Brit friends, what does it mean?
Sep 12th, 2004, 03:04 PM
#1
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Brit friends, what does it mean?
I have been watching the TV show "Flog It" and I have no idea what that means. Will someone please explain it to me? Also, we Yanks say HEATHrow but on TV I hear Brits say HeathROW. Are we pronouncing it incorrectly?
Sep 12th, 2004, 03:24 PM
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Thanks to you both. I watch it on a local PBS station. It's a British show where people try to auction off items they've bought earlier at flea markets and small antique shows. The aim is to see who makes the most money with the things they've bought.
Sep 12th, 2004, 11:10 PM
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There's no standard pronunciation for Heathrow - or for any word in the British dialects. And "correct" pronunciation is a concept that's completely alien to English, especially to English spoken in Britain and Ireland. Only in societies that are comfortable with dictatorship - like France and Germany - is it even conceivable that there can be an authority capable of telling people how to speak their own language.
Most people these days call it HEATHrow (though EEFrow is probably more common in much of London), and that pronunciation isn't an Americanism. MK2, BTW, is wrong: no-one pronounces the two syllables equally, though the stress on the first isn't very marked.
Towards the end of WW2, an RAF station was established at Heath Row, and both the base and the area were pronounced HeathROW (though real locals probably called it eef ROW). By and large, the older pronunciation is used by the two people who remember the once highwayman-infested area of Hounslow Heath (for the old Bath Road to the west went almost through the middle of the runway), by old RAF hands, or by fogeys of any age. My sense is that the BBC pronunciation unit now uses both, though the older pronunciations do now sound a bit precious to most British ears.
Incidentally, many still call it THIEFrow, though the baggage handlers seem to have given up that particular traditional nice little earner.
I understand the TV show has a small cult audience anxiously awaiting the first stuffed donkey to come up for sale. They've never actually seen anyone flog a dead horse before.
Most people these days call it HEATHrow (though EEFrow is probably more common in much of London), and that pronunciation isn't an Americanism. MK2, BTW, is wrong: no-one pronounces the two syllables equally, though the stress on the first isn't very marked.
Towards the end of WW2, an RAF station was established at Heath Row, and both the base and the area were pronounced HeathROW (though real locals probably called it eef ROW). By and large, the older pronunciation is used by the two people who remember the once highwayman-infested area of Hounslow Heath (for the old Bath Road to the west went almost through the middle of the runway), by old RAF hands, or by fogeys of any age. My sense is that the BBC pronunciation unit now uses both, though the older pronunciations do now sound a bit precious to most British ears.
Incidentally, many still call it THIEFrow, though the baggage handlers seem to have given up that particular traditional nice little earner.
I understand the TV show has a small cult audience anxiously awaiting the first stuffed donkey to come up for sale. They've never actually seen anyone flog a dead horse before.
Sep 13th, 2004, 05:33 AM
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Thanks flanneruk. I didn't mean to invite a discussion on whether or not there is "correct" pronunciation. I think it is widely accepted that Americans and the British pronounce words differently. I just wanted to know how it was pronounced in Britain. I did find the history of the word very interesting. Thanks.
Sep 13th, 2004, 07:29 AM
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I prefer to pronounce Heathrow as "hell".
Before I get flamed, every time I fly between Northern Ireland and the US (which was every month for about 2 years), I have to transfer at Heathrow. I have spent WAY too much time at this airport, which is why I hate it so much.
Before I get flamed, every time I fly between Northern Ireland and the US (which was every month for about 2 years), I have to transfer at Heathrow. I have spent WAY too much time at this airport, which is why I hate it so much.
Sep 13th, 2004, 08:58 AM
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I haven't lived in England for years, but I remember "flogging it" to mean "to burn the midnight oil." As in, "I'm flogging it to get passing marks on my exams."
I find that most Americans pronounce Heathrow as two words, ie. Heath row, whilst Brits prounounce it as one word.
Flanneruk, ROFL, as I am a Cockney.
I find that most Americans pronounce Heathrow as two words, ie. Heath row, whilst Brits prounounce it as one word.
Flanneruk, ROFL, as I am a Cockney.
Sep 13th, 2004, 11:40 AM
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Thanks ThinGorjus.I guess "Flog It" has several meanings but when used by the TV show I will go with the first meaning-to sell at any price. By the way, was that ROFL something only Brits would understand. Was it naughty?
Sep 13th, 2004, 11:55 AM
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However, the items on Flog It often aren't sold "at any price." Many of them are put up for sale with reserves (meaning the auction bids have to meet a minimum price [give or take 10% at the auctioneer's discretion] before the item can be sold).
