I say tomato, you say tomahto (but we both say potato)

Hello all,

I've just been talking to a friend of mine from Holland who claimed that you could tell Brits and Americans apart by their greetings. I agree and disagree.

What he was referring to is the common idea that Americans say "How are you?" while the British ask "How do you do?" - only that it isn't true. Be it because of the influence of Hollywood films (now also occasionally referred to as movies in the UK) or some other reason, but many people in Britain tend to say "How are you?" just like their American counterparts. Only that they say it in a distinctly British way, with a clearly perceivable accent. The same is true for words like zebra crossing (often zeebra even in the UK nowadays) and tomahto (American tomato). That is not to say that the traditional British versions don't still exist - in fact they remain more popular - but you need to judge from the accent, not the words, if you want to find out who's American and who's the Brit.

Oh, and nobody ever says potahto - except in the song Let's Call the Whole Thing Off by George and Ira Gershwin, from 1937 from which I tool my title.

Cheers,
Ralph

Don't say it, read it - on the London Travel Guide.