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

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  • SueSueDio
    SueSueDio Posts: 4,796 Member
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    kgirlhart wrote: »
    I love this thread too. Around here it is mixed between cart and buggy. I've always said buggy.

    A buggy to me is either a baby's pushchair (that sit-up style as opposed to a "pram"), or the seat thingy that the Amish ride in. :)

    Your groceries go in a "cart" here, whereas in the UK that was what you'd put behind a horse. A shopping cart is a "trolley" there. Oh, and you park your car in a car park, not a parking lot. A building with several levels for parking was a "multi-story car park", not a "parkade".

    Liquor stores in the UK are called "off licences" (often shortened to "the offie"), because they're selling booze off licenced premises (i.e. not in pubs and bars). Although you can also buy alcohol in many supermarkets in the UK, which you can't here. I think that surprises a lot of overseas visitors!

    Hubby and I still say we're "going to the offie" to get some booze rather than "to the liquor store". :) I've realised that I still use quite a lot of British words, even though I've got used to many of the Canadian versions now!
  • SueSueDio
    SueSueDio Posts: 4,796 Member
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    pebble4321 wrote: »
    Oh, that reminds me of another numbers thing - when working with a US software developer on a learning-about-money program many years ago I had to explain that his way of announcing numbers didn't work.
    He set it up to say "thirty three dollars fifty two cents" and I had to ask for "thirty three dollars and fifty two cents". The "and" really mattered!

    Oh, yes! The missing "and" bugs me too! On the rare occasions I have to write a cheque (not a 'check'... ;) ), I include the 'and'. It bothers me when someone says something like "fifty two hundred" rather than "five thousand two hundred", and I've even seen it written on cheques that way!
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,154 Member
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    SueSueDio wrote: »
    kgirlhart wrote: »
    I love this thread too. Around here it is mixed between cart and buggy. I've always said buggy.

    A buggy to me is either a baby's pushchair (that sit-up style as opposed to a "pram"), or the seat thingy that the Amish ride in. :)

    Your groceries go in a "cart" here, whereas in the UK that was what you'd put behind a horse. A shopping cart is a "trolley" there. Oh, and you park your car in a car park, not a parking lot. A building with several levels for parking was a "multi-story car park", not a "parkade".

    "Parking ramp", "parking garage", or "parking structure", here.
    Liquor stores in the UK are called "off licences" (often shortened to "the offie"), because they're selling booze off licenced premises (i.e. not in pubs and bars). Although you can also buy alcohol in many supermarkets in the UK, which you can't here. I think that surprises a lot of overseas visitors!

    Hubby and I still say we're "going to the offie" to get some booze rather than "to the liquor store". :) I've realised that I still use quite a lot of British words, even though I've got used to many of the Canadian versions now!

    "Party store", usually. "Beer store", sometimes, even if it has other alcohol.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,865 Member
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    I would be most pissed off if i asked for coke and they gave me a pepsi, or anything other than what i asked for, which is coke :smiley:

    I get the impression that the wait staff expect me to be all upset when I ask for a coke and they've only got pepsi. Meanwhile I'm looking at them thinking, yes, that's what I asked for ... a coke-like substance. :grin:

  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    Oh the booze thing.. You can buy alcohol in tegular grocery stores in America/Canada right?

    we call the booze shop a bottlo (bottle-o), short for bottle shop . Aussies have a knack of shortening words.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,865 Member
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    Here's one ... I'm not sure if we've talked about it yet ...

    Cheddar cheese.

    In Canada, cheddar cheese is easily identifiable by its bright orange colour (and somehow I thought cheese came that colour). Same with cheese slices.

    But apparently cheese is actually white-ish (of course it is ... after all, it's from milk), and so there is no bright orange cheese here in Australia. Cheddar is white, like all the other cheeses.
  • SueSueDio
    SueSueDio Posts: 4,796 Member
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    Oh the booze thing.. You can buy alcohol in tegular grocery stores in America/Canada right?

    Not in my part of Alberta... I don't know if you can in other parts of Canada though.

    we call the booze shop a bottlo (bottle-o), short for bottle shop . Aussies have a knack of shortening words.

    I've noticed that... took me a little while to realise what "this arvo" meant when I first encountered it! :)
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    Oh the booze thing.. You can buy alcohol in tegular grocery stores in America/Canada right?

    In the US it depends on the state, you can in Illinois.

    And I'm with you on the ordering Coke thing -- if I order a diet coke and they say "oh, sorry, we only have diet pepsi," I'll normally say "oh, okay, water is fine."
  • SueSueDio
    SueSueDio Posts: 4,796 Member
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    Machka9 wrote: »
    Here's one ... I'm not sure if we've talked about it yet ...

    Cheddar cheese.

    In Canada, cheddar cheese is easily identifiable by its bright orange colour (and somehow I thought cheese came that colour). Same with cheese slices.

    But apparently cheese is actually white-ish (of course it is ... after all, it's from milk), and so there is no bright orange cheese here in Australia. Cheddar is white, like all the other cheeses.

    Red Leicester is orange, in the UK, but pretty much everything else is yellowish-white as far as I remember. The colour of Canadian cheddar was a bit off-putting at first! (I wasn't even sure it could be called cheddar, since it used to be that cheese could only be called "cheddar" if it was made in the Cheddar Gorge area of England. A bit like how "champagne" could only be made in a certain region of France - not sure if that's still the case either!)

    I'd like to buy Red Leicester here, but it's stupid expensive - about $9 for a tiny wedge. I don't miss the taste of it THAT much! (In fact, cheese in general is expensive. It was a bit of a shock to us! You'd think, with all these cows around the place, it would be cheaper - but I guess they use them all for beef and not dairy products...!)
  • Dnarules
    Dnarules Posts: 2,081 Member
    edited January 2017
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    Oh the booze thing.. You can buy alcohol in tegular grocery stores in America/Canada right?

    we call the booze shop a bottlo (bottle-o), short for bottle shop . Aussies have a knack of shortening words.

    As for alcohol, in the US it depends on the state. I am in NC, and we can buy beer and wine in the grocery store (except for Sunday morning). But for hard liquor, we have special ABC package stores that are tightly regulated. In FL, hard liquor could be found at liquor stores, which were often right next to regular stores, and had late hours (in NC, you have to buy hard liquor by 9pm :)).

    ETA When my parents lived in Arkansas, their county was dry. No liquor at all. Had to cross county lines.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,865 Member
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    Oh the booze thing.. You can buy alcohol in tegular grocery stores in America/Canada right?

    You couldn't in Manitoba when I lived there.

    And it seems to me people in Manitoba called the Liquor Marts "LC" ... as in, "I'm going to the LC, want anything"

    (LC for Liquor Commission)

  • SueSueDio
    SueSueDio Posts: 4,796 Member
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    Dnarules wrote: »
    As for alcohol, in the US it depends on the state. I am in NC, and we can buy beer and wine in the grocery store (except for Sunday morning).

    Oh, yes, I forgot about that! Even though we could buy alcohol in a supermarket (any kind, from low-alcohol beers to full strength whisky and vodka), you couldn't buy it on a Sunday. They would rope off those aisles, and if someone sneaked under to grab a bottle the cashier would refuse to ring it up. I don't remember if off-licences were closed on Sundays or not, though.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    Oh the booze thing.. You can buy alcohol in tegular grocery stores in America/Canada right?


    And I'm with you on the ordering Coke thing -- if I order a diet coke and they say "oh, sorry, we only have diet pepsi," I'll normally say "oh, okay, water is fine."

    Haha that made snort :laugh: I'd say the exact same thing!

    Pepsi.. Cokes watered down, flat cousin :confounded:

  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,752 Member
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    I expect coke when I ask for coke too.... If someone gave me a Pepsi, they could have it back!

    Not food... But is anyone a musician?
    UK/Australia vs USA note types

    Quaver = eighth note
    Crotchet = quarter note
    Minim = half note
    Semibreve = whole note
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    edited January 2017
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    Machka9 wrote: »
    Here's one ... I'm not sure if we've talked about it yet ...

    Cheddar cheese.

    In Canada, cheddar cheese is easily identifiable by its bright orange colour (and somehow I thought cheese came that colour). Same with cheese slices.

    But apparently cheese is actually white-ish (of course it is ... after all, it's from milk), and so there is no bright orange cheese here in Australia. Cheddar is white, like all the other cheeses.

    I've heard that orange cheese called "American cheese". I'm surprised it hasn't popped up in our stores yet.

    And why is it orange?? What do they put in it to make it that colour?
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,154 Member
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    Machka9 wrote: »
    Here's one ... I'm not sure if we've talked about it yet ...

    Cheddar cheese.

    In Canada, cheddar cheese is easily identifiable by its bright orange colour (and somehow I thought cheese came that colour). Same with cheese slices.

    But apparently cheese is actually white-ish (of course it is ... after all, it's from milk), and so there is no bright orange cheese here in Australia. Cheddar is white, like all the other cheeses.

    I've heard that orange cheese called "American cheese". I'm surprised it hasn't popped up in our stores yet.

    And why is it orange?? What do they put in it to make it that colour?

    Used to be annatto. I don't know what food coloring is used now.

    Here, the cheese called "American Cheese" is not just any orange cheese, but a particular type of orange cheese. Usually very mild/bland. "American Cheese Food" - weird gummy slices, not exactly identical to "American Cheese".
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,752 Member
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    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Machka9 wrote: »
    Here's one ... I'm not sure if we've talked about it yet ...

    Cheddar cheese.

    In Canada, cheddar cheese is easily identifiable by its bright orange colour (and somehow I thought cheese came that colour). Same with cheese slices.

    But apparently cheese is actually white-ish (of course it is ... after all, it's from milk), and so there is no bright orange cheese here in Australia. Cheddar is white, like all the other cheeses.

    I've heard that orange cheese called "American cheese". I'm surprised it hasn't popped up in our stores yet.

    And why is it orange?? What do they put in it to make it that colour?

    Used to be annatto. I don't know what food coloring is used now.

    Here, the cheese called "American Cheese" is not just any orange cheese, but a particular type of orange cheese. Usually very mild/bland. "American Cheese Food" - weird gummy slices, not exactly identical to "American Cheese".

    These are what I think we'd call" cheese slices " in Australia, as opposed to sliced cheese.

    Cheese slices (what I call plastic cheese) are individually wrapped in plastic, and kind of gummy like you describe. You can also buy sliced cheese - sliced versions of proper cheese.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,154 Member
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    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Machka9 wrote: »
    Here's one ... I'm not sure if we've talked about it yet ...

    Cheddar cheese.

    In Canada, cheddar cheese is easily identifiable by its bright orange colour (and somehow I thought cheese came that colour). Same with cheese slices.

    But apparently cheese is actually white-ish (of course it is ... after all, it's from milk), and so there is no bright orange cheese here in Australia. Cheddar is white, like all the other cheeses.

    I've heard that orange cheese called "American cheese". I'm surprised it hasn't popped up in our stores yet.

    And why is it orange?? What do they put in it to make it that colour?

    Used to be annatto. I don't know what food coloring is used now.

    Here, the cheese called "American Cheese" is not just any orange cheese, but a particular type of orange cheese. Usually very mild/bland. "American Cheese Food" - weird gummy slices, not exactly identical to "American Cheese".

    These are what I think we'd call" cheese slices " in Australia, as opposed to sliced cheese.

    Cheese slices (what I call plastic cheese) are individually wrapped in plastic, and kind of gummy like you describe. You can also buy sliced cheese - sliced versions of proper cheese.

    Yeah, that stuff. People usually just call it "American Cheese Slices" here but "Cheese Food" is one alternate term, as is "processed cheese". But one occasionally sees an actual cheese called "American Cheese", or used to. I can't recall having seen it in years.
  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 4,976 Member
    edited January 2017
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    Dnarules wrote: »
    Oh the booze thing.. You can buy alcohol in tegular grocery stores in America/Canada right?

    we call the booze shop a bottlo (bottle-o), short for bottle shop . Aussies have a knack of shortening words.

    As for alcohol, in the US it depends on the state. I am in NC, and we can buy beer and wine in the grocery store (except for Sunday morning). But for hard liquor, we have special ABC package stores that are tightly regulated. In FL, hard liquor could be found at liquor stores, which were often right next to regular stores, and had late hours (in NC, you have to buy hard liquor by 9pm :)).

    ETA When my parents lived in Arkansas, their county was dry. No liquor at all. Had to cross county lines.

    I live in a semi dry county in Texas. We can buy regular beer in the grocery stores but not the higher alcohol content beer like Guinness. We can't buy wine or liquor at all in my county. But lots of places do sell wine and beer in the grocery store but not liquor. Liquor stores are closed at 9 pm and also on Sundays. You can buy beer and wine at the grocery store or convenience stores on Sunday, but you have to wait until noon. I think Oklahoma actually has their own low alcohol beer which isn't as strong as the beer in Texas and probably most other states.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,865 Member
    edited January 2017
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    There are cheese slices (the plastic-wrapped things) of course, but this is what cheddar cheese looks like in Canada ... perhaps even darker orange sometimes.

    cheese_ceddar.jpg


    And this, which I never see here in Australia, is marble cheese - white and orange cheddar ...

    marble-LOGO.jpg