Unknown objects ...

yes, if you say \"aubergine\" in the U.S., people will look at you funny. An interior designer or some such artsy person may think you are referring to a shade of the color purple, but most people wouldn't know you meant \"eggplant\", which I think is a silly name myself. I always call them aubergines, in a fakey-fakey British accent. And I have had to explain myself when visiting foreign countries a time or two, but no specific incident comes to mind.

Oh! You all \"hoover\" the rugs, and we vacuum them. You use sticking plasters, while we use band-aids. And I know a lot of medicines have different names. Popular headache remedy here is Tylenol, which is a brand name for acetaminophen, but I know in England, at least, it is called \"paracetemol\". Little differences that could be a literal pain if you are visiting overseas!

scootiebee wrote:

yes, if you say \"aubergine\" in the U.S., people will look at you funny. An interior designer or some such artsy person may think you are referring to a shade of the color purple, but most people wouldn't know you meant \"eggplant\", which I think is a silly name myself. I always call them aubergines, in a fakey-fakey British accent. And I have had to explain myself when visiting foreign countries a time or two, but no specific incident comes to mind.

Oh! You all \"hoover\" the rugs, and we vacuum them. You use sticking plasters, while we use band-aids. And I know a lot of medicines have different names. Popular headache remedy here is Tylenol, which is a brand name for acetaminophen, but I know in England, at least, it is called \"paracetemol\". Little differences that could be a literal pain if you are visiting overseas!

Someone told me that paracetamol is illegal in the US. :ohmy: But I don't know whether that's true or not..Funny thing is, my auntie is a US pharmacist..But I never thought of asking her nor have I ever remembered when I've had the chance.

:woohoo: ..Is it true that Americans don't understand what we mean by 'bog roll'?

A friend of mine from Newcastle came down to the Midlands and went to McDonalds..He asked for a 'large' which meant a BigMac meal in Newcastle..But the people here don't use that, and we're all within the same country. Links back to an earlier topic about the regional dialects here..The slang used around here differs from city to city as well. It's quite confusing at times.

We don't use bog roll here. McDonalds is the same all over the U.S. though. If you ask for a large, they will say \"a large what?\"

We do have a lot of regional words for things here, though. In some parts of the country, you order a grinder, which is the same as a sub, same as a hoagie, same as a .....

And soda, in Pennsylvania it is called Pop, in New England it is called tonic, other places it is just called Coke (especially in the South, no matter what kind of soda you want, it is called a Coke).

one of my favorite difference is the fries/chip/crisp difference. What we call fries, you call chips. What we call chips, you call crisps. Don't even get me started on car parts (boot? no, trunk!) Just strange differences, and a lot of Americans apparently have a hard time understanding \"English English\". I have even seen interviews with English bands that get subtitled, as if they were speaking a foreign language! Ugh.

scootiebee wrote:

one of my favorite difference is the fries/chip/crisp difference. What we call fries, you call chips. What we call chips, you call crisps. Don't even get me started on car parts (boot? no, trunk!) Just strange differences, and a lot of Americans apparently have a hard time understanding \"English English\". I have even seen interviews with English bands that get subtitled, as if they were speaking a foreign language! Ugh.

ARGH! That damn chip thing!! It caught me out the first time I went to the US! I asked someone for a hot dog and chips..He gave me a hot dog and a packet of crisps..I was very confused and very hungry.

Over here, we differentiate between fries and 'real' chips..Fries are long and thin..'English chips' are thicker.

Don't know if there's any difference between the two in the US..Or if thick chips even exist.

We actually came onto the topic of regional differences in slang and pronounciation in English literature today..(Our teacher's from the North)..He says 'ham bun' for a bread roll with ham in..Wheras we say 'ham cob'..When he asked for a 'ham bun' here, he said they tried to give him ham inside a sweet and sugary bread. :blink:

I think the Harry Potter books were changed slightly for publication in the US. \"Jumper\" was changed to \"sweater\", \"Mum\" to \"Mom\", etc. My cousin from the US was looking for the books when she was here in Canada to visit, because she wanted the correct versions.

I know that \"bog roll\" is \"toilet paper\", but only because I watch a lot of Brit-coms, as well as Coronation Street. I don't think too many people in Canada would know.

Not only did they change all the little things in Harry Potter, but the title of the first book! Here it is \"the Sorcerer's Stone\" and in the original it is the \"Philosopher's Stone\". I have no idea why they changed it, since we know the Philosopher's Stone is the historical goal of Alchemy, giving eternal life and wealth. But I think they feared that kids wouldn't get it. Oh, well.

And the thick-cut fried potatoes that are called \"chips\" in England are usually called \"Steak Fries\" or some such over here. And we don't have anything called a ham bun or a ham cob. A cob here is the leftover bit after you eat an ear of corn.

My favorite fries: Thrashers on the Boardwalk in Rehoboth, Deleware, served only with salt and vinegar: