As blended cultures in the United States, we tend to butcher the English language in casual conversation and don't think twice about it.
We continue on speaking our "American-English" until an overly-observant foreigner points out our unique manner of speaking.
Sadly, they are so right.
How dare judgy non-Americans break our stride by making us self-conscious!
But we won't go down like that. Like, we're Americans and we totally persist, m'kay?
A Buzzfeed article highlighted old and new observations from the grammar police who pointed out our peculiar use of colloquialisms heard from sea to shining sea.
In response, some of the commenters agreed about proper English usage while others passionately defended our unique expressions.
Here are some examples of what people around the world are telling us Americans "like to say" and the hilarious responses that followed.
How many of these are you guilty of?
We love to emphasize things by verbally saying the punctuation mark.
Why do Americans love to say 'period' at the end of arguements as if it's like a mic drop or something— ya gal al (@ya gal al) 1561913770.0
@_QueenAlex Same reason anyone does anything. Because we can— LordHeadass (@LordHeadass) 1561938362.0
This statement applies towards expressing things are going swimmingly.
americans love to say “you’re good”— gabbylaur2n #2 (@gabbylaur2n #2) 1551342314.0
@gabbyl4uren actually, it means, “You haven’t completely lost my respect with your big mouth. Shut up now before you do.”— Kimberly Arnold (@Kimberly Arnold) 1562968246.0
Those with selective hearing are guilty of saying this when something bears repeating.
Americans love to say "wait, what?" and make start your story again instead of apologising for not listening or simply keeping quiet— THE BRAH DAWG (@THE BRAH DAWG) 1560859368.0
@brah_dawg It’s an expression of disbelief, not an expression of “I wasn’t listening”— Isaac Price (@Isaac Price) 1562964559.0
Who's buying?
Americans love saying “It’s a free country!”— Hey Buzzfeed, I am American (@Hey Buzzfeed, I am American) 1559626440.0
@BluntBuckeye Because we don’t have a king or a queen. Unless in drag.— MacMarine4 (@MacMarine4) 1562958239.0
Ex-squeeze me?
I bacon powder?
americans love to say ‘excuse me’ when someone’s in the way and it’s SO passive aggressive 😂😂— Jordan Beasley (@Jordan Beasley) 1539097483.0
to clarify; you’re supposed to engage in the very British (and totally not passive aggressive 😉) act of waiting, tu… https://t.co/8hJb0UYyan— Jordan Beasley (@Jordan Beasley) 1562967155.0
@JordyBeasley I’m American and this is what I do when people are in the way! https://t.co/3OEYidnVoo— The Equestrian (@The Equestrian) 1562958567.0
Irish they were more clear about this.
Why do Americans love saying that they're Irish when 1) the only link they have to Ireland is that their great-grea… https://t.co/eaaH70qm4z— Connor (@Connor) 1552818520.0
There's quite a few angry kids in my mentions now so just to clarify: I'm not interested in your ancestry, and it's… https://t.co/dMcyx9WhHb— Connor (@Connor) 1562965408.0
@arpeggpalegg LOL at all those people. “Actually someone in my family’s last name is O’Brien and I like beer and th… https://t.co/EsOQpsR1ky— not jim (@not jim) 1562985220.0
Level of annoyance varies by tonal pitch.
Americans love saying “you guuuyss”— soniya 🍪 (@soniya 🍪) 1551033266.0
@sXOniya And actually if you’re from philly we just say you’s. That’s a thing. “What did you’s do last night?”— Ryan (@Ryan) 1562967879.0
What were they expecting?
americans love to say “we’re pregnant” when only one of them is pregnant— Hjönk (@Hjönk) 1539945935.0
@heartseekerjhin Becoming pregnant is a team effort, that requires both a man and a woman... the man impregnated th… https://t.co/flF0ZxSZZk— Sheet of Paper! (@Sheet of Paper!) 1562967609.0
In fast food joints, some of us start speaking before making a decision but fill the silence after the horse has left the gate.
Americans love to say "I'm gonna do theeeeeeee" instead of just ordering food like a regular person.— trash loser 👘 (@trash loser 👘) 1537455198.0
@trash_loser I’m American and that drives me crazy. It’s like nails on a chalkboard when I hear someone say that.— Larry Kocen (@Larry Kocen) 1562971346.0
This here is a dig.
Yup.
For some reason Americans love to say “yuuup” as a response. Thank you! “Yup” Take care! “Yup” Sorry!! “Yup.” Ya’ll… https://t.co/8o6Kj3IXtT— Neil (@Neil) 1537374816.0
@neilmuir22 We know what it means; it is regional/colloquial. Perhaps YOU need to broaden YOUR language comprehension skills.— Laurie Payne (@Laurie Payne) 1562960280.0
Guilty.
Americans love to say "super", "super this, super that, super, super, super." -_-— Jacques Kitenge (@Jacques Kitenge) 1407941698.0
@jacques_k23 SuperMan. SuperCuts. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! 😂— Doug Pearce (@Doug Pearce) 1562965241.0
@jacques_k23 That’s only on the west coast like California if you’re talking about people who use it like- “Omg I g… https://t.co/l7zlDRibwn— beth dublin (@beth dublin) 1563016844.0
This predates the use of emojis.
Americans love to say 'lmao'— 𝕂𝕦𝕕𝕫𝕒𝕚 (@𝕂𝕦𝕕𝕫𝕒𝕚) 1391795580.0
@kaycee_xchigs Nope. We type that. Only.— AmyBranson (@AmyBranson) 1562967191.0
We totes like to abbreviate things.
americans love to say veggies instead of vegetables and now you must also live with this cursed knowledge— gerard (@gerard) 1554371706.0
@legerrid And most English speakers, no matter which side of the Atlantic, have forgotten that vegetable is a 4-syl… https://t.co/M9iAGqLEKp— Theresa (@Theresa) 1562965353.0
It's like saying, "are you listening?"
Americans love to say ‘here’s the thing’— Jasmine (@Jasmine) 1546810534.0
@jas_brazier Because I’m about to tell you the crux of the matter— The Equestrian (@The Equestrian) 1562958413.0
@jas_brazier We’re giving you a heads-up in case you’re only half-listening to us as we are to you.— Just Kidding Jeez (@Just Kidding Jeez) 1562956304.0
Okay, like, some things are a regional thing.
Americans love to say “like”— Foolish Prophet (@Foolish Prophet) 1541550096.0
@megcarmodyy Horrible habit for sure.— Jeanette Shinsky (@Jeanette Shinsky) 1562969003.0
Get off my lawn.
Americans love to say ”that’s my property”— mik (@mik) 1532103259.0
@mmikkymik Because we like to own things— Josh Brunke (@Josh Brunke) 1562961647.0
Adjectives are hard.
Americans love to say that things are "addicting"— jack (@jack) 1525265009.0
@sadness_tweets Things are not addicting, they are addict’ive’— Melanie Richer (@Melanie Richer) 1562978239.0
You guuuys, here's the thing. It's a free country and we will continue speaking the way we do regardless of what y'all say. Yup. Period.
Anyway, you're good. LMAO.
If you need a definitive list of American-English sayings and slang, McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions: The Most Up-to-Date Reference for the Nonstandard Usage, Popular Jargon, and Vulgarisms of Contempos is available here.
Curious to hear from strangers online, Redditor Liam_Tang asked:
"People who've divorced, aside from adultery, what were the irreconcilable differences that ended the marriage?"
You think you know a person when you walk down the aisle.
These Redditors were in for a rude awakening.
Pet Neglect
"My wife divorced her ex for many reasons, but the final straw was when she went out of town for a few days, and when she got back he had not fed or given water to the dog. The dog lived a long and happy life after that."
– StrangeCrimes
Obsessed With A Crush
"Not me, but I had an old coworker that divorced his wife for spending their entire savings on candy crush and games of the same type."
– Hexis40
Compatibility Musts
"ITT: Intimacy (sex/romance), beliefs (religion/spirituality/politics), kids, and I haven’t seen it yet but it’s coming: finances."
"The big four. You REALLY need to discuss these things in detail BEFORE getting married."
– rabbiskittles
Physical violence is a legit reason for people to peace out of a relationship.
The Flattening
"She threatened to hit me with a hammer."
– michaelrohansmith
Hitting The Bottle
"She became an abusive alcoholic. It was sad but I had to get out."
– diegojones4
Emotional pain is too damaging to recover from.
Truth Hurts
"She told me as we stood in front of the judge ending our 7 year marriage, 'I never loved you, I just wanted kids.'"
– Pinch_Dogs
Can't Fix Angry
"She was beautiful/smart but an angry angry person. I thought I could be sweet to her and 'fix' that. Heh. She kicked the crap out of me emotionally. Wife II has been a walk in the roses for 32 years now :)"
– lowlandr
A change of heart is worthless if comes too late.
"We Could've Had A Nice Marriage
"He could not understand that my wants and needs were as important as his wants and needs. We tried to make it work for 7 years. During that time, for things that were really important to me, I tried explaining logically, asking nicely, begging, crying, yelling, passive aggressiveness... cycled back through all of these options multiple times."
"(If I knew something was important to him, I would do that. For example, he was really into sports, so I went to all his events, even though that is not at all my thing.) When I finally threw up my hands and told him it was time to get a divorce, he suddenly panicked and said 'What can I do? Do you want me to do half the chores? I'll do it! Do you want me to get a job? I'll do it! Do you want me to buy you presents for your birthday? I'll do it!'"
"So, in other words, he could have been doing that all along, but just couldn't be bothered. That made me so angry. We could have had a nice marriage that we both enjoyed, but no, by the time he saw the light, that ship had sailed."
"We are both happily remarried now (to different people) and I joke that his new wife owes me a thank you note. It was his experience with me that taught him to listen to her and take her needs seriously."
– Bluebird-True
"What Can I Do?"
"My ex was exactly like this. I didn't marry him but when I told him let's break up, he went all like, what can I do? Let's get engaged, let's look at houses, etc. Basically all the pre-marriage topics that we should be discussing about after being together for 7 years."
"I got so angry and straight up told him it's too late... I don't need you anymore."
– gudetarako
As much as a couple wants to stay together, unforeseen circumstances can eventually tear people apart.
Very few people can maintain healthy long-distance relationships.
When a new job opportunity takes a significant other away, would you begrudge them for wanting a better position to earn more money? Or is it better for them to reluctantly turn down the opportunity so they could stay with you? Do either scenarios breed resentment?
These were questions I've often asked myself with past relationships, and my answers varied depending on the person I was with.
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