Passed my driving test in a 6x6, with a large gun on top.
Brian reminds me of another one: folks who happily say "bicycle" and "tricycle" and then use "monocycle" for the single wheeled jugglers mount...
"unicycle" - to stick with the same form.
Then there's the plural of "octopus", which I believe ought to be "octopodes", not "octopi". It's this rather random mashing together of Latin and Greek that we seem to do for sheer contrariness.
"Oh look over there; there's a hippopotamus. There's another. B*gger! There's lots of 'em."
And an enormous herd of gazeboes stampeded across the veldt...
Or such as the American use of England when actually referring to the United Kingdom. For example, the Queen of England - the last being Elizabeth l, not Elizabeth ll.
She is QE 2 of England but QE 1 of Scotland, given that UK only exists since the 1707 Act of Union and in front of the Dean of the Church of Scotland for something or other 30 odd years ago that is how he addressed her in his church. However, each person who refers also to nationals of the USA as Americans is dismissing Canadians then Mexico and all points south throughout the Americas and, in fact the Caribbean. So missing out N Ireland, Scotland and Wales is matched in terms of misuse.
Wassa monocycle then? And what is it in French? Perhaps a mon?
We had all that crêpe at a non-Catholic school. Recently one of old boy contemporaries put up a picture of blokes who were prefects 50 yars ago. Somebody wrote back indignant saying praefects! Ther eroom was the praefectorum, etc...
Graham, do a Google search on that and I think you will find that in New England and what is now less than two hours drive from New York that was the case. I have a book about the Shakespeare did he or didn't he write the plays somewhere and I think there are a couple of sentences in there saying the same.
As for cars. Well, as loads of my London mates have always said a 'jam'. Good enough for me. 4x4 means 16 wheels, that sounds like it should be tracked and called a tank which is how some of the hunting fraternity hereabouts drive them.
Celeste "recently that I discovered that American English and spelling , most resembles the actual written and spoken English of the 17th , 18th and 19th centuries !!!!!!" In the days of my youff (many centuries ago!!) I remember reading that, in the early days of flying in the States communities were discovered who had lost touch with the world almost since Elizabethan times - and guess what? They were speaking Elizabethan English. Shock horror at the time when it was realised that Shakespeare maybe wrote for an American accent!!!! Can't provide provenance - but it is a strong memory!!
Ah, for the days when Reliant and Bond Minis were common, just to throw some confusion into the stew: the former a 3x2 and the latter a 3x1 - or am I still talking lumps of timber?
Not really, but spent my summer holidays - two months each year - attending summer camp type play days at a - must say - outstandingly beautiful country retreat place, not far from where I lived. Endless days playing in the woods. It goes without saysing, mixed in with blatant propaganda for DS - we were supposed to identify with the holy nerd, I suppose. I hasn't worked.
OK, Finn, I'm sure you know that it means 4 wheel drive onto the 4 wheels of the 4 wheeled vehicle - but then we don't call an "ordinary" car a 4x2: that's a piece of wood.
And the silliest Franglais ever is 'le footing' (jogging to you and I) - footings are foundations in English. So when a friend asked if I wanted to 'faire le footing' every Tuesday morning, I declined assuming that it involved cement and shovels.