General Chat

I was put off having a vanilla slice,which I really like,when I was in Oz over 10 years ago when I was told they called them"snot blocks"....ugh

Also when in a cafe in Rhyll, Victoria.Oz and asked what sort of fish they were serving and was told Gummy Flake...what's that I asked....shark was the reply!

So even us Brits can't understand English as interpreted in other parts...so how can we expect others who are fluent in their own languages to know what we're talking about?...lol. :-S

Grub's up.

Feeling under the weather?

Take a seat.

We'll have you tickety boo in no time at all.

As for 'toastie', don't get me started. Toastie as in warm and toastie is not the same as toastie as in jaffle.

Yes, folks, I am ancient enough to remember that lovely old word for a toasted sandwich, 'jaffle'. (No, not the little round aniseed balls that you lot in Oz know as Jaffas which, to us means a big orange.)

I also remember jaffle irons, long before sandwich toasters came into being. In fact, some people simply flipped the sandwich in a frying-pan - and some still do. :-D

Isn't it time we re-educated our young in the 'lingo' before we turn our attention to others? They seem to be dead set on creating a new technology-driven language that, unless we older folk learn, will remain exclusive to young people. We'll end up not knowing what the heck they're on about if we don't step up to the plate.

Doncha know it's txtspk!

gas station????? or something you pick up on the beach

Shell...... ;-) <3

"USA have fanny bags"

Really I thought they were fanny packs and as you wear them near your fanny hence the name. But what to I know. :-D

bob i only get time to pop in and out thease days
to bizzy as i work full time now

:-) :-)

Many years ago a friend was living in America and wanted to do some sewing. In the shop she asked for a reel of cotton.

Assistant - A WHOLE reel?
Friend - Yes please
Assistant - Are you quite sure? What do you want it for?
Friend - To sew a button on my husband's shirt.
Assistant - I see. What you need is a spool of thread! :-)

I am over the moon to read about all the little quirks.

Sylvia, it's always been vacuumed in our house, never hoovered.

Gotta vamoose, Poldark's coming on. :-D

A dialect word used to say that someone is not very happy about something.

If they weren't exactly angry they were certainly, to resort to an old Somerset phrase, a bit begrumpled.

If you asked for "Manchester" here, you'd just get a blank look!


Sheets etc are just called Linens or Bed Linens.

and Manchester? A shrug probably, as in "never heard of it"!!!!

What about going to buy Manchester in Oz?
You will get bedding/ sheets etc! :-) :-D

The following aren't "bad", but still will not be understood.

don't ask for a "Biro" in America or Canada ................ they have no idea what you mean

Never say you've "hoovered" ....... it's always "vacuumed"

Don't go in a department store and ask to be directed to where you might "buy a duster", if you are looking for dusting cloths ..... you'll be sent to the ladies department to buy a "duster", aka ladies house-coat.

"petrol", "bonnet", "boot", etc when referring to parts of cars are likely to produce blank stares in many areas

Make sure you know what you are asking for when asking for food items ............ if you ask for "chips" here, you'll get "potato crisps"

I used the phrase "it feels a little proud" a couple of years ago when the dentist asked how the new filling felt .................. had never used it over here before, but it just popped into my head from childhood. He looked quizzically at me, and I began to apologise ............ but he said that he had gathered the meaning after he thought about it for a few seconds!



and as for "knock you up in the morning" .................... I used that phrase one week after arriving in the US, fortunately to a close Swiss friend, who laughed uproariously, then told me never to do it again!

ullo Shell.............long time no see.......

allan i bet its one of them bag for life

bless her :-D :-D

I've got an old bag at home :-D :-D

USA have fanny bags
UK have bum bags

what has your fanny or bum got to do with bags

dont no why it was never called a hip bag
i mean we have shoulder bags clutch bags hand bags shoping bags

Similarly, don't ask, if you are a gardener, for rooting powder in Oz ;-)

LOL can just about imagine a aussie thong where a UK one should be..............

If you are an Aussie never ask for thongs in the UK as they are flip flops here!

If in say an emergency,when calling on your neighbour late at night ....don't apologize for "Knocking her up"

means something entirely different, in the states, than in the UK....