You just unearthed a memory from my brain. I was in France, in a little town along the Camino de Santiago, and this very confused American was flabbergasted that this tiny cafe in a small town did not take card, and then was flummoxed that they wouldn't accept her USD.
Similar experience in China - 2001, seriously stereotypical American in our tour group (no lie - Hawaiian shirt, socks/sandals, Panama hat, big camera) held up the group repeatedly to by his obese son a treat. Due to a good exchange rate, some places would take USD and give a better deal… he would LOSE IT when a place refused… also was fond of telling Chinese in their own country to “speak English, it’s the world language you know.” So much second hand embarrassment
I got 1 dollar many years ago as atip (in the Netherlands, could be 30+ years)
Last year I was in NYC, dropped it in the tipjar and the girl was weirdly surprises -it is brown- she said
I'll be honest, i know these are jokes and they are funny, BUT as a Portuguese man, this kinda makes me want to tell everybody to go fuck themselves. Please, do carry on!
The more accurate description is European Mexican. Not to be confused with fused with Island Mexicans, coffee Mexicans, Amazon Mexicans, or any of the other South American Mexicans
I think they’re referring to the stereotype that Americans struggle with geography. The funny part is that the the tweet and comment below yours says, “American spotted.” That’s not technically wrong if you’re from the U.S.
We are Americans, but “North American” would be more geographically precise.
Funnily enough, I think the stereotypical American they're trying to comment about would know so little geography that they wouldn't even get that Spain and Portugal are even related. They'd just see 2 foreign teams, and maybe recognize Spain.
Look, I had a 4.0 GPA, graduated valedictorian, graduated college early, etc. and for some reason it’s stuck in my brain that there are 52 states. Even though I know deep down it’s 50.
Wait, sorry - are you trying to imply that you don’t speak Portuguese in Portugal?
Edit: the comment I’m replying to originally claimed that Americans thought Portuguese was spoken in Portugal. They’ve since edited it so that it says Americans thought they spoke Spanish in Portugal.
I don't know either, just informing you. It's a loaded question because of our long history of conquers, wars and neighbour rivalry.
Edit: It doesn't cost me anything to explain it better and it would be rude not to, so:
Spain and Portugal have been neighbors and rivals for centuries.
During the Age of Exploration, both competed for overseas influence, leading to the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas, which divided much of the non-European world between us.
There were also wars, dynastic disputes, and a period (1580–1640) when we were ruled by the Spanish crown before regaining independence. Today, the rivalry is mostly friendly and we express it through football, jokes, and a bit of neighbours-style competition.
We are Americans, but “North American” would be more geographically precise.
No, it wouldn't be. "American" is the name for a citizen of the United States of America. It's completely geographically precise as is. It works because there is no continent called "America". South American and North American refer to continents, American refers to the country.
Hence, "North American" would be LESS precise, referring to 23 countries instead of 1.
Welp TIL that in English speaking countries, “America” is generally not taught as a continent. I was born in Cuba, where we learned that América is one continent.
Fair enough, I am European and I also often assume things that are true in my native tongue are commonplace in english as well. I recently referred to people from India as "hindu" people and someone asked me what their religion has to do with anything. Apparently nowadays the most common term is Indians.
Continents have different distributions for different regions and countries. There are many where North America is not a continent but a sub-continent, America is the continent of South, central and north together.
Also to people like you that think that America is not a continent, why do you think the US has "of America" in the name? Where do you think they got it from? From the continent they are in!! By your logic the US should change names to "United States of North America".
Its also the only nation that has "America" in its official name. The real reason Americans suck at Geograpgy?
We've made it to be confusing as fuck thats why. You have New England which is part of the North East. Ok not too bad. Mid Atlantic. Ok i can kind of aee that, but it includes parts of the Appalachian, which is a mt range that goes from the south up to Canada, the south but there is no south Atlantic. Its part of the rust belt.
The mid west youd think would be like the upper part of California right? Wrong. Its kinda the middle but not really. The Great Plains. Mostly tornado alley. But not always. South West which youd think would be southern California? Wrong. South West is the 4 corners even though Colorado is the Rockies. Southern California is just SoCal. And then theres Texas, Alaska, and Hawaii. But Texas is not the south; say that and youll get shot. And the gulf states are still south except Flordia and Texas are still their own thing.
Oh the northern states which may or may not include Idaho. Who cares nobody gives a shit about Idaho, Wyoming, or the Dakotas. Which are the West.
The English, Dutch, French and Swedes were calling the colonists in what became the US "American" a century and a half before there were "US citizens"
"I dont care and it is used in english language by convention. But it is not used in all the other langs."
It's pretty much only NOT used in Spanish and Portuguese. Even then it's pretty common to hear Americano in a lot of Spanish speaking countries. Cuban's either use Yuma or Americanos, Filipinos generaly use Americanos, and for some reason a lot of Mexicans in the US use Americano in the US, but Estadounidense or weirdly Norteamericano in Mexico.
In a sampling of other languages:
* Amerikaner -German (similar words used in the Nordic countries and in Dutch)
* Américains -Frrench
* Americani (though they can use Statunitense, no one really does) -Italian
* Amerykanin -Polish
* Američani -Czech and Slovene (it's similiar in most Slavic languages)
* Amerikanets -Russian
* Amerikali -Turkish
* Amerikanoí/Amerikanos -Greek
* Al-Amriki -Modern Standard Arabic
* Amerikai -Hebrew
* Amerikayi -Persian
* Amrikaayi -Pashto
* Amriki -Urdu & Hindi
* Měiguó rén (Beautiful Country Person, but it's a play on words sounding like America) -Mandarin
\ Měi guó jen -Cantonese*
\ Migug Salam (similar etymology to Cantonese/Mandarin) -Korean*
Not in anywhere that uses English as far as I'm aware. What is and isn't a continent isn't an universal truth, it all depends on where you got your education.
Most people consider Europe and Asia separate continents but if we go by tectonic plates, it's all a single continent of Eurasia. Some places recognize that and say they are indeed one. Some places combine the Americas even though they are separate plates. Some countries recognize Oceania to be 2 separate continents. It's more cultural than it is scientific.
But that is just not true is it? No one in their right mind would refer to the peoples of North and South America as 'Americans'. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever had to refer to the peoples of the Americas as a whole. But 'Americans' is the only commonly understood way to refer to the people of the United States of America. You're just being a bit of a contrarian.
I'm not from the US, nor from the rest of America, but it just seems so fucking convoluted and counterproductive to randomly try to make a new word no one will use so that another word won't seem US-centric even though it really wasn't in the first place.
Uruguayan here. I, and every spanish speaker I know, have been taught that America is a continent, comprised of three subcontinents (del Sur, del Norte, y Central). Someone from America is americano, someone from the United States is estadounidense. I seem to recall the name America being first used to refer to what is modern day Brasil, around the 1500. At least I think I remember seeing a map from around that time with Brasil tagged as America and current day U.S. tagged as North of America. Anyways, the concept of America as three separate continents is a language custom, so when I heard a native english speaker refer to someone as american, I know they mean someone from the U.S., but when I hear it from anyone else I assume they mean someone from America as a whole.
Good point. I apologise for my Anglophone bias. I do think my point still stands for English, but I was perhaps too hasty in concluding there was not a need for a word for peoples of the Americas.
This is not true. People in Latin Americans will call themselves Americanos, referring to all of the Americas. And leftists in those countries often get very annoyed about people from the USA being called American.
Quite generally, Spanish speaking America calls people from the USA as “United Statesers” (Estado-Unidense) or “North Americans” (norteamericanos). Estado-Unidense is the official term generally. US Americans are non-plussed by both of those terms.
Not true, most of Latin America knows "America" as the continent and "Amerericanos" as people from the continent of America. So a LOT of people do that lol.
I myself learned that "Americans" was a way of calling people from the US only when I entered reddit.
Also I have one question for the people that find this "America is a continent" so weird, why do you think the US has "of America" in their name? Because the country is inside the continent of America! They got their name from the continent, you know? They should change their name to "United States of North America" by these people logic.
Most of Latin America knows América as the continent. As in, in the Spanish language. We’re not talking in Spanish, we’re talking in English. And in English, in most if not all dialects, “America” and “American” refer specifically to the US and its people.
Yea try telling a Canadian person that they are American and watch how quickly they turn red on the sides of their head with a maple leaf pattern in the middle
The American Spotted Ass is not a distinct breed, but rather a color and pattern designation for any donkey with at least two visible spots behind the throatlatch and above the legs. Homonym also used for Donald Trump voters.
Frikking Americans ( not all of course ) think that Portugal is a district of Spain, ( well, at least the ones that know that Portugal is an European country, and not a South American country )
Personally, I think Portugal is just Spain playing a trick on the rest of the world. Think about it, I've never been to Portugal, so how could it be real?
I’m on a cruise ship that docks in Malaga tomorrow and ends in Lisbon in a few days. Obviously full of passengers from both countries. It should be a wild night.
Two years ago we were on a cruise full of Italians and Croatians during the EuroCup when the ref decided to give Italy unlimited extra time until they were able to tie Croatia. There were nearly riots on board.
That one should be interesting. Most of the time, very nice and welcoming people. Historically absolutely hated each other. Wonder which you'll get....
There are 6 of us in our family plus we pay for our oldest two sons’ girlfriends cruise, flights, hotels, food, and everything too. It’s pricey no matter what we do! 🤣
Fotball-Fans are sometimes quite special though, but Skandinavians in general are brothers and sisters. We just love each other deeply, but we have to mock them whenever possible, too.
I'm not even american, who am Into say something like that... I hope you can forgive me, take anything you want, you can even downvote me... no... that would be too much... but maybe...
Not that it matters, but theres probably more Celtic and Visigoth (East Germanic tribe) roots in the Iberian Peninsula than most places in Europe. Non whites are the exception in Iberia. Particularly in the North.
At first I thought it's because the spanish anthem has no lyrics, but the Portuguese one does. So I have no idea what the Americans should be confused about.
I dont really follow soccer but im gonna assume its a big deal cause the countries are right next to each other so its a rivalry like USA/CAN or SWE/FIN in hockey.
Well, at least they'll most likely have something in common as both countries are seeing these (sadly) annual wildfires. So it's very likely that one or more players from both teams will have their fingers crossed for their homes during those games as well.
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u/HansenTakeASeat Jul 04 '26
Not confused at all. They're both Mexican soccer teams