The UK / US language Barrier

[dawnofsierra]

I'm always fascinated with the subtle differences in our cultures. Thank you so much for these super interesting points!

 

[xdx]

There is also the Australian/English language barier. One of my work colleagues is from Sydney and once asked a girl to remove Her THONG. Well here that has a totally different meaning. So she was rather embaressed

U.K. Thong = Underwear that our bottom wont thank you for

Australian= Thong = Flip flop

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b186/radbunny/Live Journal Pics/FlatBlackLG.jpg
A very Snazy Flip Flop(Thumbnail

 

[maverick_kitten]

Originally Posted by xDx

There is also the Australian/English language barier. One of my work colleagues is from Sydney and once asked a girl to remove Her THONG. Well here that has a totally different meaning. So she was rather embaressed

U.K. Thong = Underwear that our bottom wont thank you for

Australian= Thong = Flip flop

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b186/radbunny/Live Journal Pics/FlatBlackLG.jpg
A very Snazy Flip Flop(Thumbnail

Oh god, yes!

When I worked in a womans clothing shop an Aussie lady came in and asked if we had any rubber thongs! I thought she was just a bit experimental, but it tunrs out she wanted flipflops!

 

[jdpesz]

Ahem...
In America, "Randy" is a proper name, not an adjective. Nuff said?

 

[xdx]

in the uk we have Bum Bags.

I think ive said enough

 

[evnshawn]

Originally Posted by xDx

in the uk we have Bum Bags.

What's a ... never mind. I don't want to know.

Since you mentioned silencers—in the US, a silencer is a thing that attaches to the business end of a pistol to muffle the sound of the shot. Usually seen in movies about the mafia/hitmen.

Also, what we call a pacifier (or sometimes, a binky—though that's actually a brand name), you call a dummy. To us (and, I think, to you as well when you don't mean pacifier) a dummy is either a stupid person or a mannequin.

 

[sar]

Originally Posted by xDx

in the uk we have Bum Bags.

I remember the confusion when I went to Florida and the hotel offered us free fanny packs!!

I think I laughed for the whole time I was there!!

 

[stampit3d]

Originally Posted by xDx

There is also the Australian/English language barier. One of my work colleagues is from Sydney and once asked a girl to remove Her THONG. Well here that has a totally different meaning. So she was rather embaressed

U.K. Thong = Underwear that our bottom wont thank you for

Australian= Thong = Flip flop

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b186/radbunny/Live Journal Pics/FlatBlackLG.jpg
A very Snazy Flip Flop(Thumbnail

What do the English call Flip Flops???
Not too long ago we called them "THONGS" here in the US....but things in even "our version of English" have ways of changing over time.
Also...our word "GAY" used to mean "HAPPY"! ;-)
Linda

 

[stampit3d]

When we lived in Liberia, W. Africa, my Mom made a dress for a native friend. When she told her that it was finished, instead of being excited, she seemed quite dissappointed.....finally Mom figured out that in her version of a more simple "English" she`d thought that "finished" meant "ruined", or "done for". She was very relieved to find that Mom had meant that it was completed.
Linda

 

[purr]

I was talking to this guy online and he said "how's tricks?" and I thought he was calling me a *****.

The only time I heard anything like that is like "turning tricks" like a ***** on Law & Order and stuff.

 

[katl8e]

Originally Posted by jdpesz

Ahem...
In America, "Randy" is a proper name, not an adjective. Nuff said?

I have a brother AND a nephew named Randy and, yes they both ARE!

My former stepdaughter, named "Randi" isn't.

 

[gailc]

I remember a few things from the times I gone to the UK
What they call Car Park-we call parking lot.
Instead of backing up your car-it was reversing.
Potato chips-you call crisps and have really odd flavours-Prawn???
There are probably lots more that don't come to mind.
I also remember that the coach driver said women don't usually order pints of beer only half pints at a time-the women who ordered pints were of looser moral character!!!!
Oh....Answer Phone instead of Answering Machine!!!
I read 3-4 English garden magazines a month so there is lots of terminology I am used to...Beetroot instead of Beets. Minced meat insteadof ground meat.
Marrows and courogettes (sorry spelling) instead of squash and zucchini.
And I LOVE PIMMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[pombina]

Im learning quite a lot from this thread! One thing I could do with clearing up though, why oh why, do you call a cotton bud a q-tip?

 

[yoviher]

And why, why, is a cookie, "biscuit"?

 

[evnshawn]

Originally Posted by Pombina

Im learning quite a lot from this thread! One thing I could do with clearing up though, why oh why, do you call a cotton bud a q-tip?

Q-tip is the most popular brand name of those ... things. (I just checked their website; technically, those are "cotton swabs." Never in my life have I heard anyone refer to cotton swabs.) So basically, it's a lot like saying Kleenex when what you really mean is any facial tissue. Or, on your side of the pond, saying Hoover when what you really mean is any vacuum cleaner.

 

[evnshawn]

Originally Posted by stampit3d

What do the English call Flip Flops???
Not too long ago we called them "THONGS" here in the US....but things in even "our version of English" have ways of changing over time.
Linda

You know what? Now that I think about it, I am pretty sure that people started calling them flip-flops to differentiate them from the relatively newly popular undergarment made of, basically, string. I think those types of panties used to be called G-strings.

 

[bullit]

I am native New Yorker now living in Scotland. The first time a little girl asked me if they could clap my dog I had no idea what they wanted. I had to wait for my Scottish hubby to come home and tell me. It means pet your dog.

scottish US
wind screen- wind shield
jelly- jello
braces - suspenders
suspenders - garter belt
hen - slang for woman
cooker- stove or oven
boiler- hot water heater,furnace
pudding- dessert
jam- jelly or jam
tomato sauce- catsup
dressed- neuter or spayed animal
tea- supper,dinner
lolly- popsicle
sweets- candy
pressed apple juice-cider

 

[pombina]

Originally Posted by Bullit

I am native New Yorker now living in Scotland. The first time a little girl asked me if they could clap my dog I had no idea what they wanted. I had to wait for my Scottish hubby to come home and tell me. It means pet your dog.

scottish US
wind screen- wind shield
jelly- jello
braces - suspenders
suspenders - garter belt
hen - slang for woman
cooker- stove or oven
boiler- hot water heater,furnace
pudding- dessert
jam- jelly or jam
tomato sauce- catsup
dressed- neuter or spayed animal
tea- supper,dinner
lolly- popsicle
sweets- candy
pressed apple juice-cider

Haha thats funny, I'm from England and now live in scotland and found the clapping thing very strange, still do...
Where I live in Dundee it's like a whole other language of its own I really struggle with it sometimes.
Another 'Scottism' is 'where do you stay?' or 'where do you bide?' meaning 'where do you live?'.
Also a Fish and Chip shop/Chippy is a Chipper?
'How?' instead of 'why?'
'aye' instead of 'yes'... the list is endless

 

[ryn]

It's often difficult for me to remember which version of spelling/word is UK and which is US. Hence my sometimes perhaps confusing mixes. I mostly try to stick to US English here and UK English everywhere else.

 

[loveysmummy]

Originally Posted by AbbysMom

I really do love it when Susan replies to a thread in Fur Pics and says "Bless his cotton socks" It puts a smile on my face every time.

My mum and my nan both said this (RIP).
Also, it was common to hear "love a duck" or "my duck" as a term of endearment