[redwitch]

I don't know if it's a Western thing or just me, but when I don't understand, I say, "Excuse me?" I know that when we lived in Germany, it was, "Entschuldigung, bitte." (Excuse me, please.) This was also used when crossing in front of someone, etc.

To me, pop is what you call your old man. You drink soda, preferably out of a can. A milkshake is a shake. A malted is what we think midwesterners call a shake. Californians don't seem to know a malted is thicker and different from a shake.

When I was in England, I used to wonder at some of their usage. You didn't go to THE hospital. You simply went to hospital. You didn't drive in a direction, that is, you didn't "go north," you went "the north." This was even on the highway signs. I actually have a picture of it somewhere.