This and that

phone

One of the delights of the two cultures “divided by a common language” (George Bernard Shaw?) is in our respective phone greetings.

Whereas we Brits tend to say “Who is that?”, across the pond they are more likely to ask, “Who is this?”. It has been observed that when British people hear the latter greeting, they tend to wait—expecting them to do an impression.

See also Momentarily.

2 thoughts on “This and that

  1. Pingback: You say potato, again | Stephen Jones: a blog

  2. Pingback: Signoffs and other cross-pond drôlerie | Stephen Jones: a blog

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