American things

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1. biscuits & gravy
2. rodeo
3. smores or smore’s or smore(s)
4. “a super bowl”
5. stoops
6. speakeasy
7. “high school prom”
8. cheese in a can
9. dr pepper

― rove mcmanus island (Autumn Almanac), Sunday, 4 February 2018 11:35 (eight years ago)

smore

wtf?

― Video reach stereo bog (Tom D.), Sunday, 4 February 2018 11:35 (eight years ago)

Steely Dan
The Beat Generation

― calstars, Sunday, 4 February 2018 12:32 (eight years ago)

10. "democracy"
11. mac 'n cheese
12. sherrifs

― Le Bateau Ivre, Sunday, 4 February 2018 14:20 (eight years ago)

It's s'mores and it's short for some more.

― tokyo rosemary, Sunday, 4 February 2018 15:43 (eight years ago)

13. those varsity jackets with a big letter on the front
14. propeller beanie hats

― soref, Sunday, 4 February 2018 16:10 (eight years ago)

15. grits

― WilliamC, Sunday, 4 February 2018 16:16 (eight years ago)

16. Shriners

https://s.hswstatic.com/gif/shriners-little-cars-1200x800.jpg

― soref, Sunday, 4 February 2018 16:18 (eight years ago)

monster trucks

― ciderpress, Sunday, 4 February 2018 17:49 (eight years ago)

bison
bass fishing tournaments
Yellowstone Park

― A is for (Aimless), Sunday, 4 February 2018 19:06 (eight years ago)

Looney Tunes cartoons

― A is for (Aimless), Sunday, 4 February 2018 19:23 (eight years ago)

22. tipping

― Haribo Hancock (sic), Sunday, 4 February 2018 19:49 (eight years ago)

Mate,

https://i.imgur.com/kjgsMLQ.jpg

― pplains, Sunday, 4 February 2018 20:27 (eight years ago)

I mean, don't forget 23. Indigenous Genocide, but, you know.

― pplains, Sunday, 4 February 2018 20:28 (eight years ago)

if we're going down that route let's not forget 24. slavery

― i gotta be a gazpacho man (bizarro gazzara), Sunday, 4 February 2018 20:36 (eight years ago)

and of course 25. egg creams

― i gotta be a gazpacho man (bizarro gazzara), Sunday, 4 February 2018 20:36 (eight years ago)

slavery has existed everywhere for all recorded history. hardly confined to America, although we certainly embraced one of the most brutal forms of it for a couple centuries.

― A is for (Aimless), Sunday, 4 February 2018 21:01 (eight years ago)

26 white ppl
27 mayonnaise
28 conway twitty
29 all the bad things
30 no good things

― sleepingbag, Sunday, 4 February 2018 21:03 (eight years ago)

31 guns guns guns love guns need guns
32 sabermetrics
33 god

(Holland surely king of mayonnaise though, for ~~better or for~~ worse)

― Le Bateau Ivre, Sunday, 4 February 2018 21:12 (eight years ago)

34. (With drawl) PICKUP TRUCK. GIDDY UP COWBOY.

― infinity (∞), Sunday, 4 February 2018 21:13 (eight years ago)

35. 99.9% of all "cultural appropriation"

― trife's rich padgett (rip van wanko), Sunday, 4 February 2018 21:13 (eight years ago)

36. $$$

― trife's rich padgett (rip van wanko), Sunday, 4 February 2018 21:17 (eight years ago)

37. Road Trips
38. Self Help
39. Seminars on how to flip properties with no money down

― Fedora Dostoyevsky (man alive), Sunday, 4 February 2018 21:26 (eight years ago)

40. Hawaii

― calstars, Sunday, 4 February 2018 21:29 (eight years ago)

41. Grand slams

― calstars, Sunday, 4 February 2018 21:30 (eight years ago)

42. Brian Wilson

― calstars, Sunday, 4 February 2018 21:38 (eight years ago)

43. drive-in cinemas

― soref, Sunday, 4 February 2018 21:42 (eight years ago)

44. john cena

― i gotta be a gazpacho man (bizarro gazzara), Sunday, 4 February 2018 21:43 (eight years ago)

(19)45. the atomic bomb

― Karl Malone, Sunday, 4 February 2018 21:44 (eight years ago)

(19)46. Donald John Trump

― infinity (∞), Sunday, 4 February 2018 21:45 (eight years ago)

Just sayin some of these things aren't exclusively American. They're everybody's!

― pplains, Sunday, 4 February 2018 21:45 (eight years ago)

47. Superhero movies for "grownups"

― Fedora Dostoyevsky (man alive), Sunday, 4 February 2018 21:46 (eight years ago)

48. jack kirby

― i gotta be a gazpacho man (bizarro gazzara), Sunday, 4 February 2018 21:55 (eight years ago)

49. jack ruby

― trife's rich padgett (rip van wanko), Sunday, 4 February 2018 21:55 (eight years ago)

~~27 mayonnaise~~

27 "ranch"

― Number None, Sunday, 4 February 2018 22:16 (eight years ago)

ranch-style houses

― A is for (Aimless), Sunday, 4 February 2018 22:19 (eight years ago)

Ranch might be the most american word there is. The sound of it, the meaning, the house style, the dressing. It's 100% American.

― Fedora Dostoyevsky (man alive), Sunday, 4 February 2018 22:23 (eight years ago)

https://i.imgur.com/IOlj6Lw.jpg

― trife's rich padgett (rip van wanko), Sunday, 4 February 2018 22:28 (eight years ago)

51. Saturday Night Live and dozens of comedy series and comedians no-one's ever heard of.

― Video reach stereo bog (Tom D.), Sunday, 4 February 2018 22:33 (eight years ago)

... no-one else, that is.

― Video reach stereo bog (Tom D.), Sunday, 4 February 2018 22:33 (eight years ago)

Every nation seems to have its b-list comedy that doesn't escape its borders though

― Fedora Dostoyevsky (man alive), Sunday, 4 February 2018 22:45 (eight years ago)

I mean there are all these british comedians called "Jimmy Pram" or "Tolliver Whelk" or whatever that the britishers on the board seem to reference a lot.

― Fedora Dostoyevsky (man alive), Sunday, 4 February 2018 22:47 (eight years ago)

52. happy endings
53. late night shows
54. hyper-capitalism
55. "football"
56. "soccer"

― Le Bateau Ivre, Sunday, 4 February 2018 22:50 (eight years ago)

Italians
Irish

― Alderweireld Horses (darraghmac), Sunday, 4 February 2018 22:51 (eight years ago)

57. Barack Hussein Obama
58. Velveeta

― droit au butt (Euler), Sunday, 4 February 2018 22:51 (eight years ago)

Misuse of the collective clause when referring to sports teams

― Alderweireld Horses (darraghmac), Sunday, 4 February 2018 22:52 (eight years ago)

Every nation seems to have its b-list comedy that doesn't escape its borders though

Saturday Night Live is b-list?

― Video reach stereo bog (Tom D.), Sunday, 4 February 2018 23:09 (eight years ago)

'Math'

― Video reach stereo bog (Tom D.), Sunday, 4 February 2018 23:09 (eight years ago)

American comedy is painfully unfunny. There's no real bite, no real cynicism, it always has to be nicey nicey in the end. A or B list, SNL fits that bill surely.

― Le Bateau Ivre, Sunday, 4 February 2018 23:11 (eight years ago)

today, sure. I think SNL at its best (maybe 80s-early 90s) was good exactly because it captured and spoofed that wide-eyed lack of cynicism. Kevin Nealon comes to mind, and all of the fake commercials. Since at least Will Ferrell and maybe going back to Chris Farley and Adam Sandler though the style of comedy has been very "I AM BEING FUNNY RIGHT NOW! DO YOU SEE ME BEING FUNNY!"

― Fedora Dostoyevsky (man alive), Sunday, 4 February 2018 23:15 (eight years ago)

Skipping 1731 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

(Only just learned about this, and there are some great business names out there... "Turd Burglars - Pet Waste Removal in Carmel Indiana")

― Kim Kimberly, Tuesday, 5 August 2025 15:17 (eight months ago)

"Poo's the Boss is the #1 Chicago area dog waste removal company."

― Kim Kimberly, Tuesday, 5 August 2025 15:18 (eight months ago)

Well, it's a living I suppose.

― Corny Capitalism (Tom D.), Tuesday, 5 August 2025 15:23 (eight months ago)

lol kinder — reminds me that Little mermaid and lLittle Shop of Horrors have doppelgänger songs

ha - I have been known to Google to find mashups of these two - a guy doing cabaret, and looks like there are more now!

― kinder, Tuesday, 5 August 2025 17:53 (eight months ago)

I had no idea such things existed — will search up!!

― Piggy Lepton (La Lechera), Tuesday, 5 August 2025 22:51 (eight months ago)

Spelling mould as mold or, if you prefer, TS: Mouldy Old Dough vs. Moldy Peaches.

― Peter No-one (Tom D.), Friday, 15 August 2025 15:00 (eight months ago)

https://bobmould.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/bob-mould-2024-photo-credit-Ryan-Bakerink.jpg

― je ne sequoia (Ye Mad Puffin), Friday, 15 August 2025 16:30 (eight months ago)

three weeks pass...

Spinal Tap

― Now read it backwards. (dog latin), Wednesday, 10 September 2025 13:23 (seven months ago)

lol so true. I watched the first one again recently and I had never realised how shaky the accents were :/

― Tracer Hand, Wednesday, 10 September 2025 13:30 (seven months ago)

Christopher Guest is good, the other two not so much. I've heard worse though!

― AI Jardine (Tom D.), Wednesday, 10 September 2025 13:33 (seven months ago)

It's one of these films I hear talked up a lot as an unassailable classic, and yes it gave us "up to eleven" etc. But I can't recall anyone I've met IRl fawning over the film in the same way Americans do. It's been a while since I saw it myself, but from what I recall I found it just fine

― Now read it backwards. (dog latin), Wednesday, 10 September 2025 14:01 (seven months ago)

Christopher Guest is apparently a British baron, hence his ability to do the accent

― Now read it backwards. (dog latin), Wednesday, 10 September 2025 14:02 (seven months ago)

yeah his dad is British and he spent time in the UK while growing up

― jaymc, Wednesday, 10 September 2025 14:03 (seven months ago)

But my guess is that a lot of the humour stems from some variant on "LOL Britishers with their accents" (see also stuff like Austin Powers etc), which I get, but the joke dissipates somewhat if you are a Britisher I suppose

― Now read it backwards. (dog latin), Wednesday, 10 September 2025 14:06 (seven months ago)

You know what is good? Walk Hard

― Now read it backwards. (dog latin), Wednesday, 10 September 2025 14:07 (seven months ago)

I actually think you're completely wrong about Spinal Tap being an "American Thing"! You're probably not hanging around with the right (or wrong) people.

― AI Jardine (Tom D.), Wednesday, 10 September 2025 14:20 (seven months ago)

tbh I (re)watched Spinal Tap a couple of weeks ago and thought it held up pretty well

― Colonel Poo, Wednesday, 10 September 2025 14:22 (seven months ago)

But my guess is that a lot of the humour stems from some variant on "LOL Britishers with their accents"

Again, I think this is wrong too. Christopher Guest is the only one with a slightly comic (and very accurate) English rocker voice, the others are pretty bland. Plus a lot of the cast are actually British!

― AI Jardine (Tom D.), Wednesday, 10 September 2025 14:24 (seven months ago)

as an american, never thought them being british was really meant to be funny. more that it mirrors some of the actual bands being parodied and sets up the entire "british band touring the us" bit and primes you for minor cultural misunderstandings

that and the whole stonehenge bit

― slowly imploding (mh), Wednesday, 10 September 2025 14:54 (seven months ago)

I always thought that as an example of Americans playing English people, it was one of the best examples out there. but it's a very specific kind of English people of course.

― Proust Ian Rush (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Wednesday, 10 September 2025 15:26 (seven months ago)

You get English rockers who've lived in the US for years who sound a lot less convincingly English - have you ever heard Dave Mason speaking?

― AI Jardine (Tom D.), Wednesday, 10 September 2025 15:48 (seven months ago)

mh otm

― Piggy Lepton (La Lechera), Thursday, 11 September 2025 15:32 (seven months ago)

spinal tap is as to americans as withnail & i is to the british

neither are good or funny

― tuah dé danann (darraghmac), Thursday, 11 September 2025 23:01 (seven months ago)

Weird Al Yankovic
Mr Rogers

Nothing against either of these two gents but boy do they loom large in American culture.

― a ZX spectrum is haunting Europe (Daniel_Rf), Saturday, 13 September 2025 09:16 (seven months ago)

three months pass...

American things, men's edition: Not wearing a scarf

― Tracer Hand, Monday, 15 December 2025 13:15 (four months ago)

I never wear a scarf either tbf.

― Tony Bubbles (Tom D.), Monday, 15 December 2025 13:21 (four months ago)

I'm Canadian but I've always hated wearing a scarf. I do wear a neck warmer when it gets really cold.

― silverfish, Monday, 15 December 2025 14:05 (four months ago)

Americans don't ride on broomsticks either, at least the non-GOP ones.

― pplains, Monday, 15 December 2025 14:10 (four months ago)

the burgeoning neck gaiter industry doesn't want you to know about scarves

― mh, Monday, 15 December 2025 15:31 (four months ago)

big snood

― koogs, Monday, 15 December 2025 15:47 (four months ago)

I wear those foam collars you get for a neck injury, that I way I get warmth _and_ sympathy.

― calmer chameleon (Ye Mad Puffin), Monday, 15 December 2025 17:18 (four months ago)

Fuck washing a scarf

― Ward Fowler, Monday, 15 December 2025 17:22 (four months ago)

i don’t think i’ve ever washed a scarf, or gloves or winter hat for that matter

― budo jeru, Monday, 15 December 2025 17:40 (four months ago)

scarves are good. i don’t wear them as much as i used to, but not sure i see them as being particularly non-american. also a great word and fun to say. scarf scarf scarf

― budo jeru, Monday, 15 December 2025 17:43 (four months ago)

the only scarves worn here are at soccer matches, and the weather is 80-90 degrees most of the year so people are reluctant to even wear them there

― Edward Albee Sure (Neanderthal), Monday, 15 December 2025 17:47 (four months ago)

yeah it seems in general scarves would have a limited appeal in florida

― budo jeru, Monday, 15 December 2025 18:00 (four months ago)

yeah it seems in general scarves would have a limited appeal in florida

Well, there's ScarfAce

― calmer chameleon (Ye Mad Puffin), Monday, 15 December 2025 18:29 (four months ago)

Say hello to my knitted friend

― calmer chameleon (Ye Mad Puffin), Monday, 15 December 2025 18:30 (four months ago)

underrated post

― budo jeru, Tuesday, 16 December 2025 04:38 (four months ago)

second

― look, he's country's own david bowie- deal with it (Hunt3r), Tuesday, 16 December 2025 06:15 (four months ago)

iirc dom p display named “incarcerated scarf aces” in response to a wdyll beef

― fall of the house of urrsher (sic), Tuesday, 16 December 2025 08:55 (four months ago)

four weeks pass...

Do Americans have to talk so loudly?

― Please play Lou Reed's irritating guitar sounds (Tom D.), Thursday, 26 December 2024 16:38 (one year ago) bookmarkflaglink

Hate to return to this subject but I'm sitting in the company canteen just and there's one American woman having a conversation with someone else and she is drowning out people who are sitting much nearer to me. I can't make out a word the person she is with is saying, she's like ten times as loud as him

― Wearing red lipstick and maintaining a neutral expression (Tom D.), Wednesday, 14 January 2026 10:34 (three months ago)

Monty Python

― Jonk Raven (dog latin), Wednesday, 14 January 2026 11:06 (three months ago)

Monny PY-THON

― Jonk Raven (dog latin), Wednesday, 14 January 2026 11:07 (three months ago)

The Beadles

― Jonk Raven (dog latin), Wednesday, 14 January 2026 11:09 (three months ago)

Llamas
the Atacama Desert
Building a new capital city in the wilderness

― ICE = Tonton Macoute (Boring, Maryland), Wednesday, 14 January 2026 12:59 (three months ago)

three weeks pass...

Building a new capital city in the wilderness
― ICE = Tonton Macoute (Boring, Maryland), Wednesday, January 14, 2026 12:59 PM (three weeks ago) bookmarkflaglinkhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

to be fair: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canberra

― Bellend Sebastian (S-), Monday, 9 February 2026 00:12 (two months ago)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bras%C3%ADlia

― Tracer Hand, Monday, 9 February 2026 00:15 (two months ago)

i was indeed thinking of Brasilia. Forgot about Canberra though

― Gentler Death Squads Please (Boring, Maryland), Monday, 9 February 2026 00:46 (two months ago)

one month passes...

wire fraud

― ledge, Sunday, 22 March 2026 09:01 (one month ago)

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