The Australianbrand name for sellotape is Durex. In the UK Durex is a leading brand of condom. Imagine the silence in the office when an Australian colleague asked a female if she had finished with the office Durex.
Yep, Bic's another commonly used brand name we use for it. But Biro is the most common word for cheap disposable ball point pens (as opposed to more expensive or ornate ball point pens ones that are less disposable)
I think your downfall here is assuming that the U.K. viewers you’re addressing are as “world blind” as you know your own USA citizens are . I would hazard a guess that the vast majority of USA terms or products are easily worked out to the average English speaking European whereas the opposite may not be so…. To quote a Valley Girl “hmmmm like , totallllllly to the maxxxxxx”
Torch versus flashlight. A friend’s American 7 year old had cut himself but the light was poor. So I said, “I need to get a torch”. He cried “Not a torch!”. He thought I was going to use an open flamed torch on his wound 😀.
A torch was originally a long stick that was dipped in pitch/tar at one end that you set on fire for light. In the UK when we got handheld electric lights, we originally called them electric torches, and now just torches, because nobody really uses non-electric ones outside of film sets.
Yeah I don't know who told this chick a teddy can be anything. Girl, it's a bear. If you heard someone in England say that a penguin is a teddy, then that person clearly doesn't care about animals and certainly is no vegan 😂
British terms I had to learn included: polystyrene, aluminium, fortnight, loo, silencer, bog roll, nappy, serviette, hoover, spanner, rubber, rubber binder, carboot sale, kichen towel, pro, cutlery, rat arsed, hammered, skinful, reception room, snug, flannel, crikey, blimey, mate, courgette, aubergine and many more.
I had a word with my Teddy. He was most perplexed and annoyed. He told me that he doesn't ever remember the word 'teddy' being used as a generic reference for any old stuffed toy. Only used specifically for him. Or for his friends, that other folk may have had when they were young.
And of course GGL you missed out the best word: Rubber!! In Britain a rubber gets rid of mistakes,..In America a rubber prevents them in the first place!!!😅😅😅😅😅
Ironically the UK designation Teddy for a stuffed bear comes from the American president Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt, who refused to shoot a real bear that had been captured. This event was captured in a political cartoon and lead to the use of his nickname for the soft toys.
You beat me to it! There's a little cartoon from an American contemporary newspaper too of a bespectacled Roosevelt, gun in hand & a baby bear cowering behind a tree.
The connection with the cuddly toy originated at the dinner party that evening when one of the guests brought imported German toy bears to commemorate Roosevelt's compassion for the live bear, giving one to each of those at the dinner table.
Box cutter refers to a different tool in the UK. It is something that is used specifically for cutting open boxes, usually by people who have to open a lot of them for their job. In contrast, a Stanley knife is more multipurpose, for cutting or scoring things
@@marioluigi9599 Safety knives can refer to either box cutters or Stanley knives, it just means it should be safer. Snap off knives are their own thing
When I was in school in the UK in 70’s, we called it liquid paper which was sold in the UK at that time, it was the brand name of the first correction fluid invented by Bette Nesmith mother of Mike Nesmith from The Monkees. Tipp-Ex then saturated the market and the name stuck. We call the bears Teddy or teddies but other plush toys are called cuddly toys in the UK
@@dinger40When I started doing office work in the 1980s, one of my older colleagues always called it Snopake. I was more familiar with Tipp-Ex, but I remember Liquid Paper as well.
1984: The concept of Band Aid was born, and the song “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” was recorded in November 1984, featuring a supergroup of British and Irish musicians.
The difference between tap and faucet is technical. A tap has a screw type valve, whereas a faucet has a valve which opens fully when turned 90 degrees. In England, hospitals use faucets, they have handles which you operate with your elbow, so you don't touch it with dirty hands. In ordinary houses, you have taps, which you have to open with your hands by rotating them through typically 720 or more degrees to fully open them
I'm not sure this is correct. Lever-taps are common in UK homes and not just in hospitals and I've never heard them called 'faucets' in hospitals The word faucet would probably be understood in the UK but no-one ever uses it in everyday language.
In my entire 47 years on this earth I’ve never heard anyone in the U.K. use the word ‘teddy’ to describe a generic plush toy. I’ve only ever heard ‘teddy’ used in the context of describing a ‘teddy bear’. I’ve usually heard other stuffed/plush toys referred to as ‘cuddly toys’ or occasionally ‘soft toys’. Maybe it’s a regional thing.
Teddy and teddy bear are used by kids, at least many parts of the UK. If the animal isn’t an actual bear, then it would be a “Teddy”. Deffo a regional thing as you said. Never have I ever heard of any child refer to it as a “soft toy/plush toy” especially a young child. It sounds like something an adult would say to a shop worker if they didn’t know where to find such things in their store. 🤷🏻♀️ I think an adult may use the term you refer to “soft toy” but a child would not. Also “Plush toy” is a rather American term and isn’t generic outside of the US and a few other countries.
One that confused me for years was plexiglass. I used to read a lot of science fiction and I thought it was some futuristic material like dilithium crystals. I eventually worked out it is the American name for perspex!
@Phiyedough Perspex and Plexiglass are brand names. Generic would be acrylic. Fibreglass is also a brand name. Other makers have to call it glass fibre.
6:00 A guy went into a French seafood restaurant and asked to see the dishes of the day. The waiter wheeled over a trolley with a large tank full of various species, and the man examined the dishes. “I’ll have the little green squid with the hairy lip, please” said the man. “An excellent choice, they have a delicate, mild flavour.” replied the waiter and called out “Gervais!” A little French chef appeared with a large knife, the waiter instructed the chef to kill the little green squid with the hairy lip. Gervais was just about to slice at the poor squid when he noticed a tear running down its face. Gervais is touched, and admitted that he hadn't the heart to kill the squid. “Not to worry” says the waiter, and called out “Hans!” at which an enormous German bloke came out of the kitchen. “Sir”, said the waiter, “This is Hans, the dishwasher. Hans kill that little green squid with the hairy lip!” The dishwasher wielded a huge rolling pin and was just about to bludgeon the little green squid with the hairy lip when it cringed back and gave a little cry. “I am sorry sir, I just cannot kill the squid” Hans admitted, his lower lip trembling. “Well sir,” said the waiter, “it just shows that Hans that do dishes can be as soft as Gervais, with mild, green, hairy lipped squid!” _______ A play on Fairy's advertising slogan: “Hands that do dishes can be as soft as your face with mild, green, Fairy liquid.”
I have a fairy lives in my garden, first time I met her I asked her name she said I am Lick Wid I said that’s a stupid name she replied I am famous every body has heard of me IAM FAIRY LIQUID.
As an Australian, I would say sticky tape, I also say Biro but generally say pen. They are taps. It's cling film. It's a tea towel. Teddies are always Teddy Bears and not soft toys.
The UK electrical shop I worked in during the seventies sold Saran Wrap, so this has never been a source of confusion for me. At the same time we were selling refrigerators and freezers, and Bejam (now Iceland) were helpfully boosting our sales.
I remember back in Junior school when the first Biros were given to us. Up until then we used pen and nib (basically a wooden stick with a socket at the end into which you mushed a metal nib. The ink for it came from a ceramic inkwell recessed into the right hand top corner of the desk.) And if you think that's 'ancient tech', we still had slates kept in a cupboard in case we ran out of ink.
Don't quite remember pre-Biro _but_ our desks did still have the inkwell hole in the corner (and we still _occasionally_ used slates and chalk but i'd assume just to not waste paper).
Do you remember the piece of fresh blotting paper that you got each Monday and you had to try to use the same piece all week. And being 'ink monitor' was a real privilege!
@@judithrichardson3684 Yes! And how the ink in the big bottle started out black at the start of the term but was pale grey by the end of it due to watering it down to last.
@@anonymes2884 Were they the old two seater bench desks with the iron frame? I remember the seats were worn so smooth over the decades of use that bottom-shaped depressions had formed. Oh and I found the desk where my dad had once sat and carved his initials into it with the nib of the pen.
We had those desks at Grammar School but there was no way they were going to allow us to fill those ink wells with ink! However, initially we had to use a fountain pen for all official work in the exercise books even though ball point pens were available because it was thought that fountain pens forced a neat writing style. They relented after a couple of years
They are called taps from when we had wooden taps in barrels in medieval times so we could draw off beer, wine, etc. We still tap barrels in pubs when they are connected to either the pumps or taps (depending on whether it is real ale or keg beer) in the bar.
America does use the word tap aswell to have the same meaning. When out for a meal, and they want water, but not the pre-bottled ttype, they dont ask for faucet water. They ask for tap water. Also, ihave only ever really heard the word Teddy to refer to, other than a name, or for Teddy Roosevelt whom the stuffed bears are named after, as Teddy bears, but that could only be within my family and group of friends, so others may refer to soft toys as teddies, but ive not heard that before.
@@rahb1Do Americans sometimes also call it faucet water, like in causal conversation? I know in some countries they call it pipe water, because it comes from the water pipes.
With Pritt, when it first came out the ads had the strap-line "The non-sticky sticky stuff ... not glue!" 🙂 With Tippex, it was developed in Germany and a German word for "Typing" is "Tippen"; thus it's ex-typing. 🙂 In general, brand names that get used as a general noun will always vary from country to country. And an interesting thought is that a teddy is also a form of lingerie!
Tippex is from 1958, whereas the original idea came from the Mother of Michael Nesmith, who was in the 1960's pop band The Monkees. She invented her ' Mistake Out' in 1956 apparently. She rebranded as 'Liquid Paper' in 1958, which is a brand name I do recognise like Tippex, as we have had both brands here in the UK.
In the UK armed forces if an officer loses his temper he is said to have “thrown his teddy out the window”. I had a toothache in the US and had difficulty getting paracetamol tablets because they call them Tyranol.
I think a lot of people in the UK still call Scotch tape Scotch tape because here it is usually the removable/matt finish type. Sellotape doesnt come off when its on, and is shiny so they are different enough to consider separately.
@@Thurgosh_OG Fun fact, in respect of 'poor' quality 3M. Post-it notes came about as a failed experiment for a stickier paper. The poor quality adhesive was useful for temporary sticky notes.
Caused confusion in an American hotel some years ago when I asked for a flannel. They didn't have a clue until I described it and they realised I was wanting a wash cloth.
Just discovered your Chanel, really enjoying it. It has always fascinated me the way Americans look at us Brits in utter bewilderment sometimes at the different words, food way of life etc.and try to make sense of it all. Good work.
I would say "sticking plaster" To wash up in the US tends to mean washing youself; a usage I have never come across oin the UK The knives are sometimes called craft knives.
It's true. When Charlie's Angels, and The $6m Man were shown in the UK she was listed in the credits as Farrah Tap. I always felt her performances ran hot and cold.
Years ago, in Norwich, there was a gentle, eccentric guy, who used to stand at the top of St. Stephens Road, directing traffic wearing yellow Marigold washing-up gloves and he was well known to everyone as just his nickname 'Marigold'. I really hope someone else reading this comment remembers him too.🖐🤚
@@Larry So am I when I have to travel to Norwich on the bus in my wheelchair. He usually wants to put that stupid pram in the wheelchair bay with me, then sit close to me. Boy does he STINK! I also remember Marigold very well from when I was posted to Norfolk with the RAF in the mid 80's.
@@AlanEvans789 Really? I did always wonder how he travelled from Norwich to Yarmouth. Do you know where he lives at all? I know he's never washed any of his puppets, he only replaces them once they're rotted away from the years of stale sweat inside them. But doesn't he know that place is only for disabled access? I've never seen Marigold myself, but told about him many times by Norwich friends. Is he still around?
We have Scotch tape in the UK, but it is very different to Sellotape. I've found Scotch tape to be better quality, but often it is much more expensive, that's why it's not used as much.
Americans use words us Brits don't understand too, like the shop with sign "no strollers". I said to my hubby you can't go in, unless you are definitely going to buy something, as you can't browse (stroll around). He pointed out "stroller" just meant no buggies (or pushchairs)!
Biro was normally used for the disposable pens. A ball point is more the higher end pens with a replaceable combo ink and ball. parker etc for a brand for example.
I'm old enough to remember Biro's ball point pens first appearing. They were horribly splodgy pens, but they were cheap and didn't need frequent refilling like fountain pens.
I went on a school trip to Russia in 1968 and we were told to take 'Clicky Biros' that we could give to the Russian kids as gifts. but not the Bic pens that weren't retractable. Those of us who took them could make a fortune on the black market as they were highly prized, as the Russian equivalent were useless. The same went for Wrigleys (chewing gum). My mate was on the cusp of being a black marketeer as he left Russia having seemingly only spent £2 but having a suitcase full of souvenirs
ONE of my classic encounters in the US was asking for a quickunpick. I needed to remove the label on my jacket because it had a nylon thread which tickled my neck. I went into a millinery shop (do they exist anymore?) and asked for a quikunpik (brand-name). After much back and forth, they finally understood what I needed was a 'stitch-ripper'! Such fun!
I worked in a few supermarkets as a teen in the UK and through my college holidays and we'd have a specific type of Stanley knife which we'd refer to as a box cutter, I just googled them and couldn't find one so maybe they're not used anymore, they were a very specific design with a wide flat end made of sheet metal bent over so they lay flat against a box with just a few mm of the edge of a blade protruding so you could open boxes without worrying about cutting the contents.
A few brand names used to identify specific items in French, just to confuse us even more! Le scotch - obvious. Although the 'official' term is 'le ruban adhésif' le sparadrap - Elastoplast. Or, more commonly, 'plaster' (for small cuts) un caddie - Shopping trolley (or 'cart' [US]) un K-way - a hooded cagoule type garment which can be folded up small un kärcher - 'un nettoyeur à haute pression' - a pressure washer le placoplâtre - plasterboard un kleenex - paper handkerchief le sopalin - paper kitchen towel un bic - ballpoint pen I'm sure there are lots of others and in different languages too. It's what makes language so interesting and, sometimes, rather confusing.
We really are 'Two Nations divided by a common language'! László Bíró invented the modern ballpoint pen, that is why we call them by his name. In my experience the term 'cuddly toy' is more often used for non-bear soft toys. For us a 'stuffed animal' is usually a real animal that has been preserved by a taxidermist.
In the seventies, Bic biro was a model of a Bic disposable pen. And Glad made “cling wrap” which is the term I used growing up but that gave way to plastic wrap. While working in a warehouse everyone incorrectly called cling film shrink wrap even though we never heat shrunk it.
And then there's the use of the word tap in Scotland... At the High Court, a man is giving evidence. Witness: "An' then ah went roond tae ma mate's for a tap" Judge: "Is your mate a plumber?" Advocate:" M'lud, 'a tap' can mean a loan of money" Judge: "I see. And did you borrow any money from your mate?" Witness: "Naw. It wisnae that kind of tap" Judge: "What kind was it?" Witness: "A fitba tap"
When you started I thought you were going to mention about the different words we use for 'couch'. Generally in the UK we don't use the word 'couch', we say 'sofa' or 'settee'.
In Australia we say lounge. The lounge goes in the lounge room. Lounge suite, 3 seater lounge, two and a half seater lounge, two seater lounge and lounge chairs or arm chairs for the single seaters....a lounge suite may contain a three seater lounge and two armchairs for instance.
I tend to use couch, sofa, settee almost interchangeably, though most often I use “settee” when talking about a “bed-settee”… “Couch”, to indicate a squishy, comfortable seat for two or more people, and “sofa” for a more formal seat for more than one person. I’m Scottish,🏴
@@kittyjohnstone5915why do you have 3 words for one thing? I just call it a couch. And a sofa if it's more formal maybe I don't even know what a settee is. Who even says that?
@@marioluigi9599 - I’m elderly. The words used in the seven, nearly eight generations I’ve been on the planet, plus the regional differences in Scots added to the varying nouns used in standard English come in to play in my brain. They seem to enjoy themselves 😉. Having lots of words from which to choose saves me, and others like me, from the boredom of continual repetition. By the way, I’m writing in what, to me, is a lighthearted manner. I have been told, on occasion, I have a warped sense of humour, this is usually excused because, as I’ve said already, I’m Scottish and old😆
In Canada: Scotch Tape (Sello = cellulose tape) Marigold (also our rubber glove brand) Tea towel Hockey (vs ice hockey) Paper bags (vs US sacks) The States (vs "America")
Mostly the same in Australia as the US, except tap = tap; box cutter, not in Australia, probably Stanley knife, but that may only be for knives made by Stanley, generic term may be utility knife; band aid; dish detergent or dishwashing liquid; teddy bear; sticky tape; cling film = glad wrap (brand name used generically).
In 1930, a Hungarian inventor observed children playing with marbles in a puddle, noticing that the marbles left a trail of water in their wake. That's how the idea came about: why not use a ball-shaped metal nib for writing? This is how the pen was born. ✒🖋 László József Biro shared his idea with his brother György, a chemist, and together they began researching and experimenting to create a new type of pen based on this concept. Finally, they found the perfect combination: a viscous ink and a tip with a small ball that rotated freely, preventing the ink from drying out and controlling its flow. They presented their invention at the Budapest International Fair in 1931 and patented it in 1938, although they did not market it immediately. With the start of World War II, the brothers emigrated to Argentina, where they founded a company in a garage. Although they were initially unsuccessful due to the high cost of the product, they secured a contract with the British Air Force, which boosted their popularity. In 1943, they licensed their invention to Eversharp Faber in the United States for $2 million. In 1950, Marcel Bich acquired the rights and, on the recommendation of an advertising expert, dropped the "h" from his surname and founded the company BICGroup. In that year, they launched the first BIC Cristal, one of the most perfect designs ever created, of which more than 20 million units are sold every day around the world. Since 1953, more than 100 billion BIC Cristals have been manufactured, making it the best-selling pen of all time. Courtesy: Shila Isabella
-Before the rise of plastics, tape was made from cellophane, plant based, hence Sello. -Teddy Bears are named for Thedore Rosavelt, because he wouldn't shoot a tied up bear, because it was unsportman like. -A boxcutter is a flat two part, sliding knife . That uses a rectangular one-sided razor blade , a Utility knife use thicker polygon blade. Like the one shown.
I speak to many people from across the USA and none of them understands or have ever heard of the English word 'Fortnight' which is in common usage in Britain. This is a unit of time equal to 14 days (two weeks). The word derives from the Old English term fēowertīene niht, meaning "fourteen nights" (or "fourteen days", since the Anglo-Saxons counted by nights).
Elastoplast was a UK brand for adhesive plaster, possibly swallowed up by some corporate takeover. More recently, I agree, the terminology is likely to be 'plaster' or 'sticking plaster.'
Biro refers to Lazlo Biro who first patented the ballpoint pen (note he was not its first inventor). He later sold the patent to the French company Bic who are still well-known for such disposable pens.
Sellotape and Scotch Tape are just different tradenames of the giant 3M company. They are the same product. Also AFAIK, the only soft toy we call a Teddy in the UK is an actual Teddy Bear. All other soft toys are usually called just by their given nickname like 'where's Boris'? When you vacuum the carpets over in the US, do you call it 'Hoovering'? Here in the UK almost everyone calls it Hoovering because Hoover, although an American company, were the first to grab the mass market for vacuum cleaners and for a long time it was just about the only vacuum we could buy in the shops. Other brands such as Electrolux and Hotpoint came along but we still called them the hoover.
Again, so well thought out. I actually haven't heard of teddy as a generic term for stuffed animals - that's new to me. I used to call wite-out "snopake". Lemonade is another one - in the US this is a drink made from the juice of lemons with water and sugar, whereas Lemonade in the UK used to mean a fizzy lemon drink.
Don't forget the pre-decimal (pre Feb 1971) pounds, shillings and pence British monetary system. There were 12 pennies to a shilling, and 20 shillings to a pound. You had to learn the 12 times-table by heart to convert pennies to shillings. For example 54 pence became 4s/6d in old money. There was a 10 shilling note, which was replaced by the 50 pence coin. There was a silver sixpence, which would be put in Christmas puddings, and the half-crown coin (2s/6d). 21 shillings was called a guinea.
I can remember kids calling a Pritt-Stik a "Prick stick" accidentally on purpose 😅 When I think of a Stanley knife I immediately think of the 99E / 199. Classic 👌
@@shaunw9270Well, if I am wrong, I am in good company. I have just looked at my "Pritt Stick" which I bought from the stationery shelves in Sainsbury's supermarket. On the side of the cylinder containing the retracting cylinder of glue, it quite clearly describes itself as "Glue Stick". Amazon and Staples, the major stationery chain, describe these items as "glue sticks". Manufacturers Baker Ross, Bostik and UHU all describe their products in this category as "glue sticks". None of these are for use with a hot glue gun.
@@shaunw9270The sticks you are talking about are advertised as "glue gun sticks". I can well understand that people in that trade might abbreviate that term to "glue stick", no argument there, but that does nor stop the generic "Pritt Stick" also being known as a "glue stick" too.
I think that US term plaster is probably closest to what we in the UK would call "Plaster of Paris" for crafting purposes (and still used medically for setting broken bones)
Fun fact, Plaster of Paris is gypsum which is also used to make tofu. It’s one of the common coagulants used to separate soy milk into soy curds (compressed to become tofu) and soy whey.
"doing the dishes" and "rubber gloves" are normal in the UK too... "soft toys" - "cuddly toys"; certainly when I was younger, a teddy was a bear (when I was a little older, a Teddy was something entirely different!!!!)
The name of Stanley knives are used because when they came on the market they were so much better ( cost more though ) than the cheaper rubbish we were using , so you always asked for a Stanley - - - - - - - so you got a good equipment
A lot of these are to do with the original patent (Sellotape, Tip Ex, Pritt stick etc) hence other manufacturers had to come up with alternative names not to infringe on the patent holders property. The one that surprises me is the 'Teddy' or 'Teddy Bear' - this name can be traced back to 1902 when President Theodore Roosevelt refused to shoot a bear during a hunting trip, hence this is an American term, and from what you're saying has travelled the pond but not stayed at home. The first Teddy Bears were made in Brooklyn (with permission from President Roosevelt to use the name) the company went on to become the Ideal Toy Company.
Enjoyed that! Very interesting. Here are some Canadian differences. Teddies/soft toys = Stuffies in Canada. Cling film/Saran wrap = plastic wrap.(Although you sometimes hear Saran wrap too.) I think we use tap and faucet interchangeably?? Perhaps another Canadian could confirm? Tea towel/dish towel = tea towels in Canada. All the rest we would say the same as the USA.
The word faucet derives from a bung put in the vent hole of a cask of ale, (or other beverage) and is French in origin. Tap (noun) comes from Old English Taeppa meaning a bung put in the vent hole of a cask of ale. Hence tap and faucet are the same one French one Saxon. Tap (verb) comes from Middle English tappen meaning to hit something lightly. So the verb and the noun have different origins.
You like your blankets because you like that soft grey colour, and each blanket you see you like just a little bit more than the one you already had, although perhaps it is not so soft and when someone comes round you can each snuggle up in a blanket to watch the latest film.
A plastic container in the UK is usually called tupperware and I think it the name is also used in the USA so at least we agree on something. There is also hoover, to hoover the carpet whereas in the USA I think the word vacuum is used
Yes, we say vacuum. Hoover is just one brand. However!!!! When referring to someone stuffing food into their mouths, quickly, we'll jokingly say, "He sure Hoovered that"!
Most of these are brand names that have become generic. Different companies in each place therefore different brand names, some became generic. A plaster has long been a medical term. A wound is plastered with ointment & bandaged. A broken limb is covered by a plaster cast. A sticking plaster is what is put on a minor cut. Elastoplast is a British brand name, almost generic, but Band Aid are now also in UK.
As a medical buyer in the NHS in the 80's I had to learn not to call plasters "plasters"! They're just one type of wound dressing. As I was also working in an orthopaedic hospital at the time it got very confusing if you started to refer to anything other than PoP as plaster.
I think that most of us would say 'sticking-plaster' rather than just 'plaster', though we might say 'plaster' once the use had been established or when repeated.
To me a box cutter is a specific tool with a shielded blade on end and a flat blunt retractable blade at the other for breaking packing tape We were issued them at work The third time I used mine it broke into several sharp pieces of plastic and I went back to using a knife
About Scotch tape - - I remember this brand very vividly from the Danny DeVito comedy _Throw Momma From the Train_ where Billy Crystal tapes his entire face while driving himself mad in the opening credits - As a 90s kid, my familiarity with the brand Scotch is from old recordable VHS tapes (and we usually bought the 180 minute ones which was enough to record a film that would inevitably be censored by the BBC or ITV regardless of broadcast time).
We used to have a Scotch Tape factory in my hometown of Chorley, Lancashire. But we still called it Sellotape. It's like Hoover becoming the common use word for Vacuum Cleaner, plus I believe Dyson is becoming the same for bagless cleaners.
Bic and Biro are the same company. We would never call washing up detergent a soap; soaps are usually solid, and detergents are usually liquid. Tea towels are often called teacloths. What Americans call plaster (the children's toy) is what we would call plasticine, or sometimes play dough. Then there are lots of other differences, including: Aeroplane instead of airplane Footpath or pavement instead of sidewalk Carriageway or road instead of pavement Shop instead of store Supermarket instead of warehouse Aerodrome instead of airfield, although airfield is becoming more common now Film instead of movie Crisps instead of chips Chips instead of french fries Charity shop instead of thrift store Secondhand instead of pre-owned Handbag instead of purse (What do Americans call what we would call a purse?) Biscuit instead of cookie Courgette instead of zucchini Red/orange/yellow/green pepper instead of capsicum Trainers instead of sneakers Trousers instead of pants (Pants are underwear here! So be careful.) Bin men instead of garbage collectors Spanner instead of wrench (Car) bonnet instead of (automobile) hood (Car) boot instead of (automobile) trunk Maize instead of corn - (we once used corn to mean wheat. Some people still do) Pushchair or pram instead of stroller Petrol instead of gas Football instead of soccer And many more.
Never heard of Saran Wrap. Most of the others I think as a Brit I could sort of work out. But Saran Wrap sounds like a tasty fast food item. So therefore, being stubborn and not wanting to appear a fool to my American counterparts. I would do my best to chew at this wrap and say how tasty it was. While eventually choking and needing medical aid.
For a long time I had not seen it written down but had heard it mentioned on American TV shows. I thought they were saying "ceram wrap" and thought it might be related to the ceramic coatings they use in car detailing.
I remember years ago an American talking about getting a giro, it meant some kind of food, we used to call the unemployment check a giro so I found it funny.
In the UK the word "Foil" would be understood only as the food wrap. We could also know it as BAco Foil (another trade name even though it is made by many companies ) We would never say aluminium food wrapping (and never aluminum). The same word for a fencing weapon is a rather niche usage.
Scotch tape, same here, Biro last 70 years ir has been a biro, my uncle was the UK representative for this pen, box cutter, I used one in Art School as we needed to cut paper or Mounts for a picture frame
Sellotape in UK is called Durex in Australia. Both are brand names. In Mexico Durex is associated with socks. It's a big company. My Australian Boss - the best boss I ever had - was new to England when he asked for some Durex during an important meeting he was chairing. This caused a flurry of consternation at the board table. The various consultants and nursing officers looked around in confusion. It took a few moments for someone to understand what was going on. Durex means 'condom' in the UK... Everyone at the meeting was too serious to laugh at the time but I suspect they all had a quiet chuckle afterwards. My boss never made that mistake again.
The Australianbrand name for sellotape is Durex. In the UK Durex is a leading brand of condom. Imagine the silence in the office when an Australian colleague asked a female if she had finished with the office Durex.
@charlestaylor3027 I read that it's no longer made in Australia. 😢
Jasper Carrott used to do a routine about that. 😂
Yep that Australian brand once sponsored the now defunct BRM F1 team in the 70s. @charlestaylor3027
I would wet myself laughing. I can't imagine handing a used durex around the office like it was sellotape, I wouldn't be able to stop laughing.
I had a Durex branded pit jacket in the 70s. When I wore it in the UK, a bloke in hysterics asked me if it had a hood
Biro is the surname of the inventor of the ball point pen.
Yep, Bic's another commonly used brand name we use for it. But Biro is the most common word for cheap disposable ball point pens (as opposed to more expensive or ornate ball point pens ones that are less disposable)
He was the Hungarian Laszlo Biro ... great man, sad life
Yes - Lazlo Biro.
He was a Hungarian and invented it for Magna Carta!
I think your downfall here is assuming that the U.K. viewers you’re addressing are as “world blind” as you know your own USA citizens are .
I would hazard a guess that the vast majority of USA terms or products are easily worked out to the average English speaking European whereas the opposite may not be so….
To quote a Valley Girl “hmmmm like , totallllllly to the maxxxxxx”
I've even heard it called a Bic Biro. Bic is the company, Biro is now the product.
I only call bears 'teddy'. Other furry stuffed animals are 'cuddly toys'.
Same here! I would be confused if someone said teddy and they weren't referring to a bear specifically.
I had a Golliwog as a child. Not politically correct anymore.
@@paulgeorge6353 Who asked?
@@meeds7473Who rattled your cage?
@@paulgeorge6353 Of course they are- people are much more aware of how offensive they're perceived to be. Welcome to the 21st century.
Torch versus flashlight. A friend’s American 7 year old had cut himself but the light was poor. So I said, “I need to get a torch”. He cried “Not a torch!”. He thought I was going to use an open flamed torch on his wound 😀.
@gizmo5601 The Bobbsey Twins had the same problem when they visited Great Britain. 😁
A torch was originally a long stick that was dipped in pitch/tar at one end that you set on fire for light. In the UK when we got handheld electric lights, we originally called them electric torches, and now just torches, because nobody really uses non-electric ones outside of film sets.
An interesting question. Do Americans call the thing in a barrel to let beer out a faucet? In Britain the tap comes from “tapping a barrel”.
42 blankets ?
Because 42 is the meaning of Life, the Universe, Everything !
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Its more probably a derivation of the 'Princess and the Pea' story
Hitchhiker's guide to the universe
Brain the size of a planet.
The ballpoint pen was developed by Hungarian Laszlo Biro.
We often call Vacuum Cleaners, Hoovers in the UK.
One of the early brands of vacuum cleaners was Goblin, but goblin the carpet doesn't sound right.
I Hoover with my Shark.
For me, a Brit, “teddy” only means “teddy bear”, not a generic plushie.
When I was a kid (in the 90s) teddy was a teddy bear but a cuddly was a general cuddly toy/plushie.
Yeah I don't know who told this chick a teddy can be anything. Girl, it's a bear. If you heard someone in England say that a penguin is a teddy, then that person clearly doesn't care about animals and certainly is no vegan 😂
British terms I had to learn included: polystyrene, aluminium, fortnight, loo, silencer, bog roll, nappy, serviette, hoover, spanner, rubber, rubber binder, carboot sale, kichen towel, pro, cutlery, rat arsed, hammered, skinful, reception room, snug, flannel, crikey, blimey, mate, courgette, aubergine and many more.
Hoover is unknown in the US?
I had a word with my Teddy. He was most perplexed and annoyed. He told me that he doesn't ever remember the word 'teddy' being used as a generic reference for any old stuffed toy. Only used specifically for him. Or for his friends, that other folk may have had when they were young.
I had a Rupert Bear Rupert was a Character in the Daily Express newspaper.
@@russellbradley454 And Rupert’s middle name was The.
🎶"Everyone knows his name"🎶
And of course GGL you missed out the best word: Rubber!! In Britain a rubber gets rid of mistakes,..In America a rubber prevents them in the first place!!!😅😅😅😅😅
Ironically the UK designation Teddy for a stuffed bear comes from the American president Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt, who refused to shoot a real bear that had been captured. This event was captured in a political cartoon and lead to the use of his nickname for the soft toys.
You beat me to it! There's a little cartoon from an American contemporary newspaper too of a bespectacled Roosevelt, gun in hand & a baby bear cowering behind a tree.
The connection with the cuddly toy originated at the dinner party that evening when one of the guests brought imported German toy bears to commemorate Roosevelt's compassion for the live bear, giving one to each of those at the dinner table.
Box cutter refers to a different tool in the UK. It is something that is used specifically for cutting open boxes, usually by people who have to open a lot of them for their job. In contrast, a Stanley knife is more multipurpose, for cutting or scoring things
Aren't they called "safety" knives? You know with the snap off blades
@@marioluigi9599 Safety knives can refer to either box cutters or Stanley knives, it just means it should be safer. Snap off knives are their own thing
@@Hydraas nah I just checked on the shop websites. They do call them all safety knives. With the snap off blades
@@marioluigi9599 ok. Good for you that the sites you checked listed them that way. It doesn't mean people call it that
@@Hydraas oh sorry. I thought the shop websites were correct
Plaster is also used as a nickname for drywall compound you put on the wall
We plastered the wall today
Then went out and got plastered😅😂
You've only got 42 blankets because it is currently summer here in the UK.
True
When I was in school in the UK in 70’s, we called it liquid paper which was sold in the UK at that time, it was the brand name of the first correction fluid invented by Bette Nesmith mother of Mike Nesmith from The Monkees. Tipp-Ex then saturated the market and the name stuck. We call the bears Teddy or teddies but other plush toys are called cuddly toys in the UK
I knew it as Snopake, it was the Brand they used in the RN where I first came across it
@@dinger40When I started doing office work in the 1980s, one of my older colleagues always called it Snopake. I was more familiar with Tipp-Ex, but I remember Liquid Paper as well.
1984: The concept of Band Aid was born, and the song “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” was recorded in November 1984, featuring a supergroup of British and Irish musicians.
Now there’s millions more of them.
The difference between tap and faucet is technical. A tap has a screw type valve, whereas a faucet has a valve which opens fully when turned 90 degrees. In England, hospitals use faucets, they have handles which you operate with your elbow, so you don't touch it with dirty hands. In ordinary houses, you have taps, which you have to open with your hands by rotating them through typically 720 or more degrees to fully open them
I'm not sure this is correct. Lever-taps are common in UK homes and not just in hospitals and I've never heard them called 'faucets' in hospitals The word faucet would probably be understood in the UK but no-one ever uses it in everyday language.
We've got leavened taps. Had them for years. There still just a tap
What you are describing is a tap with a quarter-turn valve and a lever operating handle.
@falaise6077 we've had lever taps in our home for twenty years now give or take a year
In my entire 47 years on this earth I’ve never heard anyone in the U.K. use the word ‘teddy’ to describe a generic plush toy. I’ve only ever heard ‘teddy’ used in the context of describing a ‘teddy bear’. I’ve usually heard other stuffed/plush toys referred to as ‘cuddly toys’ or occasionally ‘soft toys’. Maybe it’s a regional thing.
I always say cuddly toys. I know someone from Bradford that says teddys for everything
Could be. I’m 42, Lancs, and I say teddy for any cuddly toy.
Ah, you've never had the pleasure of seeing a fit young girl "wearing" only a teddy?
We do and we're British. But I always thought it was a bit eccentric to do so.
Teddy and teddy bear are used by kids, at least many parts of the UK. If the animal isn’t an actual bear, then it would be a “Teddy”.
Deffo a regional thing as you said. Never have I ever heard of any child refer to it as a “soft toy/plush toy” especially a young child. It sounds like something an adult would say to a shop worker if they didn’t know where to find such things in their store. 🤷🏻♀️
I think an adult may use the term you refer to “soft toy” but a child would not.
Also “Plush toy” is a rather American term and isn’t generic outside of the US and a few other countries.
One that confused me for years was plexiglass. I used to read a lot of science fiction and I thought it was some futuristic material like dilithium crystals. I eventually worked out it is the American name for perspex!
@Phiyedough Perspex and Plexiglass are brand names. Generic would be acrylic. Fibreglass is also a brand name. Other makers have to call it glass fibre.
I only know of plexiglass because that is what Scotty used to make the whale tank in Star Trek IV!
@@danielyeshe The government must be keeping transparent aluminum secret. Probably in that warehouse where they have Indy's Ark stashed. 😉
@@Thurgosh_OG Transparent aluminium was what Scotty used to get the Plexiglas.
@danielyeshe No, he used transparent aluminum. 😂 Stands back and waits for the aluminium vs aluminum debate.....again.
6:00 A guy went into a French seafood restaurant and asked to see the dishes of the day. The waiter wheeled over a trolley with a large tank full of various species, and the man examined the dishes.
“I’ll have the little green squid with the hairy lip, please” said the man. “An excellent choice, they have a delicate, mild flavour.” replied the waiter and called out “Gervais!”
A little French chef appeared with a large knife, the waiter instructed the chef to kill the little green squid with the hairy lip. Gervais was just about to slice at the poor squid when he noticed a tear running down its face. Gervais is touched, and admitted that he hadn't the heart to kill the squid.
“Not to worry” says the waiter, and called out “Hans!” at which an enormous German bloke came out of the kitchen. “Sir”, said the waiter, “This is Hans, the dishwasher. Hans kill that little green squid with the hairy lip!”
The dishwasher wielded a huge rolling pin and was just about to bludgeon the little green squid with the hairy lip when it cringed back and gave a little cry. “I am sorry sir, I just cannot kill the squid” Hans admitted, his lower lip trembling.
“Well sir,” said the waiter, “it just shows that Hans that do dishes can be as soft as Gervais, with mild, green, hairy lipped squid!”
_______
A play on Fairy's advertising slogan: “Hands that do dishes can be as soft as your face with mild, green, Fairy liquid.”
That's one minute of your life you'll never get back.
Old but gold
@jarvisa12345 I shall never be able to tell that joke again. 😭
I'm singing along to the tune as I read this. 😂
I have a fairy lives in my garden, first time I met her I asked her name she said I am Lick Wid I said that’s a stupid name she replied I am famous every body has heard of me IAM FAIRY LIQUID.
As an Australian, I would say sticky tape, I also say Biro but generally say pen. They are taps. It's cling film. It's a tea towel. Teddies are always Teddy Bears and not soft toys.
The UK electrical shop I worked in during the seventies sold Saran Wrap, so this has never been a source of confusion for me. At the same time we were selling refrigerators and freezers, and Bejam (now Iceland) were helpfully boosting our sales.
I remember back in Junior school when the first Biros were given to us. Up until then we used pen and nib (basically a wooden stick with a socket at the end into which you mushed a metal nib. The ink for it came from a ceramic inkwell recessed into the right hand top corner of the desk.) And if you think that's 'ancient tech', we still had slates kept in a cupboard in case we ran out of ink.
Don't quite remember pre-Biro _but_ our desks did still have the inkwell hole in the corner (and we still _occasionally_ used slates and chalk but i'd assume just to not waste paper).
Do you remember the piece of fresh blotting paper that you got each Monday and you had to try to use the same piece all week. And being 'ink monitor' was a real privilege!
@@judithrichardson3684 Yes! And how the ink in the big bottle started out black at the start of the term but was pale grey by the end of it due to watering it down to last.
@@anonymes2884 Were they the old two seater bench desks with the iron frame? I remember the seats were worn so smooth over the decades of use that bottom-shaped depressions had formed. Oh and I found the desk where my dad had once sat and carved his initials into it with the nib of the pen.
We had those desks at Grammar School but there was no way they were going to allow us to fill those ink wells with ink! However, initially we had to use a fountain pen for all official work in the exercise books even though ball point pens were available because it was thought that fountain pens forced a neat writing style. They relented after a couple of years
In the UK Scotch tape is more commonly associated with frosted or coloured masking tape (being used to obscure) rather than transparent sealing tape.
And in Australia it is called Durex which in the UK is the leading brand of condoms.
@@paulgeorge6353 Alan Jones used to drive an F1 car in the 70's sponsored by Durex- He used to burn through a lot of rubber
They are called taps from when we had wooden taps in barrels in medieval times so we could draw off beer, wine, etc. We still tap barrels in pubs when they are connected to either the pumps or taps (depending on whether it is real ale or keg beer) in the bar.
A lot of British people would use the brand name Elastoplast for a sticking plaster.
America does use the word tap aswell to have the same meaning.
When out for a meal, and they want water, but not the pre-bottled ttype, they dont ask for faucet water. They ask for tap water.
Also, ihave only ever really heard the word Teddy to refer to, other than a name, or for Teddy Roosevelt whom the stuffed bears are named after, as Teddy bears, but that could only be within my family and group of friends, so others may refer to soft toys as teddies, but ive not heard that before.
When the tap is on a barrel, the US calls it a tap too. Not sure why the difference.
@@rahb1Do Americans sometimes also call it faucet water, like in causal conversation?
I know in some countries they call it pipe water, because it comes from the water pipes.
With Pritt, when it first came out the ads had the strap-line "The non-sticky sticky stuff ... not glue!" 🙂
With Tippex, it was developed in Germany and a German word for "Typing" is "Tippen"; thus it's ex-typing. 🙂
In general, brand names that get used as a general noun will always vary from country to country.
And an interesting thought is that a teddy is also a form of lingerie!
Tippex is from 1958, whereas the original idea came from the Mother of Michael Nesmith, who was in the 1960's pop band The Monkees. She invented her ' Mistake Out' in 1956 apparently.
She rebranded as 'Liquid Paper' in 1958, which is a brand name I do recognise like Tippex, as we have had both brands here in the UK.
How do you tell a bad word processor operator?
Wite-Out all over the computer monitor!
My favorite kind of teddy!
If she also has the other kind of teddy to also snuggle up with!!!
In the UK armed forces if an officer loses his temper he is said to have “thrown his teddy out the window”.
I had a toothache in the US and had difficulty getting paracetamol tablets because they call them Tyranol.
@alantheinquirer7658. Pritt is also a German product, made by Henkel. Greetings from Germany.🇩🇪
I think a lot of people in the UK still call Scotch tape Scotch tape because here it is usually the removable/matt finish type. Sellotape doesnt come off when its on, and is shiny so they are different enough to consider separately.
Scotch Tape was also once a brand of VHS Tape in the UK.
@@GM-wl9mp All brands of 3M.
@@Thurgosh_OG Fun fact, in respect of 'poor' quality 3M. Post-it notes came about as a failed experiment for a stickier paper. The poor quality adhesive was useful for temporary sticky notes.
Caused confusion in an American hotel some years ago when I asked for a flannel. They didn't have a clue until I described it and they realised I was wanting a wash cloth.
Just discovered your Chanel, really enjoying it. It has always fascinated me the way Americans look at us Brits in utter bewilderment sometimes at the different words, food way of life etc.and try to make sense of it all. Good work.
I would say "sticking plaster"
To wash up in the US tends to mean washing youself; a usage I have never come across oin the UK
The knives are sometimes called craft knives.
It's true. When Charlie's Angels, and The $6m Man were shown in the UK she was listed in the credits as Farrah Tap. I always felt her performances ran hot and cold.
True but not a Major issue.
😂 You got a solid laugh out of me, when I read this. Brilliant.😊
Don't be a spigot...
😂
This remark gave me a sinking feeling😂
It's doing the dishes and dish towel in most of Scotland. We do have tea towels, we wouldn't use them to dry the dishes.
Sometimes instead of the word Tipp-Ex, the word Snopake might be used - another correction fluid brand name.
I was trying to remember that name!
Years ago, in Norwich, there was a gentle, eccentric guy, who used to stand at the top of St. Stephens Road, directing traffic wearing yellow Marigold washing-up gloves and he was well known to everyone as just his nickname 'Marigold'. I really hope someone else reading this comment remembers him too.🖐🤚
You beat me to it. I'm from Great Yarmouth but I saw him several times on visits to Norwich.
That man was a legend
He was mortal enemies with the Puppet Man.
@@Larry So am I when I have to travel to Norwich on the bus in my wheelchair. He usually wants to put that stupid pram in the wheelchair bay with me, then sit close to me. Boy does he STINK! I also remember Marigold very well from when I was posted to Norfolk with the RAF in the mid 80's.
@@AlanEvans789 Really? I did always wonder how he travelled from Norwich to Yarmouth. Do you know where he lives at all? I know he's never washed any of his puppets, he only replaces them once they're rotted away from the years of stale sweat inside them.
But doesn't he know that place is only for disabled access?
I've never seen Marigold myself, but told about him many times by Norwich friends. Is he still around?
We have Scotch tape in the UK, but it is very different to Sellotape. I've found Scotch tape to be better quality, but often it is much more expensive, that's why it's not used as much.
And then we have sticky-backed plastic.
Americans use words us Brits don't understand too, like the shop with sign "no strollers". I said to my hubby you can't go in, unless you are definitely going to buy something, as you can't browse (stroll around). He pointed out "stroller" just meant no buggies (or pushchairs)!
In Australia, a popular brand of adhesive tape until the 1980's was Durex, which is a completely different product in the UK.
Biro was normally used for the disposable pens. A ball point is more the higher end pens with a replaceable combo ink and ball. parker etc for a brand for example.
We also like to go out at the weekend and get plastered ( drunk ).
I didn't know Saran wrap. Another one for your part 2 video is ,
Wrench in USA, but SPANNER in UK .
Adjustable wench - Shifter
I wonder what happens when you call somebody a proper 'wrench' in the US...
However adjustable spanners are often called wrenches!
I'm old enough to remember Biro's ball point pens first appearing. They were horribly splodgy pens, but they were cheap and didn't need frequent refilling like fountain pens.
I went on a school trip to Russia in 1968 and we were told to take 'Clicky Biros' that we could give to the Russian kids as gifts. but not the Bic pens that weren't retractable. Those of us who took them could make a fortune on the black market as they were highly prized, as the Russian equivalent were useless. The same went for Wrigleys (chewing gum). My mate was on the cusp of being a black marketeer as he left Russia having seemingly only spent £2 but having a suitcase full of souvenirs
They were first sold in the 1930s
ONE of my classic encounters in the US was asking for a quickunpick. I needed to remove the label on my jacket because it had a nylon thread which tickled my neck. I went into a millinery shop (do they exist anymore?) and asked for a quikunpik (brand-name). After much back and forth, they finally understood what I needed was a 'stitch-ripper'! Such fun!
I'm from Australia, but I love your channel. It's interesting with the terminology. To see whether us Aussies would agree with the Brits or Americans.
Mostly the Brits.
I still use the term 'elastoplast' too, which seems mad now that I think about it.
I worked in a few supermarkets as a teen in the UK and through my college holidays and we'd have a specific type of Stanley knife which we'd refer to as a box cutter, I just googled them and couldn't find one so maybe they're not used anymore, they were a very specific design with a wide flat end made of sheet metal bent over so they lay flat against a box with just a few mm of the edge of a blade protruding so you could open boxes without worrying about cutting the contents.
I have a box cutter, also from days when I worked packing stuff.
A few brand names used to identify specific items in French, just to confuse us even more!
Le scotch - obvious. Although the 'official' term is 'le ruban adhésif'
le sparadrap - Elastoplast. Or, more commonly, 'plaster' (for small cuts)
un caddie - Shopping trolley (or 'cart' [US])
un K-way - a hooded cagoule type garment which can be folded up small
un kärcher - 'un nettoyeur à haute pression' - a pressure washer
le placoplâtre - plasterboard
un kleenex - paper handkerchief
le sopalin - paper kitchen towel
un bic - ballpoint pen
I'm sure there are lots of others and in different languages too. It's what makes language so interesting and, sometimes, rather confusing.
I remember as an au pair in France being very perplexed by my six-year old charge asking me where the Scotch was!
We really are 'Two Nations divided by a common language'!
László Bíró invented the modern ballpoint pen, that is why we call them by his name.
In my experience the term 'cuddly toy' is more often used for non-bear soft toys. For us a 'stuffed animal' is usually a real animal that has been preserved by a taxidermist.
In the seventies, Bic biro was a model of a Bic disposable pen. And Glad made “cling wrap” which is the term I used growing up but that gave way to plastic wrap. While working in a warehouse everyone incorrectly called cling film shrink wrap even though we never heat shrunk it.
Regarding the use of the word tap in the UK, Americans do say tap water, so surely that must make some sense?
And then there's the use of the word tap in Scotland...
At the High Court, a man is giving evidence.
Witness: "An' then ah went roond tae ma mate's for a tap"
Judge: "Is your mate a plumber?"
Advocate:" M'lud, 'a tap' can mean a loan of money"
Judge: "I see. And did you borrow any money from your mate?"
Witness: "Naw. It wisnae that kind of tap"
Judge: "What kind was it?"
Witness: "A fitba tap"
A box cutter is a blunt safety knife - for opening boxes without cutting yourself.
And they are the worst thing for opening boxes or breaking down a box. Stanley knife, 3 quick slices box done 5 seconds
An older name for tippex is Liquid Paper which was another brand
When you started I thought you were going to mention about the different words we use for 'couch'. Generally in the UK we don't use the word 'couch', we say 'sofa' or 'settee'.
I always say couch 😀😃😄☘☘☘
In Australia we say lounge. The lounge goes in the lounge room. Lounge suite, 3 seater lounge, two and a half seater lounge, two seater lounge and lounge chairs or arm chairs for the single seaters....a lounge suite may contain a three seater lounge and two armchairs for instance.
I tend to use couch, sofa, settee almost interchangeably, though most often I use “settee” when talking about a “bed-settee”… “Couch”, to indicate a squishy, comfortable seat for two or more people, and “sofa” for a more formal seat for more than one person. I’m Scottish,🏴
@@kittyjohnstone5915why do you have 3 words for one thing? I just call it a couch. And a sofa if it's more formal maybe
I don't even know what a settee is. Who even says that?
@@marioluigi9599 - I’m elderly. The words used in the seven, nearly eight generations I’ve been on the planet, plus the regional differences in Scots added to the varying nouns used in standard English come in to play in my brain. They seem to enjoy themselves 😉. Having lots of words from which to choose saves me, and others like me, from the boredom of continual repetition. By the way, I’m writing in what, to me, is a lighthearted manner. I have been told, on occasion, I have a warped sense of humour, this is usually excused because, as I’ve said already, I’m Scottish and old😆
In Canada:
Scotch Tape (Sello = cellulose tape)
Marigold (also our rubber glove brand)
Tea towel
Hockey (vs ice hockey)
Paper bags (vs US sacks)
The States (vs "America")
Mostly the same in Australia as the US, except tap = tap; box cutter, not in Australia, probably Stanley knife, but that may only be for knives made by Stanley, generic term may be utility knife; band aid; dish detergent or dishwashing liquid; teddy bear; sticky tape; cling film = glad wrap (brand name used generically).
In 1930, a Hungarian inventor observed children playing with marbles in a puddle, noticing that the marbles left a trail of water in their wake. That's how the idea came about: why not use a ball-shaped metal nib for writing? This is how the pen was born. ✒🖋 László József Biro shared his idea with his brother György, a chemist, and together they began researching and experimenting to create a new type of pen based on this concept. Finally, they found the perfect combination: a viscous ink and a tip with a small ball that rotated freely, preventing the ink from drying out and controlling its flow. They presented their invention at the Budapest International Fair in 1931 and patented it in 1938, although they did not market it immediately. With the start of World War II, the brothers emigrated to Argentina, where they founded a company in a garage. Although they were initially unsuccessful due to the high cost of the product, they secured a contract with the British Air Force, which boosted their popularity. In 1943, they licensed their invention to Eversharp Faber in the United States for $2 million. In 1950, Marcel Bich acquired the rights and, on the recommendation of an advertising expert, dropped the "h" from his surname and founded the company BICGroup. In that year, they launched the first BIC Cristal, one of the most perfect designs ever created, of which more than 20 million units are sold every day around the world. Since 1953, more than 100 billion BIC Cristals have been manufactured, making it the best-selling pen of all time.
Courtesy: Shila Isabella
-Before the rise of plastics, tape was made from cellophane, plant based, hence Sello.
-Teddy Bears are named for Thedore Rosavelt, because he wouldn't shoot a tied up bear, because it was unsportman like.
-A boxcutter is a flat two part, sliding knife . That uses a rectangular one-sided razor blade , a Utility knife use thicker polygon blade. Like the one shown.
I speak to many people from across the USA and none of them understands or have ever heard of the English word 'Fortnight' which is in common usage in Britain. This is a unit of time equal to 14 days (two weeks). The word derives from the Old English term fēowertīene niht, meaning "fourteen nights" (or "fourteen days", since the Anglo-Saxons counted by nights).
Nowadays, they'll probably think you mean the game. :)
If someone came up to me bleeding profusely and asked for a plaster. My first thought would not be they wanted to do some arts and crafts.
Elastoplast was a UK brand for adhesive plaster, possibly swallowed up by some corporate takeover. More recently, I agree, the terminology is likely to be 'plaster' or 'sticking plaster.'
Biro refers to Lazlo Biro who first patented the ballpoint pen (note he was not its first inventor). He later sold the patent to the French company Bic who are still well-known for such disposable pens.
Sellotape and Scotch Tape are just different tradenames of the giant 3M company. They are the same product. Also AFAIK, the only soft toy we call a Teddy in the UK is an actual Teddy Bear. All other soft toys are usually called just by their given nickname like 'where's Boris'? When you vacuum the carpets over in the US, do you call it 'Hoovering'? Here in the UK almost everyone calls it Hoovering because Hoover, although an American company, were the first to grab the mass market for vacuum cleaners and for a long time it was just about the only vacuum we could buy in the shops. Other brands such as Electrolux and Hotpoint came along but we still called them the hoover.
What you call tank tops in the US, we call vest tops here in Ireland. Here a tank top is a jumper without sleeves.
Frank Spencer "Some Mothers Do 've Them" Ah sure you're probably too young to remember that. 😀😃😄☘☘☘
Tank tops are called turrets.😆
Spud (potato) Flannel (face cloth) Braces (suspender and retainer)
Again, so well thought out. I actually haven't heard of teddy as a generic term for stuffed animals - that's new to me. I used to call wite-out "snopake". Lemonade is another one - in the US this is a drink made from the juice of lemons with water and sugar, whereas Lemonade in the UK used to mean a fizzy lemon drink.
Don't forget the pre-decimal (pre Feb 1971) pounds, shillings and pence British monetary system. There were 12 pennies to a shilling, and 20 shillings to a pound. You had to learn the 12 times-table by heart to convert pennies to shillings. For example 54 pence became 4s/6d in old money. There was a 10 shilling note, which was replaced by the 50 pence coin. There was a silver sixpence, which would be put in Christmas puddings, and the half-crown coin (2s/6d). 21 shillings was called a guinea.
I can remember kids calling a Pritt-Stik a "Prick stick" accidentally on purpose 😅 When I think of a Stanley knife I immediately think of the 99E / 199. Classic 👌
I have always called that item a "glue stick". Am I wrong?
@@MrBulky992 Yes you are wrong. A glue stick is the type of adhesive stick that goes into a hot glue gun. A Pritt-Stik is a Pritt-Stik.
@@shaunw9270Well, if I am wrong, I am in good company.
I have just looked at my "Pritt Stick" which I bought from the stationery shelves in Sainsbury's supermarket.
On the side of the cylinder containing the retracting cylinder of glue, it quite clearly describes itself as "Glue Stick".
Amazon and Staples, the major stationery chain, describe these items as "glue sticks".
Manufacturers Baker Ross, Bostik and UHU all describe their products in this category as "glue sticks".
None of these are for use with a hot glue gun.
@@MrBulky992 Ask anyone in industry about glue sticks and the last thing they will think of is Pritt Stik.
@@shaunw9270The sticks you are talking about are advertised as "glue gun sticks". I can well understand that people in that trade might abbreviate that term to "glue stick", no argument there, but that does nor stop the generic "Pritt Stick" also being known as a "glue stick" too.
I think that US term plaster is probably closest to what we in the UK would call "Plaster of Paris" for crafting purposes (and still used medically for setting broken bones)
@nicksavage567 Mostly replaced with fibreglass, polyester, and rubber casts these days because they're lighter.
Fun fact, Plaster of Paris is gypsum which is also used to make tofu. It’s one of the common coagulants used to separate soy milk into soy curds (compressed to become tofu) and soy whey.
"doing the dishes" and "rubber gloves" are normal in the UK too... "soft toys" - "cuddly toys"; certainly when I was younger, a teddy was a bear (when I was a little older, a Teddy was something entirely different!!!!)
how about J cloths first introduced in UK by Johnson and Johnson now there are copies in stores everywhere but we'll still call them J coths
The name of Stanley knives are used because when they came on the market they were so much better ( cost more though ) than the cheaper rubbish we were using , so you always asked for a Stanley - - - - - - - so you got a good equipment
@lawrenceglaister4364 They still are better. I've bought other brands and the blade is always slipping out. I'm looking at you Rolson!
I always find your videos so interesting and comparing the different countries thanks for sharing x
A lot of these are to do with the original patent (Sellotape, Tip Ex, Pritt stick etc) hence other manufacturers had to come up with alternative names not to infringe on the patent holders property.
The one that surprises me is the 'Teddy' or 'Teddy Bear' - this name can be traced back to 1902 when President Theodore Roosevelt refused to shoot a bear during a hunting trip, hence this is an American term, and from what you're saying has travelled the pond but not stayed at home. The first Teddy Bears were made in Brooklyn (with permission from President Roosevelt to use the name) the company went on to become the Ideal Toy Company.
Enjoyed that! Very interesting. Here are some Canadian differences. Teddies/soft toys = Stuffies in Canada. Cling film/Saran wrap = plastic wrap.(Although you sometimes hear Saran wrap too.) I think we use tap and faucet interchangeably?? Perhaps another Canadian could confirm? Tea towel/dish towel = tea towels in Canada. All the rest we would say the same as the USA.
I love the way you talk, and the way explain what you trying to say :D
Is this a chat-up line??😂😂😂
@@clivewilliams3661 If she wasn't married yes, but she is married so no :D 😆🤣🤣🤣
The word faucet derives from a bung put in the vent hole of a cask of ale, (or other beverage) and is French in origin. Tap (noun) comes from Old English Taeppa meaning a bung put in the vent hole of a cask of ale. Hence tap and faucet are the same one French one Saxon. Tap (verb) comes from Middle English tappen meaning to hit something lightly. So the verb and the noun have different origins.
You like your blankets because you like that soft grey colour, and each blanket you see you like just a little bit more than the one you already had, although perhaps it is not so soft and when someone comes round you can each snuggle up in a blanket to watch the latest film.
A plastic container in the UK is usually called tupperware and I think it the name is also used in the USA so at least we agree on something. There is also hoover, to hoover the carpet whereas in the USA I think the word vacuum is used
Yes, we say vacuum. Hoover is just one brand. However!!!! When referring to someone stuffing food into their mouths, quickly, we'll jokingly say, "He sure Hoovered that"!
There was the rival brand Betterware.
Most of these are brand names that have become generic. Different companies in each place therefore different brand names, some became generic. A plaster has long been a medical term. A wound is plastered with ointment & bandaged. A broken limb is covered by a plaster cast. A sticking plaster is what is put on a minor cut.
Elastoplast is a British brand name, almost generic, but Band Aid are now also in UK.
As a medical buyer in the NHS in the 80's I had to learn not to call plasters "plasters"! They're just one type of wound dressing. As I was also working in an orthopaedic hospital at the time it got very confusing if you started to refer to anything other than PoP as plaster.
We say rubber gloves too .. I’ve never called them marigolds…
I think that most of us would say 'sticking-plaster' rather than just 'plaster', though we might say 'plaster' once the use had been established or when repeated.
To me a box cutter is a specific tool with a shielded blade on end and a flat blunt retractable blade at the other for breaking packing tape We were issued them at work The third time I used mine it broke into several sharp pieces of plastic and I went back to using a knife
In British English "White out" is when it snows a lot.
In case you ever wondered about the Biro... His full name is László Bíró and he invented the damn thing.
1:33 The first commercially successful ballpoint pen was invented by László Bíró. His product became known by the company name.
About Scotch tape -
- I remember this brand very vividly from the Danny DeVito comedy _Throw Momma From the Train_ where Billy Crystal tapes his entire face while driving himself mad in the opening credits
- As a 90s kid, my familiarity with the brand Scotch is from old recordable VHS tapes (and we usually bought the 180 minute ones which was enough to record a film that would inevitably be censored by the BBC or ITV regardless of broadcast time).
nice to see you back! and your back is better!
In the US. 10 stitches (@ $10,000 bill).
In the UK…Better put a plaster on that.
Also in the UK, 10 stitches, free.
We used to have a Scotch Tape factory in my hometown of Chorley, Lancashire. But we still called it Sellotape. It's like Hoover becoming the common use word for Vacuum Cleaner, plus I believe Dyson is becoming the same for bagless cleaners.
Bic and Biro are the same company.
We would never call washing up detergent a soap; soaps are usually solid, and detergents are usually liquid.
Tea towels are often called teacloths.
What Americans call plaster (the children's toy) is what we would call plasticine, or sometimes play dough.
Then there are lots of other differences, including:
Aeroplane instead of airplane
Footpath or pavement instead of sidewalk
Carriageway or road instead of pavement
Shop instead of store
Supermarket instead of warehouse
Aerodrome instead of airfield, although airfield is becoming more common now
Film instead of movie
Crisps instead of chips
Chips instead of french fries
Charity shop instead of thrift store
Secondhand instead of pre-owned
Handbag instead of purse (What do Americans call what we would call a purse?)
Biscuit instead of cookie
Courgette instead of zucchini
Red/orange/yellow/green pepper instead of capsicum
Trainers instead of sneakers
Trousers instead of pants (Pants are underwear here! So be careful.)
Bin men instead of garbage collectors
Spanner instead of wrench
(Car) bonnet instead of (automobile) hood
(Car) boot instead of (automobile) trunk
Maize instead of corn - (we once used corn to mean wheat. Some people still do)
Pushchair or pram instead of stroller
Petrol instead of gas
Football instead of soccer
And many more.
Never heard of Saran Wrap. Most of the others I think as a Brit I could sort of work out. But Saran Wrap sounds like a tasty fast food item. So therefore, being stubborn and not wanting to appear a fool to my American counterparts. I would do my best to chew at this wrap and say how tasty it was. While eventually choking and needing medical aid.
For a long time I had not seen it written down but had heard it mentioned on American TV shows. I thought they were saying "ceram wrap" and thought it might be related to the ceramic coatings they use in car detailing.
Saran is the brand.
I remember years ago an American talking about getting a giro, it meant some kind of food, we used to call the unemployment check a giro so I found it funny.
Cheque!
I bet that "giro" was actually the greek food gyros which is frequently mispronounced 'JAI-row' by English language speakers. It should be YEER-row.
In the UK the word "Foil" would be understood only as the food wrap. We could also know it as BAco Foil (another trade name even though it is made by many companies ) We would never say aluminium food wrapping (and never aluminum). The same word for a fencing weapon is a rather niche usage.
I just call it tinfoil, I always thought it was the same in UK..
We'd call it tinfoil in the UK.
2:07 In Britain bic are/were synonymous with disposable razors
Stanley knife is an American make of box cutter.
Scotch tape, same here, Biro last 70 years ir has been a biro, my uncle was the UK representative for this pen, box cutter, I used one in Art School as we needed to cut paper or Mounts for a picture frame
Sellotape in UK is called Durex in Australia. Both are brand names. In Mexico Durex is associated with socks. It's a big company. My Australian Boss - the best boss I ever had - was new to England when he asked for some Durex during an important meeting he was chairing. This caused a flurry of consternation at the board table. The various consultants and nursing officers looked around in confusion. It took a few moments for someone to understand what was going on. Durex means 'condom' in the UK... Everyone at the meeting was too serious to laugh at the time but I suspect they all had a quiet chuckle afterwards. My boss never made that mistake again.
A stanley knife is also callwd a craft knife