The language corner

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I have just seen @Colin post asking what chocolate chips are. I remember other questions like “crickets” or “skillet”. I always enjoy those questions and explanations so I thought it might be interesting to have a specific thread.

Some things can be easily googled but others are more about speakers’ perception or the usage in a particular area. We could also use it for questions about other languages. If someone is abroad and wants to know the meaning of a specific term, there will probably be someone on the forum who can explain or translate it properly.

I will start with questions about expressions that are used in the reviews. I know what they mean but I am not completely sure if they can be used to imply some kind of warning.

What information would you get from these expressions?

  • down to earth.
  • easy going.

Being a bit of an over thinker, I would probably not choose a “happy go lucky” HO. But I wouldn’t use that expression either for fear of being too direct. Am I right or is it perfectly neutral?

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For me, down-to-earth = unpretentious but also direct
easy-going = relaxed and not nit-picky but can be vague about details

So I think from a sitter’s POV, a down-to-earth, easy-going HO would be a great combination.

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Thanks for your answer.

It’s the part about being vague that makes me wonder if it can be used as a polite way of saying that someone may not pay enough attention to details.

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To me it’s polite. I would describe the sits I had in Canada as easy going hosts. Meaning they go with the flow and have confidence in you that you can take care of any situation that may show itself. They do not micromanage from afar as some PP do in the US and I am from the US.

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Easy-going hosts might say “Eat whatever you want” but you need to nail them down on that. “Is there anything that’s off limits?” And then they say, “Well actually…”

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Happy go lucky wouldn’t be neutral. It implies a lack of seriousness and caring about details.

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Thanks. That’s what I meant.

There was this thread about sitters’ secret code, which was started before blind reviews. Also, there has been a lot of discussions about how indirect British people can be in their communication and what non British users tend to understand. I thought these expressions could also have some of that indirect implication.

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Thanks. That’s what I figured.

Would it be too blunt to write that in a review? Something like “I may be a bit too thorough for their happy go lucky style”?

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Laid back also tracks with easy going but with a hint of indolence.

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Years ago we had an Australian family as sitters who were travelling around Europe for a year. A review in English from a French HO described the young teenage boys as “well educated”. “Bien éduqué” means well brought up in French so I knew what she meant but anyone else would think they were brilliant pupils.

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It’s the same in Spanish. “bien educado” is equivalent to French “well educated”.

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To me this statement says that you think they’re slobs.

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I’m delighted to hear you had good sits in Canada! I live in Vancouver and I’ve always heard that us Canadians are probably the most “polite” and easygoing people in the world :slight_smile:

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Is “happy-go-lucky” stronger than “carefree”?

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This YouTuber (Kjordy) often pops up in my feed, he shares insights about language and cultural nuances as an American living in the UK (London).

I think he points out some of the little quirks of both sides of the pond in a really lovely way.

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Interesting, that’s not how I would interpret it at all. I would interpret it as a person who is typically happy and pleasant to be around. I wouldn’t see it as a negative (not caring about details, etc).

Always learning things on THS. :smiley:

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Would that be a regional difference?

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Generally, yes. But she’s asking in the sense of her question:

Would it be too blunt to write that in a review? Something like “I may be a bit too thorough for their happy go lucky style”?

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No, just nuance. What exactly ARE you trying to say? Was the house not as clean as you expected?

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That is very unclear to me. What are you “thorough” about - pet behavior? Cleanliness"? Getting a detailed Welcome Guide? What are they “happy-go-lucky” about?

I would see happy-go-lucky as a negative, showing an overly casual, maybe sloppy, attitude. It obviously has different meanings to other readers, so use more unambiguous language.

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