|
Friday, May 23, 2008
Seth Godin posts an amusing tale of the lady who yells "double double" to an uncomprehending barista. Perhaps he is unaware that this construction is seen as "uniquely Canadian" and is sometimes found in dictionaries of Canadian jargon. So indeed, it is double cream, double sugar, and it is indeed a "regional" term. (To me, it's a way to ruin a great cup of coffee, but some of my friends, and most truck drivers, seem to take their coffee this way.)
Yelling more loudly definitely does not break through communications barriers, especially when the folks you're yelling at don't speak your language. I'll see your double-double story, Seth, and raise you a Sweet-N-Low story. My wife was working in Quebec City, where they don't always do the accommodating thing and immediately switch to English -- and definitely do not try to make sense of every quirky word in American culture. An older, impatient couple from the South wanted artificial sweetener for their coffee. As the uncomprehending barista stared blankly at the request for "swaytnlooow," they decided to up the volume level, chanting rhythmically "swaaaytnlooow, swayyytnloowww, swaaaytnlooowwwwww!!!" The coffee shop did not carry Sweet N Low.
Would a packet of sugar kill you?Labels: offline
Posted by
Andrew Goodman
View Posts by Category |
|
D'oh!
|
