The most annoying expressions...

One that doesn't annoy me, but never ceases to confuse me, is 'after'. I am never sure after what excatly.. lunch?, Tuesday? Christmas?.. It makes me feel like a dork to keep asking, but I'm never sure what it is all about. An example is yesterday I was watching my nephews and MIL said 'They can each have a Kinder Egg after.' I wasn't feeding them a meal so I knew it wasn't after a meal, and they weren't going anywhere or doing a specific activity to give the egg to them after.

Is it just another word for later, or does it really mean after something?

"After(s)" sometimes people say it instead of dessert, or one of my pet peeves-"pudding". I was confused about the double meaning of "pudding" for about a month, month and a half before I mentioned it to DH. Sometimes DH says "afters".

"After(s)" sometimes people say it instead of dessert, or one of my pet peeves-"pudding". I was confused about the double meaning of "pudding" for about a month, month and a half before I mentioned it to DH. Sometimes DH says "afters".

I don't mind 'afters' for dessert, it kinda makes sense.  But 'pudding' for dessert bugs me and it so universal (not just a northern thing), they even say it on MasterChef.

Chocolate pudding was one of my faves as a kid, so to associate 'pudding' with anything not creamy and smooth just feels wrong!

I don't mind 'afters' for dessert, it kinda makes sense.  But 'pudding' for dessert bugs me and it so universal (not just a northern thing), they even say it on MasterChef.

Yeah, pudding is universal - we say it down here in the south west too .

We caused some confusion once when we visited the US and were in a restaurant; we were looking at the desserts and my mum asked my brother what he wanted for pudding... and the server said 'We don't have pudding here.' .

From http://www.word-origins.com/definition/pudding.html

Pudding:     
 Date of Origin 13th c.

      The original puddings were sausages – whose present-day survivor is the black pudding. They were encased in the intestines or stomachs of animals, and it was this casing that provided the spring-board for the word’s subsequent development in meaning. It came to be applied to any food cooked in a bag (hence the cannon-ball shape of the traditional Christmas pudding). Such dishes could be savoury (like today’s steak-and-kidney pudding) or sweet, but it was not until the 20th century that pudding came to be used specifically for the ‘sweet course of a meal’. The word comes via Old French boudin from Vulgar Latin *botellīnus, a diminutive form of Latin botellus ‘sausage’ (source of English botulism).

Yeah, pudding is universal - we say it down here in the south west too .

We caused some confusion once when we visited the US and were in a restaurant; we were looking at the desserts and my mum asked my brother what he wanted for pudding... and the server said 'We don't have pudding here.' .

From http://www.word-origins.com/definition/pudding.html

Pudding:     
 Date of Origin 13th c.

      The original puddings were sausages – whose present-day survivor is the black pudding. They were encased in the intestines or stomachs of animals, and it was this casing that provided the spring-board for the word’s subsequent development in meaning. It came to be applied to any food cooked in a bag (hence the cannon-ball shape of the traditional Christmas pudding). Such dishes could be savoury (like today’s steak-and-kidney pudding) or sweet, but it was not until the 20th century that pudding came to be used specifically for the ‘sweet course of a meal’. The word comes via Old French boudin from Vulgar Latin *botellīnus, a diminutive form of Latin botellus ‘sausage’ (source of English botulism).

Interesting!

I logic'd my DH into using dessert for the sweet course after a meal because pudding can mean so many things (a savoury pudding, a sweet pudding, a generic sweet food) but dessert is just dessert.

One that doesn't annoy me, but never ceases to confuse me, is 'after'. I am never sure after what excatly.. lunch?, Tuesday? Christmas?.. It makes me feel like a dork to keep asking, but I'm never sure what it is all about. An example is yesterday I was watching my nephews and MIL said 'They can each have a Kinder Egg after.' I wasn't feeding them a meal so I knew it wasn't after a meal, and they weren't going anywhere or doing a specific activity to give the egg to them after.

Is it just another word for later, or does it really mean after something?

In the context you mention, I do think they are meaning a vague sort of later - since there was no meal pending or mentioned.

I don't hate it but one thing that used to throw me was people saying 'while' instead of 'until' - such as, 'I'll be in a meeting for 2 while 3.'  I think it did used to irritate me because I thought they were using it wrongly.  However, I discovered 'while' is also a synonym for 'until' - usage primarily in Scotland and northern England.

I don't hate it but one thing that used to throw me was people saying 'while' instead of 'until' - such as, 'I'll be in a meeting for 2 while 3.'  I think it did used to irritate me because I thought they were using it wrongly.  However, I discovered 'while' is also a synonym for 'until' - usage primarily in Scotland and northern England.

Isn't it annoying when you find something you thought was "wrong" is really not! 

Isn't it annoying when you find something you thought was "wrong" is really not!  

Seriously!  I couldn't even do my superiority dance.  (And it was a team leader at work that I absolutely loathed who always said it - so I sooooo wanted to be right too!)  

"After(s)" sometimes people say it instead of dessert, or one of my pet peeves-"pudding". I was confused about the double meaning of "pudding" for about a month, month and a half before I mentioned it to DH. Sometimes DH says "afters".

The 'after' I was meaning is the vague sort of one, because I hear it used all sorts of ways, including 'I'll be over after.' Again, after what?

Afters instead of dessert threw me at first, but I much prefer it to 'pudding', because I agree, pudding should be smooth, creamy and made from a Jello pudding mix and milk. 

While instead of until threw me for a long time, and I still have to think about it for a bit from time to time.

Another one that always confuses me is 'stop' instead of 'stay'. It does make sense if you think about it, but it still confuses me. The first time I heard 'Are you going to stop in tonight?' I took it to mean the person asking if we were going to stop by their place, but she was asking if we were going to stay in.

Afters instead of dessert threw me at first, but I much prefer it to 'pudding', because I agree, pudding should be smooth, creamy and made from a Jello pudding mix and milk. 

Oh but what about rice pudding or Indian pudding (my favorite, yum!)?

"Are we having fun yet?"    Hate that one.

I read a lot of books that take place in the UK and I keep seeing the expression "taking the pis."  What in the world does that mean?

I read a lot of books that take place in the UK and I keep seeing the expression "taking the pis."  What in the world does that mean?

It is piss, not pis.  And it means to make fun of someone/something or joke around - that type of thing.

It is piss

I just completely hate this word altogether.  It's so vulgar sounding.  I like 'pee' better, but many may think it's juvenile sounding.

And, while we are on the topic, I've noticed that many in the UK (not all, though) pronounce 'urine'  to rhyme with 'vine'.  And intestines to rhyme with 'vine' as well.

I just completely hate this word altogether.  It's so vulgar sounding.  I like 'pee' better, but many may think it's juvenile sounding.

Piss appears in Chaucer, so it has quite a respectable pedigree. "Wee-wee" is even more juvenile sounding.

My DSD kids "wee" her pants instead of "pee" her pants - Eh whatever

Taking the piss I dont use but Taking the mickey sure has slide into my words - DH points it out!