Originally published at: American tourist giveaways: Habits that scream "I'm from the US" - Boing Boing
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- Using a knife and fork in the “cut and switch” style
That one was also a favourite way for the Abwehr to spot American spies during WWII.
The list is a mixed bag, but for the most part seems to be more about identifying aged 35+ people as Americans. With a few exceptions, young people throughout the West are also going to tend to behave in the same way.
Also, someone who thinks that “being direct in communication style” is a particularly American trait has never visited a lot of European countries.
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Having grown up in Venezuela i could definitely tell at a quick glace if someone was a tourist. Almost always they would be American, but generally wearing nicer clothes is a giveaway. Almost always there’s shorts involved, and you can fill your BINGO card if they have socks with sandals on.
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That also works for the German tourist bingo card. Especially if the socks are black.
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that hurts my brain.
Other giveaways as a tourist that i noticed when i was a kid in Venezuela might’ve been wearing jewelry. Another is people who stand somewhere deciding what to do or where to go, locals know where they’re going and are hauling ass to get there so when you notice a group of people standing it definitely makes them stand out.
And this is more of a cautionary thing if you’re a tourist. Don’t pull out a wallet full of cash. Keep pocket money in your pocket or you can switch things around and keep large bills stashed somewhere and keep chump change in your wallet so you look broke.
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Saying where in America they’re from rather than just “the US” when asked
Wouldn’t just saying you’re from the US … tell people you’re from the US? Seems weird to have that on the list. I can see listing it as a peeve to tell people the region when they’re unfamiliar with US geography, but if we’re listing the things that give you away as being from the US, this seems like hair-splitting.
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This is missing wearing clothes, and especially shoes, that are two sizes too big.
I have no idea what the cut-and-switch style of using cutlery is, although I suppose the name is self-explanatory.
I can definitely attest to the first point. Americans are loud. They just speak louder than anyone else, except the Spanish. I remember I was sitting in a Copenhagen jazz bar with a friend, once. We were talking to each other at a normal volume, as was everyone else in the bar, except for a table of Americans. Everyone could hear what they were screaming at each other over the very soft music. They were discussing whether Europeans thought they were speaking loudly and whether people around them understood what they said. So when it was time to leave I went over to their table and told them loudly that everyone in the room could understand what they had been saying. There was a murmur of amused assent from all the other tables.
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The same is true for “using American English or slang”. Yeah, no shit, Americans use American English.
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Hold fork in left and knife in right. Cut food, then put down knife and transfer the fork to the right hand to transfer food to mouth.
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The only explanation I’ve ever come up with for that supremely inefficient custom is that it was some kind of 19th-century behavioural training to discourage people from using their left hand.
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Insisting they’re Canadian.
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Great advice. I once saw a dude get his wallet snatched by someone who asked for change to break a larger bill.
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Australian tourons have entered the chat.
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Asking for ice in drinks
I constantly get excited waiters in Europe telling me they’ll make sure to give me lots of ice in my drink. I was very confused, as I don’t particularly care about ice in my drinks, until I realized this is a stereotype of Americans.
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As Miss Manners has said more than once, eating isn’t supposed to be efficient. A direct quote: “What makes you think that efficiency is a virtue when it comes to eating? Is the person who can shovel the food in fastest therefore the most polite?”
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I was at a place in Bath once and we asked the waitress for plenty of ice in our drinks, because we both happen to like ice and it’s in very short supply in Europe so we were feeling deprived. “Oh, you must be Americans!” she said cheerfully, to which I replied, “Canadians, actually” and she was so embarrassed and apologetic that I felt bad for her. It’s not an insult to be mistaken for Americans!
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What a crap list. I’m surprised “Women wearing trousers” isn’t on it.
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As a Murican, I wonder. If I go to another country, I’m at least tempted to pretend to be Canadian. My understanding is that while the US is often envied in many places, it’s also often, and rightly, reviled.
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This one’s been concerning me lately. Generally I’m of the philosophy that shorts in public are for kids, not grown men. But we’re about to go on a trip to the urban tropics and looking at near-90° (30°c) temperatures, day and night, with >70% humidity. Should I give in and accept the unfashionable tourist “tell” for the sake of even a minor bit of relief, or stick to my principles (and vanity) even if it means more discomfort? 
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