English to English translations

siggav

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 26, 2007
Messages
1,327
Purraise
22
Location
Scotland
Oh and in australia flip-flops (the shoes) are called thongs.

Heath Ledger teased some guy in an interview by saying that he'd been down at the beach with his mates, all of them in thongs, trying to get some fags.

I guess you could make it even worse by saying he'd been in thongs and suspenders


so:
thongs = flip-flops
fags = cigarettes
 

trouts mom

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 4, 2006
Messages
23,949
Purraise
16
Location
Snowy Santa Land
Originally Posted by kerry'n'ben

we say braces - which hold up men's trousers, and suspenders are sexy underwear for women.

this thread is fab!
Suspenders are sexy underwear!?
How weird
 

tickytat

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Jul 5, 2007
Messages
432
Purraise
4
Location
Vermont, USA
Originally Posted by kerry'n'ben

To clear up confusion - a 'buttie' is buttered bread with chips on it, the rest of the time we say sandwich or sarnie.
Ok, would that be buttered bread with CHIPS/CRISPS or French Fries? LOL! Now I'm even more confused!
Great thread though. I'm going to Google Buttie right now!
 

hopehacker

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jul 6, 2003
Messages
8,147
Purraise
4
Location
Los Angeles,CA
Originally Posted by Snickers80

When Noah Webster was making the first American dictionary, he looked at some English words and said "that's silly, we don't need that letter; or- we don't pronounce that lie that".....hence the de-"u"ing etc of a lot of English words.


"American" is very regional. In different parts of the country, different languages shape the language, and there are many dialects and accents.
So we have Noah Webster to blame for ruining the English Language in America, do we? I know he's long dead by now, but I just want to say, I don't appreciate it.
 

jaffacake

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Feb 25, 2007
Messages
4,243
Purraise
13
Location
1066 Country
US - UK

Closet = Wardrobe
Dumpster = Bin
Faucet = Tap
ER = A&E
Trailer = Caravan
Couch = Sofa
Mail = Post
Zuchini = Courgette
Trash = Rubbish
 

hopehacker

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jul 6, 2003
Messages
8,147
Purraise
4
Location
Los Angeles,CA
Originally Posted by Jaffacake

US - UK

Closet = Wardrobe
Dumpster = Bin
Faucet = Tap
ER = A&E
Trailer = Caravan
Couch = Sofa
Mail = Post
Zuchini = Courgette
Trash = Rubbish
We use a lot of what you're saying in the USA, as well.

We can either use closet or wardrobe, either one.
We can either say couch, sofa or davenport
We can either say trash or rubbish as well.
We can say garbage bin, as well as dumpster.

I know ER stands for Emergency Room. What does A&E stand for?
 

isadora44

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Jul 3, 2007
Messages
183
Purraise
1
Location
Gresham, OR
Originally Posted by jcat

eraser = rubber
My family once hosted a French exchange student when I was younger. She was there for a year and went to high school with me. Previously, she had been an exchange student in UK...so she learned a lot of "English" words. She had a huge crush on this one guy in one of her classes, and one day she needed an eraser, so she leaned over to him and asked if she could "borrow a rubber" (not knowing, of course, what a "rubber" is in the US). She didn't understand why he looked so horrified until she explained the situation to me later and I broke the news to her
. Poor girl was mortified!!!
 

jcat

Mo(w)gli's can opener
Veteran
Joined
Feb 13, 2003
Messages
73,213
Purraise
9,851
Location
Mo(w)gli Monster's Lair
Originally Posted by Moz

What does the A&E stand for? I'm assuming the E is for emergency.
Originally Posted by HopeHacker

We use a lot of what you're saying in the USA, as well.

We can either use closet or wardrobe, either one.
We can either say couch, sofa or davenport
We can either say trash or rubbish as well.
We can say garbage bin, as well as dumpster.

I know ER stands for Emergency Room. What does A&E stand for?
Accident & Emergency Unit. I learned that one when I had to accompany a German with a poor command of English, who had broken his arm, to the ER while in London.
 

laureen227

Darksome Duo!
Top Cat
Joined
Sep 3, 2003
Messages
19,260
Purraise
387
Location
Denton TX
Originally Posted by HopeHacker

We use a lot of what you're saying in the USA, as well.
We can either say couch, sofa or davenport
altho, i've never heard anyone down south refer to it as a davenport... i'm thinking that's more yankee?
when i was young, flip-flops were also called thongs. this was before there was underwear by that name. i still have what i call thong sandals - they're not flip-flops, but they have the thing between the toes.
i've never heard anyone call a trash or garbage can a waste 'bin'. hereabouts, bins are storage containers, not trash containers.
in Texas and many parts of the south, if you're about to do something, you''re fixin' to do it.
we also call all carbonated beverages cokes. hence the following exchange:
"you wanna coke?"
"yeah."
"what kind?"
 

jcat

Mo(w)gli's can opener
Veteran
Joined
Feb 13, 2003
Messages
73,213
Purraise
9,851
Location
Mo(w)gli Monster's Lair
Originally Posted by laureen227

altho, i've never heard anyone down south refer to it as a davenport... i'm thinking that's more yankee?
when i was young, flip-flops were also called thongs. this was before there was underwear by that name. i still have what i call thong sandals - they're not flip-flops, but they have the thing between the toes.
I'm from the NE (Philly), and am familiar with "davenport", so it might be a regional expression. "Flip-flops", to me, don't have the piece between the big and second toes, while "thongs" do. Maybe we're showing our age, Laureen!
 

katachtig

Moderator
Staff Member
Admin
Joined
Jun 25, 2005
Messages
25,290
Purraise
2,893
Location
Colorado
Another British usage that throws me is "pudding" to mean any dessert.
 

white cat lover

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Nov 17, 2005
Messages
22,206
Purraise
35
In the school here, they aren't supposed to call them "thongs"...they prefer they be called flip-flops as "thongs" has been labeled a 'dirty' word.


My 85 year old grandma has a davenport. Yet, we have 3 couches at our house. Not sure what the technical differnece is between "davenport" & "couch"?


I find it fascinating that not only are US vs. UK different, but there is the regional effect as well!!
 

dragoriana

MajesticFloof
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 20, 2006
Messages
4,092
Purraise
543
I don't know which ones to compare as there are so many, can someone give me a list to translate into Australian? (will sound more English mind you
) after all, the only true Australians are Aboriginals, everyone else is from another country lol
 

zissou'smom

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 11, 2006
Messages
6,482
Purraise
8
Originally Posted by sarahp

crib = cot (I'm still confused which is which though...)
A crib is for infants, and has railings around it. A cot is a fold-out bed for kids or grown-ups. Here, at least.

The different types of English have changed about the same amount since they started diverging, and there is nothing to back up a statement about one being 'better' or 'original'.
 

icklemiss21

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 14, 2005
Messages
16,465
Purraise
20
Location
in the land of poutine and ice
Originally Posted by Zissou'sMom

A crib is for infants, and has railings around it. A cot is a fold-out bed for kids or grown-ups. Here, at least.

The different types of English have changed about the same amount since they started diverging, and there is nothing to back up a statement about one being 'better' or 'original'.
In England a cot is the one for infants with railings
 

katl8e

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jan 21, 2002
Messages
12,622
Purraise
3
Location
Movin' on up!
My ex-MIL was from Iowa and she called the couch a davenport (of course, there is a city in Iowa called Davenport). I've heard Canadians refer to the couch as a "chesterfield". In the US, Chesterfield is a brand of cigarettes.
 
Top