For First-timers-What questions not to ask

[Dogbreath]

To Walleydave - "eh" fits in the grammar rules right beside "lemme tell you what"

[oilguy]

Originally Posted by wallydave

What Eh! means!?

I will tell you what eh means..... if you can tell me why most Americans use huh to finish their sentences on rhetorical questions. Hmmm....did I give away the answer?? Lol. When I guided Americans for Deer and Bear, I had the "Eh" joke from them every week......they usually dropped it once I pointed out THEIR use of "Huh" in every other sentence.

As far as gravy goes, I was taken by surprise while traveling in the US. I stopped at a restaurant in Montana and the waitress asked me what kind of gravy I wanted - white or brown.

Just a word of advice to anyone traveling to a distant destination. Use a couple of seconds to filter your question before it's too late. If it's still worth asking, then by all means fire away. Dumb questions deserve dumb answers right?

[wallydave]

My boat/cabin buddy for my last two trips gave me a coffee mug that mentions some of the same things you bring up oilguy!
Eh can be used in any part of the sentence. It is, as you mention, better than say huh or um!
It is also a phase to be used with pride when speaking to Americans!
Our group will drop the occasional "eh" into a conversation in the States, it is like a code, it translates to mean;"man I wish we were back in Ontario!!"
Part of traveling is getting to know some of the slang and customs eh!?

Originally Posted by oilguy

I will tell you what eh means..... if you can tell me why most Americans use huh to finish their sentences on rhetorical questions. Hmmm....did I give away the answer?? Lol. When I guided Americans for Deer and Bear, I had the "Eh" joke from them every week......they usually dropped it once I pointed out THEIR use of "Huh" in every other sentence.

As far as gravy goes, I was taken by surprise while traveling in the US. I stopped at a restaurant in Montana and the waitress asked me what kind of gravy I wanted - white or brown.

Just a word of advice to anyone traveling to a distant destination. Use a couple of seconds to filter your question before it's too late. If it's still worth asking, then by all means fire away. Dumb questions deserve dumb answers right?

[cuamb]

I always wondered about the stacked rocks. I was in Asia last week and saw them in a Budhist temple. Thanks for the link!

[oilguy]

Well said WalleyeDave! Customs, slangs, and traditions sure do change from place to place! My wife and I were in Huatulco, Mexico last year and ended up sitting down for dinner with a couple from Mexico City and another couple from Minnesota. It was a pretty unique conversation comparing our "everyday lives" with theirs.

[drlee]

Nothin' wrong with gravy on fries! I put gravy on nearly everything, cause' grandma used to cook the meat so long you needed gravy to chew it...she grew up on the plains of SD when you had BETTER cook meat a long time...she never got over it; neither did I. But, she made the best from scratch "sticky buns" you have ever eaten. She is currently baking them for her neighbors in Heaven.

[octanehi5]

Did you catch all them fish, Nope they just jumped in the boat.
Were did you catch all those fish.In the lake.
How many did you catch. all of them.
all you newbee's have a great time you will learn in your own time.

Originally Posted by Campcountry

The stacked rocks you see are built by kids usually - just for fun. They are supposed to look like Inukshuks which have become a symbol of the north.

The real original use of Inukshuks was to guide herds of caribou along chosen paths so the Inuit could kill them. An Inukshuk was built to look like a man and in the old days it was topped with a clump of black earth to look like hair.

Another question that I have been asked is "Why do some restaurants have a sign that says they are "licensed" and others do not?"

Licensed restaurants can sell booze. Most tourists are thankful to learn that nugget

To guide herds of caribou along chosen paths? Never heard that one. They do point to food and shelter (no trees to blaze so rocks serve) and mark migration routes etc

[Campcountry]

Originally Posted by tourist outfitter

To guide herds of caribou along chosen paths? Never heard that one. They do point to food and shelter (no trees to blaze so rocks serve) and mark migration routes etc

That information comes from an article in a decades old Beaver magazine - the magazine published by the Hudson's Bay Company which was working in the north since the 1600's. The article is about the experiences of an Inuit elder in the early 1900's and he was talking about hunting caribou what the Inukshuks were used for.

Originally Posted by Campcountry

That information comes from an article in a decades old Beaver magazine - the magazine published by the Hudson's Bay Company which was working in the north since the 1600's. The article is about the experiences of an Inuit elder in the early 1900's and he was talking about hunting caribou what the Inukshuks were used for.

Yes that makes sense - language problem. Beaver is a great mag ( and Canada's second oldest!) altho they have recently changed the name to Canada's History for obvious reasons.