At The Guardian‘s Mind Your Language blog, David Marsh defends against a common reader complaint that “too many ‘Americanisms'” appear in the Guardian. Among the offending—”ugly” and “unnecessary” “American slang”— words, according to recent reader letters:
dweebish, gotten, upscale, lickety split, double dipping, pony up, mojo, sledding, duke it out, brownstones, suck, first lady, kindergarten, lawmakers, upcoming, authorities, scuzzy, a slew of, happenstance
Also? From two different readers: “The ghastly ‘schlepping'” and “the ghastly ‘staycation’.”
To the offended, Marsh offers this fascinating advice:
Liz Cox Barrett is a writer at CJR.Brits who fret about US cultural imperialism should keep things in perspective: worry about Fox News and the Tea Party, rather than someone who regards “suspenders” as something to hold up one’s trousers.
