There are a lot of words that just don't translate to American English. One of those is gormless. That and prat. That doesn't seem to be here either. England has so many great insults. It think that says something. Also feckless. I've always wondered if I could have feck. Do some people have feck and then others have none. Really, I could go on all day about this. Also, I can barely even read what I'm typing right now, my screen is that dirty. So I get it.
Yes! Feckless must be one of those word fossils where the root is no longer in use, like reckless and uncouth.
Gormless is a very specific word and I never really thought about it, but I think you're right about it not translating to American English. The closest I can come to a synonym is 'thick,' which I suppose also doesn't translate absolutely. 'Stupid' is too broad and doesn't really convey the benign, open-mouthed quality that gormless nails in one.
I know what you mean - I often think I should have been a linguist, or whatever you are when you study language.
I have a coworker who routinely dusts her keyboard and it drives me insane.
I am the same about toilets - they should look like no one ever used them.
I don't mind dishes that much but I'd rather be in the mood to Do Dishes than feel guilted into doing them because the sink being full bothers my OCD.
Also, re: gormless, prat, feckless, etc. - maybe I just read too much British children and young adults books growing up because those words make sense to this American. But then again, I had no idea the American way to spell "grey" was actually "gray" or that Americans don't put the "u" after the "o" in aaaanything until people started making fun of me.
I blame Tolkein and CS Lewis and True Confessions of Georgia Nicolson by Louise Rennison for leading me astray.
i clean my screen because i apparently expectorate all over it with a regularity that is as alarming as it is mysterious...after all, i *think* i cover my mouth, yet as it warms up, the screen presents a face covered entirely in phlegmy splotches, very jackson pollockesque.
i wish mr. monkey could be convinced to pee sitting down, but i think it is something that the male psyche, no matter how mild-mannered the man, can handle.
emmysuh - You were Brit-brainwashed! That's very sweet. You were like a little immigrant child learning a new language. I imagine you going to lunch at school and saying something like "Thank you ever so much for the scrummy bangers and mash," and being sent off to the ESL class.
pc - Thanks and HNY to you as well! Re: the toilet thing, I think, unless you are a parent of a small child, you shouldn't expect to deal with anyone's bodily, er... output. Unless of course it's a sickness-induced thing where you could expect the same treatment when your turn comes, but you know what I mean.
Kelly - I don't know where to start with this. I guess humanity is a vividly embroidered tapestry.
oh, agreed. but as soon as i read what you wrote, i realised that mr. monkey has, saint-like, cleaned up the contents of my stomach from not just the toilet but also the walls, on more than one occasion, with not one word of complaint. i now feel ashamed.