Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Just for fun, American words for thing you love and hate

326 replies

CherryCherries · 19/06/2021 17:55

Mine are, I love "stroller" as opposed to our "pushchair" and "take out the trash" as opposed to our "take the rubbish out."

I don't like "pants" as "trousers" or "pantyhose" as opposed to "tights." Or "fanny" for "bottom".

What are yours?

OP posts:
GeorgiaGirl52 · 20/06/2021 00:12

@Maggiesfarm

I didn't know that about 'bollocksed'!

I love 'ant' instead of 'aunt'.

American here, reading with interest. "Ant" - a small insect that lives in a colony, i.e. ant hill and goes on picnics. "Aunt" the sister of your father or your mother. Frequently pronounced the same, but meaning is different.
ErrolTheDragon · 20/06/2021 00:25

Had Egglant been mentioned? 🍆
Eggplant and zucchini instead of aubergine and courgettes. And 'bell pepper' instead of red/yellow/green pepper. And we can't even agree on how to pronounce tomato so maybe let's avoid making ratatouille Grin

LoopTheLoops · 20/06/2021 00:35

I like popsicle instead of ice lolly

Strokethefurrywall · 20/06/2021 00:36

See I’m British and my kids are being brought up in the Caribbean so all their words are the American version of words.
Trash, cilantro, zucchini, arugula, gas, pants. I can’t even remember what the British words are for these anymore, I’ve been gone so long!

Classica · 20/06/2021 00:39

Trash is good.

'you are NOTHING BUT TRASH' works better than 'you are NOTHING BUT RUBBISH'.

Lacks the oomph Grin

NakedAttraction · 20/06/2021 00:39

Isn’t a condo like owning a leasehold with a share of freehold?

CorianderBee · 20/06/2021 00:45

@LoveFall rubber is slang for condom in the U.K. too. It's just also used to mean eraser.

memberofthewedding · 20/06/2021 00:58

I sell online, mainly to Americans, so I tend to use American English in describing items. Everything is measured in inches and feet, with metric following later in brackets. All items "ship" regardless of the fact that they are going by plane. Parcels are packages. points are listed #1, #2 and so on rather than number 1. Jewellery is jewelry, collectables are collectibles, cushions are pillows, duvets are comforters, bags are purses, and so on.

We are two nations divided by a common language.

LoveFall · 20/06/2021 01:18

@powershowerforanhour

I wondered what slang words Canadians have so looked it up and found this gem:

*Mickey

A mickey is a hip-flask-size bottle of liquor. You can only find these at the LCBO. It fits perfectly in your purse, pocket or hand.

“Just grab a mickey. We’re keeping it low-key tonight.”*

Grin at starting a low key night in Ireland by grabbing a mickey.

We call them Mickeys here in BC too.
LoveFall · 20/06/2021 01:21

@powershowerforanhour

*I live in Canada only a few miles from the US border and I have never heard this word. Ever. A septic tank is called a septic tank. It is used for waste when there is no sanitary sewer to connect to.

As for the poster who referred to"chink" or "jap". Those terms are far, far outdated and are basically never used. They are racist and unacceptable in Canada and I am sure the US. I never hear them. If I did, frankly I would be horrified.*

Yes I know what a septic tank is. My house has one. I was speculating that when the previous poster used the expression "ignorant seppo" that this was a variation on the unpleasant nickname "Septics" to refer to Americans. Which Americans are expected to find jolly amusing.
I know Jap and Chink are horrible, racist and offensive. They would not be tolerated in Ireland in the way that "Septic" is tolerated (not by everyone of course but I've heard it used liberally in a speech at a wedding in Ireland where one of the couple and thus many of the guests were American. Just seemed really crass and horrible manners towards the guests. ).

I agree it is really crass and horrible. Thankfully I have never heard it as a reference to Americans.
LoveFall · 20/06/2021 01:25

When traveling you can always tell that someone who asks for the "restroom" is American and the "washroom" is Canadian. Every time.

clpsmum · 20/06/2021 01:30

Popsicle is such a great word

SeaToSki · 20/06/2021 02:10

Fourth. Not quarter

Tomate oh. Not tomaaahto

Verbing nouns..burgler into burglarize

They dont know what a fortnight is

‘Home for the holidays’ as a blanket concept that is akin to world peace

MadCattery · 20/06/2021 02:22

I live in Florida, where there are many, many condos. I work in Building and Land Development. Here, a condo is usually an apartment that is owned. It can be in a building full of units, or in separated buildings, or one of a grouping of several units per building. The outside is entirely owned by the condominium association. Walls, roof, land and sometimes/usually roads are owned by the association. The person purchases the inside (half a layer of drywall and an envelope of air) and pays a monthly fee towards maintenance, like the pool and grounds keeping. Townhomes are similar. Like condos they can be one floor, or more, owners pay a monthly fee for shared maintenance and amenities, but the unit owner owns the sliver of land beneath them. If I bought a condo, I could usually rent it out, so there are many for rent that are owned by regular people. Condos and Townhomes have associations that are usually owners elected to the positions and vote on things like painting, or re roofing, and every unit shares the costs. Duplexes and triplexes are really private homes on their own land. You might live in one and rent the others, or buy a duplex to live in and maybe have parents live in the other side. The property and building are owned by the owner.

gumball37 · 20/06/2021 03:37

@yourestandingonmyneck

The way they use brand names for things a lot.

"Pass me a Kleenex; I put on my Levi's" (there are loads of examples but my mind has gone blank). Over here I've only ever known this to be the case for hoover and tannoy.

Not sure if I like it or dislike it! I think i quite like it Grin

I'm in the US, my aunt says Kleenex instead of tissue and it drives me up a wall.
MariposaLilly · 20/06/2021 05:45

I can't stand the word ''mom'. I'm English born and raised, lived in the US for almost 50 years and always told my children (oldest 47 now) to call me mum not mom because I'm not American. "I'm British, so call me MUM", I'd say. As it turns out, while I wasn't watching you lot, you British mums started to call yourselves MOM. Confused

British words I can't stand anymore are fizzy drinks for pop, tummy instead of abdomen, womb instead of uterus, water infection instead of urinary tract (bladder) infection.

Americans have different regional accents, so words such as aunt are pronounced differently by region. Here they say 'don' instead of Dawn for example. It drives me up the wall.

I thought it was Sherman Tank = Yank.

Yanks (Yankees) are Americans who live in the North East. I think a southerner might be insulted to be called a Yank.

I've never use the word panties and have never heard anyone say it in real life here. We say underwear, drawers or britches in my neck of the wood - although I still say knickers.

Overall I still use the British words for things because you can take the girl out of England but you can't take England out of the girl.

bigfloweryblouse · 20/06/2021 06:06

Weed Wacker instead of strimmer. So much more descriptive Smile
Cuss instead of swear

And I love Kebobs instead of Kebabs Grin

HumunaHey · 20/06/2021 06:14

@yourestandingonmyneck

The way they use brand names for things a lot.

"Pass me a Kleenex; I put on my Levi's" (there are loads of examples but my mind has gone blank). Over here I've only ever known this to be the case for hoover and tannoy.

Not sure if I like it or dislike it! I think i quite like it Grin

And Vaseline!
HumunaHey · 20/06/2021 06:19

Groceries just makes me think of gross, which shouldn't bother me as 'gross' is quite an uncommon word in England, but it does

Backofthenet20 · 20/06/2021 06:50

We live in the US & my son was playing footie. One of his team mates said coach just asked us to shag the balls. Apparently it means to collect them. We found it hard not to laugh. Also watching baseball tonight the commentator kept going on about a pitcher who had a “soft toss” 😂. Hate the word gas for petrol. It’s a liquid FFS not a gas!

RampantIvy · 20/06/2021 07:15

Yard instead of garden.
To me, a yard is just a (usually unattractive) paved area, and a garden has plants, flowers and usually a lawn.

invisiblegirllj · 20/06/2021 07:20

@Feather12

Also what does seppo mean?
Yank = septic tank

Septic tank = seppo

invisiblegirllj · 20/06/2021 07:22

@Phoebesgift

Love the word condo. It's sounds really fun and comfortable. Does it mean a semi detached in the UK?
No it's a flat complex
behindhereyes · 20/06/2021 07:34

I hate the word yard. In the US your front yard and back yard are what we would call our garden. In the US a garden is used more like a particular area in the yard like the vegetable garden or flower garden that might be within the yard. The word yard makes me think of a work yard or farm yard, not a nice garden.

mathanxiety · 20/06/2021 08:08

Airplane - way better than aeroplane imo
The whole shebang
Doohickey
Baseboard (skirting board)
The boonies/ the sticks
Booger (bogey)
Nickel and dime to death
Cooties - germs
Caboose - last carriage on a train or guard's van, also youngest child, last in a series
Conniption
Hissy fit
A dime a dozen
Ball park figure
Curve ball
Out of left field
French press
Graft - political corruption
Trunk and hood of a car
Sedan
Hit the spot
Catty corner
Downtown
Dumpster
Stoop - a front porch area
Varmint (vermin)
Snuck (past tense of sneak)
Shill
Mono/mononucleosis (glandular fever)
Strep
Ornery
Scads
Slew/slue
Raincheck
Rutabaga

From Yiddish:
Schlep
Glitch
Dreck
The whole Megillah
Tush
Mishmash
Shtick
Shtum
Spiel/shpiel
Schmuck
Shemozzle
Shyster
Futzing around
Klutz
Maven