Tinkering with time (still).

Good morning, Titbitonians. Do you feel that little more rested this morning having gained an extra hour of shut-eye in the night from Saturday to Sunday?

If you are anything like me, it probably didn’t make an iota of difference because my damn body clock woke me up at the same time, except it was an hour earlier.

Here’s a titbit for you: “Spring forward, fall back” this is an aide-memoire that the Americans use to remember which way the clocks go. I only found this out in Spring during a conversation with an American colleague. Check out our conversation:

Me “So which way does the clock go this time, I always forget.”

Ami “Why don’t you guys speak proper English.”

Me “Yes, right, that big coming from you.”

Ami “Spring forward, fall back – in spring the clocks go forward and in fall they go back – it doesn’t work with AUTUMN – get it?!?!?!”

Me “Well, I’ll be damned – finally some use for Ami English!”

Hence, I now always know which way the clocks go.

rested (ausgeruht), shut-eye (Schlaf), to make an iota of difference ( den geringsten Unterschied machen), aide-memoire (Eselsbrücke),‘ I’ll be damned‘ (Ich fass’ es nicht)

2 Gedanken zu „Tinkering with time (still).

  1. Jenny Antworten

    Interesting that you use „Ami“. I’ve always thought that it‘s a more or less derogative German expression that US Americans find offensive – at least the older generation that had experienced the „Ami go home“ era. In your text it‘s rather a friendly mocking and teasing between UK and US than a serious insult. Ok, that‘s the way it goes, language changes as time goes by.

    However, as I‘ve never heard Ami in English before: is this an expression you‘d merely use on German ground where people of the former US and UK sectors are used to it due to history or is Ami with its pejorative and mocking undertone understood worldwide?

    Enjoy your cruise! I‘d love to see Rome, Naples, and all the other places, too!

    • Dave Preston Autor des BeitragsAntworten

      You are very right. Of course, I would more likely call Americans ‚Yanks‘ but having lived so long in Germany I took over the Germanism and thought nothing more of it when I wrote the post. It’s quite embarrassing but it just goes to show, how easy it is to fall in to the trap of using Dinglish without a second thought.

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