Am I wrong in believing it’s called ‘gas and electricity’ and not ‘electric’?

[JackieWeaverHandforthCouncil]

There have been multiple threads discussing the cost of living crisis and every one states ‘gas and ELECTRIC’. I thought it would be ‘gas and ELECTRICITY’?

I genuinely am not being a grammar dick but I’m becoming confused as to whether I’ve been saying it incorrectly? Or is it one of those words where you can use either/or.

@chesirecat99

You're gramatically correct. Electric is an adjective, electricity is the noun. The bill isn't electric, as in powered by electricity, is it? It's a bill for electricity. Calling it the electric bill is a colloquialism. Electricity, electric, leccy, whatever, they are all fine.

Actually @cheshirecat, if you have gone paperless then the bill will indeed be powered by electricity and it’s arguably correct to call it an “electric bill” …. but we all know that’s not the sense in which people are saying it.

Actually @cheshirecat, if you have gone paperless then the bill will indeed be powered by electricity and it’s arguably correct to call it an “electric bill”

Electronic, I think you'll find 🧐

Utilities is a great word!
A lot of people in Ireland, my boss included, call it the esb, which was Electricity Supply Board, before competition.
If I had a meter I think I would call it the electric meter.Although it meters electricity.

@BanjoKnickers

Actually @cheshirecat, if you have gone paperless then the bill will indeed be powered by electricity and it’s arguably correct to call it an “electric bill”

Electronic, I think you'll find 🧐

True- that’s what the “e” in “e-mail” stands for, isn’t it?

Well where I'm from its gas n lekky

OMG this is awful OP, I just can’t get over how confusing this must be for you. Thoughts and prayers.

It's electricity, not electric, OP. Anything else is not regional variation: it's sheer ignorance.

@BanjoKnickers

Actually @cheshirecat, if you have gone paperless then the bill will indeed be powered by electricity and it’s arguably correct to call it an “electric bill”

Electronic, I think you'll find 🧐

Yep, I'm with @BanjoKnickers, @HaveringWavering

The bill itself isn't powered by electricity, the computer is. It's an electronic bill.

or say 'I borrowed him some money' (meaning they've lent money)

I judge it, same way I judge people who can’t understand the difference between you’re/your, or draws/drawers for example.

It's nothing like either of those🙄
It's more akin to 'pram' for perambulator, 'movie' for moving pictures, telly for television, phone/mobile for mobile telephone etc etc etcetera.

@PuppyMonkey

OMG this is awful OP, I just can’t get over how confusing this must be for you. Thoughts and prayers.

^this

As I say to my kids “you know what they mean”. It’s a dick move to correct when you know what they mean.

@Flavabobble

*or say 'I borrowed him some money' (meaning they've lent money) *

I judge it, same way I judge people who can’t understand the difference between you’re/your, or draws/drawers for example.

It's nothing like either of those🙄
It's more akin to 'pram' for perambulator, 'movie' for moving pictures, telly for television, phone/mobile for mobile telephone etc etc etcetera.

It's nothing like pram, telly etc. They are all abbreviations. Electric instead of electricity is, as I said, just ignorance. Along with "invite" for "invitation".

@JackieWeaverHandforthCouncil There have been multiple threads discussing the cost of living crisis and every one states ‘gas and ELECTRIC’. I thought it would be ‘gas and ELECTRICITY’?

I genuinely am not being a grammar dick but I’m becoming confused as to whether I’ve been saying it incorrectly? Or is it one of those words where you can use either/or.

Yes, the correct word is electricity, but people shorten it to electric, and we know what they mean. In the same way that you some people shorten I am to I'm, and I have to I've!

@IncompleteSenten

Yes but everyone knows what they mean so it doesn't matter.

This.

Unless you are writing an academic essay, it really does not matter.

Nouns and adjectives, and lots of people who don’t know the difference between them.

It's 'Electric' in company names (like Southern Electric or the Ireland example above).
And on the square on the Monopoly Board

Gas & Lecky for me

@Meredusoleil

Always electricity for me.

But I just thought electric was a kind of abbreviation or lazy person's way of saying the full word 🤣

Can't stand the word leccy 😐

Me too! Being foreign we learned to say electricity (and the equivalent in my own language). We do mostly abbreviate it to el when speaking though.

@Horst

Although my bill just says it’s for energy. Feel constantly drained though. How bizarre.

Cute

You are not wrong. "Gas & electric bills" is a phrase almost as annoying as "I sent out my wedding invites"!

I say electric, leccy and electricity.

The term "gas and electric" has been around for decades though. It's. Its not a recent Americanism.

This will confuse you more! I get both my electricity and my gas from Bord Gais Energy. Which used to be Bord Gais Eireann the 'Gas Bord of Ireland'. Before privitisation of energy providers in Ireland I would have just called it the ESB bill (Electricity Supply Board).

It's nothing like pram, telly etc. They are all abbreviations. Electric instead of electricity is, as I said, just ignorance. Along with "invite" for "invitation".

You don't think it's used as an abbreviation, when it literally IS an abbreviation? Really? 😆

Electric is an adjective (like pedantic ), the noun is electricity.

@Hollyhobbi would you have paid the esb bill, or just paid the esb?

Definitely electricity.