Bob’s Your Uncle? Not in the US!
Many years ago, a client wanted me to teach him some English idioms before his business trip to the United States.
I shared two of my favourites:
- „Not every Tom, Dick or Harry*”—This means not everyone.
For example, you could say: „My new programme isn’t for every Tom, Dick or Harry; it takes a lot of effort.„ - „And Bob’s your uncle!*“ —This means „there you go!“ or “there you have it“.
For example, you could say: „Having trouble opening a jar? No problem! Grip the lid with a cloth, twist it to the left (counter-clockwise), and Bob’s your uncle—the jar is open!”
Perhaps you can imagine … my client came back unhappy. No one understood his wonderful British phrases!
(What I didn’t think about at the time … Americans might not understand a lot of our British expressions.)
Every language has some expressions that don’t translate well. British English has a lot of these!
So next time you want to impress someone with a new expression, be careful! It might not be understood.
My tip: Clear and simple language is always best. Especially in business!
Has anything similar happened to you?
_________
* nicht jeder x-Beliebige
* schwuppdiwupp, … und schon haben wir’s!
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