Challenge of the Day

[The_Doc_Man]

How about dropped "t's"? These are also an artifact of using French words in English.

valet
bidet

Just caught this one...

Those t's are dropped because of elision as well. The t would be pronounced in French if the next word began with a vowel. If I recall this correctly, the four consonants in "careful" (c, r, f, and l) are the only ones for which elision doesn't apply. (But it HAS been a while since I studied any of this, and I rarely used it after college except for the Cajun variants with my wife's people.)

 

[murphybridget]

Don't forget the British press and TV, any chance to slag off the yanks is headline news, especially if the wife of Prince Harry is around.

I agree, over the years I've known dozens of Americans, even worked with a few. Never had a problem and I would say 95% of them are incredibly polite and friendly.
America and American ways have always been a source of amusement to us Brits but in a nice way. For example, when I was little I couldn't understand why American cars had a Fender - why have a guitar in a car?
American words? Yes, the complex word 'tap' is much easier if pronounced 'faucet '. Why do you say 'horseback riding'? Is it because without the word 'horseback' Americans have trouble knowing where to sit. It's like 'sidewalk' remove the 'side' bit and Americans wander all over the road.
I could go on especially about your choices of Presidents, but I won't as this just a lighthearted post, no offence intended.
Suffice to say, Americans have given us many fab things over the years and some strange things. But overall, Americans and the USA are good and I have no problem with them, even if they seem weird to us.
Col

As an amateur musician, I find your observations quite amusing! It's always interesting to hear different perspectives on American culture and language quirks. Cheers to the USA and its unique contributions!