Where words have very different meanings...

[Keitht Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Keitht]

In different English speaking countries words can have very different meanings. In some instances the difference can simply cause confusion but is unlikely to have any effect in reality. For example if a Brit walked on the pavement in the US he'd probably get run over, but if the American drove on the pavment in the UK he'd probably be prosecuted for dangerous driving. Why? Pavement in the UK = sidewalk but in the US it's where you drive motor vehicles.
Others can have a much greater, if unintended, shock factor.
Although slang is becoming more of a common language between countries due to the pervasive Americanisation of TV & film there are certainly instances where the assumed meaning is very different.
A fag in the UK is slang for a cigarette - not so in the USA.
Bum in the UK is what you sit upon, whereas the term for the same area of the anatomy in the USA has a very different usage in the UK!
I'm sure there are plenty of other examples that could be used.
The underlying question is, should we be expected to apologise on a website if somebody from another country misinterprets our meaning because of the language differences? The internet is world wide, hence www. irrespective of where a site is hosted and none of us can be expected to understand every nuance of other cultures.

[aliikai2 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close aliikai2]

In the UK

Shall I knock you up the the morning, US translation, Shall I make you pregnant in the morning,

I got so pissed last night, In the US it would be I got so drunk last night.


Greg

[Jya-Ning Silver Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close Jya-Ning]

Sorry about you Olympic incident.

Jya-Ning

[Jya-Ning Silver Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close Jya-Ning]

Shall I knock you up the the morning, US translation, Shall I make you pregnant in the morning,

I got so pissed last night, In the US it would be I got so drunk last night.

Good to know this.

Jya-Ning

[BoardGirl Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BoardGirl]

Apology, no.

Seems to me that the world has no obligation to be fully versed in what their phrases mean to Americans. That's ridiculous.

If offense is taken, it is easily cleared up by someone that is 'bi-lingual'.

I do have one question, tho, from years ago - someone from over the pond told me to pound sand up my rectum. I took it as a not so nice suggestion. Am I wrong about that??? Can't imagine telling someone to do anything with their nether opening that wasn't at least slightly vulgar, but since we're talking about phrases from one country being misunderstood in another, seems time to clear that up.

[Sydney Contributor - Bronze Find all posts View Profile Close Sydney]

Dill in Australia (possibly GB as well?) refers to someone who is silly or foolish or not too bright. In the U.S. it has a completely different meaning!
I found that out when I used it and some American said they could not believe it came out of my mouth.

[Keitht Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Keitht]

someone from over the pond told me to pound sand up my rectum.

Not an expression I've heard before but it makes my eyes water at the thought. I suspect it was meant in the way it was interpreted.

Dill in Australia (possibly GB as well?) refers to someone who is silly or foolish or not too bright. In the U.S. it has a completely different meaning!
I found that out when I used it and some American said they could not believe it came out of my mouth.

Much the same meaning in the UK. I got a similar reaction from one board when I referred to somebody being a 'twat'. In the UK it means acting stupidly - in the US it's far more of an anatomical term!

[aliikai2 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close aliikai2]

The reason is that is a Dutch term

I got a similar reaction from one board when I referred to somebody being a 'twat'. In the UK it means acting stupidly - in the US it's far more of an anatomical term!

Which translates to english as a clear area in the forest.

Greg

[shaggy Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close shaggy]

I have to answer this one. A long time ago a wonderful fellow from England asked me to change my name, Shaggy, as he was offended. Told him I would but wanted to let him know that it is a nickname of the official dance of NC & SC beaches, The Shag. He told me to please not change my nickname and as you can tell I haven't. I finally met dear Bruce a few years later at a tug getogether in Las Vegas where we shared a good laugh. shaggy

[BoardGirl Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BoardGirl]

Much the same meaning in the UK. I got a similar reaction from one board when I referred to somebody being a 'twat'. In the UK it means acting stupidly - in the US it's far more of an anatomical term!

Yeah, and if used to refer to a woman, ranks below the c word in offense, imo, and to me indicates a silliness or lack of intelligence. So apparently I wasn't too far off.

[JWC Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close JWC]

I got a similar reaction from one board when I referred to somebody being a 'twat'. In the UK it means acting stupidly - in the US it's far more of an anatomical term!

I thought that was twit.

There are the same type of differences in the Spanish speaking world if not more. I am fluent in Spanish and lived in both Mexico and Venezuela and one of my best friends was from Spain. Not only are there words and expressions that have much different meanings in different countries, but even the names of food items varies quite a bit.

[3kids4me Super Moderator and Super Mom Find all posts View Profile Close 3kids4me]

Not only are there words and expressions that have much different meanings in different countries, but even the names of food items varies quite a bit.

Like crema de cacahuete versus montequilla de mani...still delicious in any dialect!

BTW, when I was living in England as a college student, a boy who asked me out on a date did, in fact, tell me that he would "knock me up at 8". And I did find it very funny, although I knew right away that it obviously had a very different meaning in England!

[Keitht Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Keitht]

I thought that was twit.

Basically variations on a theme. The version with the 'a' suggests a greater level of idiocy than a twit which generally refers to somebody who is just being silly, intentionally or otherwise.

[JWC Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close JWC]

Like crema de cacahuete versus montequilla de mani...still delicious in any dialect!

BTW, when I was living in England as a college student, a boy who asked me out on a date did, in fact, tell me that he would "knock me up at 8". And I did find it very funny, although I knew right away that it obviously had a very different meaning in England!

Mantequilla.

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

There are the same type of differences in the Spanish speaking world if not more. I am fluent in Spanish and lived in both Mexico and Venezuela and one of my best friends was from Spain. Not only are there words and expressions that have much different meanings in different countries, but even the names of food items varies quite a bit.

Know where you are before you coger.