employment at will defined by an Englishman

[justalayman]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? hilarity


I was reading one of my many sources of my daily doses of humor and ran across an article written by an Englishman that had moved to the US and was writing of the fear and loathing he has concerning just about everything American.

I can across this quote which reminded me of what many posters are so often told concerning employment at will.

. In England, provided you're not in the service industry, it's ludicrously hard to get sacked. Americans, however, have this thing called At-Will Employment, which basically means that an employer can fire you if he's uncomfortable with the size of your eyebrows.

the rest of the article can be found here and is a great laugh.

A Day in America According to a (Baffled) Foreigner | Cracked.com

and maybe somebody familiar with English terms could explain what the guy (yes, it is written by a man from a man's perspective) is speaking of when he says this:

Clad in my fetching purple jumpsuit and training bra, I am now primed to brave the hooting house of horror that is New York.

 

[Isis1]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? hilarity


I was reading one of my many sources of my daily doses of humor and ran across an article written by an Englishman that had moved to the US and was writing of the fear and loathing he has concerning just about everything American.

I can across this quote which reminded me of what many posters are so often told concerning employment at will.




the rest of the article can be found here and is a great laugh.

A Day in America According to a (Baffled) Foreigner | Cracked.com

and maybe somebody familiar with English terms could explain what the guy (yes, it is written by a man from a man's perspective) is speaking of when he says this:

i can't remember the last time i laughed so hard at something i read!!!

thanks for the read. that was awesome!

 

[Banned_Princess]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?


and maybe somebody familiar with English terms could explain what the guy (yes, it is written by a man from a man's perspective) is speaking of when he says this:


Quote:
Clad in my fetching purple jumpsuit and training bra, I am now primed to brave the hooting house of horror that is New York.

Ha ha, hes saying to fit in in NY he has to look the part and occasionally we look silly as hell in our jumpsiuts and running sneekers.

 

[cbg]

Oh, how I miss electric kettles.

 

[las365]

Oh, how I miss electric kettles.

Here you go, luv.

Presto Electric Tea Kettle - 02703 : Target

 

[Proserpina]

Oh, how I miss electric kettles.

Me too

(But that was an excellent article )

 

[cbg]

Hey, sweetie, remind me again - you've been on this side of the pond how long?

 

[Proserpina]

Hey, sweetie, remind me again - you've been on this side of the pond how long?

96/97-ish!

I could not believe how impossibly difficult it was to find an electric kettle. Even at Big Butt And Backside.

(I believe the store is actually called Bed, Bath & Beyond, but it's much funnier the other way...)

 

[cbg]

40 years after the fact, and I'm still suffering culture shock.

Watch your PM's.

 

[justalayman]

96/97-ish!

I could not believe how impossibly difficult it was to find an electric kettle. Even at Big Butt And Backside.

(I believe the store is actually called Bed, Bath & Beyond, but it's much funnier the other way...)

are you from the Nanny State?

You don't type like it but just as a test to be sure:

1. Crayola has boxes of crayons with 128 different ____________ in a box.

2. when the stairs are not accessible in a multi-story building, I use the _________ to get to the upper floors.

3. When I need to urinate, I use the ___________


4. when there are many people waiting in a reasonable semblance of order for the same thing, they are waiting ____ _____.

5. an appliance used to speak to a person outside our purview we use a device credited to the invention of Alexander G. Bell and it is called the ___________.

 

[cbg]

Technically, I"m Canadian. We split the difference.

 

[Proserpina]

are you from the Nanny State?

You don't type like it but just as a test to be sure:

1. Crayola has boxes of crayons with 128 different ____________ in a box.

Colours!

2. when the stairs are not accessible in a multi-story building, I use the _________ to get to the upper floors.

You're going to make me say "lift", aren't you?

3. When I need to urinate, I use the ___________

"loo". Or, for us more civiliSed folk, "bog".

4. when there are many people waiting in a reasonable semblance of order for the same thing, they are waiting ____ _____.

For Jesus? Sorry. We're all queued up.

5. an appliance used to speak to a person outside our purview we use a device credited to the invention of Alexander G. Bell and it is called the ___________.

I refuse to say "dog and bone". It's a bloody phone - same as it is over here..

Did I pass?

 

[justalayman]

Did I pass?

absolutely. I love accents in general and a British accent is among the best.


Now, the reason for the test. The statement about the purple jumper and bra. Does it have some interpretation that is missed by those ignorant of the true English language.


and to explain that last comment, an anecdote (and true)

I was going in for a cardiac cath. The doctor performing the cath was the partner of my cardiologist. As mine put it, mine did the electrical work and his partner did the plumbing. I had WPW which put it into an electrical thing and was going to have an RF ablation but my cardio insisted on a cardiac cath with dye so there was no unknown surprises when he does his electrical stuff. His partner was drafted to do the cardiac cath.

anyway, I was prepped in a room and wheeled to just outside the procedure room while the techs did some more prep work. The doc came up (very first time I had met him) and was talking to me about the procedure etc. Once he was done, he asked if I had any question. Well, none to do with medical stuff but noticed he had an accent but I could not discern the origin so I asked him where he was from (making note of the accent) and what his native language had been.

His reply, without hesitation as if he had answered the same question a thousand times before:

"It is as simple as this; I speak English, you speak American"

then I realized; he was right.

 

[cbg]

He is absolutely right. I've been claiming that for years.

(A cell phone on this side of the pond is a mobile on the other.)

A jumper in the UK is a pullover sweater here. A jumpsuit on the other hand, to the best of my knowledge is a jumpsuit everywhere. Right, P?

 

[Proserpina]

He is absolutely right. I've been claiming that for years.

(A cell phone on this side of the pond is a mobile on the other.)

A jumper in the UK is a pullover sweater here. A jumpsuit on the other hand, to the best of my knowledge is a jumpsuit everywhere. Right, P?

Yup!

And a jumper here is apparently a pinafore dress in the UK, right?

Jumpsuits may be orange and have little arrows painted on 'em, or lurid and lavishly decorated and worn by Certain Folk who are trying to impress us mere mortals with their obviously superior sense of fashion.

Or, the size of their bank balances...