Mercury Retrograde Special!

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funny-stop-sign-queen-Freddie-MercuryThis week, we chat about Black History Month (or the lack of it), and how I can’t understand anyone in The Wire – sometimes even the people from England. We also talk about rain, and how it affects the Oscars, London’s streets, and spiders the size of Mini Metros. Rob then takes the quiz, at least until the planet Mercury (or possibly the ghost of Harold Ramis) causes us to lose him forever, forcing Sam to step into the red tights. Johnson sort of keeps “wide boy” above the waist, Sam has a guess at “chaw”, and we go to yet another gripping tiebreaker!

Kissing Gates, Shagging Balls

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KissingGateThis week, we discuss something that British McDonald’s have that American ones don’t; we also compare school potatoes, and I say the  word “metadata” a lot. Then, after a brief foray into a list of some words that have different meanings in our two countries, my mum returns to the quiz. It’s a close match, finally decided by the most gripping round of Rock Paper Scissors ever recorded. Oh: the Flanders & Swann song that mentions an omnibus is here.

Bill Sez

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 42:12 — 29.2MB)

BillShakeThis week, after briefly discussing the terrible weather Britain is having, we chat about the exchange rate between Scottish and American tooth fairies. Then, we list some surprising phrases in common use that were written by William Shakespeare. Later, my big bro Jon takes the quiz, and tries to guess what a “tagalong” might be, while Johnson sets a new record for going below the waist with his guess for “wetting the baby’s head” (2.3 seconds.)

Couple of links for things mentioned: Billy Bragg’s “Milkman of Human Kindness”, and Homer saying “trampoline” wrong.

And We’re Back

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groundhogScott’s sitting in for Johnson this week who’s up a mountain; and following last week’s hiatus, we catch up on the Superbowl final (!) and Groundhog Day, then discuss British people’s aversion to ice. Then we chat about CVS expediting its cigarette disposal, and read some listener mail, most of it disturbing. Then Jordan takes the quiz, and tries to guess what a “menorah” might be, while Scott tries to imagine what a “cricket box” might be for.

Service Interruption

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off-air+barsSadly, no show this week. A bunch of reasons which I won’t bore you with, and after much fretting I tried something new which didn’t work out. I can only offer my grovelling apologies and an assurance that we’ll be here next week with more amusing transatlantic minutiae!

Things Americans Say Wrong

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robinhood9-1-finalThis week, the Kinder Egg waters are further muddied by the discovery of something called a “king cake”; then, Johnson and I argue over whose pronunciation of words makes the least sense. Later, Cocker takes the quiz, and tries to guess what “Chapter 11” might be, while Johnson tries to figure out who the hell “TIM” is.

Oh: a link to the Smith & Jones darts bit we mention is here. Pretty sure that scorekeeper is now in Downton Abbey…

Under New Management

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AYBSNot really, but the quiz will feel a bit different this week. On the show, we revisit some themes from last week: the Kinder egg thing rears its head again, and also the phrase “blue hairs.” Then, we get some closure on the Clue/Cluedo discussion, and wonder about nearsighted/farsighted vs. shortsighted/longsighted. Then, I torture Johnson with the word “tarpaulin,” and we hear a use for draught excluders we hadn’t thought of. Then: Sam hosts the quiz, while Johnson and I guess the meanings of newer British slang words. He gets a “boyf,” while I get “Winona.” Lucky me!

Armless Soccer Players

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RedCardThat’s right: armless soccer players. We also chat about the Open University, MLK Day, the Great Train Robbery, the police using guns vs truncheons, and the Harlem Globetrotters. We also get closure on Kinder Eggs, and something called draught excluders. Later, Martin returns to the quiz, trying to guess what “tee-ball” is, while Johnson has a go at a “strimmer.”

Pot Pourri

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vintage_potpourri_pomanderAnother crazy meandering show: we talk about Hawaii, everything from roosters to centipedes; then how my supposedly spayed golden retriever went into heat, which leads to a discussion on our porn names; we briefly discuss the twitter hashtag #americansvsbritish, then we catch up on listener mail: Helen writes about christmas crackers, which somehow gets us into Roger Moore attacking a snake with hairspray. Latoya also writes about christmas crackers, which somehow gets us into Kinder eggs and Michael Caine’s eyelashes. Then Jochen gets in touch to ask us to decode a song lyric, and to have a little dig about the USA vs Germany football match. Happy New Year, everyone!

Mele Kalikimaka!

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That’s Hawaiian for “Merry Christmas,” people! In this, our final show of 2013, we eat mince pies, discuss everything from aprés ski to Hawaii to ugly sweater parties, ponder why Americans call snack bars “concession stands,” reminisce about sharing confined spaces with smokers, pull christmas crackers, and I give Johnson another gift. Thanks for listening in 2013, and we’ll see you all next year!