Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Chat

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

Do you say binoculars...

77 replies

WildRosie · 08/04/2023 19:53

...or field glasses ?
Sandpaper or glasspaper ?
Sitting room or living room (or lounge, drawing room etc) ?
Cutlery or irons ?
Dining table or dinner table ?
Footpath or pavement (I know, they're not necessarily the same thing) ?
Lead or leash ?
Glass or tumbler ?
Mug or beaker ?
Tea or dinner (or supper) ?

BTW, I don't know anybody who calls binoculars 'field glasses'. It sounds very old school Ministry of Defence!

OP posts:
Newuser82 · 09/04/2023 08:16

Tomato sauce
Stool
Toilet
Pub for me would be a place where you would go for a drink and some food, more like a family type place. A bar would be an adult place to go to in the evenings and have a drink.
Pudding but my 10 year old son says dessert.

Xarrie · 09/04/2023 08:17

WildRosie · 09/04/2023 07:58

Seems like Mr Woodwork's glasspaper penchant was exclusive!

That's from the older days when they used glass to make it, now it's pretty much exclusively sand.

Tarantellah · 09/04/2023 08:37

Binoculars or field glasses ?
They’re different things. Binoculars have three lenses while field glasses have only one lens.

Sandpaper or glasspaper ?
Again different products. In the olden days abrasive sheets were made with tiny bits of glass but they aren’t any more. Glasspaper is an outdated term.

Sitting room or living room ?
Sitting room. Because it’s for sitting. I have a separate room for casual use.

Cutlery or irons ?
Cutlery. Irons is a slang word used colloquially in certain areas.

Dining table or dinner table ?
Dining table. It’s only a dinner table (or breakfast table etc) in big houses where they have separate tables for each meal. My table is used for multiple meals so I use the generic name “dining table”.

Footpath or pavement (I know, they're not necessarily the same thing) ?
Different things. A pavement is paved and usually beside a road. A footpath is for walking and not usually paved.

Lead or leash ?
English vs American. British people say lead.

Glass or tumbler ?
A tumbler is a type of glass. You wouldn’t just ask for a glass, you’d ask for a wine glass or a shot glass or a tumbler etc.

Mug or beaker ?
Different things. A mug is a heavy ceramic cup with a handle. A beaker has no handle and is either glass or plastic.

Tea or dinner (or supper) ?
Different meals at different times. Dinner is the biggest meal of the day regardless of the time at which it’s eaten. Tea is a meal at 3-5. Supper is 8pm onwards when it’s a small meal and not the main meal of the day.

Tarantellah · 09/04/2023 08:50

Tomato sauce, red sauce or ketchup ?
Tomato sauce or tomato ketchup. There are lots of types of sauce and ketchup, you need to specify that it’s tomato.

Stool or buffet ?
Different things. A buffet is a small stool or sideboard, not a tall stool.

Loo or toilet or lavatory, bog etc ? Bathroom even!!
Different things. Loo is short for lavatory. Toilet is the ceramic pot itself, and a bathroom doesn’t necessarily have a toilet in it.

Pub or bar ?
Different things again. Bar is the long counter on which drinks are served in a pub. Some establishments may be called a bar if they literally just contain a bar and only serve drinks.

Starter or hors d'oeuvre ?
Different things. A starter is eaten at the table. An hors d’oeuvre is like a canapé, eaten with the fingers while standing up.

Pudding or dessert ? Or afters ?
Pudding. Dessert is an American word and is always sweet.

tommika · 09/04/2023 09:09

Binoculars or field glasses ? Binoculars
Sandpaper or glasspaper ? I default to sandpaper, but they remain as two different products
My woodwork teacher would require us to use the right description for the grade we required, and in metalwork we only had glass paper available
Sitting room or living room (or lounge, drawing room etc) ? Sitting room
Cutlery or irons ? Cutlery
Dining table or dinner table ? Dining table
Footpath or pavement (I know, they're not necessarily the same thing) ? Path in general, pavement for a paved path besides the road
Lead or leash ? Lead
Glass or tumbler ? Glass
Mug or beaker ? Mug (if it’s a chunky mug with handle) otherwise a cup
Tea or dinner (or supper) ? Dinner - and supper may be much later

WhatWouldJeevesDo · 10/04/2023 11:12

Binoculars
Sandpaper
Living room
Cutlery (or as mentioned above fighting irons as a joke)
Table or dining-room table if being specific
Either footpath or pavement as appropriate
Lead
Glass
Mug
Usually dinner unless to birth family in which case usually tea.

WhatWouldJeevesDo · 10/04/2023 11:18

The ‘jakes’ is an old word for a loo as in
”give me leave, I will tread this unbolted villain into mortar and
daub the walls of a jakes with him.”
From ‘King Lear’
so jacks is pretty similar.

SoupDragon · 10/04/2023 11:23

Binoculars
Sandpaper
Living room, although it was the Lounge growing up.
Cutlery. An iron is something entirely different! I've never heard of "irons" in this context.
Dining table or dinner table ? The item is a dining table but "come to the dinner table" when it is time to sit down for dinner.
A pavement beside the road, a footpath through the woods/park/etc
Lead
Glass
Mug. A beaker is a handless mug?
Tea or dinner (or supper) ? Dinner is the main meal, whenever it is. Tea is a snacky evening meal like sandwiches - like an evening lunch 😂

mamaduckbone · 10/04/2023 11:26

..or field glasses ?* Binoculars*
Sandpaper or glasspaper ?* Sandpaper (although glass paper is a different thing)*
Sitting room or living room (or lounge, drawing room etc) ? Lounge or front room
Cutlery or irons ?* Cutlery*
Dining table or dinner table ?* Dining table*
Footpath or pavement (I know, they're not necessarily the same thing) ?* Both - pavement if beside a road.*
Lead or leash ?* Lead*
Glass or tumbler ?* Glass*
Mug or beaker ?* Mug*
Tea or dinner (or supper) ?* Dinner*

Oldnproud · 10/04/2023 11:49

These days I say 'stool' for what we called a 'buffet' when I was a child. Been told too many times over the years by my OH (North Yorkshire) that "that's not a buffet!".
I grew up in West Yorkshire.

The rest:
Ketchup
Toilet
pub
starter
pudding (unless I'm in a posh restaurant)
Binoculars
Sandpaper
Living room
Cutlery / knives and forks
Pavement for a broad, well surfaced path along the side of the road)
Occasionally footpath, but for a narrower, less-well surfaced path next to the road
Lead
Glass
Mug
Tea: I moved south over 40 years ago but have stuck rigidly to this until very recently, when I saying 'dinner' when talking to the dgc thinking it would avoid confusion. This hasnt worked, as it turns out that they had got used to me saying dinner rather than lunch etc., so now we are all even more confused 😁

I'll add another:

Serviette or napkin. (I say serviette.)

WhatWouldJeevesDo · 10/04/2023 13:35

I would think of a buffet as a low stool or pouffe not a kitchen or barstool, but I may be wrong. It’s not in my active vocabulary.

2chocolateoranges · 10/04/2023 13:39

Binoculars
Sandpaper
living room
Cutlery
kitchen table in our house
pavement
leash
Glass
Mug
dinner tea is what you drink and supper is a snack before bedtime!

Oldnproud · 10/04/2023 13:44

WhatWouldJeevesDo · 10/04/2023 13:35

I would think of a buffet as a low stool or pouffe not a kitchen or barstool, but I may be wrong. It’s not in my active vocabulary.

Where I grew up, it was very much a (wooden) kitchen stool. It could be low or high, and the seat part was round.

LibertyLily · 10/04/2023 13:53

Binoculars
Sandpaper (I had a carpenter/joiner uncle who called it glasspaper - he was old school, born in 1927)
Living room
Cutlery
Dining table
Pavement in town/footpath in the country
Lead
Glass
Cup
Dinner
Ketchup
Stool (I've never heard of a buffet in this context - we used to have a French sideboard called a 'buffet')
Loo
Pub (imho a bar is more of an adults only venue, ie, wine bar)
Starter (starter is a first course, whilst a hors d'oeuvre is a canapé)
Napkin

Knullrufs · 10/04/2023 13:55

Binoculars or field glasses? I think these are actually two different things. I'd generally say binoculars though.
Sandpaper or glasspaper? I can't think of the last time I've needed to use either word!
Sitting room or living room (or lounge, drawing room etc)? Sitting room.
Cutlery or irons? Cutlery. Irons is a new one on me. Although I've heard eating irons before now.
Dining table or dinner table? Dining.
Footpath or pavement? Both; to me they mean different things. A footpath is a track through a field or forest or by a river. A pavement is concrete, tarmac or stone slabs, and next to a road.
Lead or leash? Both but they mean different things. Lead — on one end of a dog. Leash — what I used to go off when I went out drinking on a Friday night.
Glass or tumbler? Generally glass, but tumbler if I'm having a whisky.
Mug or beaker? Mug. A beaker is for babies.
Tea or dinner (or supper)? Dinner. Supper is an extra meal that posh people have at about eight o'clock at night.

WhatWouldJeevesDo · 10/04/2023 14:00

Thanks @Oldnproud.

Knullrufs · 10/04/2023 14:11

Tomato sauce, red sauce or ketchup? Tomato ketchup.
Stool or buffet? Stool. Is buffet a Yorkshire thing? I was brought up on the other side of the Pennines.
Loo or toilet or lavatory, bog etc? Loo if among friends. Bathroom if I'm asking the waiter where the loos are. Toilet is the specific piece of sanitaryware inside the bathroom.
Pub or bar? Both. Pub is the building, bar is the long wooden thing inside the building where the magic happens where the drinks come from.
Starter or hors d'oeuvre? Starter.
Pudding or dessert? Or afters? Pudding. Dessert makes me think of the 1970s, Angel Delight for some reason.

Tarantellah · 11/04/2023 13:51

Serviette or napkin. (I say serviette.)
Oh no. Honestly I could live with someone saying living room or toilet, but serviette just crosses the line.

Cinnamon23 · 11/04/2023 14:03

Binoculars
Sandpaper
Living room
Cutlery
Dining table
Pavement
Lead
Glass
Mug
Dinner
Ketchup
Stool
Bathroom/toilet
Pub/Bar - they’re different things, so both depending.
Starter
Dessert

ThreeRingCircus · 11/04/2023 14:12

Binoculars rather than field glasses
Sandpaper, I've never heard of glasspaper
Lounge or living room, I say both
Cutlery, never heard of irons
Dining table not dinner table
Pavement rather than footpath
Lead not leash
Glass not tumbler
Mug, I think a beaker is a small plastic cup for a child
Dinner not tea

WhatWouldJeevesDo · 11/04/2023 14:20

Tarantellah · 11/04/2023 13:51

Serviette or napkin. (I say serviette.)
Oh no. Honestly I could live with someone saying living room or toilet, but serviette just crosses the line.

Surely, it’s always a serviette if it’s paper or have you never seen such a thing?

Tarantellah · 11/04/2023 14:24

WhatWouldJeevesDo · 11/04/2023 14:20

Surely, it’s always a serviette if it’s paper or have you never seen such a thing?

No it’s a paper napkin? I was taught that we never say serviette, it’s common.

WhatWouldJeevesDo · 11/04/2023 14:26

The additional ones:

Tomato sauce or ketchup - with ketchup probably having the edge
Stool
Loo or toilet, or the ladies’ if appropriate
Pub
Starter
Pudding

Gonksmum · 11/04/2023 16:03

Binoculars or field glasses ? Binoculars
Sandpaper or glasspaper ? Sandpaper
Sitting room or living room (or lounge, drawing room etc) ? Living room
Cutlery or irons ? Both cutlery and knives and forks
Dining table or dinner table ? Both
Footpath or pavement (I know, they're not necessarily the same thing) ? Both, depending on context
Lead or leash ? Lead
Glass or tumbler ? Glass
Mug or beaker ? Mug
Tea or dinner (or supper) ? Dinner

"Buffet" was/is used for a sort of backless kitchen stool in West Yorkshire.

Firecarrier · 11/04/2023 16:11

ShiteInNiningArmour · 08/04/2023 21:39

Knockers.
sandpaper
living room
table
path and pavement. A path is a narrower, untarmaced surface. A pavement the more formal of the two.
lead
glass or beaker
mug. A beaker is a glass.
Tea.

Words to confuse folk:

Costner. No, not the actor. It means ‘I can’t’
Nesh. A person who feels the cold more than others. “Thar a bit nesh theyt”

it’s like another language here though, especially when older folk get together. My late father slipped into a language I understood barely half the words of when he met anyone of a similar age.

The Potteries?