Bob

It’s sort of a relief that there’s a term for that and that it occurs in more places than just the Netherlands, because I thought I was going insane.

“I’d rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy”?

Beware he who thous the thou.

We call them thou.

Odd to hear of old Blighty coming out with a level-headed policy after the last decade or so of wank governance.

I used to hang about with this Italian couple, and I remember smoking outside a pub with them years ago when I sort of offhandedly said “it’s like the difference between shit and sheet”, and one said “what’s the difference?” so of course I spent a good ten minutes trying to demonstrate the difference by saying “shit” and “sheet” over and over with them trying to copy me. The bouncer loved it.

That’s true, but I come across a lot of German speakers and I can attest that they seem to find it difficult when speaking English. Or they mix it up a lot anyway. I do it myself fairly often in Dutch with V and F.

I started writing a song about a year ago that started, “have you ever noticed how no one has assassinated Elon Musk?” I need to get off my arse (and write the song, I mean).

We’re talking about the assumption rather than whether it’s more likely. German in the Netherlands is a poor example, as it happens, as a lot of Dutch people speak it to some extent, but now you mention it, Dutch people often complain of Germans assuming they understand German.

I live in the Netherlands, where it’s not the Americans assuming everyone speaks English. Sometimes it’s quite bizarre too: we have this deaf, Ukrainian colleague who doesn’t speak but communicates with Russian Sign Language (and whatever gestures you can think up on the spot), and it’s very blatant that he doesn’t speak English because he doesn’t speak and can’t hear, and has never written any notes in English or anything like that, but I’ve still caught other colleagues mouthing, or sometimes outright saying, things to him in English, as if it’d help. I remember once coming across a mute man who obviously understood Dutch, who then tried to ask someone a question, who then replied in a very “my husband is antiquair” kind of way. Otherwise it’s mostly European tourists and immigrants who assume you speak English.

I stand corrected!

I’ve actually mentioned to one of the higher-ups that I want to reach 40 with my back intact!

“I’m the upper class. I look down on the middle class as well as the working class.”

“I’m the middle class. I look up to the upper class and I look down on the working class.”

“I’m the working class. I’ve got a stiff neck.”

Wolf is an old name for Lupus, which of course is Latin for wolf.

Not to mention the Russian police uniform doesn’t look like that.

Yes, same here. I suppose it’s to stop any plausible deniability.

So the eyes are the windows to the sole after all.

Where I currently work, there’s a culture of insisting you don’t need a break. Of course, I see people’s faces at the end of the day and think, “you need a break”. I’m going insane.

I released one just this morning.

Are you sure about the waterproofing? You can usually steam in an oven.