[HPforGrownups] Re: Brit Speak: Garden of Sherbert & Evil

[rosie]

No: HPFGUIDX 41059

bboy_mn wrote:
> So I wonder if British people refer to their lawn as a garden? In 
back
> is a garden where they grow vegetables and in front is a garden 
where
> they grow grass and maybe a few flowers. Essentually, using garden 
as
> a broad term referring to any place they are growing anything
> including lawn grass.

> Can someone clear this up for me?

and

"There is a garden wall in front of the Dursley's house and other
references to gardens and the area in front of the house, as well as
references to gardens in back. Based on Harry working in the garden,
my impression is that the garden is back is a normal vegetable garden.
But what about the gardens in front? Certainly could be a flower bed,
but the implications make it seem like more than a row or small plot
of flowers." 


Gulplum wrote:
"err... what other definition of "garden" is there? 

My dictionary offers:
1. A plot of land used for the cultivation of flowers, vegetables, 
herbs or fruit. 
2. Grounds laid out with flowers, trees or ornamental shrubs and used 
for recreation or display. 
3. A yard or lawn. 
4. A fertile, well-cultivated region. 

>From where does the confusion arise in your mind?"

Hey, hey, GulPlum, steady on bashing bboy_mn (this sounds silly without people's proper names!). He's not asking for words to be changed just for him, just asking us to clarify for him, which is fair enough! And remember, if you're British... your dictionary probably is as well... and in any case common usage often isn't quite the same as dictionary usage. Sorry if I sound like I'm telling you off, but I've been told recently on list that I should be more accepting of American/British differences (which I should), so let's do some of the cultural ambassador thing, eh?

Bboy, in Britain (as GulPlum explained), most houses have a front & back garden. Usually these are lawns with some flower borders, shrubs, etc. In your back garden, you might also have some trees, a pond, greenhouse, vegetable patch, etc etc. I think you would probably call the mainly grass part in front of the house, which we know as a "front garden" as a lawn. It's quite normal to have a "garden wall" round the front, usually with a gate, like the Dursleys. You said "Certainly could be a flower bed,but the implications make it seem like more than a row or small plot of flowers." I'm not quite sure what these implications are (sorry) but it would be normal to have a small lawn, with then shrubs/bushs, flower borders/beds around it. It really does depend though. 

I'm not too clear on what a yard/backyard is. To me it sounds like more of a dry area for games, etc, not really grassy (might be wrong!). This isn't so common in Britain, I don't think. I'm guessing that in the US, "garden" specifically refers to an area where it *is* green, with plants, etc, as opposed to a yard? Whereas, in Britain, we just call anything around your house where stuff grows a garden, pretty much.

So yes, I think you have it right. 


bboy_mn wrote:
"> 2.) Sherbert - OK, we already have the distiction between 'sherbert
> lemon' and 'lemon drops'. Sherber Lemon is a hard lemon candy that 
has
> a powered effervescent (fizzy) center. To any Americans who can't
> quite comprehend 'fizzing' candy; think of 'Pop Rocks'.
> 
> Now 'Frizzing Wizzbees' which is a sherbert. So is it a sherbert in
> the American sense of ice cream like substance, or in is it in the
> Britsh sense of a hard candy with a fizzing center?"

Gulplum wrote:
"No, sherbert has got nothing to do with ice cream. Why should you 
think it has? It is the stuff in the middle of sherbert lemons (inter 
alia). "

bboy_mn wrote:
> Anybody have any idea? As an American, I understood the 'sherbert
> lemon' distiction but alway assumed 'Frizzing Wizzbees' was ice 
cream
> sherbert. ???????

Gulplum wrote:
"Why?

I have a vague feeling you're confusing "sherbert" with "sorbet". Is 
this confusion typical of the American market?"

GulPlum, I think "sherbert" actually *is* the common term for what we call "sorbet" here, so it's not really confusion, just cultural difference. That's why Bboy would think it was the same.

I don't remember reading about "Frizzing Wizzbees", but from the name, I would assume them to be the hard sweets with the fizzy centres (I remember you in the US have really nice ones, Warheads are they called?). If it was in canon, in one of the later books, it was probably part of the "as the books go on, change less stuff" thing. But I think it definitely means the hard candies that fizz as opposed to ice-cream - that fits in with the frizzing and the wizzing, doesn't it?

Ok, I'm not sure how OT this is...feel free to email me off list if it is. Any more Americans/others want help with Britishisms? I find this really interesting (just been looking up what you guys know a jumper to be).

Rosie
ever confused by things like "study hall" :)





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