Another missed joke

[dracos_boyfriend]

Dave ... "Question for US (well all non-British) members: do you use 
the expression 'take the piss' to mean to mock, or wind up, usually 
good-naturedly?"

They don't.  Linguistically speaking there is no direct equivalent in 
US colloquial English for 'taking the piss' (after Bryson, 'Notes 
>From A Small Island (1994) or possibly 'Mother Tongue' (1996?)) - 
whereas it's such a fundamental part of British life that we simply 
don't notice it.  This does, of course, mean Brits abroad frequently 
end up red-faced and having to frantically apologise for a good-
natured joke that was taken the wrong way.  You may recognise the 
voice of experience there ::winks::

Kudos to you for spotting it, though.  That :never: occured to me 
before.  Memo to self: get more obsessed with HP than you already are.

Alex

::scurries back to lurkdom::