Ever since I found a copy of Glenn's 1963 Foreign Car Manual among the
library's withdrawn books I have been checking them out every time I go.
This trip I found a book that is dedicated to Bernard Shaw's statement
that "America and Britain are two countries separated by a common
language". We have English/Texan dictionaries, why not a
"British/American Language Dictionary"? Anyone who is involved with LBCs
knows the confusion between the two languages.
What I find interesting is that vulgar word there is innocuous there and
the reverse. The word that passed into the language because of the novel
Fanny Hill refers to different parts of the anatomy in American and
British. Here it is a part of the body that can belong to either a man or
a woman, there it is a gender specific vulgarism.
One thing that I still wonder about is the origin of the term "shooting
brake". I know that both it and estate wagon refer to what the Americans
call a station wagon, but there must have been more of a difference in
the past. I did ask an ex bobby at the last British Car Festival, but all
he could tell me was that shooting brake was an old term for a carriage
that was used in hunting. Any help form the other side of the pond would
be welcome.
Cheers
Jack
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