Are there any Americanisms in lyrics that we can explain to you non-Americans?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by action pact, Sep 5, 2018.

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  1. Three dueces are 3 2 barrel(number of openings for fuel) carburetors, dual quads were 2 4 barrel carbs. Fuel injection was rare and expensive back in the day, so multiple carbs were a cheap way to go fast.

    tachin just means they are driving using tachometer mindful of their rpm’s so as not to blow the engine drivin hard

    389 is cubic inches of engine, Ford, popular for many years
    The Big Three always had their own specific engine sizes that one would know just by its numbers 350, 396 GM, Chevy; 426, 440 Dodge, Plymouth; 289, 389 Ford

    4 speed is manual transmission

    gasser is a hot rod for drag strips that runs on gasoline rather other high powered fuel substitutes/mixtures
     
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  2. The Bishop

    The Bishop Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dorset, England.
    Why do Americans say Lucked Out, when it really means Lucked In?

    That always puzzles me.
     
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  3. bumbletort

    bumbletort Senior Member

    Location:
    Baltimore, Md, USA
    Because, by long standing tradition, we are compelled to get a thing back-asswards many times before finally getting it right. Churchill was rumored to agree with that sediment.
     
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  4. Jaycat

    Jaycat Forum Resident

    Location:
    Harvard, MA, USA
    In Scandinavia, they sing "drove my Ford to the fjord."
     
  5. ferdinandhudson

    ferdinandhudson Forum Resident

    Location:
    Skåne
    If by Ford you mean SAAB? ;)
     
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  6. pez

    pez Forum Resident

    Location:
    uk
    My middle name is Earl.
     
  7. Summer of Malcontent

    Summer of Malcontent Forum Resident

    Possibly inspired by Wire, who called their ‘The Letter’ song ‘Another The Letter’ to make it clear they weren’t covering The Box Tops.
     
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  8. Jerk The Handle

    Jerk The Handle Electrician

    Location:
    Moonbeam levels
    "We want prenup! We want prenup!"
     
  9. KingPrawn19

    KingPrawn19 Forum Resident

    I'm English and I've noticed the following differences some strangely are related to things that are almost post-internet when you'd think it would be hard for terms not to be universal


    americans said VCR British said video-recorder
    americans say cell-phone British say mobile
    americans use the expression new wave for 80s music which people in britain would call synth-pop, new romantic or maybe just pop (new wave to british tends to be about music from 1976-79 a lighter version of punk, guitar-based and not really used after about 1979)
    in respect of the haircut in Britain would call it a mohican Americans would say mohawk
    in Britain they would have said ghetto blaster in america boom-box
     
  10. KingPrawn19

    KingPrawn19 Forum Resident

    I don't know where that person lives but I've never heard anyone in England speak in an American accent - young or old
     
  11. KingPrawn19

    KingPrawn19 Forum Resident

    Yes there's still lots of pubs called the Oddfellows Arms - the Oddfellows probably started in England tbh - think they were sort of a benevolent society originally.
     
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  12. elaterium

    elaterium Forum Resident

    Thanks. I’ve always wondered about that title.
     
  13. elaterium

    elaterium Forum Resident

    I refuse to use that phrase for that very reason.
     
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  14. ShockControl

    ShockControl Bon Vivant and Raconteur!

    Location:
    Lotus Land
    What does "Doo-doo in the bag" mean?
     
  15. Terrapin Station

    Terrapin Station Master Guns

    Location:
    NYC Man/Joy-Z City
    What you're "out" of is the situation you didn't want.

    For example, you go to the dentist expecting the worst. Your friend says, "So, do you need any root canals? Any teeth pulled?" And you say, "No--I lucked out (of having to have a root canal, etc.). I didn't even have a cavity! The dentist said the discomfort was just a bit of gum inflammation that will go away on its own."
     
  16. cgw

    cgw Forum Resident

    Location:
    Upstate NY
    What is the context?

    What popped into my head: Dog crap in a paper bag, leave at someones front door, light on fire, ring doorbell, run.
    (I never did this as a kid (or adult) and don't personally know anyone that did. I don't even know where I would have heard about it.)
     
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  17. WLL

    WLL Popery Of Mopery







    ...FTM, was " country boy " Johnny B. Goode...meant to be...a " colored boy ";)?
    Oh, and wouldn't the once-popular " Waiting For The Robert E. Lee " have made " levee " at least once well-known:eek:?
    I found this line when I was searching for my " American/British word differences " thread. Could someone, please:angel::rolleyes:?
     
  18. Randall DeBouvre

    Randall DeBouvre forum resident

    Location:
    Illinois
    chicago-frank sinatra
    billy sunday
    he was a former baseball player (the chicago white stockings 1883-1890) he became an evangelist and major proponent of prohibition.
     
  19. bob_32_116

    bob_32_116 Forum Flaneur

    Location:
    Perth Australia
    That bothers me less than Americans saying "I could care less", when what they actually mean is "I couldn't care less", i.e. they don't care at all.

    I have a question though: why do Americans say "Black Friday" to refer to days when shops have sales? The first time I heard the expression used in this way I got quite a shock, because Black Friday refers to something altogether different in Australia, something that is definitely not a thing to celebrate.

    Black Friday bushfires - Wikipedia
     
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  20. Mr-Beagle

    Mr-Beagle Ah, but the song carries on, so holy

    Location:
    Kent
    Could someone please explain what a mattress door is in Neil Young's Lost In Space?

    Breakers crash on the beach
    I count them like lambs in my sleep
    They come at me steady
    They know I'm not ready
    They pound on my mattress door
    Have they got a big one in store
     
  21. Randall DeBouvre

    Randall DeBouvre forum resident

    Location:
    Illinois
    there is song i got stinking at the club savoy.
    there were a few quaint expressions for drunk: stinking, fried, pied and tighter than a mouse's ear.
     
  22. Invisible Man

    Invisible Man Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lemon Grove
    "Black Friday" is not just a sale day. It's the day after Thanksgiving when retail stores had big discount sales to encourage folks to start Christmas shopping and the retail stores' ledgers would go out of the red (debit) and into the black (credit).
     
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  23. Randall DeBouvre

    Randall DeBouvre forum resident

    Location:
    Illinois
    you stole my thunder.
    btw in the old days they also used to say in the ketchup when someone was in debt.
     
    Last edited: Oct 24, 2021
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  24. Randall DeBouvre

    Randall DeBouvre forum resident

    Location:
    Illinois
    I never use either of the phrase, but I heard I could care less is intended to be sarcastic like tell me about it! or I should be so lucky.
     
    Last edited: Oct 24, 2021
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  25. Invisible Man

    Invisible Man Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lemon Grove
    Yeah, that's my understanding but I think a lot of people are really just slurring it and leaving out the "n't" as we are apt to do with language.
     
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