Two hundred years ago the vast majority of immigrants to the New World came from Europe, most from Great Britain, France and Germany. Many of my ancestors first came to Canada, and later relocated to various areas of the U.S. I find it fascinating that over the past century and half , is the difference in the way Canadians and Americans use the English language. For instance, I find quite puzzling and would love to have someone explain to me ,is the phrase I hear all the time on American television :
"I'll FIX you a sandwich" or "Let me FIX you some breakfast" or "I'll FIX lunch".
As far as I know there are two definitions of the word "fix" :
1. To mend something which has broken
2. To fasten something down in order to render it unmoveable
So an American about to PREPARE lunch might be saying that they are going to first repair the broken roast beef sandwich and then nail it to the table so that it does not get away??
Maybe that is where the expression "fast food" really originated !
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2 comments:
that's witty and cute
Then, of course, there's "I'll fix YOU!" said in anger, which has nothing to do with repairing things....
There must be data somewhere on how this usage of "fix" entered American slang. In any case, what a fun observation!
This has got to be one of the most interesting Blogs I've looked at in a long time, not so much for the content, but for the writing style. Well done!
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