MGB: Americanisms.

My favourite and one which I keep in mind when working on any car is "Just snug it up" so much more colourful than our "finger tight"Any others helpful when working on my Bgt would be appreciated!

Beat it with a hammer

Hit it hard with the BFH!

Drive it like you stole it.

slap it on there.

slap it on there... with a little schmutz

If it ain't broke. don't do it

It'll buff out. :smoking:

that will leave a mark

Tighten it up til it breaks, then back it off a hair.
RS

Don't force it, get a bigger hammer....

With a little grease, it ought to slide right in there.

little paint will cover that up

Git 'er done! Go like hell and you'll get there. If you can read this you're too damned close. Don't laugh, your daughter may be in here. Shines lie a diamond in a goat's ass. Spins like that latch on a shit house door. Couldn't pull a greasy string out of a cat's ass. Would go that fast only off a cliff.

Just whack the mother.
The only substitute for cubic inches is cubic dollars.

when the green flag drops...the bullshit stops....

american: there is no sustitute for cubic inches...translated to british: brute force and ignorance

Mark Donahue: if I can leave 2 black lines the length of the straight...then I have enough horsepower..........

A curious and interesting southern American expression goes like this:
"We don't have but one [whatever] left" (meaning "there is only one [whatever] left")

Another one is:
"We should oughta [do some thing]" (meaning "we ought to [do some thing]")

I've heard New Zealanders and Australians use the term "reckon" as in, "I reckon that will fix the problem" (meaning "I'm inclined to think that will fix the problem"). In the US, "reckon" is a very old fashioned term - very rarely used in most parts. It's funny to hear it from abroad!

"Bob's your uncle" is a British phrase that I enjoy employing when I can! It's great for explaining how someone can easily and quickly fix their vehicular conundrum. :)

From the south - "I'm fixin' to pull the engine" or "I'm fixin' to go for a drive" instead of "I'm about to pull the engine" or "I'm about to go for a drive."

silence is golden but duct tape is silver
The 50-50-90 rule: Anytime you have a 50-50 chance of getting something right, there's a 90% probability you'll get it wrong.
When the going gets tough, the tough get duct tape

That's gonna hurt!

I visited the states in 2005.

I forget where, but some pokey town, you have to ask for permission for them to turn pump on,

Can't remember if I had to put credit card in pump slot, but anyways,,,,

Girl's voice came over speaker, what do you want?

I said... I want to fill up with petrol.

She said huhhhhhh?? in a real nasally voice.

I repeated, slowly.. I want to fill my car up with PETROL!!!!!

HUUHHHHHHHHHHHHHH ???again.

I looked and saw she was a young huge african american inside the booth.

So I said in the most high pitched nasally voice I could muster.

I WANNA FILL UP WITH GAAAASSSSSSSSS!!!!

She said ok.

And the pump started.

When in Rome........

"So I said in the most high pitched nasally voice I could muster, I WANNA FILL UP WITH GAAAASSSSSSSSS!!!!"

I like that high pitched nasally voice! That's the way to speak 'Murcan English. Yes, we have no "petrol" here. Just gas-o-leen. "Gas" goes in the tank or after a particulary beany dinner, it comes out your . . . well, you know. "Fill 'er up" for "top off the tank."

I still don't understand what "offside" means. Is that the side near the curb, near the middle of the ride, the side from which you get "off" the car . . .. ? I just can't wrap my brain around it.

And what's with "tyres" instead of "tires". Or "kerb" instead of "curb". Sheesh. And "spanner" and "torch" for "wrench" and "flashlight"? As everyone knows, here "bonnet" is a women's sun hat, not the "hood" of a car. And it's "soft top" or "convertible top," not "hood" (since hood is the, well, "bonnet"). Oh, bugger!

Working on a car is sometimes called "wrenching".

"Tinkering" means fiddling around with things, not doing much that's useful. "Fiddling around" also sounds like you're playing country music on a violin.

Beat it to fit & paint it to match.

A woman I met on the Net came over to visit me(nah, she just wasn't my type in the end) from the good 'ol US of A a few years ago. It was an interesting cultural mix.
The main one I remember is that she called burgers "sandwiches" - this from the home of the hamburger!

Paul ;-)

[quote=DrewM]
...
"Tinkering" means fiddling around with things, not doing much that's useful. "Fiddling around" also sounds like you're playing country music on a violin.[/quote]

As opposed to "fiddling about" which means, well.... :devil:

Well, nearside is the side nearest the gutter/kerb depending which side of the pond you are on.

Offside is the driver's side.

It is usually used when there are rights and lefts of car parts to be described to distinguish them.

You would not order an offside steering wheel or a nearside heater tap.

But you would order an offside guard/fender or a nearside door handle.

Had a mate who had a B years ago.

He nicknamed it the MaGgot.

One day he had head under bonnet/hood.

I said watchya doin.

he said.

I'm flat out like a lizard drinkin' tryin' to get the maggot to run.

Not referring to mechanics but around here a prairie maggot is referring to sheep.:thumbsup:

Just leave it out in the sun.......it will fix most anything! Tighter / Smaller / larger / Faded / Darker whatever you need. Even straightens metal!

"Super size" it.

"over yonder", "down the road a piece", "down the road a fer piece", and yes Naomi "I reckon", "you reckon?" , "I'm a fixin' to....."

One black line if you have an open rear end....
;)

[quote=balloonfoot]
if I can leave 2 black lines the length of the straight...then I have enough horsepower..........[/quote]

Happy as a pig in sh**

Put a little hair around it.......

Percussive maintenance.

(Adds a bit of intellect to the tired old "BFH" advice.)

"Well there ya go..." meaning the inevitable conclusion to a set of questionable actions. Cajun 1: "Paul was eating a gumbo burrito in the Midget and speeding. Then Teresa called him, he took a corner too fast trying to answer the phone and the rear wheel came off." Cajun 1's Mom: "Well, there ya go..."

One of my faves comes from Ireland:

"If it jams, force it. If it breaks, it needed replacing anyway."

"You can't get there from here"

Not sure how widespread it is, but I use 'There is always a bigger hammer' in automechanics class when something doesnt budge.. I go for something bigger!

Of course 'There's your problem' (pointing to something obviously destroyed/FUBAR) often heard on 'Mythbusters'

If it ain't broke ...don't fix it...

...and Desmond, I may be wrong, but I thought the "Bob's your uncle" was an Irish saying....

Most of those mentioned above were stolen from north of the US ....Canada that is... Eh!! I guess Eh is actually British though.

You should hear the conversations in our house sometimes, with Stef being from Arkansas and me being from London it gets interesting. :D

Here, hold my beer............

useless as T!ts on a bore hog

archaic but useful

tighter than dick's hatband [ perhaps this is english]

tougher than wang leather

What it is.


[quote=Phantomracer]
"You can't get there from here"[/quote]

I thought it went like this: You can't get to Aintry from here boy.

"A little Seafoam will fix that"

From Newfoundland:

Where're you to? (Meaning where are you located/at?)

That's some good (whatever), boy.

He slipped between the wharf and the boat (not too bright)

Hurry up and wait (take it easy)

Stay where you are. I'll come to where you're at.

"Hurry up and slow down." I like that one....

Tighter than a frog's ass = watertight!
Smaller than a gnat's ass = pretty darn small
RS

[quote=marshgrassA]
If it ain't broke ...don't fix it...

...and Desmond, I may be wrong, but I thought the "Bob's your uncle" was an Irish saying....[/quote]

Well I'm Irish and I actually do have an uncle named Bob, so maybe it is! :D

But if it was Irish it seems to me it would be something like, "...and Fearghal's your uncle!" ;)

bob's your uncle is in the wikipedia...

Lost?
Follow me, then turn right about a half mile before I do.

...tweak it just an r c h

I particularly like directions which contain phrases like, "If you see the movie theater, you've gone too far . . . " or "Turn left two blocks before you see the new shopping center." I always thought the phrase, "You can't get there from here" came from Maine. Apparently some roads in Maine don't go where you're going.

Did anyone say;

If the car's a rockin, don't bother knockin

"Are we there yet?" My buddy from England now lives in Texas. The sheer size of it astounds him.

This is usually good for getting more oomph behind the big hammer approach..."next time hit it with your purse."
Just prior to ridiculous fatal accident, "hey bubba, hold mah beer 'n watch 'is."
never argue with an idiot. they'll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience
If at first you don't succeed, skydiving may not be for you
good judgment comes from experience. experience comes from bad judgment

[quote="John Hamilton"]
"Are we there yet?" My buddy from England now lives in Texas. The sheer size of it astounds him.[/quote]

Is he in Elgin??? I swear we have more Brits around here than anywhere.

Tighten it until it breaks and then back it off a quarter turn.

You want grits with that?

In a pig's eye.


You want sprinkles?

"If you can't fix it with a hammer and a vice-grip, it has to be an electrical problem"

"Either love it or leave it" in reference to the US.

Often used by Americans on the internet in response to someone that says something even faintly critical of the US, notwithstanding the fact that the poster is often not American and was never in the US so can hardly leave it.

The more hidebound of internet crawlers seem unable to countenance the fact that other nationalities abound out there (even when the person's sig clearly indicates they are from the UK or some such).

I've seen this in response to a a post by a Frenchman at the height of the Great French Fry controversy, and the exchange was like watching a train crash in slow motion.

I hasten to add that we don't see much of that sort of attitude on the cars sites, or at least this one.

"Just go on down this road a piece and then turn rat there where the Ledbetter's barn was afore it burnt down."

When I'm reading my haynes, sometime I'll come across the term"drift it lose.."
My mouth goes dry, adrenalin pumps.
This is going to involve someone from the planet Krypton I think.

And by the way, It's a "gutter", there is no such thing as a kerb in the real world I reckon :)

[quote=bills]


I hasten to add that we don't see much of that sort of attitude on the cars sites, or at least this one.[/quote]

You obviously haven't been to any Ricer sites recently.......... :P

do yea want fries with that ?

Have a nice day

[quote="The Wiz"]
[quote=bills]


I hasten to add that we don't see much of that sort of attitude on the cars sites, or at least this one.[/quote]

You obviously haven't been to any Ricer sites recently.......... :P[/quote]

True - are they bad for chauvinism?

I don't hang out on American cars sites except Solstice, where I do see some of that), either.

Throw money at it.

[quote=DrewM]

I still don't understand what "offside" means. Is that the side near the curb, near the middle of the ride, the side from which you get "off" the car . . .. ? I just can't wrap my brain around it.

[/quote]

Ditto. This is especially bad around Heathrow airport, where signs say "something something offside something", and there I am, sitting on the wrong side of the car, driving on the wrong side of the road, trying to find the parking lo....er...CAR PARK. So I start thinking, "Gee, I can't figure out what "offside" means from the context, maybe I can figure out what "ONSIDE" would mean...". At which point I become so distracted trying to figure this out, that I T-Bone somebody in a round-about, and it all becomes moot.

Common language. Yep.

David

Offside,the right side of the car as in UK (RHD)

Nearside,left to the car in UK (RHD)

now as for the offside rule in football I have no idea and neither do the ref's

Spanner in the works UK is not the US I dropped a wrench in the workings but there is something really wrong in there

Not Rocket Science

If it was easy, anyone could do it

Not bad for Gov't work

Door widener

Sky hook

Hard as a Wh---'s heart (metallurgically speaking) or a wedding pete

Kronked.... I hit with a hammer, now it looks kronked.

"Balls to the Wall". Now, I was told this term derived from WW2 pilots. The throttle control levers had balls(like shift knobs) on them, and when they were pushed all the way forward(Full throttle) they touched the firewall. Or is someone pulling my leg!?

"Button it up" For example-just finished a rebuild and you just need to put the oil pan on. A worker may say all I need to do is "Button it up"