Being Misunderstood in the USA

[Chrissy25 0]

I remember this episode in that ice cream shop where my dad insisted he could order his ice cream all on his own. The blue colored ice cream is what he wanted. Two big scoops of it. So here told that 16 year old behind the counter:

I have two big blue balls.

I would've loved to have seen the assistant's reaction!

Diaper = nappy

Trunk = boot

Chips = Crisps

Underpants = knickers

My personal favourite is:

One thing that will always bug me when I was driving in the US was when I stopped someone for directions, they said: 'Go down a few blocks until you reach bla bla, a couple of more blocks on your left' and they would use hand signs... Whereas in the UK we would say something like: 'Go straight down, straight over the lights and take your first left'

why count by how many blocks there are? Is a 'block' like a 'street' or 'road'? Of course I found it when I translated those directions in british

I still call them knickers, i can't bring myself to say panties...ick

[SnowyTater 0]

Ditto on the toilet thing, it sounds pretty nasty where I live. But I'm mostly desensitized to it now. When you hear your SO's little grandma say toilet you kind of got to let it go

Off topic but when I was little my mom would freak out if me or my sister said we had to go pee. To her that sounded horrible and she forced us for years to call it "tinkling"

[Heracles 417]

US word = AUS def

elevator = Lift

Biscuit = scone

cookie = Biscuit

Jello = jelly

jelly = jam

windshield = windscreen

Light bulb = light globe

Rubber band = elastic band

Edited April 27, 2008 by Boo-Yah!

[Kiv 32]

Something very difficult for me to get used to is to write or even say only the first letters of the words.

I can understand that texting is very popular and it makes sense to write in a short code; but to use it all the time just makes it difficult for me TGIF SO NOA FAQ ASAP.

I am Lady_K because my name is long, in my country I had a nickname but here, in my job, they started calling me just K.

I like it tough.

[GabiandVi 34]

I grew up in Southeast Louisiana. I first started working in Southwest Louisiana. The language there is much more influenced by French than where I come from. One time, my friend was telling me about a date she had been on. She said that they pulled up to her house in his car and then got down. To "get down" where I come from means to "get it on", to "make-out", etc. I was a little taken aback for a few seconds as to why she would so casually share that with me, and as to why they "got down" in the car rather than in her house. Then I remembered that "get down" in that area means "descendre" or get out of the car.

[GabiandVi 34]

US word = AUS def

elevator = Lift

Biscuit = scone

cookie = Biscuit

Jello = jelly

jelly = jam

windshield = windscreen

Light bulb = light globe

Rubber band = elastic band

electrical outlet = power point

fanny pack = ???

Most of the Australian terms I know are rude, but the ones you have listed I knew, and power point always throws me because I think of Microsoft. There are others that aren't so rude that don't come to mind just now.

[GabiandVi 34]

In South Carolina, you can shag barefoot on the beach with a beer in one hand and not get arrested.

And in Louisiana when we talk about pinching the tails and sucking the heads we aren't being rude. Also, everyone knows what you mean when you say, "Don't eat the dead ones."

[Kiv 32]

Also, everyone knows what you mean when you say, "Don't eat the dead ones."

And that is ...?

[Kazan' Tiger 1]

I never called it a hot water heater, for exactly why you said... We call them either water heaters or hot water tanks.

it took me some time to understand "we drive in a park-way" and we "park in a drive=way"

i've never understood why we have hot water heaters. if the water is hot, why do we need to heat it?