For example, you probably know that cookies are called biscuits here (what we call biscuits seem to have mutated into dinner rolls, that is if they exist at all, I have yet to see anything resembling a good biscuit here and people do not seem to know what I am talking about. They seem, like grits and good pizza, not to exist here.) One night at dinner I asked my English Friend whether the work cookie had any meaning here, she replied, "Well, those biscuits with chocolate in them, those are called cookies". I then determined (based on this conversation and some grocery store snooping) that chocolate chip cookies have their own category here; they are the only biscuits that are granted the cookie designation. Why I shall never know, perhaps they were imported from the States and the name stuck? However this came to be, it is rather strange.
Another language difficulty that you will have heard of is the whole trousers/pants differential. Here pants are undergarments (though they can also be called knickers) and trousers are anything we would call pants at home. Simple (if sometimes hard to remember). However, there is a third designation, trackie bums. Trackie bums is a designation that seems to apply to all running attire and anything sweatpant like (in other lexicographic news, according to my spell check sweatpant is not a word but sweatpants is...curious).
One more bit of word fun before I dash (gotta go to class!) here pudding is any kind of dessert and what we call pudding is called mousse. On a related note it is very disconcerting to be asked, "What kind of pudding is there today?" all I want to say is, "Pudding? Isn't there only one kind of pudding...?" (a word to the wise, don't say that, or you will find yourself suddenly surrounded by laughing British people, and no they are not laughing with you, because you have no idea what is going on. They are laughing at you.)
Anyway,
Love ya!!
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