Different words for the same things depending on which country you're in.

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  • kayemme
    kayemme Posts: 1,782 Member
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    We use the F word for cigarettes too. And we have a very popular brand of cheese who's name people find very racist, its C**n. I actually had an American friend ask me about it when she saw it in my diary

    @williams969 yes, we call them benchtops. Do you guys use the word pantry for the kitchen food cupboard?

    It's a pantry if it's a floor to ceiling cupboard. If it's just top cabinets (above the counter/bench, then it's just called the cupboard/cabinet). But, pantries are not that common in the US, at least i the homes/apartments I've been in.

    Oh, another one: apartments/condo in the US = flats in the UK.

    On the east coast, we have a room with a sink & cupboards we call a "wet pantry."

    Also, I would call a "flat" an apartment in a city that is above a storefront. (US)
  • TonyB0588
    TonyB0588 Posts: 9,520 Member
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    Saw a reference to Master Bathroom earlier. My wife is British and calls it En Suite. Seems a french word for the two rooms together - bedroom and bathroom.

    Of course one must be very careful about bath and shower. I've almost always taken my baths in a shower. British folk seem to take a "bath" lying or sitting in a bath(tub) and a "shower" standing in a shower enclosure.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    TonyB0588 wrote: »
    Saw a reference to Master Bathroom earlier. My wife is British and calls it En Suite. Seems a french word for the two rooms together - bedroom and bathroom.

    Of course one must be very careful about bath and shower. I've almost always taken my baths in a shower. British folk seem to take a "bath" lying or sitting in a bath(tub) and a "shower" standing in a shower enclosure.

    Yeah I call a bathroom that is kinda joined to a bedroom an ensuite. Don't most Brits have the shower nozzle in the actual bath? You don't have a separate shower and bath?
    One thing i can't stand is when the toilet is in the bathroom, I lived in a unit that had that , drove me nuts!
  • ksmommy5
    ksmommy5 Posts: 142 Member
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    How about Canadian/American
    pencil crayons/coloured pencils
    washroom/bathroom
    brown toast/whole wheat toast
    two-four/24-pack of beer
  • TonyB0588
    TonyB0588 Posts: 9,520 Member
    edited January 2017
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    TonyB0588 wrote: »
    Saw a reference to Master Bathroom earlier. My wife is British and calls it En Suite. Seems a french word for the two rooms together - bedroom and bathroom.

    Of course one must be very careful about bath and shower. I've almost always taken my baths in a shower. British folk seem to take a "bath" lying or sitting in a bath(tub) and a "shower" standing in a shower enclosure.

    Yeah I call a bathroom that is kinda joined to a bedroom an ensuite. Don't most Brits have the shower nozzle in the actual bath? You don't have a separate shower and bath?
    One thing i can't stand is when the toilet is in the bathroom, I lived in a unit that had that , drove me nuts!

    Things are gradually changing. My first visit to Britain was nearly 29 years ago and there was no provision for a shower. Just lie there in that disgusting bathtub full of water. On subsequent visits, I saw shower nozzles being installed.

    All my life I've lived in houses where the Master Bathroom had a tub but also equipped with a shower nozzle, and the other bathroom(s) in the house had only a shower instead of a tub.

    And yes, for me the toilet has generally been in the bathroom. I've been to a few houses where the toilet was separate, but the sink to wash your hands was in the bathroom!!
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    TonyB0588 wrote: »
    TonyB0588 wrote: »
    Saw a reference to Master Bathroom earlier. My wife is British and calls it En Suite. Seems a french word for the two rooms together - bedroom and bathroom.

    Of course one must be very careful about bath and shower. I've almost always taken my baths in a shower. British folk seem to take a "bath" lying or sitting in a bath(tub) and a "shower" standing in a shower enclosure.

    Yeah I call a bathroom that is kinda joined to a bedroom an ensuite. Don't most Brits have the shower nozzle in the actual bath? You don't have a separate shower and bath?
    One thing i can't stand is when the toilet is in the bathroom, I lived in a unit that had that , drove me nuts!

    Things are gradually changing. My first visit to Britain was nearly 29 years ago and there was no provision for a shower. Just lie there in that disgusting bathtub full of water. On subsequent visits, I saw shower nozzles being installed.

    All my life I've lived in houses where the Master Bathroom had a tub but also equipped with a shower nozzle, and the other bathroom(s) in the house had only a shower instead of a tub.

    And yes, for me the toilet has generally been in the bathroom. I've been to a few houses where the toilet was separate, but the sink to wash your hands was in the bathroom!!

    Yep, it's the same here. The sink is in the bathroom and separate toilet.

    Just an FYI for those of you who have the toilet/bathroom and toothbrushes in the same room. Make sure and have a secure airtight cover on your toothbrushes! I saw a show where they tested the toothbrush surface, and lets just say they may as well have cleaned their toilet with their toothbrushes :confounded:

  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,840 Member
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    And here I'd love to be able to renovate our house (but we're renting so I can't) ...

    I'd get rid of the separate shower and install one over the bath, then I'd put the toilet into the bathroom where the shower currently is because to me, having the toilet in a separate room is just a silly waste of space. The toilet belongs in the bathroom.

    Then I'd move the laundry room over so it occupies the current toilet room, and I'd put in an enormous closet in where the laundry room currently is, attached to the bedroom at the end, because this business of having teensy closets, or no closets, in a house is really odd.

    As for the toothbrush, it would go into the mirrored bathroom cabinet where it belongs ... if we had a mirrored bathroom cabinet. Those things don't appear to be very popular here either.

    Oh, and I'd add lights above the mirror ... another thing which doesn't appear to be very popular here.


    I grew up, in Canada, with quite a different bedroom/bathroom layout than what we've experienced in the places we've lived here in Australia. :)


    Oh, basements are another thing ... I don't understand why so many Australian houses don't have basements.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,051 Member
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    Machka9 wrote: »

    Oh, basements are another thing ... I don't understand why so many Australian houses don't have basements.

    Could it be for the same reasons that basements are uncommon in some regions of the US? These are usually either rock or caliche making it hard/expensive to excavate, or the water table being so high that everyone would have an automatic basement wading pool.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 17,959 Member
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    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Machka9 wrote: »

    Oh, basements are another thing ... I don't understand why so many Australian houses don't have basements.

    Could it be for the same reasons that basements are uncommon in some regions of the US? These are usually either rock or caliche making it hard/expensive to excavate, or the water table being so high that everyone would have an automatic basement wading pool.

    Yeah, I think its got a lot to do with the soil around a lot of Australia. Remember that the vast, vast majority of Australians live very close to the coast, so our soil tends to be sandy, or clay. I don't know that either are any good for basements?
  • pebble4321
    pebble4321 Posts: 1,132 Member
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    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Machka9 wrote: »

    Oh, basements are another thing ... I don't understand why so many Australian houses don't have basements.

    Could it be for the same reasons that basements are uncommon in some regions of the US? These are usually either rock or caliche making it hard/expensive to excavate, or the water table being so high that everyone would have an automatic basement wading pool.

    Yeah, I think its got a lot to do with the soil around a lot of Australia. Remember that the vast, vast majority of Australians live very close to the coast, so our soil tends to be sandy, or clay. I don't know that either are any good for basements?

    Yup, most houses in my part of Western Australia (pretty much all the new ones as far as I'm aware) are built on top of a concrete pad, which kind of works like a raft floating on top of the sand, there are no foundation posts that go down into the ground, so adding a basement would be a fairly labour intensive and expensive addition. The water table sounds like it would be a factor here too.

  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,752 Member
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    pebble4321 wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Machka9 wrote: »

    Oh, basements are another thing ... I don't understand why so many Australian houses don't have basements.

    Could it be for the same reasons that basements are uncommon in some regions of the US? These are usually either rock or caliche making it hard/expensive to excavate, or the water table being so high that everyone would have an automatic basement wading pool.

    Yeah, I think its got a lot to do with the soil around a lot of Australia. Remember that the vast, vast majority of Australians live very close to the coast, so our soil tends to be sandy, or clay. I don't know that either are any good for basements?

    Yup, most houses in my part of Western Australia (pretty much all the new ones as far as I'm aware) are built on top of a concrete pad, which kind of works like a raft floating on top of the sand, there are no foundation posts that go down into the ground, so adding a basement would be a fairly labour intensive and expensive addition. The water table sounds like it would be a factor here too.

    Our house is in a new(ish) estate, and built on top of what was a swamp a long time ago.... We'd have a murky underground swimming pool if we had a basement, the water level us still quite high.

    A lot of the older houses are built raised slightly above ground to enable air to circulate underneath (like the Queenslanders)
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    I've seen way too many American horror movies, and if there's anything demonic or creepy happening, it'll be down in the basement! :wink:

    I've never seen a house here that has one, or an Attic, which seems to be popular in American houses.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,840 Member
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    I've seen way too many American horror movies, and if there's anything demonic or creepy happening, it'll be down in the basement! :wink:

    I've never seen a house here that has one, or an Attic, which seems to be popular in American houses.

    We didn't have a basement when we lived in Victoria, but we do now that we live in Tasmania. :)

  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
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    I've seen way too many American horror movies, and if there's anything demonic or creepy happening, it'll be down in the basement! :wink:

    I've never seen a house here that has one, or an Attic, which seems to be popular in American houses.

    I do have my basement rented out, so there is some truth to that! :laugh:
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
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    Machka9 wrote: »
    I've seen way too many American horror movies, and if there's anything demonic or creepy happening, it'll be down in the basement! :wink:

    I've never seen a house here that has one, or an Attic, which seems to be popular in American houses.

    We didn't have a basement when we lived in Victoria, but we do now that we live in Tasmania. :)

    Victoria is built on a big rock. ;) Most houses on the prairies have basements... unless you go too far north into the permafrost.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    Machka9 wrote: »
    I've seen way too many American horror movies, and if there's anything demonic or creepy happening, it'll be down in the basement! :wink:

    I've never seen a house here that has one, or an Attic, which seems to be popular in American houses.

    We didn't have a basement when we lived in Victoria, but we do now that we live in Tasmania. :)

    That makes sense. There's some creepy happenings in dem der hills down there :lol:
  • Carlos_421
    Carlos_421 Posts: 5,132 Member
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    Ironically, Oklahoma is notorious for tornados due to it being mostly flat while there are also hardly any basements in the state because the water table is too high...due to it being mostly flat.

    As for the toilet being in the bathroom, it just makes sense. You need the sink there to wash your hands, it's already a private space and it's logical to centrally locate all the plumbing.
    There is a trend with newer/nicer homes these days of having a "closet" of sorts for the toilet within the bathroom (I assume so that John can use the john without fumigating Martha while she showers).

    And yes, if you are standing up with water pouring into you, you are taking a shower and not a bath. Taking a bath involves sitting/laying in standing water. Most bathrooms here have bathtubs with shower heads installed. A separate shower is mostly only used when space is at a premium or when it's a really nice bathroom complete with a whirlpool/garden tub (and perhaps a toilet closet).
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,752 Member
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    I've seen way too many American horror movies, and if there's anything demonic or creepy happening, it'll be down in the basement! :wink:

    I've never seen a house here that has one, or an Attic, which seems to be popular in American houses.

    Plenty of Australian houses have lofts though, which I consider the same thing. Many not liveable, but I think loft conversions are becoming more popular...
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,840 Member
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    nvmomketo wrote: »
    Machka9 wrote: »
    I've seen way too many American horror movies, and if there's anything demonic or creepy happening, it'll be down in the basement! :wink:

    I've never seen a house here that has one, or an Attic, which seems to be popular in American houses.

    We didn't have a basement when we lived in Victoria, but we do now that we live in Tasmania. :)

    Victoria is built on a big rock. ;) Most houses on the prairies have basements... unless you go too far north into the permafrost.

    The State of Victoria ... Australia. :)

  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,840 Member
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    Machka9 wrote: »
    I've seen way too many American horror movies, and if there's anything demonic or creepy happening, it'll be down in the basement! :wink:

    I've never seen a house here that has one, or an Attic, which seems to be popular in American houses.

    We didn't have a basement when we lived in Victoria, but we do now that we live in Tasmania. :)

    That makes sense. There's some creepy happenings in dem der hills down there :lol:

    Actually it is because of the hills that we've got a basement. We live on a 14% grade basement so to make the house level they had to put something like a basement underneath. :)

    Meanwhile where we were in Victoria it was relatively flat.