Re: Re: So there really are differences between British and American English

[RonButters at AOL.COM]

In a message dated 10/27/03 10:30:24 AM, gcohen at UMR.EDU writes:


> Dennis (+ ads-l),
> The fact remains: The American  gushing socialite told Prince Andrew "You're 
> the best tool we have," completely oblivious of the meaning this would have 
> for the Prince (astonishment) and his body-guards (snickers).  My guess is 
> she was mortified when she learned how her remark was perceived, and I can't 
> imagine a British socialite making that gaffe. At least some trans-Atlantic 
> difference in speech habits must exist to account for the American socialite's 
> faux pas.
> 
> Gerald
> 

It seems to me that the same response would have come forth from, say, John 
Kennedy Jr. and his bodyguards had someone in St. Louis said this to him under 
these circumstances ((I realize there is no way to put this exact thought 
experiment to the emp;irical test). TOOL = penis has been around in the US since 
at least the 1950s, and it is pretty well-known in American slang -- well-known 
enough to have made it into the latest AMERICAN HERITAGE, where it is listed 
as "vulgar slang." If Andrew was "astonished," it would only be because, in 
its unmarked usage, TOOL refers to some inanimate object. Calling him a "tool" 
without elaboration in a formal social context violates the Maxims of Manner 
and Quantity. It is about the same thing as saying, "You are our best shovel." 
Since the utterance did not make sense contextually, it caused the hearers to 
scan their brains for possible meanings ("tool of the capitalist conspiracy"? 
"fool"? "penis"?).