that the reason
: that Whitehall wanted to supress the records was their incompetence in allowing
: information collected under a guarantee of secrecy to fall into enemy hands.
: 
: Question is why are the Jersey records still secret?

The official reason, indoubtedly will be that they concern activities of
living people, and so will fall under 100 years rule, or whatever. It's
all discretionary, in practice

The real reason is probably that people in power kept on acting in the way
they had always acted. Jersey society in the 1930s does not seem to have
been particularly tolerant, if Faramus's book is anywhere near accurate:
and it RINGS true. We are not talking about people grudgingly helping the
Nazis because they were intimidated into it, but people using Nazi
occupation as a cover for  paying off old scores. Active, not passive
collaboration. It's a pattern well known in occupations by the enemy
The interesting thing is why they were covered up. I suspect the reason is
to do with national myth-making and preserving. But why REWARD them,
that's what's really odd?

Richard Pennell, History NUS
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: dbrooks@osf.org (David Brooks)
Subject: Re: Truly English?
Reply-To: dbrooks@osf.org (David Brooks)
Organization: Open Software Foundation
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1993 11:38:15 GMT

Adrian.Waterworth@newcastle.ac.uk (Adrian Waterworth) writes:
>	Such turns of phrase have always tended to be associated with
>and used by the monarchy (particularly the reigning monarch). Hence it
>is often described as "the Royal 'We'".

When I were a lad, I was taught that there were three circumstances when it
was formally proper to call oneself "we".  The monarch, a newspaper editor,
and... I forget.  Anyone know the third?

The idea was that this person in some sense embodies a plurality.
-- 
David Brooks					dbrooks@osf.org
Open Software Foundation			uunet!osf.org!dbrooks
Shine out, fair sun, with all your heat!  Black winter freezes to his seat...
The boneless fish close quaking lies...the stars in icicles arise!