Anton - great question. I am from the U.S., and it seems to me that they both mean the same thing. No undertone. I wonder about the context... but on its face, seems like the same thing. Peace! Evan Franulovich

Yes - 'Don't swim off' means 'Don't swim away'. Evan Franulovich

Hey man, I'm not sure I even understand the question. Can you give me more context? What are you doing? On its face, an announcement is usually disseminating information. For example, if I'm at dinner with my girlfriend and she stands up and says, "I have an announcement to make," the next words out of her mouth are probably going to be pretty important , like "I'm pregnant" or "I have cancer" or "I'm sleeping with your brother." I suppose it could have a suggestion tied to it like, "Attention! We have a blood shortage here at the base and we need your help! Please give blood!" Let me know if this helps at all. Peace! Evan Franulovich

Laura... I am from the U.S., so I can't really answer this fully.

What I <em>can</em> say is that the word is very British and not used in the U.S. I believe you are on the right track, however. It would be a place to sit and drink with friends. I'm thinking it would be like a brewery or maybe a pub.

Hope that helps!

Evan Franulovich

Just to add to the excellent answer that you've already been given, you should know that a person can also be a 'tool' if they are a complete jerk or pretentious ass. So if someone was a 'ski tool', it could be that they are an ass that skis. I know that you weren't looking for a lesson in slang, but there you go! Cheers! Evan Franulovich

Hey man, I'm not sure I even understand the question. Can you give me more context? What are you doing? On its face, an announcement is usually disseminating information. For example, if I'm at dinner with my girlfriend and she stands up and says, "I have an announcement to make," the next words out of her mouth are probably going to be pretty important , like "I'm pregnant" or "I have cancer" or "I'm sleeping with your brother." I suppose it could have a suggestion tied to it like, "Attention! We have a blood shortage here at the base and we need your help! Please give blood!" Let me know if this helps at all. Peace! Evan Franulovich

Dude... let me see if i can help you. 'You and I' are pronouns - the subjects of the sentence - so you are going to use them with a verb. For example: You and I are going to rent a van and drive across Canada. 'you and me' is NOT ever a subject. Use it like this: - She gave herpes to you and me. - That song is about you and me. - He is going to shoot you and me. - "It's just you and me, cowboy!" Does that help? If not, YOU AND I can discuss it further. ; ) Evan Franulovich

Yes - 'Don't swim off' means 'Don't swim away'. Evan Franulovich