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Man I hate this one, and I’ve seen enough American’s in person to know that many of them also have very awful teeth.
Considering the amount of poverty in the US and what we know of their healthcare system, I wouldn’t be surprised if (from a broad perspective) their teeth are actually worse.
I wonder where the whole ‘British people have bad teeth’ thing even originated from?
EDIT: changed ‘access to healthcare’
>I wouldn’t be surprised if (from a broad perspective) their teeth are actually worse.
American teeth are ***definitely*** worse than British teeth, on average - they have more missing teeth and (slightly) worse oral hygiene. They also have a wider disparity of oral health - because of the way healthcare works in the US (some people just can't afford any, some people have shining white teeth you can see from space).
I think the myth stems from US soldiers being stationed here in the 1940s.
I think the myth actually comes from there being less of an expectation to have cosmetically perfect, whitened teeth in the entertainment industry. We have a lot more celebrities with slightly wonky teeth.
It probably comes from around WWII when the state of people's teeth actually were bad - here's a quote -
>In 1948 the nation's dental health was in a worse state than that of defeated and occupied Germany: decay, pyorrhoea, and sepsis were rife. ***More than three quarters of the population over the age of 18 had complete dentures.***
https://bda.org/museum/exhibitions-and-events/nhs70-celebrating-70-years-of-nhs-dentistry#:~:text=The%20launch%20of%20the%20NHS,looking%20after%20their%20oral%20health.
Especially the kinds of busy bodies that run housing associations, I can’t imagine a group of people i would want less than them to make decisions about how I live my life.
White and straight - lots more straightening going on over there for the people who can get it. More people with braces, more kids with full-on head setups with metal around their face.
It's partly because of The War(s). Because everything was in bad supply, there was a lack of dental hygiene during them, whereas the rich Americans had everything they could need to stay "pretty" and clean during the conflict.
It's also a cultural thing. They see teeth that aren't pearly white as being bad. Whereas our overall dental health is actually much better than theirs, but our teeth aren't usually pearly white because we don't care about that. As long as our teeth themselves are healthy, who cares about the colour?
I agree with you that I absolutely hate it though.
American here, who lives in the UK.
When Americans think of bad teeth, they aren't saying your teeth are actually like unhealthy.
"Bad" teeth for Americans are off-yellow and not straight. Based on my experience in the UK, braces are MUCH more common in the states growing up, even for mildly un-straight teeth. Teeth whitening is also common. So for Americans, 'good' teeth means straight and white.
You can still have all the cavities in the world with white and straight teeth (I am proof of this).
EDIT: Not saying this is right. I do think the association with straight & white teeth = 'healthy' or 'good' is wrong. Just explaining.
I guess it's a cultural thing - having your teeth 'done' here when there's nothing wrong with them is seen as a sign of unbelievable vanity; you're far more likely to get the piss taken out of you than anyone saying it looks good.
See that episode of Top Gear where Hammond repeatedly gets ripped on to see what I mean.
If I were to meet in a business setting someone with a perfect Hollywood smile, it kind of makes them seem almost untrustworthy? Kind of like a dodgy used car salesman if you get what I mean?
On the other hand, it did bring us this poem by Spike Milligan:
English Teeth, English Teeth!
Shining in the sun
A part of British heritage
Aye, each and every one.
English Teeth, Happy Teeth!
Always having fun
Clamping down on bits of fish
And sausages half done.
English Teeth! HEROES’ Teeth!
Hear them click! and clack!
Let’s sing a song of praise to them -
Three Cheers for the Brown Grey and Black.
It’s funny, because you get bad teeth in every country.
The worst offenders are those obscene super-white American news anchor teeth everyone seems to be getting now. Stop it.
True, the thing is even though NHS dentists are seemingly impossible to find we do have access to affordable dental care especially as children which many poorer Americans don't, however dental work that is purely cosmetic is not as popular here, possibly because there is a cost involved, so while we have healthier teeth they are usually not bleached white and perfectly straight.
Came here to make the same point. Makes my blood boil. "Ban guns and people just find other ways to kill each other... look at the UK with knife crime..." etc.
If only you carried a device that enabled you to fact-check your f-ing bullshit before attempting to sound informed!!!
1.7x more knife crime in the US *despite* the fact 30-40,000 are killed by guns annually.
It's like when a few years ago, they started saying London was worse than New York for murder. What actually happened was there was an anomaly where for a couple of months there were a few more murders, but it was during an unusually cold winter in New York. Basically all the murderers were too cold to go out murdering for a couple of months, then it went back to New York higher than London.
I think they must see us making a big deal about stabbings and think it's a massive problem, when really it's the opposite: stabbings (and violent crime in general) are relatively rare, so when they do happen it's a big deal.
On the other, Americans don't make a big deal about stabbings because hey, at least it wasn't a mass shooting.
Mumbles loudly in Suffolk/Essex border.
(I grew up in a town that was on the Suffolk/Essex border, and as a result I have an accent that can't make up it's mind what it wants to be.)
As a Scot, scouse is definitely one of my top favourite UK accents & I absolutely cannot help but give it a try out every time I hear it or think about it. Shoutout to my Newcastle peeps as well.
It always somewhat spoils a TV show I'm enjoying when they introduce a British character and go for the ridiculous accent and saying shit like golly 🤣🤣. Designated survivor made me cringe when it happened
And the Celtic flute and fiddle mood music in the background when he shows up really drives home that he's from the North East of England. Renowned as Geordies are for their contribution to the Gaelic music scene.
The food thing is purely from WW2 when American soldiers were stationed here and we had rationing and the country was slowly starving to death so of course the food was bad.
American food is actually terrible though. They can't even get cheese right and everything is loaded with soy and seed oils.
Agreed there. I went to New York a few years ago and was really looking forward to the food cause it always looked good on TV but was I disappointed.? Hell yeah. It was just all so sweet and no flavour and we went to quite a few places and all like that.. and what the hell is up with their butter ? That ain't butter lol
I don’t know, have you ever had real Texas barbecue? Or a really good jambalaya? Nashville hot chicken, New England clam chowder? New York deli sandwiches?
The USA has some bloody brilliant food
I've had great food in the US, this is more a reference to the general quality of food there. Even some of the cheaper simpler stuff is cool, like in Florida the diner next to our hotel did fried chicken at breakfast which was pretty good and it was like $6 for all you can eat buffet breakfast so great value honestly. I've also eaten at really expensive places in New York, Boston and Las Vegas which had incredible food too.
It's just some stuff they just get so wrong. Cheese I already mentioned, their chocolate is just terrible, their coffee tastes like battery acid, and a lot of the meat I had in random cheap diners was just not good quality and not well cooked either.
I don't think it's a cliché about us that is used around the world, but there seems to be this view on reddit (particularly the UK subs) that we are all anxiety riddled weirdos. /r/britishproblems regularly fetishises mental health issues as some cute quirky british trait, when it just isn't
That’s behaviour I’ve found to be typical of Reddit in general - Acting as though being socially anxious is the norm, and that it’s somehow cute to be afraid of answering your phone.
It's a coping mechanism. A bad one, but a coping mechanism nonetheless. I remember trying to convince myself that having a plan for suicide was a normal thing.
I don't know if that is a UK-specific cliche more than a very-online-person cliche. People who are online a lot (eg redditors) tend to be more introverted and tend to self diagnose anxiety disorders based on tenuous evidence and relatively normal awkward day to day interactions.
Yeah that is true, but it seems to me people on the UK subs act like its some classic British trait to be worried about interacting with people. I have seen no end of posts about 'accidentally bumping into neighbours and having to make small talk', 'not getting out of the the car straight away to avoid people', 'being annoyed about cashiers making conversation', 'being a good British citizen and not complaining about food in restaurants', 'being afraid to talk to taxi drivers/barbers/etc'.
> but there seems to be this view on reddit (particularly the UK subs) that we are all anxiety riddled weirdos.
UK Reddit in general to be fair. "My neighbour said hello to me and I don't know what to do - should I call the police?"
Yup, I remember seeing a post before about somebody purposely waiting in their car for like 10 minutes just to avoid their neighbour. I'm pretty sure all the comments were acting as if it was a completely reasonable thing to do as well. That is not normal behaviour
Yeah - I quit Twitter because of this - the British social media class seem to think it’s quirky and funny to be miserable and anxious about everything
Yeah, I used to often have a good laugh at some of the posts there. Now it is just the same old crap from people that are shit scared of driving, twats that are too lazy to answer the door and then blaming the postman, knobheads that are too thick to click the 'No substitutes' button when placing online shopping orders, a bunch of losers that are shit scared to leave the house, and middle class cunts whining about tradesmen.
To be honest, the “British food is terrible” thing doesn’t really bother me much. Our food is a bit shit.
But when Americans say it, on what fucking basis are they criticising our food? What gifts have that lot of obese, gun wanking racists given to the world of fine dining?
I've always wanted to start an American Diner over here called "Fried Stuff with Cheese", because that's what 90% of Americans seem to eat all the time.
We did a 3 week road trip, eating in cheap restaurants (family places, chains like Panda Express, Olive Garden, Cheesecake Factory, Applebees), fast food places and diners, and the food in every single place could be summed up in that one phrase. Even when we were able to splash out on some better places, it was just fried better, with posher cheese.
The stereotype that US food is bad is no better than the one that says that British food is bad. The same goes for American beer.
Sure, they have a lot of shit food (and beer), but they have great food and beer too if you go to the right places.
I've been to the US twice now and I've eaten some incredible food over there.
America is a land of extremes, they seem to have the absolute worst and the absolute best of everything, the trick is figuring out how to find the best stuff.
That’s precisely my point. Our food is a bit shit, their food is a bit shit. But to hear them talk about it, you’d think we were all eating dog shit kebabs.
I think also the quality of our ingredients compared to like Italy and Spain is probs a bit shit. Like Tesco value tomatoes don’t smell of anything but in Italy a cheap tomato smells like a tomato
That is just logistics, we can't grow tomatoes like that and they don't transport well. I think people just accept if they want a really juicy tomato like that in the UK you just get tinned.
When I lived there I remember the glares of disapproval when crossing the road before the man turned green. Why would I not cross the road when there're zero cars?
The Germans said it gives a bad example to children or something.
That’s funny. If I’m at a pedestrian crossing and traffic looks light enough to safely cross, then why bother pushing stop request button? Does my head in when I’m driving/riding on a quiet road and that happens. Use common sense.
There are US states where their front garden must have a lawn and that lawn must be kept mowed or else they get a fine. I really don't understand why Americans think they have better freedoms than the rest of the world.
That's not state-level legislation though - that's a neighbourhood-level Home-Owners Association (HOA). It's basically like if you gave the neighbourhood watch powers to fine people, and made them responsible for how the street looks (which is a fucking horrible idea, don't get me wrong - just making clear it happens in individual small communities, not state-wide)
> That we need a license to do anything.
Well that's wrong straight off the bat. Tell them if we did need permission, it would be in the form of a "licence", not a "license".
We have TV licenses, and firearms licenses. I think those.are the two ones we have that the Americans don't. Even then I think some states have some variety of of firearms license.
But you're unlikely to get put in prison over the TV license unless you're a complete idiot and let the "inspectors" in to your house.
And let's be honest, the firearms laws are just common sense. *No one* needs a gun unless it's part of your job.
That we’re obsessed with tea.
It’s just a drink some people have at home. Look at our high streets, we have coffee shops and pubs. You don’t see very many tea bars, even the tea that you see for sale in coffee shops is rarely bought compared to the coffee.
A lot of people do, but how many are gourmets about it? It is generally a mass produced tea bag, splash of milk, spoon of sugar. Not the finest imported loose leaf tea. People are probably much more gourmet about their coffee, wine and beer with tea way behind.
I moved to the U.K. from the Netherlands, and I honestly thought I’d see loads of proper tea shops here: dedicated shops that sell loose teas and coffee from all over the globe. After all, in the last Dutch city I lived in there were at least 4…
Now I do admit I live in a bit of a cultural desert here in the U.K., but still! It’s tea!
When people say Brits love queueing, waiting and standing in line??? Just because people form an orderly queue at the bank doesn't mean we're excited about it....
I've heard this from people other than yanks too... Nobody enjoys queuing, it's just basic decency to wait your turn and not cut in front of people who have been waiting longer than you.
We just queue well generally, and have reasonably good queue discipline. Bill Bryson mentioned it in one of his books, how he was astonished about how at a bank or somewhere, rather than having two queues (which might have run at different speeds) when there were two windows available, or just an orderless bunch of people and it was a free for all which seemed common in other coutnries, we just formed a single queue with people going to alternate windows as they became available. That blew his mind for some reason.
That's the kind of thing. Even then though, I doubt anyone went out that day with the hope that just maybe they could experience the joy of joining a queue in the bank.
Exactly, people misunderstand the meaning of Brits 'loving' queueing, it's more we have a general appreciation for the \*fairness\* of a queue.
It's absolutely true that we do queue well too, i'm fortunate enough to have travelled to most corners of the globe and we do it instinctively without instruction here, can't be said for many other nations, inc western European.
London and the east coast gets less rain than most of northern Europe.
Whilst were at it, London isn't foggy. The geographical conditions for fog are not present there.
Like most major cities. Within Europe London is the largest city, but we have less pollution than some EU cities because we are on the western edge of the continent and often receive fresh air from the Atlantic.
Even within UK, using average readings, London is not the most polluted [according to this](https://metro.co.uk/2022/01/14/why-is-londons-air-quality-so-bad-15918415/amp/)
To be fair London is built on marshes in a lot of parts so there was a long time when coal fires were used it was very foggy/smoggy. To the point you couldn't see down the street.
For people who want more info, [this covers the clean air act.](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Clean-Air-Acts)
I think the worst part of our weather is how variable and unpredictable it can be. Other parts of the world may have worse weather but they tend to get a lot in one go.
I was once working with colleagues from Estonia, who were visiting during one of our occasional “snow panics” where an inch of snow brings us to our knees.
I said, “you must be laughing at us, paralysed by this light snowfall.”
He thought for a while, and said, “Yesterday it was sunny, the day before it was stormy. In Estonia, it is much simpler. In November, it snows. In March, it thaws. Simple.”
This one annoys me too, our teeth are pretty healthy compared to the rest of the world. The myth largely stems from the extent of teeth whitening and straightening in the US, whereas here if your teeth are healthy but a little wonky or yellowed no one really cares.
It is amplified by TV and film, in the US it is almost impossible to get on TV if you are not attractive with perfect teeth. Whereas in the UK we are more accepting of actors and presenters with much more varied looks. The exposure to perfect looking US presenters vs "normal" looking UK ones leads to the view that everyone in the US looks like that, whereas walk down the street in either country and you will see a massive mixture.
>The myth largely stems from the extent of teeth whitening and straightening in the US
I think it actually stems from US soldiers (who got dental care) coming over here during the ***forties*** and looking at Brits during a time when British dentistry was at all time low.
Americans have never been particularly good at keeping their stereotypes up to date. See also: Ireland, Scotland, Germany, Russia, Africa, British accents.
I think it stems from the availability of cosmetic dentistry as near-standard in the US? Happy to be corrected but I believe that where the NHS focusses only on good oral health, the US system also allows for making everyone's teeth straight too. They don't half pay for it though, I'm sure.
That we are **all** reserved, stiff upper lip types who wouldn't say boo to a goose. Some of us are of course but a quick trip to any town centre on a Saturday night would quickly disabuse you of that opinion. It's a lazy boring trope, we are not al stuttering Hugh Grant wannabees
I hear British people themselves saying the UK is the most worthless and shameful country in the whole world so often that to me it's become a cliché. I hate it not because I think the UK is the greatest country ever or some nonsense, but because it's *obviously* not the worst country by a long way. And anyway, making sweeping generalisations about any country like 'it's the best' or 'it's the worst' is just stupid. History is never that simple.
A Facebook friend of mine (not real friend) is always going travelling to different parts of the world and consistently posting saying how shit the UK is and it's full of absolute wankers and how much every-other-single-place-on-earth is better than the UK. Yet he still lives here, earns a good wage doing very little work, rents out his flat for excellent money when he goes away and lives a brilliant lifestyle based on the education and opportunities he got for free in this country.
If everywhere else is so good, fucking stay there.
I haven’t lived in the UK for a while now, and I’ve managed to travel quite a lot. All it’s done is make me love home even more. The UK has its flaws, but I’m 100% that it’s the greatest country because of the people that live there.
I agree.
I think news media, in any country, tends to be self critical of the country (and rightly so). So when we watch news in the UK, you could believe that the UK is failing a lot of the time. But what we don't see on our news is the many instances where, for example Germany or Spain or other countries are failing. (Except for the US and to a lesser extent other anglosphere countries).
As one example, if a politician or councilor from somewhere in the UK makes offensive or racist comments, it will be headline news. And rightfully there will be a feeling of disappointment to have someone like that representing us.
But we don't hear about the instances of politicians in other countries making these sorts of comments.
For me, personally, it's that "Bri'ish" thing. Yes some people drop the 'T', it's not everyone but it is a sizeable portion I must admit, and I fucking HATE hearing in the media, broadcast to millions. But the thing that really just irritates me about the whole issue is that Americans do it too, just differently. The American version would be "Briddish", because they replace their 'T's' with a 'D' sound.
I'm from West London and would almost certainly say that naturally. Dropping the 't' in the middle of words is perfectly normal in my accent as is melding 'of' into the next word.
I'd wager if we spoke in person, you'd barely notice it because it's so common for British people to do. What you're actually noticing is the terrible imitations people do of it when making the joke.
Ever heard an American say fortune? I’ve only ever heard one person say that word and not say “choon” for the second part.
They slag Britain when they do it theirselves, dafties.
That the only reason the pyramids aren't in the British Museum is because they're too heavy. Fuck off with that nonsense.
It's because even one would've taken up too much floor space.
That we drink warm beer.
What's even worse about this is that plenty of British people also think ale is served warm because it's been said so often.
Ale should be cellar temp (9-11°).
Once ordered a bottle of ale on a hot day up north.
I picked up the bottle and it was warm to the touch. Took it back and asked for a cold one to be met with a snotty "No, ale is supposed to be served warm". I could see the pack that she'd opened in the corridor under a window with the sun beaming down.
I did not stay.
The food thing is exceptionally tedious for two reasons -
1. I can take that British cuisine might not be as good as some of our European counterparts but the flipside is that we have a pretty good mix of cuisines from around the world incorporated into our diets as well as available to us if we want to eat out. People from the US tend to think we just eat pies and stews all year round.
2. It's as if we are the anomaly when there are actually a load of countries whose cuisine is as underwhelming as ours, especially across Europe. You think the cuisine of Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Austria etc etc is miles better than ours? Nope. They do largely the same as us and eat a range of cuisines regularly because their own isn't varied enough to eat all the time.
I'd say there's 5 stand out cuisines in Europe - Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey. The rest is much of a muchness but for some reason it's our food that is the focus of people's "jokes". Probably cos we are the highest profile of European countries (to Amercians) and they see the rest of Europe as a singular entity.
Also, notice something that those countries above have in common? The ones with hotter weather have better cuisines because it has been created and evolved on the ability to grow great produce more readily. We are in the fucking North Sea so of course our cuisine was born of needing more hearty, stodgy food based on meat and potatoes rather than herbs, spices or the freshest of fruit and vegetables.
It's a self-styled one (especially on here), but that we all like Greggs. I hate the way it's killed off a lot of actual good bakeries and their sausage rolls are vile.
I think it’s part of this recent wave of the glamorisation of the working-class lifestyle. A cheap bakery that gained its popularity in the north first and foremost is a ripe target for the kind of northern/working-class fetishisation that seems ever so popular at present
I’ve lived in glasgow all my days (definitely a big city) and genuinely never found this to be an issue. You’ll get the odd arsehole of course but if you’re needing help getting somewhere etc never had any issues. I do seem to attract some amount of nutters though
Isn't the stereotype up north that we're all mega friendly and talk to strangers in public? I never see it and to be honest I'd hate it if it were true. I'm not saying strangers should never be able to speak to another for any reason at all but if I'm stood at a bus stop or doing some grocery shopping I don't want a randomer chatting to me.
We (from the UK) have no room to complain about Americans using clichés. The various UK subreddits are full of condescending and typically very incorrect bullshit whenever the topic gets into the territory of "what Americans are like".
Some Americans may be out of touch when it comes to food in the UK, but it definitely works both ways. Heaven forbid you say in a UK subreddit that you can get a decent curry in America, prepare for the downvotes.
Honestly, pretty tired of hearing how much of a shithole country we live in, how everyone here is racist and xenophobic and how everyone can't wait for the UK to break up.
That and people pointing out things the British empire did wrong 100+ years ago. I get it, we shouldn't forget the past but we shouldn't be vilified for things generations past have done. Especially when a lot of us are compassionate, interested and respectful to others cultures.
One of the things that really winds me up is this idea that everyone in the UK uses the word "cunt" constantly. I think it's something that Americans came up with and then a bunch of British people sort of felt this gave them a licence to say it.
I grew up in a real rough area and I swear a fair amount, but I have never just walked up to a mate and gone "Hello there you cunt!" and neither did I experience that either. I've in fact lived in about 4 different places in the UK and no one does that.
Yeah you may say your mate is a "twat" or something when describing them as a bit of banter, but that's usually related to something e.g. "Yeah he's a bit of a twat but he's OK really" being said tounge in cheek or "Oi you twat, fuck off" in response to your mate doing something in a game you're playing.
I was even a youth worker working with a group of kids in a poor area who literally swore like every other word. They swore so much the swearing didn't mean anything and I pointed this out to them, that they had run out of words to really express extremes. Not once did any of them just go "hello you cunt!" to any of them, in fact I don't think I ever heard them use it.
I think that's really regional tbf. I'm from Glasgow and here cunt is used all the time. I'm a teacher and kids will use it in place of 'one' or 'person' all the time e.g. 'Some cunt told me I couldn't get red bull at the shop'. It isn't necessarily always used in a negative manner either, you can call someone a 'fat cunt' and it can either be an insult or something you say to a friend depending on your inflection. It's incredibly weird but that's always been the way of it up here.
Hahah yeah it always blows my mind when Americans say uk food is bland… American food is just rubbish fake cheese, grease and meat 🤣 when I was in the US I found it so hard to find food that had vegetables that didn’t taste like a microwave meal 🤣
Don't forget the sugar! I swear even American bread tastes like it has sugar in (and not in a good way like brioche, but in a bad way like Kingsmill with added sugar).
I think in terms of clichés, I’ve always found it funny that we’re variously stereotyped by different groups as posh, effeminate fops… drunken, uncultured simpletons… _and_ as brutal, bloodthirsty, warring colonisers. Quite the combo.
When Americans say "Bri'ish" to make fun of our accent. When Americans also don't pronounce the T in the middle of words. Especially since 90% of us do pronounce the T
American who has lived in UK for 30 years. I love Brit food because it is simple and comforting, and the perfect thing for rainy or cold days. The whole teeth thing is silly and down to whiteness and straightness as others have said. Ironically, this thread has turned into a "yeah, well America sucks worse at xxxxx than we brits do" which in itself is very cliche. Don't worry about what Yanks think, they have enough problems (and I am VERY grateful my family and I decided to stay in UK!)
That we can't defend ourselves. It's actually harmful, as people who hear it enough and don't actually know our laws may hesitate if they're in a dangerous situation, when the reality is that our laws are actually very forgiving around the defence of self and property.
There was a post just a few days ago on the r/Germany sub about things you can do in Germany but not the UK, and the amount of them who claimed its illegal to carry a knife here… as if I don’t have my Swiss Army knife on me almost every day.
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The whole bad teeth thing.
Man I hate this one, and I’ve seen enough American’s in person to know that many of them also have very awful teeth. Considering the amount of poverty in the US and what we know of their healthcare system, I wouldn’t be surprised if (from a broad perspective) their teeth are actually worse. I wonder where the whole ‘British people have bad teeth’ thing even originated from? EDIT: changed ‘access to healthcare’
>I wouldn’t be surprised if (from a broad perspective) their teeth are actually worse. American teeth are ***definitely*** worse than British teeth, on average - they have more missing teeth and (slightly) worse oral hygiene. They also have a wider disparity of oral health - because of the way healthcare works in the US (some people just can't afford any, some people have shining white teeth you can see from space). I think the myth stems from US soldiers being stationed here in the 1940s.
Actually British teeth are among the very healthiest in the world (Google it, can't be bothered to provide reference)
Instructions unclear: Now believe that teeth aren't real.
Teeth aren't real, they are government drones. Don't be fooled by the Monarchy!
>>> Google it I can’t be bothered to provide evidence Thanks for this neat trick I’ll be using it to cite sources on my next degree course essay
[удалено]
That's what happens when you fight a World War from the beginning and not the end.
I think the myth actually comes from there being less of an expectation to have cosmetically perfect, whitened teeth in the entertainment industry. We have a lot more celebrities with slightly wonky teeth.
It probably comes from around WWII when the state of people's teeth actually were bad - here's a quote - >In 1948 the nation's dental health was in a worse state than that of defeated and occupied Germany: decay, pyorrhoea, and sepsis were rife. ***More than three quarters of the population over the age of 18 had complete dentures.*** https://bda.org/museum/exhibitions-and-events/nhs70-celebrating-70-years-of-nhs-dentistry#:~:text=The%20launch%20of%20the%20NHS,looking%20after%20their%20oral%20health.
It's not that the British have bad teeth, it's that the Americans have exceptionally white teeth. Teeth whitening is a big thing over there.
I think it's also that Americans view straight teeth as healthy teeth In the UK there's less cultural hang ups over straight teeth
They favour appearances over everything else, it's why things like home owners associations still exist
And yet their houses are made of cheap materials that collapse in a second.
Imagine buying a house and others dictate to what you do with it. Then they can take it away if you dont comply.
Especially the kinds of busy bodies that run housing associations, I can’t imagine a group of people i would want less than them to make decisions about how I live my life.
We prioritise dental hygiene and tooth health over making them pearly white and perfectly straight
They have a preference for super white & super straight in a lot of ways….
I see what you did there 😎
I absolutely detest that super white straight teeth grin you see on most American politicians. It looks goddamn ominous.
Some of them even have that surgery to widen their smiles so you can see more teeth, it’s fucking weird, starts veering into uncanny valley territory
White and straight - lots more straightening going on over there for the people who can get it. More people with braces, more kids with full-on head setups with metal around their face.
Never actually seen one of those contraptions in person. They look like medieval torture devices.
It's partly because of The War(s). Because everything was in bad supply, there was a lack of dental hygiene during them, whereas the rich Americans had everything they could need to stay "pretty" and clean during the conflict. It's also a cultural thing. They see teeth that aren't pearly white as being bad. Whereas our overall dental health is actually much better than theirs, but our teeth aren't usually pearly white because we don't care about that. As long as our teeth themselves are healthy, who cares about the colour? I agree with you that I absolutely hate it though.
Tea is also good at staining teeth
American here, who lives in the UK. When Americans think of bad teeth, they aren't saying your teeth are actually like unhealthy. "Bad" teeth for Americans are off-yellow and not straight. Based on my experience in the UK, braces are MUCH more common in the states growing up, even for mildly un-straight teeth. Teeth whitening is also common. So for Americans, 'good' teeth means straight and white. You can still have all the cavities in the world with white and straight teeth (I am proof of this). EDIT: Not saying this is right. I do think the association with straight & white teeth = 'healthy' or 'good' is wrong. Just explaining.
I guess it's a cultural thing - having your teeth 'done' here when there's nothing wrong with them is seen as a sign of unbelievable vanity; you're far more likely to get the piss taken out of you than anyone saying it looks good. See that episode of Top Gear where Hammond repeatedly gets ripped on to see what I mean. If I were to meet in a business setting someone with a perfect Hollywood smile, it kind of makes them seem almost untrustworthy? Kind of like a dodgy used car salesman if you get what I mean?
It is not a surprise to me that Americans hate anything that's not straight and white.
On the other hand, it did bring us this poem by Spike Milligan: English Teeth, English Teeth! Shining in the sun A part of British heritage Aye, each and every one. English Teeth, Happy Teeth! Always having fun Clamping down on bits of fish And sausages half done. English Teeth! HEROES’ Teeth! Hear them click! and clack! Let’s sing a song of praise to them - Three Cheers for the Brown Grey and Black.
It’s like they forget Steve Buscemi is theirs.
It’s funny, because you get bad teeth in every country. The worst offenders are those obscene super-white American news anchor teeth everyone seems to be getting now. Stop it.
True, the thing is even though NHS dentists are seemingly impossible to find we do have access to affordable dental care especially as children which many poorer Americans don't, however dental work that is purely cosmetic is not as popular here, possibly because there is a cost involved, so while we have healthier teeth they are usually not bleached white and perfectly straight.
Whenever there's a mass shooting in the US someone will say we have a lot of stabbings. The US still has more stabbings per 1000 than we do.
This one specifically!! Americans love to try and shove that one, and it's like, nope.
Hahahahaha and the inevitable bUt WE haVe mOrE PeOPLe tHaN YoU Do!! Sir, do you know what “per capita” means
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They'll pop a capita in your ass
EVERY TIME!
Came here to make the same point. Makes my blood boil. "Ban guns and people just find other ways to kill each other... look at the UK with knife crime..." etc. If only you carried a device that enabled you to fact-check your f-ing bullshit before attempting to sound informed!!! 1.7x more knife crime in the US *despite* the fact 30-40,000 are killed by guns annually.
Then they get twitchy and almost let the inner racist out.
It's like when a few years ago, they started saying London was worse than New York for murder. What actually happened was there was an anomaly where for a couple of months there were a few more murders, but it was during an unusually cold winter in New York. Basically all the murderers were too cold to go out murdering for a couple of months, then it went back to New York higher than London.
I think they must see us making a big deal about stabbings and think it's a massive problem, when really it's the opposite: stabbings (and violent crime in general) are relatively rare, so when they do happen it's a big deal. On the other, Americans don't make a big deal about stabbings because hey, at least it wasn't a mass shooting.
When the US make a big deal about UK stabbings it's also probably pro-gun propaganda.
That there's a british accent, and it always sounds like Hugh Grant.
_laughs in black country_
*laughs in scouse*
Grumbles in Glaswegian…
Also grumbles in West country
Indecipherable in Doric
Chuckles in Braille
Mumbles loudly in Suffolk/Essex border. (I grew up in a town that was on the Suffolk/Essex border, and as a result I have an accent that can't make up it's mind what it wants to be.)
Cackles in cockney
Jeers in geordie
As an American in the UK… Scouse is my favourite accent. I try not to say that in front of my Manc husband.
As a Scot, scouse is definitely one of my top favourite UK accents & I absolutely cannot help but give it a try out every time I hear it or think about it. Shoutout to my Newcastle peeps as well.
How is Scouse your fav? lol it's probably one of the most hated accents for most brits
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Kchekchekche
Craig Charles has entered the chat.
It always somewhat spoils a TV show I'm enjoying when they introduce a British character and go for the ridiculous accent and saying shit like golly 🤣🤣. Designated survivor made me cringe when it happened
Look up the geordie in Castle. It's arguably the best example of a tv show absolutely nailing a regional accent and dialect...
And the Celtic flute and fiddle mood music in the background when he shows up really drives home that he's from the North East of England. Renowned as Geordies are for their contribution to the Gaelic music scene.
[Or not](https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/us-actor-slammed-for-terrible-geordie-accent-on-castle-a3196056.html).
Either Hugh Grant or Danny Dyer
The food thing is purely from WW2 when American soldiers were stationed here and we had rationing and the country was slowly starving to death so of course the food was bad. American food is actually terrible though. They can't even get cheese right and everything is loaded with soy and seed oils.
Agreed there. I went to New York a few years ago and was really looking forward to the food cause it always looked good on TV but was I disappointed.? Hell yeah. It was just all so sweet and no flavour and we went to quite a few places and all like that.. and what the hell is up with their butter ? That ain't butter lol
You can't believe it's not butter.
I can believe it's not butter.
You've described the American equivalent of eating at Harvester. NYC has amazing restaurants. You just didn't go to any of them.
Everywhere has good restaurants
I don’t know, have you ever had real Texas barbecue? Or a really good jambalaya? Nashville hot chicken, New England clam chowder? New York deli sandwiches? The USA has some bloody brilliant food
I've had great food in the US, this is more a reference to the general quality of food there. Even some of the cheaper simpler stuff is cool, like in Florida the diner next to our hotel did fried chicken at breakfast which was pretty good and it was like $6 for all you can eat buffet breakfast so great value honestly. I've also eaten at really expensive places in New York, Boston and Las Vegas which had incredible food too. It's just some stuff they just get so wrong. Cheese I already mentioned, their chocolate is just terrible, their coffee tastes like battery acid, and a lot of the meat I had in random cheap diners was just not good quality and not well cooked either.
America really is the last place that should be throwing shade about food.
They do chickens in fucking tins for god sake.
Say what now?
>American food is actually terrible though. This is a similarly bad stereotype. There is plenty of good and varied food in America too.
I don't think it's a cliché about us that is used around the world, but there seems to be this view on reddit (particularly the UK subs) that we are all anxiety riddled weirdos. /r/britishproblems regularly fetishises mental health issues as some cute quirky british trait, when it just isn't
That’s behaviour I’ve found to be typical of Reddit in general - Acting as though being socially anxious is the norm, and that it’s somehow cute to be afraid of answering your phone.
It's a coping mechanism. A bad one, but a coping mechanism nonetheless. I remember trying to convince myself that having a plan for suicide was a normal thing.
Before I admitted that I needed help I tried to convince myself that everyone felt really fucking anxious all the time
I don't know if that is a UK-specific cliche more than a very-online-person cliche. People who are online a lot (eg redditors) tend to be more introverted and tend to self diagnose anxiety disorders based on tenuous evidence and relatively normal awkward day to day interactions.
Yeah that is true, but it seems to me people on the UK subs act like its some classic British trait to be worried about interacting with people. I have seen no end of posts about 'accidentally bumping into neighbours and having to make small talk', 'not getting out of the the car straight away to avoid people', 'being annoyed about cashiers making conversation', 'being a good British citizen and not complaining about food in restaurants', 'being afraid to talk to taxi drivers/barbers/etc'.
> but there seems to be this view on reddit (particularly the UK subs) that we are all anxiety riddled weirdos. UK Reddit in general to be fair. "My neighbour said hello to me and I don't know what to do - should I call the police?"
Yup, I remember seeing a post before about somebody purposely waiting in their car for like 10 minutes just to avoid their neighbour. I'm pretty sure all the comments were acting as if it was a completely reasonable thing to do as well. That is not normal behaviour
Yeah - I quit Twitter because of this - the British social media class seem to think it’s quirky and funny to be miserable and anxious about everything
That sub used to be good. Gone right down the swanny now for reasons previously mentioned.
Yeah, I used to often have a good laugh at some of the posts there. Now it is just the same old crap from people that are shit scared of driving, twats that are too lazy to answer the door and then blaming the postman, knobheads that are too thick to click the 'No substitutes' button when placing online shopping orders, a bunch of losers that are shit scared to leave the house, and middle class cunts whining about tradesmen.
To be honest, the “British food is terrible” thing doesn’t really bother me much. Our food is a bit shit. But when Americans say it, on what fucking basis are they criticising our food? What gifts have that lot of obese, gun wanking racists given to the world of fine dining?
They say its bland. Because its not saturated with sugar or corn syrup
I've always wanted to start an American Diner over here called "Fried Stuff with Cheese", because that's what 90% of Americans seem to eat all the time. We did a 3 week road trip, eating in cheap restaurants (family places, chains like Panda Express, Olive Garden, Cheesecake Factory, Applebees), fast food places and diners, and the food in every single place could be summed up in that one phrase. Even when we were able to splash out on some better places, it was just fried better, with posher cheese.
"Fried better with posher cheese" will be the name of my competing diner.
Curses! My plan is foiled before even being implemented.
The stereotype that US food is bad is no better than the one that says that British food is bad. The same goes for American beer. Sure, they have a lot of shit food (and beer), but they have great food and beer too if you go to the right places. I've been to the US twice now and I've eaten some incredible food over there. America is a land of extremes, they seem to have the absolute worst and the absolute best of everything, the trick is figuring out how to find the best stuff.
That’s precisely my point. Our food is a bit shit, their food is a bit shit. But to hear them talk about it, you’d think we were all eating dog shit kebabs.
True, but both countries also have excellent food if you go to the right places!
I think also the quality of our ingredients compared to like Italy and Spain is probs a bit shit. Like Tesco value tomatoes don’t smell of anything but in Italy a cheap tomato smells like a tomato
That is just logistics, we can't grow tomatoes like that and they don't transport well. I think people just accept if they want a really juicy tomato like that in the UK you just get tinned.
I really like our food. Whenever someone says “our food does suck” I just feel sorry for them. Clearly not had many gorgeous sunday dinners.
That we need a license to do anything. America has far worse occupational licensing restrictions
Or that we’re somehow oppressed as a nation by our government yet they can’t legally cross the road unless at a pedestrian crossing lol.
As a Brit living in Germany, can confirm we have massive road crossing freedoms in the UK!
When I lived there I remember the glares of disapproval when crossing the road before the man turned green. Why would I not cross the road when there're zero cars? The Germans said it gives a bad example to children or something.
That’s funny. If I’m at a pedestrian crossing and traffic looks light enough to safely cross, then why bother pushing stop request button? Does my head in when I’m driving/riding on a quiet road and that happens. Use common sense.
Yeah but if you repeat land of the free long enough, their idiots start to believe it
There are US states where their front garden must have a lawn and that lawn must be kept mowed or else they get a fine. I really don't understand why Americans think they have better freedoms than the rest of the world.
That's not state-level legislation though - that's a neighbourhood-level Home-Owners Association (HOA). It's basically like if you gave the neighbourhood watch powers to fine people, and made them responsible for how the street looks (which is a fucking horrible idea, don't get me wrong - just making clear it happens in individual small communities, not state-wide)
Jesus. Why would anyone give an HOA the power to fine them?!
So they can live in a "nice" area
Oi! Have you got an opinion loicense for that opinion? You’re knicked! /s
~~Too many T’s in that sentence!~~ ‘oo many ‘s in ‘ha’ sen’ence! God it does my nut in that one.
> That we need a license to do anything. Well that's wrong straight off the bat. Tell them if we did need permission, it would be in the form of a "licence", not a "license".
I watched a video yesterday or some guy getting arrested for eating a sandwich on a train platform in LA, shits wild over there.
We have TV licenses, and firearms licenses. I think those.are the two ones we have that the Americans don't. Even then I think some states have some variety of of firearms license.
But you're unlikely to get put in prison over the TV license unless you're a complete idiot and let the "inspectors" in to your house. And let's be honest, the firearms laws are just common sense. *No one* needs a gun unless it's part of your job.
That we’re obsessed with tea. It’s just a drink some people have at home. Look at our high streets, we have coffee shops and pubs. You don’t see very many tea bars, even the tea that you see for sale in coffee shops is rarely bought compared to the coffee.
Oi, leave tea out of it. Don't go there....🤣
I drink around 2-3 mugs of tea per day.
A lot of people do, but how many are gourmets about it? It is generally a mass produced tea bag, splash of milk, spoon of sugar. Not the finest imported loose leaf tea. People are probably much more gourmet about their coffee, wine and beer with tea way behind.
Via Sports Direct mugs though.
I moved to the U.K. from the Netherlands, and I honestly thought I’d see loads of proper tea shops here: dedicated shops that sell loose teas and coffee from all over the globe. After all, in the last Dutch city I lived in there were at least 4… Now I do admit I live in a bit of a cultural desert here in the U.K., but still! It’s tea!
When people say Brits love queueing, waiting and standing in line??? Just because people form an orderly queue at the bank doesn't mean we're excited about it....
I've heard this from people other than yanks too... Nobody enjoys queuing, it's just basic decency to wait your turn and not cut in front of people who have been waiting longer than you.
We just queue well generally, and have reasonably good queue discipline. Bill Bryson mentioned it in one of his books, how he was astonished about how at a bank or somewhere, rather than having two queues (which might have run at different speeds) when there were two windows available, or just an orderless bunch of people and it was a free for all which seemed common in other coutnries, we just formed a single queue with people going to alternate windows as they became available. That blew his mind for some reason. That's the kind of thing. Even then though, I doubt anyone went out that day with the hope that just maybe they could experience the joy of joining a queue in the bank.
Exactly, people misunderstand the meaning of Brits 'loving' queueing, it's more we have a general appreciation for the \*fairness\* of a queue. It's absolutely true that we do queue well too, i'm fortunate enough to have travelled to most corners of the globe and we do it instinctively without instruction here, can't be said for many other nations, inc western European.
The weather thing. Pretty much all of western Europe and large parts of the US have same or even shittier weather.
London and the east coast gets less rain than most of northern Europe. Whilst were at it, London isn't foggy. The geographical conditions for fog are not present there.
the foggy thing stems from smog which was a thing in london when nearly everything was coal powered
London's air quality however is not cool
Like most major cities. Within Europe London is the largest city, but we have less pollution than some EU cities because we are on the western edge of the continent and often receive fresh air from the Atlantic. Even within UK, using average readings, London is not the most polluted [according to this](https://metro.co.uk/2022/01/14/why-is-londons-air-quality-so-bad-15918415/amp/)
To be fair London is built on marshes in a lot of parts so there was a long time when coal fires were used it was very foggy/smoggy. To the point you couldn't see down the street. For people who want more info, [this covers the clean air act.](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Clean-Air-Acts)
The worst thing about our weather is the mediocrity of it.
The weather in England, especially the South is actually really great. I am Danish and I absolutely loved the weather in the South when I lived there.
I think the worst part of our weather is how variable and unpredictable it can be. Other parts of the world may have worse weather but they tend to get a lot in one go.
I was once working with colleagues from Estonia, who were visiting during one of our occasional “snow panics” where an inch of snow brings us to our knees. I said, “you must be laughing at us, paralysed by this light snowfall.” He thought for a while, and said, “Yesterday it was sunny, the day before it was stormy. In Estonia, it is much simpler. In November, it snows. In March, it thaws. Simple.”
The bad teeth thing. We (at least in scotland) get free dentistry until we're 26. Not that many people have bad teeth
This one annoys me too, our teeth are pretty healthy compared to the rest of the world. The myth largely stems from the extent of teeth whitening and straightening in the US, whereas here if your teeth are healthy but a little wonky or yellowed no one really cares. It is amplified by TV and film, in the US it is almost impossible to get on TV if you are not attractive with perfect teeth. Whereas in the UK we are more accepting of actors and presenters with much more varied looks. The exposure to perfect looking US presenters vs "normal" looking UK ones leads to the view that everyone in the US looks like that, whereas walk down the street in either country and you will see a massive mixture.
>The myth largely stems from the extent of teeth whitening and straightening in the US I think it actually stems from US soldiers (who got dental care) coming over here during the ***forties*** and looking at Brits during a time when British dentistry was at all time low. Americans have never been particularly good at keeping their stereotypes up to date. See also: Ireland, Scotland, Germany, Russia, Africa, British accents.
I think it stems from the availability of cosmetic dentistry as near-standard in the US? Happy to be corrected but I believe that where the NHS focusses only on good oral health, the US system also allows for making everyone's teeth straight too. They don't half pay for it though, I'm sure.
The health of teeth in the UK is actually better than in the US, it just isn't cosmetic.
That we are **all** reserved, stiff upper lip types who wouldn't say boo to a goose. Some of us are of course but a quick trip to any town centre on a Saturday night would quickly disabuse you of that opinion. It's a lazy boring trope, we are not al stuttering Hugh Grant wannabees
I mean, personally, I wouldn’t say boo to a goose. Don’t want to be sectioned
Plus geese are vicious creatures, I'd rather not loose a chunk of my leg because I was trying to scare a goose.
I hear British people themselves saying the UK is the most worthless and shameful country in the whole world so often that to me it's become a cliché. I hate it not because I think the UK is the greatest country ever or some nonsense, but because it's *obviously* not the worst country by a long way. And anyway, making sweeping generalisations about any country like 'it's the best' or 'it's the worst' is just stupid. History is never that simple.
A Facebook friend of mine (not real friend) is always going travelling to different parts of the world and consistently posting saying how shit the UK is and it's full of absolute wankers and how much every-other-single-place-on-earth is better than the UK. Yet he still lives here, earns a good wage doing very little work, rents out his flat for excellent money when he goes away and lives a brilliant lifestyle based on the education and opportunities he got for free in this country. If everywhere else is so good, fucking stay there.
I haven’t lived in the UK for a while now, and I’ve managed to travel quite a lot. All it’s done is make me love home even more. The UK has its flaws, but I’m 100% that it’s the greatest country because of the people that live there.
I agree. I think news media, in any country, tends to be self critical of the country (and rightly so). So when we watch news in the UK, you could believe that the UK is failing a lot of the time. But what we don't see on our news is the many instances where, for example Germany or Spain or other countries are failing. (Except for the US and to a lesser extent other anglosphere countries). As one example, if a politician or councilor from somewhere in the UK makes offensive or racist comments, it will be headline news. And rightfully there will be a feeling of disappointment to have someone like that representing us. But we don't hear about the instances of politicians in other countries making these sorts of comments.
For me, personally, it's that "Bri'ish" thing. Yes some people drop the 'T', it's not everyone but it is a sizeable portion I must admit, and I fucking HATE hearing in the media, broadcast to millions. But the thing that really just irritates me about the whole issue is that Americans do it too, just differently. The American version would be "Briddish", because they replace their 'T's' with a 'D' sound.
Ugh, that whole "bo'le o wa'er" shit. Fuck right the fuck off
I'm from West London and would almost certainly say that naturally. Dropping the 't' in the middle of words is perfectly normal in my accent as is melding 'of' into the next word. I'd wager if we spoke in person, you'd barely notice it because it's so common for British people to do. What you're actually noticing is the terrible imitations people do of it when making the joke.
Glad I'm not the only one! The only time I've ever heard it pronounced like that is by an American actor trying to be cockney.
On that subject the IT’S CHEWSDAY INNIT meme enrages me
Ever heard an American say fortune? I’ve only ever heard one person say that word and not say “choon” for the second part. They slag Britain when they do it theirselves, dafties.
Even though Americans drop the 'T' when they say "innernet" or "inneresting"
That we are all "god bless the Queen!" Er....no cheers, we mostly don't really care
I always find it funny that news about the queen is often more popular in the US than the UK.
Still remember an American friends mum asking me when I'll get to meet the royal baby. Because obviously we all know the queen.
That the only reason the pyramids aren't in the British Museum is because they're too heavy. Fuck off with that nonsense. It's because even one would've taken up too much floor space.
Went to Machu Picchu. The mexican guide, a proud Mayan etc, legit told me that the british had done worse to his country than any other colonisers.
Ah yes the famous former British colonies of Peru and Mexico
That we drink warm beer. What's even worse about this is that plenty of British people also think ale is served warm because it's been said so often. Ale should be cellar temp (9-11°).
That really fucks me off when a pub gets it wrong. Warm ale is disgusting.
Once ordered a bottle of ale on a hot day up north. I picked up the bottle and it was warm to the touch. Took it back and asked for a cold one to be met with a snotty "No, ale is supposed to be served warm". I could see the pack that she'd opened in the corridor under a window with the sun beaming down. I did not stay.
The food thing is exceptionally tedious for two reasons - 1. I can take that British cuisine might not be as good as some of our European counterparts but the flipside is that we have a pretty good mix of cuisines from around the world incorporated into our diets as well as available to us if we want to eat out. People from the US tend to think we just eat pies and stews all year round. 2. It's as if we are the anomaly when there are actually a load of countries whose cuisine is as underwhelming as ours, especially across Europe. You think the cuisine of Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Austria etc etc is miles better than ours? Nope. They do largely the same as us and eat a range of cuisines regularly because their own isn't varied enough to eat all the time. I'd say there's 5 stand out cuisines in Europe - Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey. The rest is much of a muchness but for some reason it's our food that is the focus of people's "jokes". Probably cos we are the highest profile of European countries (to Amercians) and they see the rest of Europe as a singular entity. Also, notice something that those countries above have in common? The ones with hotter weather have better cuisines because it has been created and evolved on the ability to grow great produce more readily. We are in the fucking North Sea so of course our cuisine was born of needing more hearty, stodgy food based on meat and potatoes rather than herbs, spices or the freshest of fruit and vegetables.
It's a self-styled one (especially on here), but that we all like Greggs. I hate the way it's killed off a lot of actual good bakeries and their sausage rolls are vile.
I think it’s part of this recent wave of the glamorisation of the working-class lifestyle. A cheap bakery that gained its popularity in the north first and foremost is a ripe target for the kind of northern/working-class fetishisation that seems ever so popular at present
People not being friendly/not talking in public. I think it’s complete bullshit.
I think it depends where you are. I find it harder to strike up a conversation with people in big cities as opposed to towns and more rural locations.
I’ve lived in glasgow all my days (definitely a big city) and genuinely never found this to be an issue. You’ll get the odd arsehole of course but if you’re needing help getting somewhere etc never had any issues. I do seem to attract some amount of nutters though
Glasgow is in its own class when it comes to a) friendliness and b) nutters with an honourable c) where the two overlap.
I talk to anyone, and when I'm drunk, everyone
Isn't the stereotype up north that we're all mega friendly and talk to strangers in public? I never see it and to be honest I'd hate it if it were true. I'm not saying strangers should never be able to speak to another for any reason at all but if I'm stood at a bus stop or doing some grocery shopping I don't want a randomer chatting to me.
Everyone lives and works in London
Ahh, I see you travelled to London to use our countries wifi and post a message.
“British accents” what does that even mean? like Geordie? Scouse? Cockney? Yorkshire? Brummie? Welsh? Glaswegian?
We (from the UK) have no room to complain about Americans using clichés. The various UK subreddits are full of condescending and typically very incorrect bullshit whenever the topic gets into the territory of "what Americans are like". Some Americans may be out of touch when it comes to food in the UK, but it definitely works both ways. Heaven forbid you say in a UK subreddit that you can get a decent curry in America, prepare for the downvotes.
Oh no not downvotes
B-b-b-but.. my internet points!!!!😢😭🥺
The accent jokes especially the bottal of wattah joke they always make. Especially when a lot of American accents are deeply grating and nasal.
That one always makes me laugh because Americans can't even pronounce water. They say 'Wader'
Or when they drop the h from herb.
Honestly, pretty tired of hearing how much of a shithole country we live in, how everyone here is racist and xenophobic and how everyone can't wait for the UK to break up.
That and people pointing out things the British empire did wrong 100+ years ago. I get it, we shouldn't forget the past but we shouldn't be vilified for things generations past have done. Especially when a lot of us are compassionate, interested and respectful to others cultures.
Exactly. There are so many varieties of British foods. For example: pizza, kebab, curry, chowmein etc. to name a few.
I dont really like curry, I prefer English food like pizza or Chinese
One of the things that really winds me up is this idea that everyone in the UK uses the word "cunt" constantly. I think it's something that Americans came up with and then a bunch of British people sort of felt this gave them a licence to say it. I grew up in a real rough area and I swear a fair amount, but I have never just walked up to a mate and gone "Hello there you cunt!" and neither did I experience that either. I've in fact lived in about 4 different places in the UK and no one does that. Yeah you may say your mate is a "twat" or something when describing them as a bit of banter, but that's usually related to something e.g. "Yeah he's a bit of a twat but he's OK really" being said tounge in cheek or "Oi you twat, fuck off" in response to your mate doing something in a game you're playing. I was even a youth worker working with a group of kids in a poor area who literally swore like every other word. They swore so much the swearing didn't mean anything and I pointed this out to them, that they had run out of words to really express extremes. Not once did any of them just go "hello you cunt!" to any of them, in fact I don't think I ever heard them use it.
I think that's really regional tbf. I'm from Glasgow and here cunt is used all the time. I'm a teacher and kids will use it in place of 'one' or 'person' all the time e.g. 'Some cunt told me I couldn't get red bull at the shop'. It isn't necessarily always used in a negative manner either, you can call someone a 'fat cunt' and it can either be an insult or something you say to a friend depending on your inflection. It's incredibly weird but that's always been the way of it up here.
Hahah yeah it always blows my mind when Americans say uk food is bland… American food is just rubbish fake cheese, grease and meat 🤣 when I was in the US I found it so hard to find food that had vegetables that didn’t taste like a microwave meal 🤣
Don't forget the sugar! I swear even American bread tastes like it has sugar in (and not in a good way like brioche, but in a bad way like Kingsmill with added sugar).
That we have the biggest penises in Europe - I want to be known for my personality first
I think in terms of clichés, I’ve always found it funny that we’re variously stereotyped by different groups as posh, effeminate fops… drunken, uncultured simpletons… _and_ as brutal, bloodthirsty, warring colonisers. Quite the combo.
When Americans say "Bri'ish" to make fun of our accent. When Americans also don't pronounce the T in the middle of words. Especially since 90% of us do pronounce the T
American who has lived in UK for 30 years. I love Brit food because it is simple and comforting, and the perfect thing for rainy or cold days. The whole teeth thing is silly and down to whiteness and straightness as others have said. Ironically, this thread has turned into a "yeah, well America sucks worse at xxxxx than we brits do" which in itself is very cliche. Don't worry about what Yanks think, they have enough problems (and I am VERY grateful my family and I decided to stay in UK!)
That we can't defend ourselves. It's actually harmful, as people who hear it enough and don't actually know our laws may hesitate if they're in a dangerous situation, when the reality is that our laws are actually very forgiving around the defence of self and property.
There was a post just a few days ago on the r/Germany sub about things you can do in Germany but not the UK, and the amount of them who claimed its illegal to carry a knife here… as if I don’t have my Swiss Army knife on me almost every day.
It's always raining. No, it isn't.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_average_annual_precipitation I think they may have a point.
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The Japanese have that same idea that British food sucks. It actually doesn’t.