That misuse of "hopefully" is itself an American import! Proper
English is ". . not current British English and, let's hope, won't be".

On Sun, 24 Jan 2016 08:06:28 -0800 (PST), Offramp
wrote:

One that REALLY annoys me is customers in shops saying, "Can I get...[etc]?"

Or a shop assistant asking me "Can I help you?" My normal response is
"I hope so."

--
John Ray

Paul Corfield wrote:
On Sun, 24 Jan 2016 19:08:17 +0100, Jarle Hammen Knudsen
wrote:

On Sun, 24 Jan 2016 08:06:28 -0800 (PST), Offramp
wrote:

One that REALLY annoys me is customers in shops saying, "Can I get...[etc]?"

Can you explain that to a foreigner?

I've been using "Can i get..." when ordering beer. Should I say
something else?

"Can I have a pint of ...... please?" or "A pint of .... please?" or
"I'd like a pint of ...... please?

Don't you just love the English language?

Someone will be along shortly to tell you all of my suggestions are
wrong!

It's funny, I've just been on a couple of long Singapore Airlines flights,
and their charming cabin crews are obviously trained to start every
encounter with, "Sorry to keep you waiting, Mr Recliner...", even if you've
not been waiting at all. So, say, you order a Singapore Sling or a G&T,
they come back with it in a couple of minutes, and still apologise for
keeping you waiting. It seems very polite at first, but gets a bit
irritating after a while.

On Sun, 24 Jan 2016 14:56:49 -0600,
wrote:

In article 201601241958155246-email@domaincom,
(eastender) wrote:

"Can I have a pint of bitter please?"

To which the answer is yes, you can.

So you should ask "May I have a pint of bitter please?"

That would certainly be my preferred form.

On Sun, 24 Jan 2016 08:44:56 -0800 (PST), Offramp
wrote:

Here is another odd Americanism:

Q: Have you got a pencil sharpener?

A: No, I don't.

Why? Why change the verb?


So the got rot is setting in within those US. The proper form would
be:

Q: Have you a pencil sharpener?

OR: Do you have you a pencil sharpener?

A: A: No, I don't. (Implied "have").

In message , at 16:12:33 on
Tue, 26 Jan 2016, Paul Corfield remarked:

It's funny, I've just been on a couple of long Singapore Airlines flights,
and their charming cabin crews are obviously trained to start every
encounter with, "Sorry to keep you waiting, Mr Recliner...", even if you've
not been waiting at all. So, say, you order a Singapore Sling or a G&T,
they come back with it in a couple of minutes, and still apologise for
keeping you waiting. It seems very polite at first, but gets a bit
irritating after a while.

Please don't take this the wrong way but the thought of a stewardess
saying "Mr Recliner" just made me laugh out loud.

It's obviously a cultural issue because I've only ever been addressed by
name on a small subset of Middle-East airlines.

It's the same in some airline lounges. Blink and your half full glass
and plate are whisked away as if this is what you wanted. All that
causes is waste and me being grumpy.

High end restaurants on land are also very bad about whisking away
un-empty glasses after you've ordered another. And that's when the
refill *costs* money. To such an extent that whenever I see a waiter
approaching with the refill I'll grab the un-empty glass to avoid them
confiscating it.
--
Roland Perry

On Tue, 26 Jan 2016 16:12:33 +0000
Paul Corfield wrote:
I know what you mean though - it is possible just to be too
deferential but given the wide range of people who fly it's almost
impossible to get it right. What we might find too polite will not be
sufficiently grovelling to some overblown celebrity or politician
flying first class.

It's the same in some airline lounges. Blink and your half full glass
and plate are whisked away as if this is what you wanted. All that
causes is waste and me being grumpy.

Don't fly first or business class then and you won't have that problem. You
can fly economy and wait in McDonalds like everyone else where you get to
choose when you throw your drinks carton away.

--
Spud

Paul Corfield wrote:
On Tue, 26 Jan 2016 08:38:06 -0000 (UTC), Recliner
wrote:

It's funny, I've just been on a couple of long Singapore Airlines flights,
and their charming cabin crews are obviously trained to start every
encounter with, "Sorry to keep you waiting, Mr Recliner...", even if you've
not been waiting at all. So, say, you order a Singapore Sling or a G&T,
they come back with it in a couple of minutes, and still apologise for
keeping you waiting. It seems very polite at first, but gets a bit
irritating after a while.

Please don't take this the wrong way but the thought of a stewardess
saying "Mr Recliner" just made me laugh out loud.

Even better, of course, is when she comes along just before we land,
saying, "Mr Recliner, please could you do me a favour and make your seat
upright".


I know what you mean though - it is possible just to be too
deferential but given the wide range of people who fly it's almost
impossible to get it right. What we might find too polite will not be
sufficiently grovelling to some overblown celebrity or politician
flying first class.

Yes, good point.

wrote:
On Tue, 26 Jan 2016 16:12:33 +0000
Paul Corfield wrote:
I know what you mean though - it is possible just to be too
deferential but given the wide range of people who fly it's almost
impossible to get it right. What we might find too polite will not be
sufficiently grovelling to some overblown celebrity or politician
flying first class.

It's the same in some airline lounges. Blink and your half full glass
and plate are whisked away as if this is what you wanted. All that
causes is waste and me being grumpy.

Don't fly first or business class then and you won't have that problem. You
can fly economy and wait in McDonalds like everyone else where you get to
choose when you throw your drinks carton away.

I don't recall passing a McDonalds on the way to the business class lounges
in any airports. Do they offer a choice of gins in their G&Ts? Are the
towels fluffy in their showers? Are their armchairs comfortable?

On Tue, 26 Jan 2016 18:58:38 -0000 (UTC)
Recliner wrote:
wrote:
On Tue, 26 Jan 2016 16:12:33 +0000
Paul Corfield wrote:
I know what you mean though - it is possible just to be too
deferential but given the wide range of people who fly it's almost
impossible to get it right. What we might find too polite will not be
sufficiently grovelling to some overblown celebrity or politician
flying first class.

It's the same in some airline lounges. Blink and your half full glass
and plate are whisked away as if this is what you wanted. All that
causes is waste and me being grumpy.

Don't fly first or business class then and you won't have that problem. You
can fly economy and wait in McDonalds like everyone else where you get to
choose when you throw your drinks carton away.

I don't recall passing a McDonalds on the way to the business class lounges
in any airports. Do they offer a choice of gins in their G&Ts? Are the

No, but they offer a select choice of chavs to remind you why its so nice to
get out of the UK occasionally.

--
Spud