Bob

It’s sort of a relief that there’s a term for that and that it occurs in more places than just the Netherlands, because I thought I was going insane.

“I’d rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy”?

I used to hang about with this Italian couple, and I remember smoking outside a pub with them years ago when I sort of offhandedly said “it’s like the difference between shit and sheet”, and one said “what’s the difference?” so of course I spent a good ten minutes trying to demonstrate the difference by saying “shit” and “sheet” over and over with them trying to copy me. The bouncer loved it.

That’s true, but I come across a lot of German speakers and I can attest that they seem to find it difficult when speaking English. Or they mix it up a lot anyway. I do it myself fairly often in Dutch with V and F.

I’ve actually mentioned to one of the higher-ups that I want to reach 40 with my back intact!

Yes, same here. I suppose it’s to stop any plausible deniability.

Where I currently work, there’s a culture of insisting you don’t need a break. Of course, I see people’s faces at the end of the day and think, “you need a break”. I’m going insane.

Every dialect has a word for it. There’s no gap.

I’ve got a black joker card in my wallet. I was walking to the tram stop with someone once, when I saw this playing card face-down on the floor, so I said “bet you I can guess this card,” I knelt down, and I said “I think it’s a joker.” I was about to turn it over when my friend said “hold on, black or red?” I said black and turned it over, and now it lives in my wallet.

https://jockstrapmusic.bandcamp.com/album/wicked-city

https://youtu.be/MUep-4v_M9k?t=270

You can in fact set any URL you want to autofill. The setting is under search > automatically fill in URLs > manage websites.

Perhaps a lesson in heeding your elders’ word then.

I’ve recently learnt how to pronounce Irish slender consonants after basically years of wondering how to do it.

I mean, you could look it up yourself if you doubt it so.

You’ll be thrilled to learn, then, that there’s only one adjective in that insult.

But the famous thing about learning to ride a bike is that you don’t forget, even after decades. I’ve just looked it up to double-check and all I got was articles about why you never forget. It’s like saying you’ll forget how to walk up stairs or something.

You don’t know the expression, “it’s like riding a bike”?

There’s a fair number of people who insist that “geek” and “nerd” mean two different, specific things. I think this is the same phenomenon, that people seek nuance where there isn’t because it makes the language seem more interesting or something.

It’s just the transition I don’t like!