In today's paper, the daily Isaac Asimov's Super Quiz subject was British to American--provide the American term for the British term (e.g. Afters. Answer: Dessert)
Freshman level
1) Chemist
2) Rubber
3) Jumper
Graduate level
4) Hole-in-the-wall (cashpoint)
5) Crisps
6) Kitchen roll
Ph.D. level
7) Bog
8) Lay-by
9) Off-license
I knew numbers 1 through 6 but didn't know what the rest of them were. Bog only brings to mind a swamp,
lay-by brings to mind the store "lay-away plan" where you have them hold the purchases until Christmas when you have saved up the money to pay for them. Off-license kinda seemed like it might be liquor related.
1) Pharmacist, 2) Eraser, 3) Sweater, 4) ATM, 5) Potato Chips, 6) Paper towels, 7) Bathroom or toilet, 8) Rest area, 9) Liquor store.
17 comments:
Interesting... I only knew chemist, crisps, and lay-by. And I thought they called the bathroom the 'loo'or something like that?
I knew them all, since emigrating to Canada I am now tri lingual in English,Canadian English, and American!
Jane x
This was fun. I knew them, too, but then I started going to England to visit family about 40 years ago (which means before I was born).
Anyway, I think "off-license" was the first word I learned! Then came "chemist." And the excruciatingly important "trousers vs. pants" and "bum bag vs. fanny pack" came shortly thereafter. You don't want to make those mistakes more than once.
Hope your day is improving!
I had a Scottish girl friend way back in college whose choice of words regularly landed her in trouble in our seedier end of town.
My parents were English so I had NO problem with this one! :) I called erasers "rubbers" until I was old enough to know that "rubber" could have another meaning altogether! :)
Now that took me down memory lane Mrs S. I haven't heard a toilet, bathroom, lavatory or loo called a bog for over 45 years! Perhaps it is a generational or regional term.
It was fun but basically I flunked. I did read a book about the dog heroes a few years ago and remembered it fondly. Thanks...:)
I think I flunked (4 of 9). But, then again, my only British connection is ancestry (way back to the Mayflower). While I can see the relationship of most of the words, I've always wondered a warm, woolen, often knitted top is called a "jumper."
janet
Rian: See Elaine's comment below. It seems you've got it right!
Jane and Chris: I guess you've got the most important three then!
Mitch: What's the difference between trousers and pants--is it outer vs underwear? I like bum bag but fanny pack says it just as well-they're kinda dorky either way!
Joanne: I can see why some expressions would be risky!
Knatolee: I can bet you didn't make that mistake more than once!
Elaine: We commonly say bathroom or restroom in the US. When I was in England, I noticed that it was often called the Toilet. It seems that we use that term mostly for the actual fixture. I wonder if a bog wasn't an outside toilet which we call the outhouse or biffy.
Troutbirder: Like Shaw said, we're two languages separated by a common language.
Janet: When I was a child, a jumper was like a sleeveless dress worn over a blouse or sweater. So, I also wonder how a cardigan came to be called a jumper.
What a great post! I have missed your posts and this was indeed a welcome comeback. I love the laughing otter, too...it looks like an otter. LOL!
Linda: I wasn't quite sure what that little beast was either. I thought it might be a prairie dog or chipmunk or some kind of ground squirrel. I inserted it mainly to create a space between the questions and answers. I'm glad you liked it!
I think I'm on the high school level here. I'm in a little blog slump to day, too. May go out and see if there's a New York picture I can take and post.
Buttercup: I hope your afternoon is as warm and sunny as ours!
Fun quiz. Never heard those terms for toilet or ATM, though! Shows you what I know.
I've really got to go back to school, the school of hard knocks, missed all of them I think, Ha,
Hola! As my sister explained to me in the mens' store after I opened my American mouth: Trousers are what you wear over your (under)pants.
As for bum bag or fanny pack: You know where your bum is. Apparently a fanny is another word for what a woman has, as Jerry's mother would say, "down there." My sister was mortified every time my mother said it.
Fun post, Ms Sparrow. The ATM and the bog threw me. I have British friends who dig in: the TV's the telly. We have fun trying to 'convert' each other, LOL.
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