Two countries divided by a common language
In recent years, I've read a bunch of current British novels. Occasionally the slang and language gives me pause... it was a while before I felt confident I had the correct connotation of "take the piss out of." But sometimes there can be surprises I don't see coming.
In Bridget Jones' Diary, Bridget routinely quantifies certain aspects of her days, especially her calorie intake, cigarettes smoked, and her consumption of 'alcohol units.' I took it as invented personal slang for a drink.
But it seems like 'alcohol unit' is actually standard usage in the UK. The British Nutrition Foundation:
A convenient way of measuring alcohol intake is in units of alcohol. Each unit contains 8 grams of pure alcohol (ethanol).
Campaigners are calling for mandatory labelling on wine bottles and beer cans to tell people how many units of alcohol they contain.
Speaking of Brits and alcohol, a recent British study showed that even very moderate drinking by women is correlated with a marked increase in breast cancer risk. N.B.
It suddenly occurs to me that 'nota bene' is basically the ancient equivalent of 'word' in last decade's hip-hop.
Am I rambling yet?
Two countries divided by a common language .... are you not forgetting that it should really be
1. Common language
2. Common law (how civilised!)
3. Circumcision (God fearing, oh really, but then there's always a cure for everything)
Posted by Frank Howard on June 20 2003 00:30
Two countries divided by a common language .... are you not forgetting that it should really be
1. Common language
2. Common law (how civilised!)
3. Circumcision (God fearing, oh really, but then there's always a cure for everything)
Posted by Frank Howard on June 20 2003 00:31