Thread: What are you working on?

Originally Posted by JOB15

I used to have a woodwork teacher many years ago in high school who always called it "Glass paper" and confused us kids because it is known as "Sandpaper" by most normal ppl . I assumed it was made with glass of some type?
So nower days I refer to it as "Glass paper" to be awkward...

Here in the Midwest I ask for a soda not the "normal' term of pop in this area for the same reasons.

haha.
Yes, "Smoking a Fag" does not mean shooting a gay :/

It is most often referred to as pop in western Canada too Tim.
Another language funny I came across was when I picked up a gal from Quebec that was hitchhiking. She asked if we have many fuck on the beaches here. My reaction must have told her something was off. Apparently it is the word for seal in French.

Here chips and fries are used interchangeably as in burger and fries/chips. I'll never ask for a burger with chips in the US again after receiving potato chips with my burger instead of French fries. In the UK I learned to ask for crisps if I wanted potato chips and not French fries. It's the little things that make life a challenge at times.

Bob

I had to explain to my Girlfriend (she's Chinese) the other day the difference between Fries & Chips.
Fries are French fries and Americans love them but they hate the French so they just use the word Fries.
See
Potato Chips.. Don't make me laugh....

Originally Posted by cudarunner

My dad was a 'Farm Boy' and during High School was in 4-H which is an organization to help raise and promote things like raising cattle, sheep even rabbits. Dad told about how some of the guys were talking about 'cow's tits' and the term had come up several times and the instructor stepped in and said "Boy's, Cows have Teats. Girls Have Tits".

I think the best moment of 'Terminology Misunderstanding' that I have had the privilege of being part of was when my family and I were in Canada many years ago for holiday and we were in a motel room watching The Food Network and Jamie Oliver's show was on. He had opened a restaurant that used students from a local culinary school. It was opening night and Jamie couldn't find a certain cook and he said "She'd better not be outside having a fag"! My daughter was about 14 and her mouth dropped open and she exclaimed
"WHAT DID HE JUST SAY"!?!?

I explained that it was an old time term used for a cigarette and that I remembered my parents and grandparents using it and apparently it was still used in the UK.

She just rolled her eyes in disbelief--------

The cook was indeed outside 'Having a fag' -

As I teach both AP Language and a lot of British literature, I'm a nut for all this linguistic variation. Here's good ole Van Morrison with your example:

"You search in your bag, light up a fag."

A couple of other funny/true examples of language confusion:
-My mother was a receptionist at an old country doctor's office in the late 60's. An old timer comes in with his granddaughter and a urine sample. My Mom asks, "Is that urine?" To which the old codger replies, "No m'am, hit's my granddaughter's." (In archaic mountain usage, "yours" would be said as "youren." Some of the Old English usage held on in the isolated mountain hollers where the Scotch-Irish settled in Appalachia).

-A couple of friends of ours went to Ireland. In conversation with the locals in a pub, they were asked what they like to do back home. "Shagging," they replied innocently (our South Carolina state dance). Much hilarity ensued, perhaps a bit of Guiness even blew out some nasal passages.

Oh, and down here, any soda is a Coke, though serious old timers used to call it a "dope" (perhaps from when they actually contained real coke!).

I was asked once by a driver from England if I wanted him to "knock me up in the morning". After saying, what? He explained knocking up ment to wake someone up. I was relieved and explained to be knocked up was to be pregnant. We both got a good laugh from that one.

Australians are the best with the weird names for everything, often with a diminutive "o" or "ey" ending. A few I remember from being down under:
chocko=chocolate
smoko=smoke break
bottle-o=liquor store
stubbie=bottle of beer

Originally Posted by JOB15

I had to explain to my Girlfriend (she's Chinese) the other day the difference between Fries & Chips.
Fries are French fries and Americans love them but they hate the French so they just use the word Fries.
See
Potato Chips.. Don't make me laugh....

I think that's hilarious that that is known across the pond. In fairness not ALL Americans hate the French but certainly some do.
In the 80s I lived in California. I would occasionally refer to a friend as "my buddy Dave," or whatever. My friends out there would warn me, "don't use that term. We know what you mean but other people will think you mean "butt buddy."

Originally Posted by PaulFLUS

In fairness not ALL Americans hate the French but certainly some do.

Don't worry the French hate Americans. In fact the French hate most everybody tho I used to get by when I was there because I was an Aussie