What are some of the phrases or terms used in your culture that you've seen used differently in other cultures?

[NwaNaija]

Following this thread www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3988409-Why-is-Mummy-Daddy-considered-posh-Other-cultural-differences?pg=1,
I think this question was buried under the first post so I'm making a new thread for it.

What phrases or terms do you use in one country/culture but means something else in another country/culture?

I'll paste the responses I can remember seeing on that thread, including my posts on it. Sorry I have too much time on my hands and enjoy conversations on cultural differences and similarities.

@DelurkingAJ

I would like a plural version of ‘you’ in the UK. I find it difficult when someone says (pre COVID!) ‘would you like to...’ is that just me? Me and DH? Me, DH and DC? And if you ask them and it was just me then I feel like I’m fishing for a wider invitation! Argh!

I moved to Yorkshire and discovered the term 'yous' for you plural. Should become common (in the non- perjorative sense) parlance.

@Lozza70

We say yous in NI. Perfect plural!

Or even yous'uns

My friend's mum was an English teacher in Glasgow. Every time she taught Macbeth she had to remind the class that when they're asked in an exam How did Macbeth kill Duncan? they weren't been asked why he killed him but the manner in which he was killed

Oh gotcha weeds!

Yes. Brains faggots adverts on to the telly come to mind!

There are differences in Irish, the most startling being that they can be born and die repeatedly, to English understanding, because they use the word 'whenever' to mean what English call 'when'.

A Scottish difference is that they never have a fixed abode, to English understanding, because they only ever 'stay' in the place the English would 'live' .

There is or was a Cornish (or Devon?) habit of using as an all purpose endearment the term "my lover", where a more mainstream culture would use "my dear"

Indians have a directness which sounds blunt, so that (I'm assured) it is perfectly correct, if the Prime Minister has popped round for dinner, for anyone, even the young child of the family, to simply say to him "pass the bread". English would require convolutions of "excuse me, please, would you mind, sorry, thank you" to make the request, and even then, only the most senior members of the household would dare to suggest the Prime Minister took any trouble on their account, so the others would just have to stay silent and go without the bread.

Oh and to add to the fag confusion it’s also used in some bits of the UK as a verb meaning tired - I suspect from when a fag was a younger child who ran errands for a prefect at school. So ‘I’m fagged’ means I’m shattered.

Hmmm...that isn’t a verb, is it? Ah well...the phrase stands!

I worked in America many moons ago and asked my boss if I could bum a fag off him..which to me meant pinch a cigarette! His face
I found telling the time tricky over there to "a quarter of 4", I didn't know when to turn up!

@RandomMess

Germans use their word for "must" like in England we use "should" I had to explain to them that say "must" in English was pretty rude and bossy😂

I always have the opposite problem! I will say “oh we must go for coffee sometime”, when I really mean “wir sollen”

As a young child my relatives would call kids little faggots. It was an affectionate term like you cheeky monkey,

@NwaNaija

Nigerians say 'Can you imagine?!' to be mean something like 'Unbelievable!' or 'What the heck?!'

Also 'I'm coming' means both 'I'm on my way to you this minute' and 'I'll be there later'. They could be walking away and still say 'I'm coming' which means 'Give me a minute' or 'l'll be back shortly'.

Irish people say ‘G’way!’ with similar connotations of ‘You’re not serious!’ ‘Unbelievable!’ or ‘Tell me more!’ which might be potentially confusing to literal-minded foreigners who wonder why they’re being told to leave.

An American friend who moved to Cork in the 80s was initially baffled by continually being asked ‘Are you all right?’ when buying fruit and vegetables at a market — she thought it was a health enquiry that implied she looked unwell, whereas it meant ‘Can I help you?’

Remembered another one from my Irish parents/grandparents. ‘Give out’. It means telling off or complaining. I’ve grown up in London and nobody ever knew what I meant when I used it. My granny was always ‘giving out’ at us .

@AllTheChocolateNow

Remembered another one from my Irish parents/grandparents. ‘Give out’. It means telling off or complaining. I’ve grown up in London and nobody ever knew what I meant when I used it. My granny was always ‘giving out’ at us .

No, no, you 'give out' TO someone, not at them. Usually when they're 'bold'.

Of course! . Plastic paddy here, apologies.

This has been a lovely thread. Thanks everyone for your contribution, it's been interesting to read about some of the differences and similarities we all have.

*My favourite one I've discovered after years of living here in the UK (am originally American) is HOMELY.

In the UK, it's a complement to call something homely (cosy and comfortable). But in America, it's a huge insult (butt ugly)*

Hmm, I wouldn't mind my house being homely but I wouldn't be impressed if I were referred to as homely. It sounds like a slightly sarcastic way to imply a distinct lack of glamour. And probably suggesting a weight issue. Slim women are not homely.

I was thinking back to the post near the start of the thread where a poster said that 'fresh' to her would have cheeky, sexual undertones. In my part of the world people would often refer to an elderly person looking fresh, if they are in good health for their age. People are always telling me that my almost 90 year old mother looks very fresh, as she looks 15 years younger than she is. I can see there might be room for some crossed wires if these two interpretations were to meet

Just thought of one. Despite having lived in the US, I’d never come across the racist associations of the word ‘spook’ until I asked a friend why the tv spy drama was called MI5 when it aired there.

'Tidy' as an all purpose positive description (west Wales). So for example if someone tells me Dai Jones has a 'tidy little farm' I'd imagine something large, prosperous & well kept. People sometimes comment on my 'tidy' tractor - its a nice shiny Kubota, not particularly well organised

The classic one from NZ is 'bring a plate', meaning, bring a plate of something along to contribute to a shared meal, maybe a platter of sandwiches, sausage rolls or lamingtons, for example. Not, bring your own bare plate with nothing on it. . .

In British slang "to pull someone" means to kiss someone, or take someone home for sex. Whereas in other English speaking countries people would think you were talking about handjobs

God, I’ve got so many:

My Brooklyn born-and-raised mother refers to a rude, cheeky child as “fresh”.

In the New York/New Jersey area where I grew up, plural “you” was almost always “you guys” or, if you were low-class, “youse guys”.

When I started working in my law firm in London the “you alright?” question threw me at first. It took me a while to stop replying with “yes, I’m fine, thanks, don’t I look ok?”

It was really when I started potty training my DS that I realised I needed to adapt my speech: when a two year old needs to wee quickly, commands need to be crisp and precise. At his nursery he was taught “trousers down, then pants!”. If I said “pants down” without saying “trousers” first it would have led to a whole puddle of confusion.

Similar to that, Americans often find the English/British habit of being direct about what exactly they need the toilet for (I’ve heard law-firm partners excuse themselves from meetings saying I’m so many words they need to wee) rather vulgar. But then you never hear in the U.K. anyone referring to a dog weeing on the carpet as “going to the bathroom”.

I almost got into a bit of trouble when writing my MIL’s eulogy and inserted the expression “she didn’t give a toss”. My SIL nixed it before the final draft - why DH couldn’t have warned me it wouldn’t be taken well I don’t know...

In Mandarin, the "n-word" is used as a filler in speech, similar to how we'd say "erm"

Sorry have not read all, but has someone mentioned Roaring? In England it applies to certain Zoo animals, but in Ireland children do it instead of Crying. I just thought, it must have been archaic use in England, because when Tom the Piper's son was 'beat', he went 'roaring' down the street.
Is it in Scotland that people 'keen' instead of 'weep' ?

We still say Parlour = Living room. Some say living/sitting room now. It's only recently I heard Parlour in a regency period film.