No, if it

Everything in French sounds Like that. I have not had very positive experiences while travelling in France, having travelled to over 40 countries and lived in seven for extended periods of time, generally speaking, the only country where I have found people to be most often rude and unhelpful, is in France.

 

I guess I've been lucky in France, not having had to suffer stereotypical rudeness. But I'm also able to travel off-season, so there aren't the massive throngs of other Americans there that would make even an American rude to other Americans.

But I really like Belgium. France without the attitude. Speak French poorly? Not a problem, thank you for the effort and here's your beer.

 

wow this interesting... bookmarking this tread

 

Even poor French is very welcome in Quebec City, and 40-years-from-school-lessons German goes down very well with the older folk in Hungary. Only place I've had disdain for my command of a language I fondly thought I could speak was Austria, where my German was clearly not good enough. In Germany, fine.

Actualy I have no problems in France. Worst I can recall is persuading a waiter in Paris (actually Suresnes ) that M. L'Anglais did understand that steak tartare was raw meat and it included garlic. (Gastronic note: garlic is not necessary for the traditional Mongolian dish, mais nous sommes en France )

 

The English gent told me last night that you could also call someone a "spanner." Ever hear of that one?

 

Yes, its nicer than wanker (which may get you punched) but not all that nice. Think retard*.



* I don't mean 'think you retard' I mean that is what the word sort of means!

 

Thanks for the clarification. It made me wonder for a moment if my wife had contacted you...

 

Yep, 'spanner' is a good one, oft-used in these parts, basically another term for 'eejut.' See also 'muppet,' 'nugget,' donkey,' dimwit.' 'Retard' however is harsh - and offensive to a lot of people.

 

It’s good to note that “spanner” is used to refer to a “wrench”.

Edit: so could be similar to calling someone a “tool” in the US or Canada.

 

We use 'tool' in the UK too. I think my personal favourite is 'bellend' though.

 

'Tool' implies they are useful for something, so I rarely use that term when describing a moron.

 

Tool as in "Brummagem screwdriver". Instrument used for the wrong purpose because someone is too lazy or stupid to find the right one.

Do not use that phrase in the UK's 2nd largest city.

 

Personally, I love that Britons don't shy away from the c-word (rhymes with hunt) the way Americans do. I especially like using it for a guy.

 

A few years ago I was in an amateur production of a play called 'Jerusalem,' by Jez Butterworth and set in Wiltshire, England. It's an outstanding script, and riddled with profanity, including multiple c-bombs. Whilst rehearsing it, we had a visit from Danny Kirrane who played one of the original parts in the West end and subsequent Broadway productions. He told us that they'd had to edit out (reluctantly) about 90% of the c-bombs for the American audience, as once a character said it, the audience would instantly ignore him/her for the rest of the show.

 

This tread is pure poetry! Within my community of practice on both sides of the pond, I am known for my colloquialisms. Need to add some of these.

 

One of our cockney comedians on Americans and the language confusion......

 

There's a Jasper Carrot (Brummagem-born comedian obliquely referenced upthread) story in which he's pulled up by a policeman while driving in the USA and is asked to produce his license. The policeman says "Hey you must be a pretty good driver, look at all these endorsements."

In the days of paper licences obviously.