Different terminologies by country.....

Mall = shopping centre
Sidewalk = footpath
Trash = rubbish/garbage
Trunk = for the car we call it a boot in Australia
2% milk = skim or light milk
Bell peppers = capsicum
Cool Aid = pretty much what cordial is here
Grill = barbie
Bathroom = toilet/loo/dunny


I can't think of any others for now. I should know a heap because my Dad is American & usually says different things (although having lived in Australia longer than he did America he's pretty much an Aussie now)

Oh this is fascinating! Learning lots of Australian language I never knew before :flowerforyou:

Mall = shopping centre - same in the UK - or shopping precinct. If it's out of town, it's an out of town shopping centre :laugh:
Sidewalk = footpath - pavement (footpath would be an uncovered trail in the country)
Trash = rubbish/garbage - rubbish - we only use garbage to describe what someone we disagree with is saying.
Trunk = for the car we call it a boot in Australia - also boot in the UK - and the hood is the bonnet.
2% milk = skim or light milk - we have skimmed milk and semi skimmed milk or full fat milk.
Bell peppers = capsicum - in the UK they're just peppers (you my identify them by colour, e.g. red pepper, green pepper)
Cool Aid = pretty much what cordial is here - ???? Dunno! Don't think it exists here. We have juice (which refers to fresh fruit juice, but also flavoured drinks you give kids) squash (cordial that you dilute to drink) and fizzy drinks (soda)
Grill = barbie - indoors in the UK, is grill. Outside, Barbecue
Bathroom = toilet/loo/dunny - Dunny would be very archaic in the UK I think - people would maybe recognise what it refers to but nobody would use it (apart from Blackadder!) But we'd say toilet or loo. Or ladies or gents.


Some the same as UK, some not!

Having sex outdoors while others watch. Apparently, it has a specific name in England.

Dogging......

so the same in Australia as in England? well, I guess we are just weird here in the US for not having a specific name.

I know, we have no creativity on that part, huh... It's just classified as indecent exposure... :grumble:

So am I the only one (from US) who reads these posts in a British or Aussie accent after awhile?

And yeah, I'm from Texas. We say 'awhile' a lot! And some say we have a language all our own as well.

I do love the accents and different word meanings from the various countries.

The newest thing I heard was squash. Something you put into water to flavor it? Like Mio here, I guess. I have heard it referred to as a cordial. But cordial here is a sweet alcohol that you add to mixed drinks, like Amaretto.

It is funny how only US bad words are filtered here, but you can type bloody and bollocks all day long!

Oh, and 'root' was a new one as well. Here,rooting is what a pig does when it is looking for food. Or also what a newborn baby does when it is looking for dinner from mommy.

US: quilt cover/cover
AUS: doona
NZ: duvet (said as doovay)

I get made fun of by my partner and his kiwi family for saying doona xD It really is such a silly sounding word to say in a Steve Irwin style accent as well xD


I actually can't believe this hasn't been mentioned yet :P

US: redneck
AUS: Derro or Bogan

Not by country, but by race....I work at a hotel and notice that black people will ask me for a cover, instead of a blanket. Also will ask for a face towel...I can never remember if that is a hand towel or a washcloth so I just give them a set of bath, hand and washcloth.

(Please don't jump my *kitten* about making reference to me being prejudice, etc....I so am not...it is just something I have noticed and find interesting.)

I don't think "cover" is a race specific word... I am white and say cover... To me a cover is what is on your bed.. a blanket is thinner and smaller and used mostly on a couch or other parts of the house.

I haven't heard anyone refer to a bed blanket as a 'cover', altho we do say 'pull up the covers' when we get in bed, meaning all the sheets and blankets. If we were to ask, we would ask for a blanket, or a quilt. The thick, pretty top covering is called a comforter, and was not a part of our vocabulary before the 90s around here.

In East Texas, there was a distinct difference in dialect between the black and white cultures when I was growing up, but the cultures have merged quite a bit since then, and the language has as well. Now it is more of where you grew up, and the people you hang around, rather than skin color.

One big difference: in Australia thongs are footwear - what other places call flip-flops.
Thongs are not underwear here.

They used to call them thongs in the US. In fact, my mom still calls them thongs and has to correct herself sometimes. Not sure when the term changed.

Yes,in the 70s-80s, thongs were sandals that went between your toes. Then whenever girls started liking perma-wedgies, they became thongs and shoes became flip flops, or just sandals.

I know, I'm old.

Not by country, but by race....I work at a hotel and notice that black people will ask me for a cover, instead of a blanket. Also will ask for a face towel...I can never remember if that is a hand towel or a washcloth so I just give them a set of bath, hand and washcloth.

(Please don't jump my *kitten* about making reference to me being prejudice, etc....I so am not...it is just something I have noticed and find interesting.)

I don't think "cover" is a race specific word... I am white and say cover... To me a cover is what is on your bed.. a blanket is thinner and smaller and used mostly on a couch or other parts of the house.

I haven't heard anyone refer to a bed blanket as a 'cover', altho we do say 'pull up the covers' when we get in bed, meaning all the sheets and blankets. If we were to ask, we would ask for a blanket, or a quilt. The thick, pretty top covering is called a comforter, and was not a part of our vocabulary before the 90s around here.

In East Texas, there was a distinct difference in dialect between the black and white cultures when I was growing up, but the cultures have merged quite a bit since then, and the language has as well. Now it is more of where you grew up, and the people you hang around, rather than skin color.

That's basically were I was going with that.. That some of the US vocabulary is more about location rather than race... I was born and raised in GA, the hubs was born and raised in Vermont. Same country, but we have a few arguments on what a few things are called..
For instance: What he and everyone else calls conditioner (hair), I and my family have always called cream rinse..

I have now read through this entire discussion and found it very interesting. Dear son went travelling years ago and when he returned, he brought home his Aussie partner. They lived with us for a few months and I found out a few things that were interesting from the Aussie dialect.

Firstly, the "garden" in Aussie is basically the backyard or outside space around your home. In my life, the "garden" has always represented the plot where we grew either vegetables or flowers and we would call them the generally the garden for vegetables or flower garden. That took me by surprise as they brought a house which had a huge "garden" and I keep looking in the backyard to find the "garden" plot....silly me!

Also, my DIL and my son call their baby (my g-baby)..........bubs or bubba. Further, she would change the baby's "nappie" as opposed to our diaper.

And I love chock....

When they lived with us, she would also walk down to the shops....we also just called them going to the store (s) or going downtown...(downtown kinda symbolized where all the stores were before big box stores and malls took over).

We have stores that just sell liquor which we call "liquor stores" or "wine and beer stores" or in Saskatchewan....liquor board store (cause it is owned by the province). Dear DIL used to call them "bottle shops".

That's my little input for this interesting thread!

Speaking of Saskatchewan (a province in Canada), they are unique, they call "hoodies" or long sleeved sweaters with a hood and a front pocket a ''BUNNY HUG". Not sure of that origin however, I think Aussies may call them "kangaroo jackets" because of the front pocket.

It is funny how only US bad words are filtered here, but you can type bloody and bollocks all day long!

I never knew that! Well bloody is quite tame really, the other makes me :embarassed: (not really).

US: quilt cover/cover
AUS: doona
NZ: duvet (said as doovay)

UK: Duvet is the quilt, quilt cover is the slip on cover that you put it in. When I was a kid, they were called continental quilts, and I remember being distraught when my mum bought me one! (I still have that very quilt!)

US: redneck
AUS: Derro or Bogan

UK: we don't really have an equivalent, I don't think. It's not what we'd say about rural, farming communities anyway - in as much as rednecks refer to poor uneducated people, we'd be more likely to talk about urban communities - particularly young people - in the same vein and the terminology changes from time to time - currently we'd probably talk about chavs.

In terms of maybe having bigoted or reactionary views, we'd probably talk about "little Englanders".

That's in spite of a vigourous divide between urban and rural populations, lack of mutual understanding, and righteous indignation on both sides, all drawn into sharp relief over recent debates leading to the ban on fox hunting and the consequent (perceived) attack on rural tradition.