Definitions/pronunciations

[Marty Roth]

One that really bugs Dale, is:

"RED-LIGHT", used in place of "TRAFFIC-LIGHT",

Go straight ahead to the 3rd "RED-LIGHT" and turn

What do you do if the light is GREEN when you get to it??

Don't count it?

Go on to the next one?

Turn on the wrong street?

[Shop Rat]

The question is Susan, WHY would you want to take something to get rid of that?:confused:

Okay, on second thought...maybe not.

I once worked for a supervisor that said "birfday" for birthday and "alooniam" for aluminum.

Two of the kids I baby-sit for, when they were each two years younger, said "fink" for think. I taught both of them the correct way to say it. Then I find out that the reason they said it that way is because the Romanian language does not have a "th" sound. Their mom and dad are from Romania. Also, they do not have a word for toes. Over there they are called "fingers of the foot".

[Guest billybird]

I have also heard "plaskit" for plastic and "polyuretherm" for polyurethane.

[mrspeedyt]

as noted in post #2... vin number (vehicle identification number number)... atm machine (automated teller machine machine)... how 'bout pin number (personal identification number number).... and I used to work for CFMF (consolidated freightways motor freight) and still work for ABF Freight System (arkansas best freight freight system)! oh... how 'bout driving on a parkway and parking in a driveway! (and how 'bout?)

Edited November 28, 2010 by mrspeedyt
remembering more after I posted.... (see edit history)

[Restorer32]

I also worked for Consolidated Freightways for a number of years. They managed to parlay about $700 million from the sale of Freightliner to bankruptcy in what, 10 years?

[Restorer32]

Cargo travels by ship, not by car. A shipment travels by train, not by ship and freight travels by truck, not by train. 'Tis a screwed up world in which we live.

[keiser31]

One that really bugs Dale, is:

"RED-LIGHT", used in place of "TRAFFIC-LIGHT",

Go straight ahead to the 3rd "RED-LIGHT" and turn

What do you do if the light is GREEN when you get to it??

Don't count it?

Go on to the next one?

Turn on the wrong street?

Marty...the only trouble with that is that some folks (not me) call "traffic lights" "street lights" which are different.

[trimacar]

Sheesh, Marty, you should know country directions.

Go down past the Widow Smith place, and take a right. When you get to the place where the old red barn burned down two years ago, then take your second left. You'll be on an improved gravel road, when you get to the stand of trees that they cut down last year, take the next right....and you're there!

Simple.....

[Shop Rat]

Sheesh, Marty, you should know country directions.

Go down past the Widow Smith place, and take a right. When you get to the place where the old red barn burned down two years ago, then take your second left. You'll be on an improved gravel road, when you get to the stand of trees that they cut down last year, take the next right....and you're there!

Simple.....

When were you granted permission to look at the 911 driving directions to my house?!?!?!? :eek:

All joking aside, when I worked on the addressing project for the E-911 system for New Jersey we did have records very similiar to that. Not all of Jersey is city.

Edited November 29, 2010 by Shop Rat
Correct a type-o. (see edit history)

[trimacar]

Hi Susan....I've been tracking old cars for years, and have followed directions like that...a few years back, chasing down a pair of Pierce Arrows, was told of the main highway, then a left on a secondary road where "the trucks park to car pool into the big city." Down the secondary road, "after the big bridge (not the small one) take a left.." and let me tell you, even the big bridge was single lane....follow that road (a semi-improved gravel road) for a mile, until you see the big oak on the right, then take a left on the dirt road"......and only then I saw the car sitting in the shed....

[Marty Roth]

Originally Posted by trimacar

Sheesh, Marty, you should know country directions.

Go down past the Widow Smith place, and take a right. When you get to the place where the old red barn burned down two years ago, then take your second left. You'll be on an improved gravel road, when you get to the stand of trees that they cut down last year, take the next right....and you're there!

Simple.....

Actually, I had directions similar to that, back when I travelled the Southeast as a salesrep.....

Outside of New Iberia, Louisiana..."go on down to where the old grove of Cypress trees used to be, turn towards where Whatzisname's brother's old house was before the Molasses Plant burnt down, makin' booze durin the Dee-preshun.....If you see 3 big Live Oaks on the right, no - on the left - no, on the right.... you're on the wrong road.... come back and see if I'm still here" And this guy was serious !!"/COLOR]

[Shop Rat]

Hi Susan....I've been tracking old cars for years, and have followed directions like that...a few years back, chasing down a pair of Pierce Arrows, was told of the main highway, then a left on a secondary road where "the trucks park to car pool into the big city." Down the secondary road, "after the big bridge (not the small one) take a left.." and let me tell you, even the big bridge was single lane....follow that road (a semi-improved gravel road) for a mile, until you see the big oak on the right, then take a left on the dirt road"......and only then I saw the car sitting in the shed....

Wow trimacar, that set of directions sure worked. What a find. Is the car still there?

(The strangest note on a phone record I ever saw was that the phone was located on a tree. The family was building a new house and needed phone service on the site. Maybe only God can make a tree....but the phone company can put a phone on it for you. )

[Guest Silverghost]

Susan: I think that place with the phone up on the tree was the old Hainey place~

You know~

Green Acres ; )

Actually our underground phone cable went out one cold winter and the phone tech had to climb my big oak tree to string a line from it to the next street with overhead wires..

The ground was too frozen for a ditch witch or mini sneaker to trench-in a new lateral phone line.

By the way guys~

My Hot Water Heater actually says HOT WATER HEATER printed on it from the factoy !

[Shop Rat]

Susan: I think that place with the phone up on the tree was the old Hainey place~

You know~

Green Acres ; ).....

Actually it was near the top of the phone pole. :eek: That was a funny gag on that show.

[Sweepspear]

We had a older lady working for us from Sweden and she was always borrowing money to her kids, not loaning but borrowing.

That's very common to say here in Minnesota.

Maybe it has it's roots in the Swedes that settled here.

"Can you borrow me a dollar"?

"Joe borrowed me his car."

[nzcarnerd]

On this subject, what is an 'original' mile?? Often seen in ads for cars in the US. Surely a mile is something that is 5280 feet long and a car only does each one once. Does it need to be described as original? Sometimes you wonder when a very rare model is advertised as having very low mileage whether it was unreliable or was awful to drive.

Probably the most common mistake in English usage - by those with English as a first language and and as a second language - is the misuse of apostrophes. A common example is in dates (1970's instead of 1970s). Abbreviated it is '70s not 70's. I help edit our club's national magazine and misplaced apostrophes are the thing we fix the most in contributions.

I have had discussions with Europeans over the use of the word original. Cars in for sale in Europe are sometimes described as having original paint when what they mean is that it has been repainted in the colour in which it left the factory. To me 'original paint' means that the actual paint which was on the car when it was built new is still on the car. I have a 1929 car which has its original paint and interior but had its body only (not the fenders) repainted in the 1950s. Unfortunately the respray is slowly flaking off and the original colours can be seen underneath. The paint of the fenders is now thin enough that the red undercoat is showing through. I took the headlights off once, some years ago, and the paint under the brackets was like new - shiny like patent leather shoes.

[nzcarnerd]

To get back on topic, how about "back windshield"? (usually spelled "windsheild) or "front grille"

Reminds me of the talking heads on TV telling us of an event that happened at 3 AM in the morning.

Another common one is 'rear tail lights' - perhaps that is to distinguish them from the front tail lights?

Here in NZ I think the problem with printed car advertising lay with the telephone operators who could not distinguish between rare and rear - so when an uncommon car was advertised, often as not it was a 'rear model'. Many will recall the TV series Alf from the 1980s. There was a version of the BMC Mini called the Riley Elf. It was not uncommon to see them advertised as Riley Alfs.

[nzcarnerd]

Was in Japan recently, there was a clothing store in the mall called "Rodeo Crowns." Their spoken version of clowns, perchance?

Regional words will get you. I went to work as a trimmer at White Post Restorations in the late 80's. Was a move from Lousiana, and I was in Virginia for 6 months before my wife came. (A Freudian slip!?) One day in the lunchroom, I asked Billy Thompson, where's the closest Washateria? What, he asked? Washateria. Looking at me like I was a mad man, he said, David, I have no idea what you're talking about. Washateria, a place to wash clothes......oh, a laundromat.......

A model of Japanese car that has been around a long time is the Nissan Laurel - I always wondered how it was pronounced in Japan. Celica is another one.

A significant percentage of the cars here in NZ are imported second hand from Japan. Interesting that all Japanese domestic vehicles use the English language on their controls and instruments although all of the information stickers are in Japanese.

[nzcarnerd]

In the UK you always get your "T" parts from Fords or worked at Lagondas, I guess it is correct in Britan but not in American English.

I believe that in the old days if you worked at the factory that built Austin cars you worked at "the Austin".

[nzcarnerd]

Even aaca'ers are not immune to mangling words. Here's one from Dandy Dave in the general discussion thread last week about a Divco:- It looks as if the intake is intrical, or cast as part of the head. I like Divcos. My Father and Grandfather drove them back in the 30's, 40's and early 50's around the Trumble Connecticut area. Dandy Dave!

I think he meant integral. Dave, I think you also meant '30s, '40s and early '50s! But of course if you were referring to a person's ages it would be 30s, 40s and early 50s.

[Restorer32]

"Intrical" should be a word. Perfect description of a part that is intricate as well as integral.

[Guest bofusmosby]

Even aaca'ers are not immune to mangling words. Here's one from Dandy Dave in the general discussion thread last week about a Divco:- It looks as if the intake is intrical, or cast as part of the head. I like Divcos. My Father and Grandfather drove them back in the 30's, 40's and early 50's around the Trumble Connecticut area. Dandy Dave!

I think he meant integral. Dave, I think you also meant '30s, '40s and early '50s! But of course if you were referring to a person's ages it would be 30s, 40s and early 50s.

Hmmm. Now I have to be concerned with somone looking over my posts, and counting the mistakes that I make. OK people, lets not get too caried away. If I write 30's, then you know what I mean. If I type "receive", but I really spell it "recieve", get over it. I know that I make a lot of grammer mistakes also, but come on people, I dois the bestest thats I can.

[Guest Gary Hearn]

Funny thing, all my spelling errors are underlined in red as I type my responses giving me an opportunity to correct them before submitting. Do people just ignore that??? Of course, it does not help you if you have used the wrong word but spelled it correctly.

[Guest bkazmer]

two lazy too reed end affix watt they rote? (this will pass spell check)

[oldcarfudd]

nzcarnerd - In 2000, my wife and I did a 2-week VBT bicycling trip around the South Island. There was a couple in their early 30s who, like me, were proud of being word snobs. We had been chatting about the misuse of punctuation marks and the then-recently-published book "Eats, Shoots and Leaves". We pedaled through some itty-bitty burg, the name of which long since escapes me - call it Podunk - and cracked up when we saw a big sign on the way out of town: "Podunk Thank's You".

Gil Fitzhugh, Morristown, NJ

[Guest bofusmosby]

Funny thing, all my spelling errors are underlined in red as I type my responses giving me an opportunity to correct them before submitting. Do people just ignore that??? Of course, it does not help you if you have used the wrong word but spelled it correctly.

Well, I guess my computer is as dumb as I am. No underlines, no nuttin!:confused:

[Barry Wolk]

Not all web browsers have dictionaries. Try Chrome or Safari. They're both free.

[nzcarnerd]

nzcarnerd - In 2000, my wife and I did a 2-week VBT bicycling trip around the South Island. There was a couple in their early 30s who, like me, were proud of being word snobs. We had been chatting about the misuse of punctuation marks and the then-recently-published book "Eats, Shoots and Leaves". We pedaled through some itty-bitty burg, the name of which long since escapes me - call it Podunk - and cracked up when we saw a big sign on the way out of town: "Podunk Thank's You".

Gil Fitzhugh, Morristown, NJ

You guys were keen doing a cycling tour. If you came back now - ten years later - you might think the roads were too busy - too many rental camper vans (RVs to you) being driven by tourists who are not accustomed to driving on the left, and too many big trucks. Currently the allowed weight is 44 tonnes but they are going to allow up to 53 tonnes on certain roads soon. At least it isn't as busy in the South Island as it is in the North Island which has three times the population.

Sign writers are notorious for spelling mistakes and misplaced punctuation. The local port town is called Lyttelton (note spelling). At the yacht marina is a sign regarding 'learn to sail' which has Lyttelton spelt (spelled?) two different ways (Lyttelton and Lyttleton) in the text. We regularly pass a takeaway food shop which proudly proclaims that "we sale the best chips in town".

Regarding the book about punctuation, I believe the Australian version of the expression is "Eats, Roots, Shoots and Leaves"!

[keiser31]

When I was 14 or 15 years old, I was reading a magazine that had an ad for a group of British cars such as soft top Triumph, MG and MG Midget. It was talking about the new 1967 "roadsters". I said to myself, "self...those are NOT roadsters!". I learned (or was convinced somehow) a long time ago that a roadster has a fold down top and snap-on side curtains or some that were attached when needed and a convertible has a fold down top and roll-up side windows in the doors. Anyway, I wrote a letter to the company (I believe it was Falvey Motors, Ltd. in New Jersey) explaining what I thought about their ad and their executive actually wrote me a letter back. I still have that letter somewhere. The guy basically said that he saw my letter and went right to his dictionary and looked up the two words. He stated that we were both semi-correct as far as the dictionary was concerned and he was so thrilled that a kid my age was seeing and taking note of the ad. I was amazed that he wrote me a letter and it may have even changed my attitude about British cars somehow. I started liking them more.

[keiser31]

There's a HUGE sign along the route from here to the Oregon coast that says "SWEET CRON"! Been spelled like that for years.

[Shop Rat]

There's a HUGE sign along the route from here to the Oregon coast that says "SWEET CRON"! Been spelled like that for years.

Some places did that to get folks to stop and come into the place to tell them about it....hoping they would then buy something. :cool:

[Guest billybird]

It doesn't make sense to me when college sports announcers say, "this is a rematch of the 2001 {or whatever} title game. How could it be a rematch when all the players on both teams graduated five years ago?

[Dave Mellor NJ]

My ship was the USS Arcturus AF 52. we had two vehicles assigned to us when we were in port, A Dodge four door pickup and a Chevy van. One time one of the the junior officers thought there was a need for another vehicle so he bought a 1960 Chevy staion wagon for $75 and got some guys from the deck department to paint it with some easily provided Gray paint. after the paint dried,he cut a stencil and directed somebody to paint on both front doors and the tailgate,"SPECIAL SERVICSE"

[keiser31]

Same could be said of a Cord, although I guess if you take off the front subframe (in which the engine/trans is mounted (are mounted? sheesh)), you could say "frame off" and be correct.....

"Ground up" restoration reminds me of hamburger.....and the reason you have very few butchers named Charles (think ground chuck).

Like this thread, makes me simile.

And now there is a company called "Frame Off" that makes the rotisserie frames!