People reveal the things that Americans ‘don’t understand’ about the British, from paying for a TV licence to drinking ‘squash’
- One Briton said Americans don’t seem to understand what salad cream is
- Another added that the British greeting ‘alright?’ appears to perplex Americans
- Americans are confused by Britons calling their evening meal ‘tea’, says another
Drinking a glass of squash and paying for a TV licence are perfectly normal activities for British people.
But they are among the many things about Britons and their way of life that befuddle Americans.
That’s according to a new online discussion, where people from both sides of the Atlantic have been pondering what people in the U.S find odd about British life.
People have been revealing the things that Americans ‘don’t understand’ about the British in an online debate. One Briton explained to Americans the concept of squash
The discussion started on U.S-based site Reddit after one user, ‘NuclearWinterGames’, posed the question: ‘What’s something Americans don’t understand about Brits?’
Geography was a topic that surfaced rapidly.
Briton ‘Lynx_Twi5t’ wrote: ‘I think the majority (sweeping generalisation I know) of Americans don’t realise how small Britain is, and vice versa.
‘I’ve heard it’s pretty common in the U.S to travel hours just to get food but in the UK three to four hours will take you practically halfway across the country.’
And ‘mrshighwvy’ added: ‘That there are different countries beyond England. It’s assumed [Great Britain] is just posh English people.’
Refreshments and meals were another big talking point, with Briton ‘B-e-a-utiful_day’ explaining the British drink of squash to American Redditors.
They said: ‘We have this drink supplement called squash. It’s not got anything to do with the vegetable, it’s concentrated fruit juice that you dilute in water and in most supermarkets we dedicate one aisle to it.’
Another commenter was ‘mybrainhurtzz’, who joked: ‘That putting water in the microwave to heat it up for tea is punishable by death in England.’
While ‘mahoujosei100’ simply answered with the words ‘salad cream’ and ‘caffeinecrave’ added ‘beans on toast’.
Food was another big talking point during the discussion with one Briton saying Americans don’t understand beans on toast
The intricacies of language was another popular topic, with one British contributor ‘ghoest2727’ explaining how he found Americans get confused with using the word ‘tea’ to indicate an evening meal.
He said: ‘Met a guy from the U.S while playing Overwatch (a computer game) and said I had to go afk (away from keyboard) because my tea was ready.
‘He said “well you are British” but I meant tea as in dinner. Told him I meant the other tea and he got really confused.’
While ‘faoltiama’ told how they found Americans always trip up when they are greeted with the British phrase ‘alright?’
He said: ‘It will trip Americans up every time. It still trips me up and I am well aware of it.
‘To an American, asking “alright?” is a serious inquiry into their health, with the implication that you think they are not alright.
One Redditor told how they found Americans always trip up when they are greeted with the British phrase ‘alright?’
‘Brits expect the answer to be… “alright”.’
American ‘Beebrains’ questioned the British pronunciation of military ranks and asked: ‘Why is it pronounced leff-tenant and not lieutenant? Is it because it’s disrespectful to call the lieutenant the “loo tenant”?’
And ‘pjabrony’ queried: ‘Why did you take the s off the end of sports and put it at the end of math?’
Briton ‘I_am_Jester’ entered the debate with an observation about the two countries’ education systems.
He said: ‘ Basically our entire school system is just a pain to explain as is the way we get qualifications, especially since the U.S go by semesters.’
While American ‘puppehplicity’ admitted he was perplexed by the UK TV licence.
He asked: ‘Do you guys actually pay for a licence for the TV? Or is that kind of a Ned Flandersy thing you’re kinda supposed to do, but people usually don’t?
‘The whole concept seems so weird to me.’