MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Two versions of the same book available in Libby

Quoth · 11-23-2025, 05:12 PM

I still haven't figured USA "shirt waist" despite Internet search. I thought it died out about 80 years ago in USA novels, but it's in a 1985-ish one I'm reading.

Still not too sure about USA "preppy". Seems associated with 3rd level?

Why is a girl/woman student a co-ed? A co-educational school has boys and girls. I never heard of a 3rd level female student being called a co-ed.

I was in a USA "drugstore" and beforehand I thought it was USA equivalent word for a Chemist aka Pharmacy shop, which only has personal hygiene, cosmetics, prescription free medicine and a dispensary counter for prescription only medicines. If it in a shopping centre (USA Mall), only one such place will have a dispensary counter for prescription only medicines and usually only one supermarket. Some don't allow any food in other stores.
A USA Drugstore seems like a General store and pharmacy. Also no shop has a counter to consume food & beverages unless it's got a separate café area. Maybe decades ago Boots (UK) had non-pharmacy items.

So apart from the language there is context & culture.

I was reading a mystery - detective series set in London and most of the posher places had "mud rooms", an expression almost never used. Then the person put on satellite radio while driving. There is no such service in British Isles, maybe not in Europe. It's American. So I checked. An American author enamoured with England.

Then there are things we don't have at all, or not seen till last week (s'mores). Older USA books (pre-1930s) are a bit more baffling at times than newer ones, part due to TV & Movies and partly the USA language changing.

11-23-2025, 05:12 PM	#32
Quoth Still reading Posts: 15,157 Karma: 111120239 Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Ireland Device: All 4 Kinds: epub eink, Kindle, android eink, NxtPaper	I still haven't figured USA "shirt waist" despite Internet search. I thought it died out about 80 years ago in USA novels, but it's in a 1985-ish one I'm reading. Still not too sure about USA "preppy". Seems associated with 3rd level? Why is a girl/woman student a co-ed? A co-educational school has boys and girls. I never heard of a 3rd level female student being called a co-ed. I was in a USA "drugstore" and beforehand I thought it was USA equivalent word for a Chemist aka Pharmacy shop, which only has personal hygiene, cosmetics, prescription free medicine and a dispensary counter for prescription only medicines. If it in a shopping centre (USA Mall), only one such place will have a dispensary counter for prescription only medicines and usually only one supermarket. Some don't allow any food in other stores. A USA Drugstore seems like a General store and pharmacy. Also no shop has a counter to consume food & beverages unless it's got a separate café area. Maybe decades ago Boots (UK) had non-pharmacy items. So apart from the language there is context & culture. I was reading a mystery - detective series set in London and most of the posher places had "mud rooms", an expression almost never used. Then the person put on satellite radio while driving. There is no such service in British Isles, maybe not in Europe. It's American. So I checked. An American author enamoured with England. Then there are things we don't have at all, or not seen till last week (s'mores). Older USA books (pre-1930s) are a bit more baffling at times than newer ones, part due to TV & Movies and partly the USA language changing.