What do YOU call it?

Erin - posted on 10/02/2011

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Mary Renee - posted on 10/02/2011

I live in Hawaii. We have different words too.

Shopping Cart: Wagon
Trash: Rubbish
Flip Flops: Slippahs
All Done: All Pau
Balcony: Lanai
A lot: Choke
Easy: Cruise
That Thing: da kine
Appetizers: Pupus

♥♪Megan♫♥ - posted on 10/01/2011

And I went to the store today and found out we don't call them wheatabix... if they're large shredded wheat bundles they have some female sounding name... but I forgot the name.

Toni - posted on 10/01/2011

Yeah Donna we have weetabix lol :-)

♥♪Megan♫♥ - posted on 10/01/2011

I haven't even left the house yet (it's 10:40am here) I'm doing laundry and showering. My MIL is buying the ingrediants I need to make the pies and we're going up to her place.

♥♪Megan♫♥ - posted on 10/01/2011

LMAO. Laura I just realised I forgot to add 'next'! I was typing at 6:30 this morning!

More on stuff I can't get in Canada- Act mouthwash and Tone bodywash. I have to have my mom send the one I use up here to BC because I can't find it here.

Isobel - posted on 10/01/2011

Hope you haven't already done too much cleaning and shopping

Isobel - posted on 10/01/2011

Thanksgiving in Canada is NEXT week...October 10th :)

Angela - posted on 10/01/2011

HAPPY THANKSGIVING CANADA STYLE MEGGY...
i just miss Thanksgiving holiday in general such a lovely holiday really....getty sappy...wahhhh

Kate - posted on 10/01/2011

Donna - just had a look at that link - amazing how a whole industry can grow out of people missing 'home comforts' - WAY too many SA ex-pats!!! Only a few of my school-day friends even left! :-( we just love it here!!
Oh, and chocolate coated JellyTots on there... Yuk!! We don't even get those here!?

♥♪Megan♫♥ - posted on 10/01/2011

I miss grits, I haven't seen them up here in Canada.

We do have healthy cereals in the US and Canada (Canada still has less choices than the US if you all can believe it, I can't find the Wonder whole wheat white bread here in BC)

I've never heard of Oreo cereal, but my brother could live on frozen pizza, Pepsi and Cookie Crisp (which they don't have in Canada)

The US doesn't have Wheat-a--Bix (Canada does) we do have shredded wheat cereals which you can purchase plain, orginal frosted, strawberry frosted or blueberry frosted. The store brands in the US are also more comparable to the national brands. I haven't always experianced that with cereal in Canada.

I'll have to go look for the cream today because I'm doing grocery shopping and cleaning today (yay) to get ready for Thanksgiving on MONDAY. Now that's something I won't be used to for a while.

Angela - posted on 10/01/2011

@ Sherri C. A few of the words I picked up from other people and I incorporated them into my vocabulary. I think they are fun to stay and get a chuckle when people look at me like what the heck did you just say! I know in Massachusetts they call a rotary a round-a-bout. I have a friend in New Hampshire that calls me a flat-footer. I don't know what it means but I just go with it!! LOL

@ Angela B. I must be a geek too! I love learning words and phrases from other places in the world.

Georgia - posted on 10/01/2011

Kate, it must be Matabela... even though it doesn't sound or look familiar. BUT, because it was driving me bananas trying to think of what it was I started googling and look what I found: http://www.satooz.com/

It's based here in Brisbane too! Better still, they have Koeksisters!! Mmmm....

Angela - posted on 10/01/2011

Cream of wheat is actually from the USA, it is farnia, which is ground wheat. They also have cream of rice and it is common first solid food for infants.
Grits or Hominy are corn based
all of the above come in flavors sometimes.
Hope this helps
Look for ground when or corn

Kate - posted on 10/01/2011

Donna - are you talking about Matabela? Comes in different flavours?

Georgia - posted on 10/01/2011

Emma, out of the 5 you mentioned, 4 are American. :-) It's the land of taking a perfectly good cereal, like Weetbix (although I prefer Weet-a-bix from the UK... and I'm SURE it's the UK this time ;-)) and putting sugar on it.

Georgia - posted on 10/01/2011

AMARULA!!!! Yum. Nah, chutney is very easily found here. Lots and lots of Aussies like chutneys. Also, I can't remember the name for the creamed wheat (which must be rice), but that doesn't sound familiar. It comes in a box that, I think, is blue and red. It's a fine grain that's mixed with water and boiled until it thickens. Yeah, maybe it could have been rice.... you'd think I would remember it because when I came home I searched all over for it and actually found ONE box, in a store that closed not long after. :-\ But this was 11 or so years ago now. lol Of course I'd remember the booze!

Emma, nothing like the US. If you compared the variety of cereal we have to theirs and the proportion of healthy vs unhealthy... we'd have 6 healthy ones in our aisle to be on par. The cereal aisle there is like 3 times the size of ours. Don't get me wrong, I loved the crap cereals (I remember when Cookie Crisp first came out and it was love at first sight!), but there is no way I could eat it for breakfast now. It's a box of mini chocolate chip cookies!

Toni, I could have sworn it was in the UK, but obviously I'm mistaken. Can't think of where I was thinking of now. I'm getting old and all the places I've been are starting to melt into one giant mess.

Angela - posted on 10/01/2011

Kate I noticed in Afrikaans the spellling is a bit different for the same word many of times. But I can make it out.
Ubba I have seen it now I know the word for it. It does look rather cozy!

Emma the Coffee mate is in the USA a powdered stuff not so nice. But I drink my coffee black anywho unless I am in the mood for a latte.
Over here they drink condensed milk, cream, milk or the powdered stuff...

Stifler's - posted on 10/01/2011

There is coffee creamer in Aus just not many people use it. It's called Coffee Mate. We have heaps of shit cereals Donna hahaha Milo, crispix, coco pops, coco pops chex, honey nut corn flakes...

Kate - posted on 10/01/2011

Angela - vet is an Afrikaans word again. We've also got a couple of things that are named by the African languages - like ubba - there is no English word for it... it's a thing African woman do - they tie their babies on their backs with a blanket or towel and it's called ubba! My kids both loved it when our nanny / housekeeper did it - they'd just go to sleep there! When she wasn't there they'd beg me to do it but I could never get it right - would always come loose!

Toni - posted on 10/01/2011

Donna we have rice crispies in the uk not rice bubbles

Kate - posted on 10/01/2011

Donna - the 'creamed wheat' is (if we're talking about the same thing) called mielie pap! It corn-based. Some eat it creamy for a porridge and others like it more solid with a gravy or sauce - a bit like American grits.
Is that drink called Amarula (with the elephant on the bottle)? Or Cape Velvet (don't know what that's made from)?
Do you miss CHUTNEY? Mrs Ball's... I missed that when I was in the States.
More words:
bathing suite = costume
patio = veranda = stoep
dirt = soil
(back) yard = garden
Our (back) yard is usually a smaller cemented area with a washing line
hot tub = jacuzzi

Angela - posted on 10/01/2011

@Kate sorry I missed your question.

but when we see cute things like babies or puppies we say "ahh shame.." it's weird and I refuse to do it but it just means oh cute!!???

no never heard that one. But it is funny to hear take on American Slang... like fat....they say vet

but Dutch they do not have much slang in their own language they just borrow others and translate, which does not alway work out right!



Cereals are different here too in The Netherlands they have yes far less variety than even other European countries. But the names made me laugh.....

Honey Loops for Cheerios! but they taste the same.



I have to say the USA has healthy cereals, many to choose from but over here the healthiest you get is muesli.... and I am not a big fan of it. I miss Frosted Mini Wheats so yummy and healthy I ate the 24/7 .

I never liked special K yuck.

Milk in the USA is by fat percent and we have cream, and heavy cream.

Over most the time you find half full or full but I did find a brand at 1.3 percent fat and one has zero fat. this is just in the last couple years however.

When I first moved here the zucchini was a new vegetable! They are getting more variety but it will never be like the USA.

Georgia - posted on 09/30/2011

Meggy, cereals are different here too. Rice Crispies is called Rice Bubbles (as they are in the UK), Raisin Bran is Sultana Bran and granola is toasted muesli. A higher percentage of our cereals are healthy, compared to the US and not as much variety. It freaked my best friend out when we went shopping for cereal on a trip in the US. She couldn't believe that you could get Oreos and Cookie Crisp cereal. We have NOTHING like that here. She looked up and down the aisle and kept saying, "I just want something HEALTHY!" For our trip, we bought a box of Oreo cereal and would eat a small handful for dessert. Had to go with Special K for breakfast cereal... and discovered that it's totally different! It's like cornflakes there, whereas here the flakes are twice a thick.

Georgia - posted on 09/30/2011

Sherri, double cream is really thick cream. You almost need a spoon to get it out of the container. Pouring cream is cream that is thinner and pourable. They taste the same, but used for different cooking purposes.



Meggy, you should be able to use just cream to make whipped cream. Either pouring or double. It all turns into whipped cream once you get air into it. :-)



Yes, someone said Promite is similar to Marmite. Well, yes and no. Marmite is sweeter. In terms of sweetness to saltiness it goes like this: Marmite, Promite, Vegemite. They are all yeast extracts that you spread onto toast or whatever. It took me a while to get a taste for Vegemite, but I like it the best. It's really good with avocado as a sandwich. I wouldn't put it on crackers though... that WOULD make me really thirsty!



Kate, I lived in SA for a while and loved it. I miss the Hot Rock restaurant and the hot cereal (it's like creamed wheat)... can't remember the names of either at the moment. There's also that apricot alcohol... I'm hating my memory right now! It was so nice I regretted not bringing more with me. Thankfully, we can get biltong and boerwors here (not the cheese one though, which of course is my favourite). I never realised how many South Africans emigrate to Australia until recently, but can understand why. Our weather is almost exactly the same.



A-ha, that's another one!

Biltong (South African) = Jerky (although, biltong is better because of the spices used)



Darn it! I'm hungry now!

Kate - posted on 09/30/2011

Sherri - I see it there on the shelves - I guess as the names suggest? Not sure how they get it like that either...

♥♪Megan♫♥ - posted on 09/30/2011

Corn pops for one. The ones in the states are yellow, funny shaped and sticky. The ones here in Canada are more brownish and round. They kinda taste like peanut butter Cap'n Crunch.

Sherri - posted on 09/30/2011

What cereals are different Meggy?

♥♪Megan♫♥ - posted on 09/30/2011

I could NOT live in Australia! No coffee creamer? I use flavoured coffee creamer here in Canada (and in the States) no sugar though.

In the US we have skim milk but in Canada they just call it non fat milk.

Not exactly a what do you call it thing, but some of the cereals are different in Canada than they are in the US.

Sherri - posted on 09/30/2011

Kate what is pouring cream or double cream we don't have those here?

Kate - posted on 09/30/2011

Sherri said it right there - the half and half (milk and cream mixed) - and then the normal milk and low fat - all those options. Back then, we just had plain old milk ...delivered to our door by the milkman. We also have progressed to full cream, low fat, no fat, 2%, whipping cream, pouring cream, double cream... etc but 15 years ago, coming from no choice to lots of choice - it was overwhelming...

Stifler's - posted on 09/30/2011

I put potatoes in the fridge too or else they grow sprouts. Promite is like Vegemite but sweeter. No idea what Marmite tastes like. I don't use cream in my coffee.. just normal milk. There's no cream at the coffee shop either just milk or cappucino froth. Some old people in Australia use condensed milk.

Sherri - posted on 09/30/2011

@Angela I have lived in New England almost 40yrs and have never once heard any of those things said.

Half n half is what you use in your coffee it is half whole milk/half cream. In any restaurant or coffee shop etc. you only have 3 options when you order coffee black, milk or half n half.

Kate - posted on 09/30/2011

Meggy - I know it's really funny with all the different terms for milk / cream! And just generally the amount of choice in the States!! We have choice but it's not overwhelming! I used to stand for hours trying to decide what cereal or detergent to choose - every time! Grocery shopping was very time consuming!!
I did some sail-boat racing when I was there and one time my feet dunked into the water so I said "yuk, now I have smelly sea water (w-or-ter) takkies" - everyone nearly fell off the boat laughing... I was scarred for life!!!

Kate - posted on 09/30/2011

I don't like Marmite either - my husband and children love it on crackers with grated cheese... better, but still not so nice - makes me thirsty!!
Angela - the baakjie fiets thing is so funny! Translated from Afrikaans that would mean something like "small container bicycle!!! Hahaha!!! Hilarious! Like a bicycle with a container on the front to put your kids in!! Just picturing it making me laugh!
We've got a very diverse music scene here - from all the commercial stuff to Afrikaans to African - it's great!

♥♪Megan♫♥ - posted on 09/30/2011

Kate- I'm from Western New York state, we have our own little cusine and you should've seen my hubby try to order a hot dog his first time visiting me :) I don't even know what 1/2 and 1/2 is. Heavy cream though is what we use for whipping cream (I hope they have it here, but my husband seems confused by me asking) and coffee creamer.

Angela, my MIL is from Skasketchewan. I guess people in Minnesota say eh too. I've just never heard anyone here in BC say it as much as she does!

Oh here in Canada Oatmeal is always porridge. Even when it says oatmeal on the box. My DH was off of school this week and I made myself some oatmeal in the microwave then went to start a load of laundry. A few minutes later he tells me my porridge is ready.

Angela - posted on 09/30/2011

To the Canadians.... I am from Michigan and we say eh after sentences too....

Angela - posted on 09/30/2011

I tried the marmiite stuff... ummmmm not sure of it I think I could eat it if I was drunk... a good drunk food on crackers

Kate - posted on 09/30/2011

Thanks Angela. I think our equivalent would be Marmite...

Angela - posted on 09/30/2011

@ KATE the bakkie fiets is spelled baakije fiets however but really the same word.

Angela - posted on 09/30/2011

@Kate I thought SA... because I listen to music from theRE and it is very familiar to Dutch. We have a bakkie fiets. which is a bike with a hard to explain really front area to hold kids lol.. like a front loading pick up bike.

Also I love the music Scene in SA it is so fresh and fun love it!

Angela too cool... I love the term Kicks sounds so trendy compared to sneaker. Larder makes sense really because we did not alway have refrigeration..

I love it all , just with the English language alone their is so much culture and diversity... okay I am sound like a geek lol

Angela - posted on 09/30/2011

I think that promite is similar to vegemite. It is made from yeast and is flavored with salt, herbs and spices. It's used as a spread on sandwiches, toast, crackers, etc etc....

Kate - posted on 09/30/2011

Please can someone tell me what promite is?
Just reading all these posts about 'to refrigerate or not to refrigerate' - I put everything in mine except bananas, bread and potatoes - purely because of the heat here - everything goes frot in a day if we leave it out.
I lived in NY for a while and I had lots of strange looks and people laughing at me the way I said things! But in my own defense - never did get the hang of the American milk story: half and half, double - can't even remember all of them now but never did manage to buy milk I was 'used to'!!

♥♪Megan♫♥ - posted on 09/30/2011

I'm an American posting in Canada so it's fun re-learning everything.



A toque (pronounced tooo k) is a knit hat here in Canada.



Post= Mail



parcel- package



Double double- 2 cream and 2 sugar in a coffee or tea order



I heard this from a guy I used to talk to who lived in ON a poggy pay cheque (Canadians spell check differently than Americans so I hope I spelt that correctly) is the check you get from the government.



When I lived in New York we called a refridgerator a frige and went to the grocery store not the super market (well some people) and my mama (maternal grandma) was always telling her dog to get off the davenport (couch/ sofa)



My grandparents' homes had root cellars in their basements to keep food cool. And my parents leave their butter out on the counter to keep it soft.



I don't know much else. But my MIL should be down here shortly and she always adds ooh yeah eh to the end of every other sentance. No one else I know in Canada does that.

Angela - posted on 09/30/2011

Angela, I live in New England. My dad grew up in the 50's and 60's and he always called sneakers "kicks" I think it is a term from his generation. I picked up fin from a mobster movie. The term was used in the 20's and 30's. My old roommate came from a family of farmers and she kept butter in the cabinet (instead of the fridge) and she called it a larder. I looked up the definition and it cool place for storing food used before the widespread use of refrigeration.

Kate - posted on 09/30/2011

I'm in South Africa so lots of our words are from the Afrikaans language (Dutch origin - they call it 'baby Dutch').

Mostly though English or British English.

Our sanitary napkin is sanitary towel or pad - haha!!

We have another 'thing' we do here - would love to know if you do it there too - but when we see cute things like babies or puppies we say "ahh shame.." it's weird and I refuse to do it but it just means oh cute!!???

Also, on timing when things are going to happen:

now = this minute

now-now = in about 5 minutes

just-now = about 30 minutes



Incidentally, the word "bakkie" in Afrikaans roughly translated means "small container" - so a bakkie would be a small version of a truck or lorry!!



xx

Angela - posted on 09/30/2011

Oh Kate those are fun where are you from... I think from now on people should put in the post the native language origin please.
Traffic light Robots love it! I would be so confused however if you said look at the robot!
Over here in The Netherlands they also use Serviette for napkin... if you say napkin they think sanitary napkin. It is french. I love words btw... I think it is fun.
They also say flats for apt here.
I love the word bakkie... for a pick up truck!

Kate - posted on 09/30/2011

haven't read them all so hoping I'm not repeating but where I'm from:

traffic lights = robots!!
sneakers = takkies
pick up truck = bakkie (pronounced buckie)
ocean = sea
sailboat = yatch
yatch = motor boat / spead boat
apartment buildings = flats
kleen-ex = tissues
napkin = serviette

We say:
Herbs not 'erbs
and don't pronounce the H in vehicle (just pronounce it veer-cle)
We also have a fruit called naartjies...!!! (pronounce narchies)

what fun!!

Angela - posted on 09/30/2011

Angela T where are you from? Fin for five and Larder are ones I have never heard before. Kicks is a cool name for sneakers... I think I might try to use that... I will confuse the Dutch people and they will think it is a cool American thing and I will start a new trend ha haha ...silly me I know

Angela - posted on 09/30/2011

Icebox... Refrigerator
Round-A-Bout...Rotary
Bubbler...Water Fountain
Pop...Soda
Larder or Larder Shelf...Cabinet, pantry or cupboard
Subway...Metro
Fin...$5
Sneakers...Kicks