Quote:
Originally Posted by arjaybe
I think if it's 'quite clear' from context that it's about false teeth, you should let your readers work it out. Especially if it's in keeping with the way the character speaks.
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If I had not been trying to be vague about the locale then I would do that, but in this case I'm going to play it safe.
Quote:
Originally Posted by crich70
A lot of phrases do have different meanings in different parts of the world. I understand if you are in Ireland and say you're "under the weather" that people take it that you are hung over for example. If you are sick then you say you are ill.
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Hmm. "Under the weather" here is ambiguous. It may mean one or the other (hung-over or ill), you're looking for the smile on the face to tell you which.
I've been thinking more about "throw another shrimp on the barbie". It seems to me that the more accurate Australian phrase in this context would be "throw another snag on the barbie" - we use "snag" as slang for sausages. For me, at least, the idea of seafood at a barbecue makes makes it sound like some "posh do". The barbecues I've been to may have had lamb chops, they may have had steaks, they may even have (God forbid!) something vegetable to to throw on, but the common factor, the thing that was always present, was the good old snag. [ETA:] And a snag is something you can easily eat with false teeth - just to make this paragraph on topic.
