Even though Britain and America both speak the same language, the different usage of words can sometimes cause confusion. One that came to my attention this week is the word jumper.
In UK English, a jumper is a sweater. A thick garment that is worn to keep the body warm. In American English, a jumper is a pinafore dress. A dress without sleeves and collar that is worn over a top or blouse.
My apologies if my use of jumper caused Americans confusion.
Hugs
Karen
Comments
Jumpers, suspenders, vests etc.
In America, a jumper can also be a garment similar to the dress described or with culottes or shorts instead of a skirt. The culotte version is called a jumper skort and the shorts version, jumper shorts. If the lower half is pants with full-length legs, this is called overalls or coveralls -- though there are other garments that go by both those names, too. Coveralls usually have at least short sleeves, overalls don't.
Suspenders in America are also called braces, the name I believe they're commonly known by in Britain. Suspenders in Britain are called garters in the USA, though we also use that word for what is called garters in Britain. Confusing, huh?:)
A vest in Britain is an undershirt in America and a vest in America is a waistcoat in Britain; a word Americans use only for very fancy, heavy 'vests' with buckles, buttons and/or pockets.
Knickers in America can mean knee-length pants for young boys but the British meaning of underpants is known and used also, usually humorously.
Fanny in America is either someone's name or a synonym for backside. What Brits call a fanny, Yanks might call a beaver or something more vulgar. A fanny pack in America is undoubtedly called something like a belt pouch in Britain.
You don't have to cross the Atlantic to have these vocabulary problems -- I'm originally from Arkansas and occasionally use words that are unheard of in General American, though there are probably a few people from odd corners of Britain who would understand some of them. :)
Thanks for the blog entry on one of my favorite topics, Karen. :)
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Who said something like?
England and the United States;two countries seperated by a common language. :) I don't recall but it seems true enough.
Gwen Lavyril
Sounds like something ...
... Mark Twain might have said.
"All the world really is a stage, darlings, so strut your stuff, have fun, and give the public a good show!" Miss Jezzi Belle at the end of each show
BE a lady!
Two countries, both alike in dignity...
Seems credit has been given variously to Winston Churchill, Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Shaw. I thought GBS before I just tried googling for it. I don't know now...
--
Rachel
Rachel wins?:)
It is George Bernard Shaw, not that I knew that but just spent an hour finding it. The most fun was reading all the quotes from other possibles before I finally found it. I have to say that Mark Twain, GBS, Ambrose Bierce, and Will Roger's had my cynical heart "a flutter!" Oh, and of course Oscar.
Gwen
Gwen Lavyril
Jumpers, suspenders, vests etc.
On Sat, 2006-02-18 23:37 Erin wrote:-
Fanny in America is either someone's name or a synonym for backside. What Brits call a fanny, Yanks might call a beaver or something more vulgar.A fanny pack in America is undoubtedly called something like a belt pouch in Britain.
Hello Erin,
Fanny is also someone's name in the UK. A 'fanny pack' is commomly called a 'bum-bag' in the UK! 'Bum' being another synonym for backside, rather than a 'down-and-out', as in America! 'Bum-bags' seem to have fallen out of favour, as you don't see them very often now! I didn't like them very much and never used one. LOL.
Another UK term for 'fanny' (beaver) is 'pussy', however, a cat is often called a 'pussy-cat'!
Language, even in one country/area, never mind in another country, can be very confusing/ambiguous! LOL.
Regards,
Dave.
Dysphemisms
When I was a kid pussy was a comman word for female genitals, also monkey. Male equipment was known as "the deal" for some reason. :)
"Squirrel" was another dysphemism for female private parts, apparently going back to the habit of minor league ball players roaming around under bleachers, searching for women without underwear--an avocation known as 'shootin' squirrel'.
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Jumpers
Hehe. I had this exact same near-disaster when writing Tuck Squared. There was a scene in which I described Tuck putting on a jumper, and thought nothing of it. It was just cold. (It was set just before Christmas after all.)
Took a sharp-eyed prereader to spot that Tuck wasn't in Valerie-mode at the time (as by that point I was deliberately blurring the 'modes' anyway).
--
Rachel
Meaning of words cause confusion
Even though Britain and America both speak the same language, the different usage of words can sometimes cause confusion. One that came to my attention this week is the word jumper.
In UK English, a jumper is a sweater. A thick garment that is worn to keep the body warm. In American English, a jumper is a pinafore dress. A dress without sleeves and collar that is worn over a top or blouse.
My apologies if my use of jumper caused Americans confusion.
Hugs
Karen.
Hello Karen,
In the UK, a jumper/sweater can also be called a pullover, or, if sleeveless, a tank-top! The term 'sweater' is also used here for it, too! It's a knitted woollen garment.
Regards,
Dave.
To sleeve or not to sleeve
A pullover without sleeves was called in my youth either sleeveless or, much more confusingly, short sleeved.
A tank top is a new arrival. When I wore short sleeved pullovers, a tank top was a large armoured box equiped with a gun barrel that was usually found attached to the body of a tank.
And what about jerseys and guernseys? (Not necessarily made out of kersey!) Are they alive and well in the States?
To sleeve or not to sleeve
The term tank-top has been used in the UK since at least the 1970s! Though I didn't come across it until much later; it was always a pullover to me!
I'd forgotten about jerseys, never heard of guernseys (other than the island of Guernsey, part of the Channel Islands! LOL), jersey being another UK name for sweaters and pullovers!
Regards,
Dave.
Woolly cattle
I have never actually heard the word tank top spoken, although I have seen it often in print of course. The consequence of a sheltered life.
Still we all have our blind spots. A guernsey is a thick woven, fairly tight fitting jersey donned by those with nautical leanings and thus traditionally blue in colour.
Presumably they were named after garment styles popular with seamen from those Isles. As were the two cattle breeds, although I am not inferring any connection with seamen in their case, just geographical provenance.
Kersey was a coarse narrow cloth woven from long wool and often used in the making of trousers. I know of no corresponding island though. However a corruption of cassimere or cashmere was kerseymere and this was a far finer twilled woollen cloth. Neither word, I think, in everyday use nowadays
Another example of word confusion
A friend who is a film-buff tells various oddities about films.
One that is of relevance here was a movie having a US traffic cop (on a motor-cycle) ordering a driver to "pull-over". The Italian sub-titles had the cop asking the driver for his jumper!
Confusion doesn't have to be solely between the English and the Americans. Any translation can give rise to numerous opportunities for misinterpretation.
Lust in Translation
Automated translation actually exists now and can result in some pretty odd results. I've heard the story of an early program that translated "out of sight, out of mind" into Russian and back again where it came out as "invisible idiot".
Finding real translation programs on the web years ago, I tried something like this. "Don't spare the horses" into French and back became "Don't save the horses." Back into French and English again produced, "Don't backup the horses." :)
- Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Meaning of words cause confusion
Can anyone explain to me why it is that Americans tend to call garments made from denim, 'jeans-something'? For example; 'jeans-skirt'! In the UK, it would be called a 'denim skirt'!
Regards,
Dave.
Jeans vs. Denim
Dave,
Since denim is most commonly used in Jeans, or 'blue jeans', it is frequently referred to as Jeans material rather than denim. So other garments are given the honorific Jeans-(whatever), such as Jeans-skirt, etc.
I hope that clarifies, rather than obfuscates.
Nicole (a.k.a. Itinerant)
--
Veni, Vidi, Velcro:
I came, I saw, I stuck around.
Jeans skirt
Originally, like back when I was in high school, the 60s, a jeans skirt wasn't just made from demim, it was made from an old pair of jeans, the more faded and patched the better. :) The idea was to take a pair of your dad's old faded Levi's or Wranglers and split the inner seams then cut and sew the legs to make a fairly tight skirt almost ankle length with a split nearly to the knee on one or both sides.
You could patch the jeans skirt with patterned fabric for a really cool look or even piece together a top of left over denim and flower print fabric to make a jeans dress.
The other kind of denim skirt with a wide flare and maybe flounces was called a cowgirl skirt.
- Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Jeans skirt
Thanks for your explanations, Itenerant and Erin.
Erin's could well account for the term being used 'generically' for garments made from denim!
Regards,
Dave.
De Nimes
You probably all know but it is conceivably worth repeating that denim, a tightly woven, hard wearing cloth suitable for work clothes originated, or at least was largely supplied from Nimes (Southern France).
Hence cloth de Nimes.
Another word to add: Fettle
The question is this: How is your fettle? When I heard this for the first time, I did the usual 'huh'? My friend told me to go look it up on the internet for fun. I did so. I found two answers. First it is an old english word that several hundred years old. Definition 1: It is the ash found on the surface of a oven that is used in iron works and such. Definition 2: State of mind. My friend was asking me: How is your state of mind? Once I understood, I answered back: I am fine, how is yours? To put a USA southern twang on it: The Rev. Billy Graham pulled into a gas station some years ago. The gas station attendant came out and asked: Howse ya'all? (How is your oil?) Rev. Graham answered back: We's all fine, hows y'all?
Another Fine Fettle of Kish
I was in Texas once and walked into a department store. One of the salesgirls greeted me, saying, "Kin ah hep yall?" Being from Arkansas, I turned around to see who had come in with me. :)
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
In Fine Fettle
Fettle is usually used as a noun in the U.K. In means to make ready or to put in order. In my experience there is often a vaguely mechanical aspect to it. Thus one would fettle an car engine (Car = motor (which could also = just the engine) = automobile.)
It, again in my experience, is more current in the North of England, Lanceshire in particular, where it is in common parlance, than in the South.
As a noun it invariably attaches to the adjective 'fine'. To be in fine fettle is to be in good form, everything ticking over as it should. Indeed everything is tickety-boo. But I can't find the latter in either the Shorter O.E.D or in Chambers, so perhaps it is slang? Or American? Alas I do not have access to Websters!
tickety-boo
Fleurie,
Did you try it spelled as tickedy-boo? I think that is, perhaps, a more common form. I don't think it's American, though it could well be slang. That shouldn't prevent it appearing in the OED, though! :)
Regards,
Dave.
Crossing one's 't's when one gets to them
Alas no tickedy either! Not in my oldish version anyway.
Always a sense of quiet satisfaction though when one finds a word that they haven't got! (Such as why doesn't hydrophilia feature when hydrophobia does?)
Hydro
Hydrophilia is the tendency of some materials to attract or collect water, though it is more often used in the adjective form: hydrophilic. :)
- Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Crossing one's 't's when one gets to them
The OED includes or excludes words based on current usage. Thus, a perfectly legitimate word can disappear from the OED if and when it falls out of common usage. Likewise, a new word can appear if it's used frequently enough!
There is a TV programme (on Channel 4) in the UK called "Countdown", based on a French TV show called "Les Lettres et les Chivres".
It's a words and numbers game where two contestants compete by randomly selecting nine letters, they then have thirty seconds in which to come up with the longest possible word from the selection.
Points are awarded according to the length of the word, but doubled (18) for a nine-letter one. The contestant with the longest word wins the round, or if both have the same, or same length word, both are awarded points.
The contestant with the highest score at the end of the programme, is declared the winner and goes on to competete in the next programme, up to a maximum of 8, they are then very likely to appear in the finals of the show.
Many contestants have proffered the word "resole", as in resoling a shoe, but it was always dis-allowed because it wasn't in the OED edition used by the programme to check the validity of the words.
However, after this had been going on for some time, the word was added to the OED, primarily as a result of its frequency of occurrence on "Countdown"! :)
Regards,
Dave.
Meaning of words cause confusion.
Billie Sue
In rural North Alabama among men, a jumper has always meant a jacket. Would that not be close to the same meaning as the UK? (I think Alabama is in the United States, although now-a-days I ain't sure 'bout nuttin'). -smile-
Love,
Billie Sue
Billie Sue
Meaning of words cause confusion.
In rural North Alabama among men, a jumper has always meant a jacket. Would that not be close to the same meaning as the UK? (I think Alabama is in the United States, although now-a-days I ain't sure 'bout nuttin'). -smile-
Love,
Billie Sue.
Hello Billie Sue,
No, a jumper looks nothing like a jacket! It has no buttons down the front and no lapels.
Now, a cardigan, on the other hand, (also a knitted woollen garment), which does have buttons down the front (though no lapels!) and sleeves, is much more like a jacket than is a jumper! In the UK, though, no-one calls a cardigan, a jacket!
Regards,
Dave.
Windbreaker
A light jacket that zips up the front is known as a windbreaker in some parts of the US, 'causing much hilarity among my Arkansas relations the first time they heard that usage. In Arkansas, a windbreaker or windjammer used to be someone who enjoyed the state cuisine overmuch -- beans'n'greens. :)
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Windbreaker
In the UK, that would be known as a wind-cheater!
Regards,
Dave.
Jumpers et al
In the 'square rig' Royal Navy uniform the jumper is the serge(?) garment with a a big collar worn over the top of a jersey (blue knitted wool garment) in winter or the 'white front' in Summer, and the collar (a bra like garment fastened with tapes that was originally used to stop the tarred pigtail soiling the rest of the uniform).
Any discussion of US/UK word usage come up with loads of amusing differences which I, for one, cherish. In the UK driving on the pavement is an offence, whereas in the US, it's a requirement. The hood of my Austin Healey was used to keep us dry if it rained, but in the US it conceals the engine. I always have a little smile at the US usage of 'garter' for suspender. I used to use elastic band garters to hold up my socks when I wore shorts as a boy (ie until I was 15). They are definitely not very sexy lol.
In my 'new' (actually some of it is over 5 years old) story I use UK English throughout and trust to the intelligence of my US readers to guess or deduce what the words mean. However if I create any confusion, please feel free to ask.
Geoff
Navy Jumpers et al
In the US, too, the black or white wool pullover top that goes with the traditional bell bottom trousers was known as a jumper--thirty years ago, anyway. Coast Guard and 'wet' Army, too. And I've heard airmen call the short jacket they wear a jumper.
Plus, the pullover tabards that signify various jobs or safety warnings in some occupations are sometimes known as jumpers.
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Jumpers et al
Continuing with the motoring theme, US 'gas' (or gasoline?) is 'petrol' in the UK and UK 'paraffin' is, I believe 'petrol' in the US! A 'trunk' (US) is a 'boot' (UK) and a 'muffler' (US) is a 'silencer' (UK)!
I think a possible reason for the 'sidewalk' (US) being called a 'pavement' (or footpath) in the UK, is because they are (or were) widely made from paving stones (or slabs) to provide a reasonably smooth surface on which to walk, though they are gradually being replaced with tarmac, these days.
If the local authority didn't maintain the pavements in a 'safe' condition, and someone fell and was injured as a result, they could be liable for a claim for personal injury compensation!
Regards,
Dave.
Petrol
UK paraffin is kerosene in the US. US paraffin is a mineral wax used to make cheap candles. :)
Pavement in the US can mean any paved surface but usually the roadway. Tarmac in the US is usually used to describe low-grade airport runways where roads so contructed are described as asphalt. Parking lots, too; which are apparently called carparks in the UK. In the US, a carpark would likely be a parking lot with a fee, an attendant, and probably a valet.
In some parts of the country, the trunk or boot of a car is called a turtle, though that expression is used in other parts of the country only for those curious old cars that had collapsible extra seats in a rear compartment instead of a trunk; see old Donald Duck comic books where Dewey and Louie often rode in the turtle. :)
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Petrol
Thanks for the correction, Erin. ;)
In the UK paraffin is a liquid fuel used for heating appliances and agricultural vehicles (e.g. tractors) designed to run on it, as it's cheaper than petrol due, I believe, to it having a lower tax!
In the UK, 'paraffin wax' would, I assume, be the equivalent of US 'paraffin'.
I didn't know the roadway in the US was called the pavement!
Yes, carparks is the most common name in the UK. Most do make a charge, some have attendants, though *some* are free and wouldn't have an(y) attendant(s). None of which I know, have a valet!
Ah, yes, asphalt is probably of what I was thinking in relation to footpaths (pavements!) being changed (or made, if new!) to that from paving stones.
Turtle for boot/trunk is a new one on me! There were cars here with those kind of seats, but I have no idea, or have forgotten, what they were called.
Regards,
Dave.
Dickie seats
Those seats in the boot of old cars were called dickie(sp?) seats. I have no idea why. You could always tell a car that had them as there were windows in the boot lid (see Triumph TR1 Roadsters - just post war).
Parafin/kerosene is also the basis for the fuel used in the gas turbine engines which power many aircraft. I remember being fed something called liquid parafin as a child for some trivial ailment or other. I have no idea what that is/was.
I'm always curious what the US calls LPG (Liquid Petroleum Gas) or any gas powered vehicle, when those that use gasolene (petrol) are called gas powered :o)
Geoff
LPG
We call LPG - propane because that is the chemical name for it. They blend it with butane in some countries, but not in the U.S.
A vehicle that is powered by LPG is called propane powered.
Mr. Ram
Dickie seats
My dictionary gives the spelling as either "dicky" or "dickey"!
Regards,
Dave.
Dicky meaning
Dicky used to have a meaning something like "unreliable" or "shaky" or "ramshackle". A dicky chair was one you might regret sitting in, a dicky heart was one that might make you think twice about shovelling the walk. I can see rumble seats, or seats in the turtle, being called dicky seats. :)
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
English UK vs. US
We ought to have a contest to find the worst pairing of UK/US conotations.
Love,
Paula
When the lines between reality and fantasy blur, true magic can begin.
Paula
Seek freedom and become captive of your desires. Seek discipline and find your liberty.
The Coda
Chapterhouse: Dune
Worst conotations
Hi,
My betting is either fanny or rubber. Both can cause very embarrassing situations when wrongly interpreted.
Hugs
Karen
Rubber
The funny thing is, the rubber thing is fairly recent on this side the pond, back in the fifties erasers were called rubbers here, too. I have no idea what prophylactics were called then. :)
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
tape or ...
Even more potentially embarassing is the clear plastic sticky tape that we (UK) tend to call Sellotape, but the Aussies call Durex, which here is a leading manufacturer of French letters (another euphemism) ;)
I think the rubber confusion exists here too, but 'rubber' is still commonly used for 'eraser'.
Geoff
Faux amis
Frnch letters on the other side of La Manche translate into capot anglais.
Or more formally, and even more confusingly, 'preservatives'.
And to jump back to an earlier thread. Sellotape is referred to there simply as 'Scotch'. This can cause be a source of some frustration to the thirsty. Although perhaps not quite as perplexing as paper clips being called 'trombones'
English vs. English
Geoff's comment about sticky tape can be taken further in the US. Here, most people call it 'Scotch tape', as for a long time most of it was made by 3M corp, who used a plaid backer to help one find and separate the start of the roll.
Karen, I have been working with students from various countries for years, and have run across most of these, but jumper did surprise me. I did know of the US Navy usage for identifying pullovers, and the pullover tops for both dress and undress uniforms, but not the UK difference.
Maybe there needs to be a dictionary of different-sameness for authors?
One of the most difficult things to give away is kindness.
It usually comes back to you.
Holly
Jenny Jane Pope
Jenny produced a dictionary of UK English usage some years ago. I don't know if it's still available anywhere. I checked her old site, and it's not there - at least I couldn't find it. It may be on StorySite, but that appears to be offline as I write (19 Feb 23.22 GMT). I did provide a short limited dictionary at the beginning of my story 'Gun Moll', but that's really only relevant to the Notts/Derby border coalfield. It's of as much use to English readers not familiar with the area.
Going back to Durex, rubbers etc, I once saw a piece of graffito scratched onto a vending machine in a Gents which read 'This is the worst chewing gum I've ever tasted', alongside the more common 'Buy 2 and be one jump ahead'
Geoff
Bigger Pints and Dames
Your pints are bigger; your millionaires are richer; your cars have boots; and when you call women Dame, they're honored.
But what really bothers me is your Queen has two birthdays a year.
Dames
Hi,
Yes, but a Dame is also a man who plays a female part in a pantomime.
Hugs
Karen
U are missing something
No! No! No!
Women called Dame are not honored. They're honoured.
English VS English
To the person that mentioned about the old time cars that had seats behind the cab of the car, which would usually be the Trunk or boot area, those seats were called Rumble seats.
I guess they used to get pretty rowdy in those seats in the old days and they had fun being in those seats. Don't hold me to the explanation of them, but that is what I was told.
My neighbor accross the way, had a 1923 Ford A car, and it had the exterior seat behind the cab. Wouldn't want to be back there in a rain storm though.
Another name of an actual place in England which I was not familiar with is Chunnel, when I read the story I thought it was supposed to be channel. But I guess it is the Tunnel Crossing the channel alias Chunnel. Do cars drive through this chunnel or is it they (the cars, busses and trucks are put on rail cars and transported over to the european mainland?
I haven't a clue.
Also Vintage, I heard from a friend that lives in the UK, they went to France and brought back some Vintage. I found out this meant Wine, older than 10 years, but younger than 100 years. Is this correct?
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