A couple of American terms.

A couple of American terms.
 

I heard these two words in an American show I watch with my daughter, and even though I can guess the meaning I might be wrong.
- The jocks ( the context was a group of teenagers in a high school talking about other kids). Are the jocks the popular guys?
- MIT : I guess it's a college. Am I right?:confused:
And one more thing I've just remembered:SB (you Americans use a lot more initials than the British and although I've managed to master some of them, many still escape me)
I have to admit I find initials and guessing what they stand for a great exercise, and besides they are very useful.
In some cases I choose to use the American word because it's a lot faster (I love talking about medicine and medical dramas...:o)
Some examples:
OR v. (operating theatre)
OB v. obstetrician or gynaecologist
CBC v. blood test
It's true that in some cases it's not only a distinction between continents but also a question of context. And aren't some vocab differences becoming blurry in this mass media world of ours?:?:

About these terms...
 

Hi Maria,

Yes, MIT is actually a school. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "jock" is used to label the guys who belong to sports teams, and usually they are popular :)

--Hawkgirl

We still have differences in vocabulary. For example (one among many) just ask for an aubergine, and you'll get a funny look.

OR = Operating Room (I don't think we call it a theatre here)
OB = Obstetrician ONLY (Gynecologist is a GYN)... which are two different specialties. There are doctors that are both so you would see OB/GYN behind their name
CBC = complete blood count
MIT = Massachusetts Institute of Technology

SB? I don't think I know what that stands for.

I guess the popularity of initials began also with the use of text messaging. Is text messaging not very popular in Europe?

Thanks so much. And by the way, I love your name. It makes me think of Pocahontas or something equally natural and graceful. Maybe because I'm 're watching' a lot of Disney movies (filmies, as he says) with my youngest at the moment.:D

I didn't give you a context for SB, but it referred to a personal quality, probably a defect if I remember correctly.
If you asked me for an aubergine I would give you an eggplant...;)
All the same, I think British people probably understand American words better than the other way around (most of the films we watch over here are still Hollywood productions...). At least the box office hits are.

I know OB and GYN are different (tocólogo y ginecólogo), but I'm too lazy to make the distinction unless necessary and as you pointed out many of them are both.
Texting is really popular over here too. My daughter uses lots of initials, and so do British youngsters. Many of my friends (elderly citizens that we are:p), do the same too, even in mails, but I don't really know why, I'd rather use whole words.:thinking:

María José,

Could the SB have been SOB?

Incidentially SOB means shortness of breath in the medical field

I don't know if it was one of María's medical dramas or the show with the jocks that the SB/SOB abbreviation came from. Let's see if she remembers any more context.

What meaning SOB or SB.?

No.I know that one and I teach it to my students,because swearwords are essential to understand modern films, young people...
I'm not sure about this because I don't remember the exact sentence, but I was thinking myself it might be selfish b****.:thinking:

It was the show with the jocks, Rusty.One Tree Hill,actually. And, incidentally ,if you notice I sound particularly sad, it's because my daughter and I have finished the third season already....Boo hoo hoo !:sad:
But not to worry, we've already started on Weeds...:D

Crotalito, SOB stands for son of a bitch ( :warning:). We are still discussing SB.:confused:

I didn't know that one. Thanks.:)

María,

Without knowing the context, the SB abbreviation could be a lot of things. I found lots of meanings (over 200) on the Internet sites that list abbreviations/acronyms. 'So Beautiful' is a popular chat abbreviation, and there are other possibilities. Add to your guess 'Stupid B', or 'Silly B'.

Although we know SOB means and SB remains a mystery. Now, I have a question about HP.
Besides the initials for Hewlitt Packard, among Puerto Ricans HP means SOB (and I don't mean shortness of breath). Does HP mean that in other countries in Latin America a Spain?

I just asked my husband and he says he has heard it on occasion (euphemistically, to try to avoid using the actual words). But my husband never swears and pretends to ignore the meaning of most swearwords uttered by others when he's around, so he might be biased.:D

Son of a bitch this sentence is a phrase very hard.

The context was a couple of beautiful teenagers at each other's thoats having a 'meaningful conversational exchange'. So I guess we should go with your last two options in this case.:)