Different Meanings for Words

[Anniissa]

With regard to the conversation upthread on dungarees - I've seen some confusion between the US and UK twice recently on this. Both times the US version seemed to be using the term just to mean a normal pair of denim jeans whereas the UK version specifically refers to trousers with an attached bib.

One was in reference to a newspaper article which listed fashion items deemed to be unbecoming to adult women and I think it went something along the lines of how no-one over the age of 12 looks good in dungarees. Several American posters to the comments section were disagreeing with this but they all seemed to be using the term to mean denim jeans rather than what we in England would term dungarees. So, do any of you US based posters use the term like this to mean denim jeans or would you also think they had the bib on to be dungarees? Perhaps it is an old fashioned way of using the term because in the other case it was in a book where a little old lady was describing someone as wearing an undershirt and a pair of dungarees and this was then translated as wearing jeans and t-shirt.

[Wonderflonium]

I don't use the term dungarees at all, but when I hear it, I just think of jeans. The things with the bibs are overalls (or bib overalls) here.

[Mopsy428]

My grandparents used the term "dungarees" very frequently, and they always would use it in reference to a regular pair of jeans.

[Elfmama]

DH says that the US Navy uses the term for work pants, definitely not bib overalls, but not exactly jeans.  So Americans using the term might be picking up on that usage, since the most commonly used pants for working in civilian life are jeans. 

[camlan]

My mom always said "dungarees" for regular jeans. She grew up in the 1930s and 40s, and I think the US usage of the word was most popular then. Dungarees is rarely used in the US these days, at least in my area, but when it is, it always means jeans.

Jeans with a bib top are "overalls."

[Gwywnnydd]

DH says that the US Navy uses the term for work pants, definitely not bib overalls, but not exactly jeans.  So Americans using the term might be picking up on that usage, since the most commonly used pants for working in civilian life are jeans.

The Navy link is what I think of when I hear 'dungarees', and those definitely don't have an overall component.

[Anniissa]

Thanks all - interesting to see the difference there. In the UK dungarees are any trousers with the bib part attached so doesn't have to be denim even. In relation to the fashion article, the American commenters were getting quite irate at the suggestion that jeans shouldnt be worn by mature women and there definitely seemed to be some difference in the understanding of the terms between the Brits and the Americans commenting on the article so thought I'd check I'd understood correctly!

[Thipu1]

Just thought of something that hasn't yet been addressed but could cause major misunderstanding.  It's the use of the word 'table' in the sense of a meeting.

In the US to 'table' a motion means to remove it from the agenda and put it aside for future consideration.  As I understand it, in the UK, to 'table' a motion means bringing it to the floor for discussion. 

Any thoughts?

[Sunbeem]

And then there's all the words for vomiting.
Praying to the great white porcelain god
Spew
Chunder
What else?

toss my cookies
lose my lunch
upchuck - fun one my Dad taught me
regurgitate - learned it from a science book
vomit - common enough that everyone in the midwest knows what it means even if they don't use it
barf - fairly common among kids/teens/twenty-somethings in the American midwest
hurl - fairly common in American pop culture, I think
upswallow - fun one my aunt taught me
throw up - also fairly common, this is the one my family uses (Mom thinks it's more polite than "barf")
puke

[Sunbeem]

What do you call cling wrap?  We call it Gladwrap, even though it may not be the brand in the drawer it's always gladwrap.

I'll give you that one.  It's always Gladwrap.

Growing up in MN, I usually heard "Saran wrap" because that was the major brand of cling wrap, and that's what Mom called it.  Cling wrap is pretty common though.  I still live in the midwest (Iowa) but I don't think I've ever heard "Gladwrap."

[Sunbeem]

A word that I'm curious to its geographic viability, has anyone else used Catacorner?  Meaning diagonal, or some variant thereof of that spelling?

Growing up in Minnesota, I only heard "diagonal" or "kitty-corner".  But now I live in Iowa and my Iowan BF says "catty-corner".

[kherbert05]

Just thought of something that hasn't yet been addressed but could cause major misunderstanding.  It's the use of the word 'table' in the sense of a meeting.

In the US to 'table' a motion means to remove it from the agenda and put it aside for future consideration.  As I understand it, in the UK, to 'table' a motion means bringing it to the floor for discussion. 

Any thoughts?

I read somewhere that this difference actually caused a huge problem during a treaty negotiation one time. Basically both sides wanted to talk about X. Cue outrage by the American side when the Brits wanted to table X topic. According to the book it actually took more than a day before the misunderstanding was solved.

I read the book in HS it had a bunch of stories about misunderstandings between Americans and other English speaking countries. Probably mostly urban legends.

 The other one I remember was about a British girl complaining that the son of her host family had knocked her up early that morning. The other girls wanted to know how she knew she was expecting if it happened that morning. (The girl meant that the boy knocked on her door to wake her up). 

[kherbert05]

Oh thought of another one. Some British cousins were visiting the US. There were several miscommunications.


1. When Mom and Dad explained that the brisket had been on the BBQ for 7 hours, they thought they were going to get the most dried up piece of meat ever. (It is smoked over a low fire)


2. The boys suggested we get a torch, because we were playing outside after dark. My Sister thought they had taken leave of their senses. I had read enough British kids books to know they meant a flashlight. Daddy had this big emergency one with a battery almost as big as a car battery (The light portion screwed onto the battery which made up the base). It had more of a spotlight on the front, the back part had a red light that could be set to blink. The boys were very impressed.


It was designed to keep in your car and use if you had to change a tire or something at night. If you sat the base on the ground it the spot light part would shine right on the area your lug nuts are in on a tire. The flashing red light was to warn other cars.

[lollylegs]

2. The boys suggested we get a torch, because we were playing outside after dark. My Sister thought they had taken leave of their senses. I had read enough British kids books to know they meant a flashlight. Daddy had this big emergency one with a battery almost as big as a car battery (The light portion screwed onto the battery which made up the base). It had more of a spotlight on the front, the back part had a red light that could be set to blink. The boys were very impressed.


It was designed to keep in your car and use if you had to change a tire or something at night. If you sat the base on the ground it the spot light part would shine right on the area your lug nuts are in on a tire. The flashing red light was to warn other cars.

What does a torch mean in the US?

[Wonderflonium]

What villagers carry through the darkness while hunting Dr. Frankenstein's monster. 

Basically, it's fire on a stick.