Pet Peeve: You Sound Funny!

I'm a Scot, and can I just say to all americans here that I certainly like hearing their quaint and cute americanisms!, keep them alive and don't lose your identity. I don't find them annoying at all 

Alan, that was very sweet of you to say.
I get a kick out of watching people squint when I begin to talk, as if squinting their eyes is going to help them hear me better. LOL  I still say "y'all" and "tool it" for toilet.

I'm English and I've never had balloons at Christmas (I've not heard of other people having balloons either). I've only ever seen them at kid's Christmas events like parties.

My parents have always had a real tree... it's just so much more festive than a plastic one:). I've put up a fake tree this year, but that's mostly because I can't be bothered to take care of a real tree... plus I'll be going back to my parents' house for a few days at Christmas, so I can enjoy the real one then.

We used to have balloons when I was a kid, didn't have them after we were kids so I guess that's what it was.
Not sure about all these people who you say you know who are athiest and don't have decorations.
I was brought up Church of England, my parents went every Sunday, I now don't go and consider myself athiest but I have no issue with xmas decorations. I didn't bother putting them up when I lived on my own, apart from the cards, but now DW is here we have a tree (artificial mainly because of the space we have) and other decorations. Most decorations, like lights in the window and outside I just find look naff, but if it's tasteful and not OTT then fine.
We have our customs, I like to have the Classic FM Christmas countdown of carols on the radio whilst cooking Christmas dinner. What I don't like is weeks ahead having all the rigmarole as well.
 

We have our customs, I like to have the Classic FM Christmas countdown of carols on the radio whilst cooking Christmas dinner. What I don't like is weeks ahead having all the rigmarole as well.
 

I'm one of the true fans of the weeks of rigmarole. If it was up to me it would start at the beginning of September and go to the day before Easter. I'm completely okay with people who only want to have decorations for a day or two before. One thing I love is learning what people do to celebrate holidays and what their traditions are.

Most decorations, like lights in the window and outside I just find look naff, but if it's tasteful and not OTT then fine.

Yeah, not too fond of the whole light-up-the-entire house-and-grounds syndrome. And see how many inflatable snowmen, Rudolphs, manger scenes, etc. you can cram in your front yard.  My parents weren't too OTT -- a few lights wrapped around the lamp post in the front yard -- but my mother insisted on putting those fake electric candles in the front windows, including my bedroom. Then when I went to do my homework and turned on the room lights, she would get cranky because it spoiled the effect 

Yeah, not too fond of the whole light-up-the-entire house-and-grounds syndrome. And see how many inflatable snowmen, Rudolphs, manger scenes, etc. you can cram in your front yard.  My parents weren't too OTT -- a few lights wrapped around the lamp post in the front yard -- but my mother insisted on putting those fake electric candles in the front windows, including my bedroom. Then when I went to do my homework and turned on the room lights, she would get cranky because it spoiled the effect 

That could have been a 'get out of homework free' card.  I'm not into the cram everything into your front yard look either, or the Clark Griswold 25,000 lights on the house look. I like tasteful and/or fun, but sensory overload is silly, because unless people park in front of your house and spend 30 minutes taking it all in, no one is going to have time to see it all.

A bit off track here, but one year my father bought this dreadful christmas gift lawn ornament which lit up the front yard to high heaven.  It was so bright, it made our house look like a beacon calling to something in outer space.  Anyway, about a week after he purchased this monstrocity, we had a really bad snowstorm which gave us over a foot of snow and high winds (not to mention a couple of others after that one).  Needless to say, when the snow finally melted that winter, we found the lawn ornament in pieces.  Guess Mother Nature didn't approve of it either.   

I usually think weights, not currancy when I hear "pounds".

Friend: "I bought a seven pound book!"
Me: "That's a heavy book!"
*crickets*

If they said, "I bought a book for seven pounds" I'd think money but  "(number) pound(s) (object)" always sounds like unit of measurement to me, not cost.

That made my day...In fact, I passed it on to my husband who had a chuckle himself! (It definitely sounds like something me or my dad would say!) I love it!

Alan B. Thanks for your sweet comment! My husband says the same thing!

Me or my family never went crazy with the outdoor decorations either. We would hang some lights on the front of the house, but they weren't anything flashy...I have noticed my parents getting a little braver in the last 2 years though with the inflatable too! LOL! I think it gives my mom something to do though! I've always done way more decorations in the house than out, but it's still not the crazy flashy stuff. But I do love the sites and smells of Christmas and music! I'll have candles burning 24/7 of Suger cookies, pomegranate and Cranberries...etc...Whatever I can get off of Yankee Candles! 

But I do love the sites and smells of Christmas and music! I'll have candles burning 24/7 of Suger cookies, pomegranate and Cranberries...etc...Whatever I can get off of Yankee Candles! 

Me too. I burn my Yankee Candles from the time I wake up until I go to bed, this time of year. I love the Hollyberry one most, but love all their other Christmas scents.

I had a giggle today in the class I am taking. The teacher was reading some of the Christmas poems previous classes have written, and one mentioned balloons. I casually asked if they were used as a decoration (me being the curious to learn out of towner and all) and half the class agreed they either use or used to use balloons as Christmas decorations. 

I have lived here for 4 years now, and I've worked in the same office near enough that time as well. I work with one other American, who has been here about 10 years, and we both get it, but I think me moreso than him, for some reason.

Sometimes I have to sit on a helpline instead of doing my office work (oh the world of banking), and that's where I get the most comments, from customers who will sometimes ask where I'm from, or where the office is based, and when I tell them where I live, I usually get "...why?" HAHA. I guess many people think why would you leave to US to live in this town?

I have given up on trying to "hang on" to my Midwestern accent...what's the point? I don't want to have to think about what I say, so whatever comes out, comes out! It's like being bilingual, so what's wrong with that?

Some of my coworkers have told me they often forget that I'm American, until I say a certain phrase/word/pronunciation, and they have a giggle, and that's fine with me (most of the time). Though I did get a load of mick this week for saying "cattycornered" instead of "diagonally." 

my mother insisted on putting those fake electric candles in the front windows, including my bedroom. Then when I went to do my homework and turned on the room lights, she would get cranky because it spoiled the effect 

DW wants some of those single electric candles, but she's only found battery operated ones over here. So instead she's got the "candle bridges" with 5 or 7 lights (I don't remember which) as they are mains powered.

I still get that on some things after just over 2 1/2 years. I understand we are living in a new country and should do things their way, overall, but the fact is we are Americans living here, and do our best to adapt, but we shouldn't be expected to become British once we cross the border. I think it is pretentious to immediately start saying everything the British way. Sure, those

I try not to correct DW, or at least too much. There will be times when a new phrase or word crops up and I'll say what the British one would be so she knows. But generally at home if I know what she means then I'll get what she was asking for. The way I look at it is that if we were to move to the US I wouldn't suddenly start using the US terms.
In the supermarket at the weekend she was saying to me that she wanted some "aluminum" trays....we found them before she had to ask though!
 

I try not to correct DW, or at least too much. There will be times when a new phrase or word crops up and I'll say what the British one would be so she knows. But generally at home if I know what she means then I'll get what she was asking for. The way I look at it is that if we were to move to the US I wouldn't suddenly start using the US terms.
In the supermarket at the weekend she was saying to me that she wanted some "aluminum" trays....we found them before she had to ask though!
 

You do what my husband does, which I'm totally fine with! Sometimes he will just give me kind of a heads-up thing on some of the terminology, but he does it more so that I understand what others are saying to me or so that others will understand what I'm saying to them (i.e. I asked a kid at the supermarket for zucchini's and he didn't know what that was, so I had to learn to ask for courgettes.) No biggie when your talking two entirely different words or different sounding words. But when it's something REALLY stupid like cell phone and mobile, I just have no patience. This last week has been a little rough as I've had 2 teenagers in the house correcting every little word that comes out of my mouth just to irritate me! I just smile and tease them back or ignore it...but it drives me to drink sometimes!

Hubby likes to ring in the new year with a shot of Bell's scotch. We were out with friends last night, and I went to the bar to order it. I asked for Bell's scotch, and she asked what it was. I explained it and she said she never heard of it. So I asked if they had any scotch, and she said she wasn't sure what it was. So I leaned in a little closer and upped my voice a notch in case it was the music keeping her from hearing me. After trying again to explain, I gave up and spelled s - c - o - t - c - h slowly. She said, 'OH Scotch!' then proceeded to list off different ones they had, but assured me they didn't have the one I was asking for. On my next trip up to the bar, I saw they did have Bell's.

I know I don't sound like the locals, but I thought my request was pretty straightforward and easy to understand.   

My driving instructor thinks it's funny when I say "blinker" instead of "signal" 

My driving instructor thinks it's funny when I say "blinker" instead of "signal" 

Mine was the same...and he kept correcting me when I said "side walk" as well!