Summer distraction

[Cornish Steve]

Given how we're still trying to understand the meaning of "48 hours" in Everton-speak and frustrated that any transfers are likely to take longer than that, I thought we all might need a light-hearted distraction. We're quite a varied bunch, with different accents and travel experience. What are some of the funniest misunderstandings you've experienced? Maybe I can start with two of them.

The first relates to when one of my sons was looking to buy a new house here in the American South (Jawja). The real estate agent mentioned that one of the properties had a whale in the back yard. My little grand-daughter became excited and asked whether there was also a dolphin (since she loves dolphins). Only later did everyone realize that the agent, with her strong accent, meant "well".

The second is from many years ago when I worked for a British company with offices here in the US (and it could be apocryphal since I was told second or third-hand). We'd have software engineers come here on assignment all the time. One lunchtime, one of these guys stopped by a local store. He tended to use pencils and asked the assistant whether they sold rubbers. When the latter asked how many he wanted, his classic response was: "oh, only one - I don't make that many mistakes".

[Palfy]

On the accent theme, when I was involved in the drywall business, I had a gang working for me from the Forest of Dean two brothers and locals they employed. One day I visited a contract they were on and was introduced to a lad who had just started working for them, I was told his name was Coral unusual name I thought but I shook hands with him and said good to meet you Coral and he was polite and friendly in his response so happy days. As the day went on I said that Coral was an unusual name and were his parents hippie’s from the sixties, he said something like I don’t know but Coral wasn’t an unusual name where he lives. Anyhow on payment week it turned out his name wasn’t Coral it was Carl, those Foresters had an accent that was ineligible to most of the country. 

[dokotm]

It's amazing how different accents and regional phrases can lead to such comical situations. Your granddaughter's excitement over a "whale" in the backyard fridge is adorable, and the British engineer's response to buying "rubbers" is classic. Miscommunications like these make for great stories! Can't wait to hear more from others in our diverse group.