Vocabulary

(Started in 1996 by Christoph Jans)

Here's a (very incomplete, but hay, somebody's gotta start ...and maybe you want ta add a few of them yourself) list of typically American and specifically HP terms that you may (or may not) hear all the time but haven't heard of before. But be aware that there is a lot of HP internal terms that may be specific to the group you work in. And they change all the time, too (especially names and abbreviations...)

BBQ: Barbecue (meat from the grill)

BLT: Sandwich with Bacon, Lettuce and Tomatoes

BUCK: dollar, so five bucks are five dollars

DIET: Products that commonly are called 'light' in Europe usually are called 'diet' in the U.S.(although 'light' is used in the U.S., too), so a 'Coca-Cola light' would be a 'diet Coke'. Beers usually are called 'light' not 'diet'

DOMESTIC: Americans (as any other nation) like to distinguish betweeen what's made in their country (that's domestic) and what's not (that's foreign). This may apply to beer, cars, food, basically anything.

FOREIGN: See 'domestic'

ID: Identification. If somebody asks you for an ID they usually expect you to present them their american drivers license. Try your european one first (especially if it is a plastic card and has your birthdate on it)

KARL (Schricker): Eurostudent's best friend. Birthday is August 17th (don't forget)

POP: Carbonated soft drinks such as Coca-Cola or Pepsi

POUND: In conjunction with telephones, this is the # key.

RV: These huge camping vehicles you always get stuck behind on a mountain pass road

TELNET: HP's internal (and international !) private phone system.

"Z": The last letter of the alphabet is not pronounced "zed" as in British English but much more like a "C". Ask somebody about it, as it's almost impossible to put it in writing.

A tip: only use words that you really know the meaning of. You can get yourself really (I mean REALLY) embarrassed if you mis-use a word.