K, so I was reading a post on SG.com by Dr. Frank and I thought I would share this little bit of worthless yet interesting information. Here's the post in question:
Quote:
The Rolling Stones are to play a free show at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, and they expect two million people to show up.
According to the city's "health secretary," it will be "the biggest live show that has ever occurred in the world." But did you know that Rod Stewart drew 3.5 million people at the same beach in 1994? I didn't. I guess Rod's the man to beat here. Somebody notify the Guinness records people.
As an aside, here's another one of those little linguistic tics that fascinate pedantic rock and rollers like me (there are a few of us, I think.) The BBC article linked above refers to the Rolling Stones show as a "gig." I've noticed this before. In the UK, "gig" has a slightly different meaning, from how I use it anyway. In my linguistic world, a "gig" is a job, meaning a show you're playing at. If I'm playing a show, I might call it a "gig" (though I'd maybe feel a little corny about saying it.) But if I paid $200 to see Bruce Springsteen, I would call it a "show," from my perspective. It's his "gig." His profit. My loss. But in the UK, any old show is a "gig." Two peoples separated by a common language and all that. (The word "quite" is another strange one - it means "quite" in American English, but in British English it can also mean "not quite." That can cause confusion - never tell a British girl she is "quite beautiful." She'll hit you with rock. Or at least, this one British girl I know will...)
I bolded the part that I'm refering to here. These kinds of little things fascinate me for some reason. Milly knows this because I always mention the way she uses the term "Pretty much" and how it differs from how people in the South use it.
In American English, the word "quite" means "quite," whereas in British English the meaning is more like "not quite," or "not really," or "sort of, but not very," "or hardly at all, really." The sentence "you're quite beautiful" [in British English] actually means "no, you're not quite what I'd go so far as to call 'beautiful,' though nice try and all that." This, as you might imagine, can lead to some dicey misunderstandings between a man and a woman if the (American) man hasn't learned the secret.
I'm hoping that Ket will see this and maybe comment on it a little. The British readers of SG were rather confused with the use of "Quite" in America.
Here's the post on SG.com so you can see some of the comments from the British readers. (Possibly NSFW if you poke around too far. :P)
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