Global Community exchange
 

After reading Lostoyannaya's post about differences between Countries and not understanding them, I realised something: I don’t always understand things in programs from other countries. So here’s a chance to explain to each other what stuff means.
For any Americans out there please explain:
-What is ‘Saltwater Taffy’?
-When is Thanksgiving? What do you get? What is Underdog?


With thanks!

Having never tried regular taffy, if there is such a thing, saltwater taffy is a delicious, chewy, sweet, and slightly addictive candy here in the US. No joke, we honestly had like withdrawal symptoms after a club I was in stopped selling them in school. I'm particularly fond of the watermelon flavors, myself.

As for Thanksgiving, that traditionally falls on the 3rd Thursday in November, at least in the US. I think its different for Canada. We don't really 'get' anything, we don't exchange gifts. Traditionally, its a time for every to eat LOTS of food, particularly stuffing and turkey.

As for Underdog, he was a great cartoon in the 70s, as far as I know. Anyone else know more than that?

Whats with the saltwater part though? Is it made with saltwater? (Or is that just being dumb?)

Well.... let's put it this way: Saltwater taffy should not be attacked by the faint of heart. It can take up to 5-10 hours to finish those bad boys off. (Personal experience with local formulation.)


To australians:

What in the heck does crikey mean, honestly?

I think it has the same meaning as, "Day-umn!"

What does Day-umn mean?

I always thought crikey meant the same thing as "oh my god!"^^

But I don't know what Day-umn means...

~~Lostoyannaya

--CUT--

No, it wasn't even that. Now go and sit in the corner and think about what you've done, young man!

Would someone explain to me what a cakewalk is? And why is it so easy?

As far as I can tell from watching them at the school carnival, it consists of walking around on a circle. When they call stop, you stop. I'f you're standing on certain points of the circle, you win a cake. Of course, I could be wrong.

Nope, that's exactly what it is. Either myself or my mother, I can't remember, won a cake in a cakewalk when I was in 2nd grade.

I know I've asked this before on my LJ but:

How bad is the word "wanker", exactly? Is it more of a "son of a bitch" word or a "cock-sucking mother fucker" word?

According to Wikipedia, it's like jerk, only worse. Please, don't ask me to explain how. Note to self: Never again search for unknown pajorative terms on the web. I'll just leave it at that.

There is such a thing as regular taffy, but the only difference I can really tell between the two is the shape. The normal taffy I've encountered is long and cylindrical, like a pen or a cigarette. The saltwater taffy I find is thick and round and pictured at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saltwater_taffy. I've never noticed a taste difference between the two, though I've never tried them at the same time to compare.

What is 'Beef Jerky'? I can't say I really wanna try it.

e is more or less right - it's more or less on a par with 'bastard', so it's not really that strong. 'Tosser' means exactly the same thing, but no-one seems to use that anymore.

Compressed dried meat. Some is better than others. Beef Jerky is generally great if you're camping out/backpacking/whatever as it provides the proteins and whatnot of meat without having to bother with starting a fire and cook it and yet doesn't need refrigeration like lunch meats.

I don't especially recommend it, but it's edible.

I always thought "tosser" was better than "wanker", because the latter sounds more degrading. Also, when our school issued a colour-coded chart of all the "okay" and "bad" words we could use (they have that much free time...) "wanker" was in the red zone. So I kind-of think of that as bad, but not as bad as See You Next Tuesday.

~~Lostoyannaya :wink:

...And what is the deal with synonyms for 'donkey' being used as synonyms for 'backside'?

Biblical. I think Samson killed people with an assbone.

(Yes, that refers to part of the endoskeleton of a donkey.)

Gatac

As for Wanker, It has a simple history.

It comes from "wanking off" For you Americans that's jacking off. A wanker can be someone who is engaging in said sexual activity, acting like a dick (jerk), or is a complete and utter arse.

Personally I'm just glad no one asked someone to explain "eh"
...aw crap

Curious. I'll look that up and get back to you.