Quite a word

I think it’s fair to say that ‘quite’ is quite a problematic word. At least it is if you’re one half of an Anglo-American couple.

My husband recently dropped the Q-bomb while we were at a friend’s house for dinner – in an attempt to compliment her on the meal. He said, “That was quite good”. Luckily she knew he meant well and we were able to laugh it off. But when I went to explain to him afterwards why ‘quite’ doesn’t work that way, I struggled.

I didn’t have to look far for a good answer. The Macmillan dictionary gives this explanation:

"In British English quite usually means 'fairly': The film was quite enjoyable, although some of the acting was weak. When American speakers say quite, they usually mean 'very': We've examined the figures quite thoroughly. Speakers of British English sometimes use quite to mean 'very', but only before words with an extreme meaning: The whole experience was quite amazing."

Anyway, all this got me thinking about all those other little misunderstandings we have. Sometimes it seems we’re speaking the same language, but we’re not. In British English, phrases like 'Yeah right' and 'Thanks a bunch' are really only ever used sarcastically and can cause offence – but in the US they’re genuine signs of agreement or gratitude.

And then there are those funny US expressions that sound downright inappropriate to us Brits. 'Fanny pack' (bum bag), 'double fisting' (to have a drink in each hand), 'give someone the stink eye' (evil stare)… the list goes on. My husband likes to call his English 'English 2.0' – though to some, these might sound like it's regressed! 

I'm sure this is something I'll blog about again. In the meantime, watch out people – the English language really is a minefield. And if you need anything transatlanticlated, this little Tumblr site set up by the Guardian’s New York office is nice.