What's a Dead Giveaway That Someone Is American?

Added: 2026-05-13

[00:00:00]What's a dead giveaway that someone is American? I grew up in a small village in rural England. A friend once said to me, "You always know there's Americans in town when you see a granddad wearing a baseball cap."

[00:00:13]We Brits talk about the weather for small talk, but Americans ask each other where they're from and if they have any friends or family from the same place.

[00:00:21]Seems like it should swap because American weather is far more interesting than British weather and Britain is much smaller, so there's more chance of having a mutual friend or area with a stranger.

[00:00:32]Calling people mom or sir seems to be a very American thing to me. I think it's great. It's so polite and, as a Brit, being called mom makes me feel like the queen. As a US Southerner, every time I say that in England, everyone just seems to be pleased as heck. In Scotland, they look at me funny. Say something self-deprecating and laugh. Either way, it seems to generate serious brownie points with the locals.

[00:00:57]Personal anecdote. I'm Asian-American, and whenever I travel back to Asia, the locals can always tell I'm American. One time, I was riding a train by myself and a businessman sat down in the seat next to me. We made eye contact and I smiled at him, and he was really taken aback.

[00:01:15]We started talking and he said that people in Asia, [music] while friendly, aren't usually so outgoing or enthusiastic. I guess he knew immediately I wasn't a local because Americans are a lot more willing to interact with strangers.

[00:01:29]>> [music] >> I always feel weird going back to Asia as an Asian-American. You finally find a place where people look like you, but you still don't feel like you belong.

[00:01:37]It's a very surreal experience, at least for me it is.

[00:01:42]A long time ago, someone told me that in Russia, you can always spot an American because they show no fear. They just walk around happy and enthusiastic and expect [music] nothing bad will happen to them. This makes me sad for Russian people.

[00:01:58]Saying good for you. Never heard any other person who speak English use this.

[00:02:02]In German, it's even meant rude. Schön für dich is like nice for you, but [music] nobody cares. In American English, this can go either way. It really depends [music] on context. I have used it both sarcastically, the German sense you described, [music] and genuinely.

[00:02:19]Whence you hear someone randomly do a high-pitched woo woo in a public place.

[00:02:23]Yep, that's an American. You can't blame us growing up with such prestigious leaders as Ric Flair.

[00:02:31]Once a day, Americans can activate their racial power by chanting USA. Other Americans around them will join in, and the number of Americans chanting creates an expanding area that is legally part of the United States for the duration of the chant. It also summons eagles.

[00:02:49]Before I traveled, I had a Russian roommate in college. He would always say you could spot an American pretty easily because we all had to choose and wear cargo shorts. Went to Vietnam the year after and a guy walks in wearing cargo shorts and covered in nautical tattoos.

[00:03:04]I went over and talked to him, and he was not only from Seattle, but the neighborhood I grew up in. Small world.

[00:03:11]I am American, but live in Germany. Here are my observations. Driving a Chevy.

[00:03:16]They have Fords here even, not Chevrolet though. Europeans dress really nice to the grocery store. Americans do not.

[00:03:25]Buying bulk groceries. The Germans seem to get a few things every day from the local market. Americans seem to try to get as much as they can without it going bad and see how long one grocery trip can last them. On a different note, Americans are actually really accepting of others trying out the English language, and usually we can make out what you are saying as long as you use the right letters. In other countries, I have found this not as forgiving to people who speak English trying out other languages. Also, bumper stickers.

[00:03:55]Well, I live about 15 km away from the nearest store, so it's not very efficient to get groceries every day.

[00:04:03]I, Northern European, lived in Southern Europe for a few years, and you could always tell the Americans during the summer. During the afternoon, the streets were deserted except for tourists during 45° heat. The vast majority were dying and sweating and complaining about the heat, and the Americans were always the ones who were going, "Nah, it's not that hot." Used to make me laugh a lot. You Americans sure know how to take your heat.

[00:04:30]They say that's funny instead of laughing.

[00:04:34]They just talk to you. I sat in a plane for the first time in my life and was fairly freaked out while looking out of the window. Next to me sat this cute girl, and she suddenly wrapped an arm around my shoulder and was like, "Hey, how's you? Looking a bit nervous there.

[00:04:49]First time flying." Turns out she was from Texas, and I learned a lot about her and her life and preferences during that one-hour flight. It was amazing, lol. I would hardly open up so much to a stranger, [music] but was secretly pleased, too. If ever I get the lonelys, I will immigrate [music] to the USA, lol.

[00:05:09]American living in Canada. Things that usually get me nabbed are the instead of zed, y'all, [music] check instead of cheque different when written, pronounced the same, leaving out superfluous us, spelling things with re instead of rae, centre versus center, not getting a common pop culture reference from people's childhood, not knowing Canadian history things if they come up in conversation. The last two are less common, as people who've known me for any length of time have usually already know that I'm imported. Just watch the Heritage Minutes on YouTube and the Log Driver's Waltz, and you'll be able to fake having grown up on Canadian TV.

[00:05:47]American currently traveling all about Europe and the Middle East. It's the R sound. No one else has the American R, apparently. If you can't roll your Rs or say them Englishly, just [music] drop them, and suddenly you're a nationless individual. Also, obsessive smiling and tipping. A lot of people here are saying white socks, but that's almost universal among the fashion unconscious, and just [music] more prominent in America. The R, this is true. Americans really emphasize the R. What Americans call a bear Australians call a before example.

[00:06:22]They really, really, [music] really love potatoes. For me that is. It's always potatoes. [music] But then again, I can't blame ourselves potatoes are delicious. I've never heard that one before. It's always seems to be Americans love cheese and Americans love strawberries. Learned that second one from Top Gear.

[00:06:42]Being amazed by anything that's more than 100 years old. I saw some Americans taking pictures of cobbled streets in London.

[00:06:51]I went with a group of fellow Americans to Germany and the Netherlands, and the only real answer is volume. I still cringe thinking about it. Because as a group, we were just so loud. We'd get stares everywhere we went. We'd go into a bar or restaurant, and I'm pretty sure no one else could hear themselves over us. Or if we were at a castle or some other open space, [music] you could easily find the group just by following the squawks. I was having a romantic dinner with my soulmate at a restaurant in Rome. First night in Italy, then a horde of American teenage girls stormed the place. So loud. From that point on, I thought I was in a Chuck-E-Cheese.

[00:07:30]They enunciate their A's differently.

[00:07:32]Went to the Mont Tremblant, Canadian, with my family. We were at a gas station, and my dad was asking for a map. The guy behind the counter looked completely confused and asked, "What do you want a mop for?" My dad looks at me like, "WTF?" Then turns back and goes, "I need a my yap." And the guy goes, "A map, gotcha." Freaking baffled me.

[00:07:51]Pronunciation is different across the country.

[00:07:55]The voice seemingly carries over a long distance. I was walking by myself through park and suddenly heard an American accent that sounded right behind me. I know he was about 10-12 m behind me. He was walking with a group of non-Americans who I could not hear.

[00:08:11]He [music] wasn't shouting. It was weird though, he was talking at least twice as loud as everyone else in the same conversation. We Americans have evolved over our nation's short history to have bold voices that carry in order to communicate with our fellow Americans, which are often hundreds of miles away in another state. Also, so we can communicate locally over the screeching of eagles and the thundering of freedom.

[00:08:35]I was told the fact that I strike up conversations with random people in line, in an elevator, on the bus, etc. [music] is pretty much a dead giveaway that I am from the States. Evidently, people not from the United States are not very friendly with each other. I had random other Americans come up to me when I was visiting Tokyo and ask questions about the subway system and where certain things were. I had not said anything.

[00:08:59]They just assumed I was, knew what I was doing, and too, was American. So, there [music] has to be something else that gives it away. Granted, I was a 6' 4" 200-lb white guy in Japan, so the chances are pretty good that I spoke English, but that might also explain why I get frightened looks from the people when I randomly try to start up polite conversation, not always talking in English. They just assumed I was a 6' 4" 200-lb white guy in Japan. I wonder what gave it away.

[00:09:31]They generally come across as a lot happier. When I've met Americans, a friend is married to an American. I've met some tourists in London. They always tend to be really cheery and upbeat.

[00:09:42]Also, the accent is kind of a giveaway.

[00:09:45][music] The sad ones generally stay at home.

[00:09:49]When they ask for a large and all they get is their medium at a McDonald's in another country. I'm an American in Australia. It hurts every time I want a large. The American white girls are the easiest. They wear those trendy North Face jackets. We have bigger drinks and free refills. Those are the things I miss the most when I travel. Apparently, free refills are spreading.

[00:10:12]Hey, what state are you from? Comma, I'm not American. I'm from the UK. Really?

[00:10:17]Your English is very good. True story.

[00:10:20]One of my good friends moved to USA from England. And when we were out one night a girl asked him where he was from and he said England. [music] And her honest-to-god response was what language do they speak over there? She was not kidding. E, spelling.

[00:10:36]I live in Florida. You can tell we are American because we are the ones mocking all the sunburnt Europeans and their fanny packs. As a Brit, [music] fanny packs always makes me chuckle.

[00:10:47]Fanny means vagina over here. But then we call them bum bags, which isn't much better.

[00:10:53]When we lived in Spain, a Spanish friend laughed at me for wearing white tennis shoes. She said you could always tell an American because they wear white tennis shoes everywhere. It made me very self-conscious at the time, but I started looking around when I traveled and she was right.

[00:11:10]Mildly related story. I served a guy in the shop I work at the other week with the strongest American accent I've ever heard. Baseball [music] cap, pale jeans, bushy gray mustache, the whole stereotype. I asked how long he'd be holidaying here England or if he's visiting someone. And he politely told me he'd been teaching in this country for 15 years. I felt kind of bad because I imagine he gets asked stuff like that all [music] the time.

[00:11:38]As a person in the Bay Area who see a lot of European immigrants, I'm surprised the answer isn't I cannot see the outline of your teenagers junk pushed into skinny jeans. Because seriously, Europeans are insanity compared to my low and lazy crotch here in the US. As an American, I know you meant Bay Area to mean the San Francisco Bay Area. If I were not American, I'd assume that would be another sign that you were American. Just like calling people foreigners when you're the one visiting someone else's country.

[00:12:10]My university is in Australia and I can usually spot an American from a mile away. Usually very confident and most wear baggy clothing.

[00:12:19]They have the courtesy to stand in a line. If you have never been abroad, you don't realize how unusual it is for someone to do that. [music] It's usually just a free-for-all.

[00:12:30]Can someone make a post with comparison pictures of average everyday wear for different places? This thread has made me curious.

[00:12:37]>> [music] >> Which makes it sound like American is polo shirt, cargo shorts, white socks, and running shoes. What about everywhere else?

[00:12:46]They ask you questions about your culture after you tell them a story.

[00:12:50]Their clothes are washed to be pretty, not simply be clean. A stance of assurance, even if they're lost, they'll be majestically lost. They react quicker to abnormal noises. They stand their ground towards hooligans.

[00:13:04]My dad, American, [music] lived in Spain for a year to study fine art. He said said you could pick out all the Americans in Seville because they were the only ones wearing white tennis shoes. [music] He also mentioned that he was amazed how such a large percentage of Spanish women took such care into picking out beautiful shoes for their outfits.

[00:13:23][music] He said you never saw Spanish women in sneakers. That was in the '70s.

[00:13:29]Girls wear yoga pants. Went on a cruise this summer and none of the seven countries I stopped had girls wearing yoga pants. If I saw a girl wearing yoga pants, I would soon find them to be American.

[00:13:42]I like guessing people's nationalities.

[00:13:45]There was a guy on the train that had country badges of where he traveled sewn on his backpack, but the US was missing.

[00:13:51]Canada and Mexico were on there, the UK, Australia, and many European countries.

[00:13:57]He could have been either NZ or US, [music] and I settled for US in my head.

[00:14:02]As soon as he opened his mouth, my guess was confirmed, and I high-fived myself mentally to celebrate. Then there was a group of tourists at a castle that was out of earshot, so I couldn't tell. It was an ethnically diverse group with white, black, Latin, and Asian-looking people and men in trainers sneakers. I think they were American, but they didn't walk close enough by me, so we will never know for sure. Maybe I should get a more interesting hobby.

[00:14:29]The tips. We don't make tipping a big deal in the UK, but >> [music] >> correct me if I'm wrong, it sounds like it's a big deal in America.

[00:14:38]It's funny because I was in Italy a few years ago and I saw this older couple from Texas wearing matching button-down shirts with a Texas flag on it. I cringed, and I'm American.

[00:14:49]It's a bit hard to tell. I live about 12 minutes from the Canadian-USA border and I see lots of Americans and Canadians mixed in and everyone seems to act the same and I don't go outside often.

[00:15:01]Offer them tea. If they proceed to throw it in the harbor, you've got an American. If they get mad it's not iced tea, you've got a Southerner. If they get mad it's not alcoholic, you've got someone from Long Island.

[00:15:15]I'm American but live in Madrid. When you see a group of people with lots of different ethnicities, they are usually American. A group with white, black, Asian, Latin, [music] etc. is almost sure to be American. It's one of the things I do like about us.

[00:15:32]Just play Don't Stop Believin' on the nearest stereo system. The Americans will stop what they are doing, cheer, and sing along. [music] The giveaways are one, volume, and two, chattiness. All my European friends say that American tourists always talk excessively and loudly.

[00:15:51]I know I'm late to the party. If the US Army at one time had a list, borrowed I think from the State Department. One, talking loud. One, smiling too much.

[00:16:02]One, baseball hats. One, college sweatshirts. One, etc. Large, muscular, like ripped, blonde balding hair, likes to say brother often, often wears a yellow tank top, usually rips it off, and proclaims Hulkamania is running wild. Oh, and has some weird theme music proclaiming theme to be a real American.

[00:16:26]As a Texas American, I have been fortunate to have traveled the world professionally for business mostly and for pleasure some. I have learned to carefully try my best to adapt to the local culture color as best possible do as not to stand out or ever be the ugly American. It's not too hard. That said, my biggest pet peeve has always been the lack of available ice for my beverages.

[00:16:49]I love my ice at home, especially Sonic ice for those that know it. I never complain and understand it, but boy, that is the one thing that makes me miss home immediately.

[00:16:59]>> [music] >> Upvote for Sonic ice. I swear there's little bits of age in it. Also, the consistency. [music] It's the perfect balance between crushed ice and cubed ice.

[00:17:09]I'm an American and I enjoy playing spot the American as much as anybody when I'm overseas, but you've got to be careful.

[00:17:16]Here's a story. I was in Kyoto, Japan, staying in a decent four-star hotel. I headed down to breakfast and saw two elderly men. They were wearing white running shoes, beige short pants, ridiculous athletic shirts, and white baseball caps. It bothered me that these Americans were playing to the stereotype, but I was more bothered that these otherwise noble-looking geezers were dressing like fools. I wanted to tell them, "You guys are clean-cut American old guys.

[00:17:45]>> [music] >> Don't you remember the days of dressing sharp and carrying yourself like a gentleman? Why are you dressed like children?" But my haughty snobbishness caught up with me when I skimmed past that table. They were Germans. And by the way they pronounced their ch sounds, I'd wager they were either Bavarian and Austrian. I boggled. I sat [music] back down and looked at them. Their hair was short and perfectly trimmed. They were, in fact, neat as [music] a pin. If you stuck them into military uniforms, they could convincingly pass as World War II field generals. But here they were in white socks, stripy sneakers, floppy shorts, Nike swoosh shirts, and bright white ball caps. American cultural imperialism has swept the world. So when you're playing spot the American, >> [music] >> don't be too sure of yourself.

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[00:18:47]>> [music] [music] [music] >> Bye for now.