What do YOU call it?

Sherri - posted on 09/03/2011

@ Megan
I'm in NH and it is a face cloth too.
Red Hot - refers to hot sauce Franks Red Hot.

Jane - posted on 09/03/2011

Yankees! Unless they are actually from Oklahoma. Then...

Kate CP - posted on 09/03/2011

What about southeast Dallas?

Jane - posted on 09/03/2011

I live in southern Texas, where the common phrase is "Yankees is anyone from north of San Antonio. "Damn Yankees is from north of Dallas."

Kate CP - posted on 09/03/2011

I don't have a problem with Yankees down here...they seem to mind their manners. But when I'm up north and I say "Yes, Ma'am" to some one I get the weirdest looks. I also get cut off more, I get doors slammed in my face, people cut in line, and folks laugh at my accent.

Damn yankees. :P

Good Day! - posted on 09/03/2011

True. My bestie in Texas is about to marry an army doc from Boston.

♥♪Megan♫♥ - posted on 09/03/2011

So's Texas, look at all the military bases :)

Good Day! - posted on 09/03/2011

Nah, Virginia is full of Yankees. ;) So is Florida.

♥♪Megan♫♥ - posted on 09/03/2011

Kate, I thought a Yankee was anyone North of Virginia. That doesn't give much leeway.

I'm from Western New York here's some of mine:
Red Hot- regular hot dog
White hot- hot dog that looks like brautwurst
Plug- Binky, nuk (well we call it a nuk as well)
Pop- Soda

I'm now in Canada aside from finding out that they pronounce Mazda differently my husband calls wash cloths face cloths

Michelle - posted on 09/03/2011

I call sweets......Lollies
Popcicles.......Iceypoles

We have water restrictions. Our winter sprinkler ban has just been lifted but we can only have the sprinklers on 2 days a week either before 9am or after 6pm.

Erin - posted on 09/03/2011

Oh I could write a page long post on Aussie slang lol. Or I could just find that video that Donna posted. Hmmm

Kate CP - posted on 09/03/2011

Oh, I forgot my favorite phrases!

Y'all: you, you guys, all of you.
Y'all come back now, hear: please don't visit for at least a week.
Glad you could drop by: Time for you to leave.
Bless your heart: You dumb ass!
Imma let you go: I have to hang up the phone because my ear has gone numb.
Yonder: Over there
Holler: small village of kinfolk
Yeehaw: Yay!
Yankee: Anyone north of Carolina.

Erin - posted on 09/03/2011

Popsicles are ice blocks here. Sweets are lollies, and chocolate is chocolate or choccy (we are fond of shortening words and adding a y!).

Jane - posted on 09/03/2011

And actually in the USA, we tend to call a singlet (when worn by a man) a "wife beater."

Cathy - posted on 09/03/2011

Or (English) Cornish...

Ay? - I beg your pardon?
Buster - someone full of fun and mischief
Dreckley -at some point in the future
Emmet - ant or more recently tourist (mildly derogatory)(or anyone from "Upcountry")
Giss on! - don't talk rubbish!
Heller - Child who plays their parents up
Henting - raining hard
Mind - remember
Pisky - pixie
Proper - satisfactory
Squall - to cry
Teasy - bad-tempered
Upcountry - a generalised geographical term meaning anywhere which is in England, except for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
Zackley - exactly

Lissa - posted on 09/03/2011

Oooh Glakit, that I use a lot, it's a fabulous word. I also laugh when I remember being out with mates and a friend of a friend who was over from Australia came back from the bar saying OMG that guy just offered me crack!! What he actually said was "Are you here for the craic" ? It was about five minutes before any of us could stop laughing long enough to explain he meant fun and banter not drugs!
There's another one, love the word banter.
Maybe I am biased but I think all of our words are so descriptive and lyrical, I love them :)

Lady - posted on 09/03/2011

Jenni personally think arse is so much worse than ass - as ass is a donkey not a butt - but then maybe it's like you said it's not as much used over here.
Haud yer wheesht - my absolute favourite and used frequently in my house.
Glakit - stupid
bissim - cheeky wee rascal
wee- small
drooth - thirst
braw - good
bairn - child
can't think of any more scottish words right now sure i'll remember some more soon.

Elfrieda - posted on 09/03/2011

Thank you to whoever said that singlet = tanktop! I thought it meant onesie, like a baby wears with snaps at the crotch. After reading about a "strong man" at a circus who was wearing a singlet, I had a very disturbing mental image that I am happy to get rid of!

Jenni - posted on 09/03/2011

We use shit-faced and pissed here too.

Wasted, hammered, smashed, totalled, drunk as a skunk (probably because it rhymes).



Cathy, I like using 'arse' or 'arsehole' for some reason it sounds less offensive than 'asshole'. Sounds tamer, but probably just because it doesn't get used as much around here.

Jenni - posted on 09/03/2011

Lissa, no I haven't! They've tried to assimilate as much as possible to their new country (lived here for almost 30 years) so I think they've lost a lot of it. My SIL was raised in Canada but she's trying to assimilate to British sayings.

Kate CP - posted on 09/03/2011

Ahh, watering restrictions. :) That's what we call them in Texas. We also have burn bans which means no brush fires, no trash fires, no fireworks, no campfires, or any type of incendiary that could cause a fire.

Lissa - posted on 09/03/2011

Drunk, that is one fabulous word in scotland you can be ....Pissed, rat arsed, shit faced, bladdered, flying two sheets to the wind, wrecked and a whole host of other words. I love skunnered, that is a fab word too, it means disapointed.

Lissa - posted on 09/03/2011

Have you heard making a racket and haud yer wheesht from your in laws? Very descriptive I think :)

Cathy - posted on 09/03/2011

British slang words

1. Tosser – Idiot
2. Cock-up – Screw up
3. Bloody – Damn
4. Give You A Bell – Call you
5. Blimey! – My Goodness
6. Wanker – Idiot
7. Gutted – Devastated
8. Bespoke – Custom Made
9. Chuffed – Proud
10. Fancy – Like
11. Sod Off – Piss off
12. Lost the Plot – Gone Crazy
13. Fortnight – Two Weeks
14. Sorted – Arranged
15. Hoover – Vaccum
16. Kip – Sleep or nap
17. Bee’s Knees – Awesome
18. Know Your Onions – Knowledgeable
19. Dodgy – Suspicious
20. Wonky – Not right
20. Wonky – Not right
21. Wicked – Cool!
22. Whinge – Whine
23. Tad – Little bit
24. Tenner – £10
25. Fiver – £5
26. Skive – Lazy
27. Toff – Upper Class Person
28. Punter – Customer/Prostitute’s Client
29. Scouser – Someone from Liverpool
30. Quid – £
31. Taking the Piss – Screwing around
32. Pissed – Drunk
33. Loo – Toilet
34. Nicked – Stolen
35. Nutter – Crazy Person
36. Knackered – Tired
37. Gobsmacked – Amazed
38. Dog’s Bollocks – Awesome
39. Chap – Male
40. Bugger – Jerk
41. Bog Roll – Toilet Paper
42. Bob’s Your Uncle – There you go!
43. Anti-Clockwise – We Say Counter Clockwise
44. C of E – Church of England
45. Pants – Panties
46. Throw a Spanner in the Works – Screw up
47. Zed – We say ZZZZZZZ
48. Absobloodylootely – YES!
49. Nosh – Food
50. One Off – One time only
51. Shambles – Mess
52. Arse-over-tit – Fall over
53. Brilliant! – Great!
54. Dog’s Dinner – Dressed Nicely
55. Up for it – Willing to have sex
56. On the Pull – Looking for sex
57. Made Redundant – Fired from a job
58. Easy Peasy – Easy
59. See a Man About a Dog – Do a deal or take a dump
60. Up the Duff – Pregnant
61. DIY – Do It Yourself home improvements
62. Chat Up – Flirt
63. Fit – Hot
64. Arse – Ass
65. Strawberry Creams – Breasts
66. Shag – Screw
67. Gentleman Sausage – Penis
68. Twigs & Berries – Genitalia
69. Fanny – Vagina
70. Bollocks – Balls
71. Ponce – Poser
72. Don’t Get Your Knickers in a Twist – Don’t Get worked up
73. The Telly – Television
74. Bangers – Sausage
75. Chips – French Fries
76. Daft Cow – Idiot
77. Do – Party
78. Uni – College/University
79. Starkers – Naked
80. Smeg – From Red Dwarf
81. Bits ‘n Bobs – Various things
82. Anorak – A person weirdly interested in something
83. Shambles – bad shape/plan gone wrong
84. I’m Off to Bedfordshire – Going to bed
85. Her Majesty’s Pleasure – To be in prison
86. Horses for Courses – Won’t work for someone else
87. John Thomas – Penis
88. Plastered – Drunk
89. Meat and Two Veg – Genitalia
90. Knob Head – Idiot/Dickhead
91. Knob – Penis
92. Chav – White trash
93. Chap – Friend
94. Stag Night – Bachelor Party
95. Ace – Cool!
96. Plonker – Idiot
97. Dobber – Penis
98. BellEnd – Penis
99. Blighty – Britain
100. Rubbish – Garbage or ‘That’s crap!’

Jenni - posted on 09/03/2011

I love the "You're doing my head in!" it sounds so much better than saying "You're driving me crazy!" I've stolen that one now. ;) I tell my kids all the time now that they're 'doin my head in' lol

Cathy - posted on 09/03/2011

Best translation for gutted would be extremely disappointed.

Lissa - posted on 09/03/2011

Sweets are just the generic and can refer to any kind of sweet but chocolate is just chocolate unless you are referring to a particular type of chocolate. Yes we say cots, I say pram and buggy but plenty of people say pram and pushchair too. Yes we tend to say go and have a lie down not a nap and I am for ever saying "you're doing my head in" :)

Cathy - posted on 09/03/2011

Chocolate bars are "bar of chocolate"!
A pram is the type you have for newborns.
Strollers we call pushchairs or buggies.

We do have cribs in the UK but the are half way between the moses basket (or I think you call them bassinettes) and a regular "cot" in size. Then we have cotbeds which convert from a cot into a toddler bed.

Jenni - posted on 09/03/2011

Oh here's a British slang I picked up from watching BB UK. They always say: "I'm totally gutted" I like that one. I'm not sure what the exact translation would be but it's something like having your heart ripped out or feeling really upset.

Jenni - posted on 09/03/2011

Cathy- what do you call chocolate bars?

My MIL calls strollers 'push chairs' but I've always heard them referred to as "Prams" in England. So I'm not sure where she picked up that one.

Also, are cribs 'cots' in the UK?

And I've also heard them use the term: "Have a lie down" when we say "nap".

Cathy - posted on 09/03/2011

UK
Sweets refer to all candy. In Aus they call all sweets "lollies".
A lolly in the UK refers to sweets on a stick.

Ice lollies are ice cream or frozen juice of some description on a stick. Ice pops or ice poles are frozen flavoured ice in a tube.

Jenni - posted on 09/03/2011

Yup I think Americans and Canadians share most of the same terms but we do spell certain words differently. And our countries are so large, terms mostly change based on the state or province, not so much the country. Like "Y'all" in the southern states.

Sherri - posted on 09/03/2011

Ice pops or freeze pops (a popsicle in a sleeve that you cut the top off and eat that way).

Popsicles are the frozen pops on a stick

Rosie - posted on 09/03/2011

i say popsicles. but there is a brand name ice pops i think. the little plastic gross cheap ones. eh, and hosers, lmao! totally reminds me of the movie strange brew. we played a drinking game to that movie everytime they said eh, we had to drink, lol.

Jenni - posted on 09/03/2011

Yeah, we have a few of those Dyan. There's a lot of terms attributed to Canadians but they're usually Maritime province terms. Like "Out and about", "eh", "hosers!" ;)

Jenni - posted on 09/03/2011

Ok what about 'Popcicles"?
I've heard some people call them "Icies" or "Ice Pops".

Rosie - posted on 09/03/2011

i say pop jennifer!

Rosie - posted on 09/03/2011

i've noticed they say "lollies" alot in other countries, we say "suckers" around here. :)

Jenni - posted on 09/03/2011

I like this one: "You're doing my head in!" lol I sometimes use that one now.

Jenni - posted on 09/03/2011

Oh here's one, how about 'sweets'? In NA it's candy. Do you refer to it as candy in the UK sometimes? or is it always sweets?

Here's some America vs Canadian ones.

Americans say 'Soda', Canadians say 'pop' (but it may depend on what area of the US you're in)
Americans say "Candy bar" and Canadians say "Chocolate bar"

Rosie - posted on 09/03/2011

i've noticed aussies say "pull your head in! " here in the US we say "pull your head out!" i always have a little chuckle when i see that, i envision someone sticking their head IN their ass (however impossible that is, lol).

Lady - posted on 09/03/2011

Scotland - can I have a shot?

The biggest one I've had trouble with moving from scotland to England was asking someone where they stayed as in lived - they just didn't know what I meant at all and I had to explain

Jenni - posted on 09/03/2011

Yeah, I knew some were probably just their family or that some of terms may be used by both countries. Thought I'd check them out with other UKers. His parents also lived in Zambia for some time and have lived in Canada for almost 30 years. So they're a bit hodge podgy. ;)

'hose'pipe ban- sorry I was mistaken on that one!
My SIL lives near Wales and always tells her 4 year old: Elliot that was very kind of you. Or Elliot that wasn't very kind! I just don't hear that commonly here in Canada.
Elliot will also ask "Can I have a go, please?"
Whereas my kids will ask "Can I have a turn, please?"

But I was curious if it was just them or if those are common terms in the UK.

Lady - posted on 09/03/2011

Whenever I see idk - I don't hear I don't know - I hear I dinny ken - scots again lol.

My favourite scottish saying though is the one my kids probably hear the most - hud yer wheesht!

Meaning be quiet.

Laura Zoey - posted on 09/03/2011

Ahh idk if I've ever had a drought around here, I cant think of a time wecouldnt use extra water, but I guess if I had to call it something id call it water conservation.....Wisconsin has way too much precipitation to get a drought :P

Cathy - posted on 09/03/2011

Laura - When you get banned from using excessive water to wash the car, water the garden etc due to drought. No sprinklers, hosepipes... that sort of thing!

Laura Zoey - posted on 09/03/2011

water ban - pipe ban (hosepipe ban)
Ok i don't know what any of these three phrases mean, whatever it is I must call it something else!

Cathy - posted on 09/03/2011

Jenni -Some of those aren't exactly UK differences... maybe it is just your husbands family.

your turn - you have a go (your go)
Be nice - Be kind (I say be nice and have never in 31years heard the statement be kind)
Do you need anything? - Are you ok? (would use both for different situations)
water ban - pipe ban (hosepipe ban)
Gas - petrol or fuel (petrol not being used if you drive a diesel)

Jenni - posted on 09/03/2011

I learned some interesting UK words from my husband's family...



Canada vs. UK



Broom- brush

your turn - you have a go

Be nice - Be kind

Potty/bathroom - lo

butt/bum - bottom

diaper - nappy

weed wacker - strimmer

water ban - pipe ban

yard - garden

trailor - caravan

Do you need anything? - Are you ok?

gas - petrol



I know there's a lot more! But I spend so much time with his family, I'm starting to pick up a lot of their alternative words. Especially when it comes to child rearing terms. lol

Kate CP - posted on 09/03/2011

Weed whackers are also known as edgers.