# Termini che hanno una traduzione diversa in American English e in British English - PLEASE CONTRIBUTE!



## Paulfromitaly

Please have a look at the database, some of your suggestions are already there 

*Termini che hanno una traduzione diversa in American English e in British English *



WordsWordWords said:


> @ sound shift:
> Indeed, I spent two weeks in England last month and I saw "train station" quite a bit...
> 
> 
> *Termine in italiano: avere (nel senso di possedere)
> Termine in AmE: have
> **Termine in BrE: have got*
> 
> I have heard that the BrE form "have got" is giving way to the AE "have" in England.
> 
> Can any BrE users comment on this?
> 
> I'd like to add this:
> 
> *Termine in italiano: cedere/dare la  precedenza
> Termine in AmE: yield
> Termine in BrE: give way
> *
> I also noticed this on my trip --  the white inverted triangle with the red border.


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## WordsWordWords

Thanks Paul, I wasn't aware of this link and thought that such a database was what was being concocted from the posts in this thread. Excuse my ignorance, but how does one get there from the WR homepage? (I may have missed something along the way...)

Great compilation


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## verseau213

Paulfromitaly said:


> Would you please elaborate?
> We already have these entries, are they accurate?
> 
> *Termine in italiano*: *cassettone *(see photo)
> *Termine in AmE*: dresser / bureau
> *Termine in BrE*: chest of drawers
> 
> *Termine in italiano*: *credenza* (see photo)
> *Termine in AmE*: buffet
> *Termine in BrE*: sideboard / dresser



I'm probably chiming in late, but wanted to share because I've never heard anyone in my life call what is seen in the picture for "credenza" a buffet in the US. I've always called/heard it called a hutch, and when Googled it matches the pictures.


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## curiosone

verseau213 said:


> I'm probably chiming in late, but wanted to share because I've never heard anyone in my life call what is seen in the picture for "credenza" a buffet in the US. I've always called/heard it called a hutch, and when Googled it matches the pictures.



I tend to agree with you (about "buffet"), but I've always heard it called a "sideboard" or a "buffet table" (not just "buffet" which for me means there's food).  Hutch sounds archaic to me.


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## Einstein

And I grew up thinking a dresser was this! It seems you have to specify "Welsh".


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## Matrap

Un saluto a tutti.  La mia vuole essere più una domanda che un'affermazione. Sbaglio o esiste questa differenza tra BE e AE?
E se sì, è riferta solo al calcio o anche ad altri sport?

*Termine in italiano: *Allenatore
*Termine in AmE*: Coach
*Termine in BrE*: Manager

Grazie a chiunque vorrà intervenire.


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## giovannino

Ciao Matrap, mentre aspettiamo le risposte dei madrelingua (che interessano anche a me), ho controllato nei vari learner's dictionaries, sia britannici (Oxford, Cambridge, Longman ecc) sia nel Webster's Learner's Dictionary, americano, che in genere sono molto precisi nell'indicare se un vocabolo è BrE o AmE. Nessuno di essi assegna un'etichetta a _coach _e _manager _in questo senso. Ad esempio l'OALD li dà come perfetti sinonimi (entrambi non limitati al calcio) e riporta due esempi quasi identici:  coach manager
Solo il Cambridge fa una distinzione per _manager _con quello "and sometimes":   the person whose job is to organize and sometimes train a sports team".
Inoltre l'uso di "coach" in questo senso (prima in ambito accademico, poi sportivo), secondo l'Online Etymology Dictionary, è di origine britannica: " Meaning "instructor/trainer" is c.1830 Oxford University slang for a tutor who "carries" a student through an exam; athletic sense is 1861." (link)


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## Matrap

Ciao giovannino, grazie del tuo intervento. Hai fatto una ricerca con i fiocchi.  A questo punto sono curioso anche io di conoscere il parere dei madrelingua per capire se l'uso moderno ha portato ad una differenziazione tral le due sponde dell'oceano o meno.


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## curiosone

I'm not a sports buff, but (speaking only for AE) I've always understood "coach" and "manager" to be different jobs.  "Coach"   means "allenatore" - both in sports (e.g.: basketball coach, football coach, etc - generally for team sports), and also in the sense of tutor (exam preparation comes to mind) - any situation where someone is encouraged and guided by another to improve skills ("language coach" also comes to mind).

As far as I know, a team manager is not the same thing as a team coach.  The manager books games with other teams, and does an organizational job (not a coaching job).


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## Matrap

Ciao curiosone, grazie del tuo intervento. Sei il primo madrelingua che risponde.  Quello che hai segnalato tu è la differenza che (credo) sappiamo un po' tutti, ma ti posso aasicurare che, seguendo le partite di calcio del campionato inglese, gli allenatori sono chiamati "manager" (famosissimo è l'ex allenatore del Manchester United Sir Alex Ferguson che si è ritirato da poco). Forse questo appellativo deriva dal fatto che in GB gli allenatori hanno un ruolo più ampio e si occupano anche di questioni societarie andandosi parzialmente a sovrapporre anche a ruoli che in Italia vengono ricoperti dai direttori sportivi ad esempio). Qualche amico British nei paraggi?


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## london calling

Matrap said:


> Qualche amico British nei paraggi?


Yes, and I agree with Curiosone.>:

A manager can be a coach and vice versa, but they are actually two different things.


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## Matrap

Benissimo, allora non so cos'altro dire, se non chiedere ai mod di cancellare tutti i post dal 132 in poi visto che ho proposto una castroneria. 

P.s. Bentornata dalle vacanze, london.


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## ☺

Prendeteli con le pinze:


Termine in italiano: Grondaia
Termine in AmE: Downspout
Termine in BrE: Drainpipe


Termine in italiano: Spiffero
Termine in AmE: Draft
Termine in BrE: Draught


Termine in italiano: Assegno
Termine in AmE: Check
Termine in BrE: Cheque


Termine in italiano: Passepartout
Termine in AmE: Mat board / Matte board
Termine in BrE: Mount board


Termine in italiano: Bara
Termine in AmE: Coffin
Termine in BrE: Casket


Termine in italiano: Carillon
Termine in AmE: Music box
Termine in BrE: Musical box


Termine in italiano: Casella
Termine in AmE: Check box
Termine in BrE: Tick box


Termine in italiano: Banco dei testimoni
Termine in AmE: Witness box
Termine in BrE: Witness stand


Termine in italiano: Macinare
Termine in AmE: To grind
Termine in BrE: To mince

Termine in italiano: Scontrino (fiscale)
Termine in AmE: Check / Sales check
Termine in BrE: Ticket


Termine in italiano: Casa delle bambole
Termine in AmE: Dollhouse
Termine in BrE: Doll's house


Termine in italiano: Riformatorio
Termine in AmE: Reformatory
Termine in BrE: Community home

Termine in italiano: Pacco
Termine in AmE: Basket / Package / Wedding tackle
Termine in BrE: Lunchbox / Privates


Termine in italiano: Finocchio / Frocio
Termine in AmE: Faggot / Fag
Termine in BrE: Queer / Poof

Termine in italiano: Ciao / Pronto!
Termine in AmE: Hello
Termine in BrE: Hallo / Hello / Hullo


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## giovannino

> Termine in italiano: Bara
> Termine in AmE: Coffin
> Termine in BrE: Casket



Penso che sia vero il contrario: casket (NAmE), coffin (esp. BrE)


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## joanvillafane

Hi giovannino - that one caught my eye, too, but the fact is that we use both words (coffin, casket) but my personal feeling is that they have different overtones.  Other AE speakers may disagree, but "coffin" has a rather cold, clinical, technical feel.  Something you might read in a newspaper report.  In an actual funeral setting, with family and friends, we would probably refer to the "casket" - it just sounds more proper to me.


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## joanvillafane

I do not agree with "witness box" as AE - we say "witness stand" also.

Termine in italiano: Banco dei testimoni
Termine in AmE: Witness box
Termine in BrE: Witness stand


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## wildan1

_Coffin _and _casket _are synonyms in AE.  To me the latter term sounds a bit more modern_._ No other difference_._


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## Tegs

☺ said:


> Termine in italiano: Carillon
> Termine in AmE: Music box
> Termine in BrE: Musical box
> 
> 
> It's "music box" in BE as well.
> 
> 
> Termine in italiano: Macinare
> Termine in AmE: To grind
> Termine in BrE: To mince
> 
> Grind and mince are both used in BE, in different contexts.
> 
> Termine in italiano: Scontrino (fiscale)
> Termine in AmE: Check / Sales check
> Termine in BrE: Ticket
> 
> BE = receipt
> 
> Termine in italiano: Riformatorio
> Termine in AmE: Reformatory
> Termine in BrE: Community home
> 
> If you mean a prison school for minors who are delinquents, that's a youth detention centre in BE
> 
> Termine in italiano: Pacco
> Termine in AmE: Basket / Package / Wedding tackle
> Termine in BrE: Lunchbox / Privates
> 
> Never heard lunchbox for this before. Tackle is BE as well as AE.
> 
> Termine in italiano: Ciao / Pronto!
> Termine in AmE: Hello
> Termine in BrE: Hallo / Hello / Hullo
> This is just hello in BE too.


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## giovannino

Well, the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary's entry for _casket _wasn't far off the mark, after all. Maybe it was slightly imprecise in stating that _coffin _is "especially BrE" (since _coffin _is also used in AmE -- but the OALD does say _especially_)  but I guess everybody agrees that _casket _sounds distinctly AmE to British ears. 
A previous discuusion at EO: casket/coffin


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## giovannino

Tegs said:
			
		

> Never heard lunchbox for this before.



Tegs, it might be because it has become dated but I can assure you it was widely used when I lived in the UK in the 1980s. It's in the Collins Dictionary: link


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## Tegs

Ah, it did indeed exist according to Collins  But yea, I'd say it's dated by now.


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## curiosone

> Termine in italiano: Macinare
> Termine in AmE: To grind
> Termine in BrE: To mince
> 
> Grind and mince are both used in BE, in different contexts.



In AE 'grind' and 'mince' have distinct meanings.  I agree with 'grind" as a translation for 'macinare,' but we use 'mince' in the sense of 'finely chopping' (herbs, onion, etc).



> Termine in italiano: Scontrino (fiscale)
> Termine in AmE: Check / Sales check
> Termine in BrE: Ticket
> 
> BE = receipt



I'd also say "receipt" to translate "scontrino."  "Check" sounds to me like what AE speakers ask for, when they want "il conto" (at a restaurant), which I believe is "bill" in BE.  



> Termine in italiano: Pacco
> Termine in AmE: Basket / Package / Wedding tackle
> Termine in BrE: Lunchbox / Privates
> 
> Never heard lunchbox for this before. Tackle is BE as well as AE.



Maybe I need to understand what you mean by "pacco" in Italian.  For me it's simply a "package."  I don't know where you get "basket" (picnic basket??) as a translation of "pacco," and I never heard of "wedding tackle" (it just sounds to me like the groom's anxious to get the bride in bed  ) - so if Tegs recognizes it, it must be BE.  In AE all I can think of (for 'tackle') is fishing tackle/equipment - which I also wouldn't call "pacco" in Italian.  'Lunchbox' in AE is how children take their lunches to school.
And finally, "privates" has a totally different meaning (than 'pacco'), at least in AE, and especially in the plural...  

Termine in italiano: conto (al ristorante)
Termine in AmE: check
Termine in BrE: bill


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## Tegs

Tackle, wedding tackle, package and privates all refer to a man's equipment in BE. I presumed pacco was slang for the same thing in Italian. 

Grind and mince seem to be used exactly the same in AE as they are in BE.


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## wildan1

Tegs said:


> Tackle, wedding tackle, package and privates all refer to a man's equipment in BE. I presumed pacco was slang for the same thing in Italian.


Ah, I missed that meaning--_(wedding) tackle_ left me mystified.

AE for that could be _package, basket,_ or (my favorite) _junk._ (Male "package" only). The unisex term would be_ crotch._



> Grind and mince seem to be used exactly the same in AE as they are in BE.


I don't think so. You say _minced beef;_ we say _ground beef. 

_ In AE, _mince _ is used in a culinary context only to describe chopping onions or other foods finely. The one exception is _mincemeat pie_, which of course doesn't really contain meat anymore...


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## Tegs

I don't think wedding tackle is all that common in BE, package is probably the most common of those. Junk is very American  

Yup, we say minced beef. We "finely chop" onions rather than mincing them I suppose. But we grind salt, pepper and teeth. It depends on the context. I think it's too vague to say that ground is AE and mince is BE. Both are used in both types of English, just in slightly different contexts.


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## CPA

I see a problem looming here, in the sense that terms which are considered dated shouldn't necessarily be excluded from this glossary. After all, no matter what spoken BE has become, there is still a great deal of excellent literature around from the days before U.S. sit-coms invaded British TV. 

I say coffin, music*al* box, witness box, minced beef, ground pepper, chopped onions...........


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## chipulukusu

CPA said:


> minced beef



I was curious about this CPA, so I take profit of this thread. I see that you refer to minced beef, so I assume that mincemeat can be a mix of beef, pork... and who knows what. But I see the term _mincemeat_​ widely and generally used, also when it comes to plain beef... Is this true?


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## CPA

Ti dirò, per me "mincemeat" è quell'impasto di frutta secca che va nelle mince pies natalizie.


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## chipulukusu

CPA said:


> Ti dirò, per me "mincemeat" è quell'impasto di frutta secca che va nelle mince pies natalizie.



Anche se non volevi confondermi le idee ci sei riuscito, CPA...

Adesso non so più se mincemeat è una trasposizione del termine in "World English" per indicare impropriamente il macinato di carne o se il _mincemeat_ a cui ti riferisci si chiama così perché assomiglia a... _minced meat_.

EDIT: Or, more probably, I sometimes hear _mincemeat, _some other time_ minced meat_ and I am obviously incapable of distinguish one from the other...

Thank you anyway, _mincemeat_ as a mixture of dried fruits is something I've just learned ten minutes ago!


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## WordsWordWords

joanvillafane said:


> Hi giovannino - that one caught my eye, too, but the fact is that we use both words (coffin, casket) but my personal feeling is that they have different overtones.  Other AE speakers may disagree, but "coffin" has a rather cold, clinical, technical feel.  Something you might read in a newspaper report.  In an actual funeral setting, with family and friends, we would probably refer to the "casket" - it just sounds more proper to me.


 

I completely agree with this, Joan!

@ chipul -- You've made the right distinction: "_minced_ meat" is BrE for what we call "_ground_ meat/beef" in AmE. But mincemeat is a dessert and many recipes still include the use beef suet. If you're interested, this is pretty thorough: 
http://recipewise.co.uk/mince-pies-mincemeat-recipes


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## curiosone

wildan1 said:


> Ah, I missed that meaning--_(wedding) tackle_ left me mystified.
> 
> AE for that could be _package, basket,_ or (my favorite) _junk._ (Male "package" only). The unisex term would be_ crotch._



I'll take your word for it, Wildan - but then I wasn't familiar with the Italian term "pacco" used in this sense, either.  I evidently had a very gentle upbringing, but I'm not familiar with any of these terms in AE, except for crotch, but then when used in reference to "the crotch of one's pants" ("la sella dei pantaloni" in Italian?) - not one's private parts.  The only term I'm familiar with (referring to genitals) is "privates."


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## Mary49

curiosone said:


> "the crotch of one's pants" ("la sella dei pantaloni" in Italian?)


Si definisce "cavallo dei pantaloni". Ciao curio


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## wildan1

curiosone said:


> I'll take your word for it, Wildan - but then I wasn't familiar with the Italian term "pacco" used in this sense, either.  I evidently had a very gentle upbringing, but I'm not familiar with any of these terms in AE, except for crotch, but then when used in reference to "the crotch of one's pants" ("la sella dei pantaloni" in Italian?) - not one's private parts.  The only term I'm familiar with (referring to genitals) is "privates."


Yes,_ crotch_ is also a legitimate term in tailoring, but context will easily tell you which_ "crotch" i_s being referred to  .

_Privates_ or _private parts_ are very old-fashioned, almost prudish-sounding, terms. Something my grandmother might have said...


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## chipulukusu

WordsWordWords said:


> I completely agree with this, Joan!
> 
> @ chipul -- You've made the right distinction: "_minced_ meat" is BrE for what we call "_ground_ meat/beef" in AmE. But mincemeat is a dessert and many recipes still include the use beef suet. If you're interested, this is pretty thorough:
> http://recipewise.co.uk/mince-pies-mincemeat-recipes



Thank you Words, this is extremely instructive (and incredibly appetising too). I can see that _mincemeat _has kept his original name while stepping forward to healthier eating habits (if sweets can be assumed as part of these...). I am not the one buying groceries in England, so I have a lot to learn....


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## curiosone

> Si definisce "cavallo dei pantaloni". Ciao curio


Thanks, Mary  "Cavallo" was on the tip of my tongue, but wouldn't come off.   (at least I had the right animal in mind... )



> _Privates or private parts are very old-fashioned, almost prudish-sounding, terms. Something my grandmother might have said..._


Then maybe I'm a bit old-fashioned, and/or prudish.  But where I grew up, it isn't considered polite to refer to one's genitals at all, unless you're speaking to a doctor (or a very intimate friend).  Which is why I wasn't familiar with the term "pacco"/"package" (in this sense, and without any context at all) in the first place.  As far as I'm concerned, any reference is (at best) vulgar.


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## chipulukusu

A proposito di... _privates, _scusate se ripesco un termine che c'è nel glossario:
Termine italiano: soldato semplice
Termine AmE: GI / grunt
Termine BrE: private soldier

Ma _private_ non è comunemente utilizzato anche negli USA per un soldato semplice, almeno quanto viene anteposto al cognome? Oppure _solo_ quando viene anteposto al cognome? Come in _Save Private Ryan_​, per intenderci...


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## joanvillafane

Hi chip - these terms are not interchangeable - GI/grunt/private
GI is very dated - I don't think it's used much today except to refer to U.S. soldiers of an earlier era
grunt - military slang, probably not used by anyone except US Army or Marines - rather demeaning tone to refer to new recruits
Private - is a military rank, so it's used with the last  name, Private Ryan, etc.  I don't think it would be used as a synonym for "soldier."


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## curiosone

Yes, "private" is the correct name (in AE) for a "soldato semplice."  "Grunt" is slang, GI is an abbreviation of "government issue" (referring to the clothes and equipment soldiers are given), and can also refer to a soldier (without specifying rank).

Oops! Sorry Joanvillafane! We evidently cross-posted.  I agree about "grunt".  Is GI dated?  It was very common when I was growing up, because we had the GI Joe toy.  Regarding military rank, I'd say "He's a private in the Army" or simply "He's a private" (in a context where it's evident we're talking about military rank).  It isn't used only as a title.


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## CPA

Credo che "private" sia il grado formale mentre "GI" e "grunt" siano qualifiche gergali.


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## chipulukusu

Grazie joan e curiosone. G.I. Joe era popolarissimo anche in Italia, una specie di Barbie per maschietti! Poi purtroppo è stato soppiantato dall'odiosissimo Big Jim


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## silvialxk

Ciao a tutti 

Mi sono imbattuta per caso in questo link e mi è tornato in mente questo thread:

http://bigstockblog.squarespace.com...at-mean-something-totally-different-in-the-us

Mi è sembrato simpatico


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## WordsWordWords

Hi silvialxk,

Hilarious but true -- thank you! 

The only clarification I'd like to add is that for the "hamper", the image the site gave for the US is what I'd call a "laundry basket", while the hamper would be where I put dirty clothes before they go into the machine to be washed -- the difference is that there's a cover. 

_Like this:_ (for example): http://image.normthompson.com/solutions/images/us/local/products/detail/88455.jpg 
_and this_: http://fourthfloorwalkup.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/child-wicker-laundry-hamper-fb.jpg

See also here (second paragraph):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamper

So in BrE what is this container for laundry called?


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## Tegs

I’d call that a laundry basket. 

A lot of the words in Silvia's link don’t have a straight AE/BE division – many of the AE meanings are also used in BE (e.g. braces, hooker etc)


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## CPA

"Braces" brings to mind AE "suspenders" which brings to mind suspenders for ladies' stockings and men's socks........


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## Einstein

I haven't heard "bird" to mean a woman for years! But maybe it's because I live outside the UK...

About trolley: what do the Americans call that thing you push around in the supermarket?
They call a tram a trolley? It reminds me that also in GB a trolley-bus is/was a bus powered from overhead cables but running on tyres, not rails (in Italian "filobus").
And for the Italians a trolley is exclusively a suitcase with wheels.


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## WordsWordWords

Hi Einstein!

At the supermarket I use a "_shopping cart_".


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## london calling

Einstein said:


> I haven't heard "bird" to mean a woman for years! But maybe it's because I live outside the UK...


It's still used, for sure.


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## wildan1

WordsWordWords said:


> Hi Einstein!
> 
> At the supermarket I use a "_shopping cart_".


Me too--or even just _cart_. 

In AE _trolley_ is a synonym of _streetcar (un tram). _


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## Einstein

wildan1 said:


> Me too--or even just _cart_.
> 
> In AE _trolley_ is a synonym of _streetcar (un tram). _


To my British ear the word cart brings this to mind.

Did you see what I said above about trams/trolleys? Here's a trolleybus. But for us a tram is a tram, not a trolley and not a streetcar either, unless it's named Desire.


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## wildan1

Einstein said:


> To my British ear the word cart brings this to mind.
> 
> Did you see what I said above about trams/trolleys? Here's a trolleybus. But for us a tram is a tram, not a trolley and not a streetcar either, unless it's named Desire.


_A trackless trolley_ is what I see in the linked photo. Nowadays they are very rare in the US.

Otherwise a _streetcar, trolley_ and _tram_ are all synonyms in AE. More modern ones are also known as _light rail_. 

Usage of these terms may be regional across the US.


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## chipulukusu

Einstein said:


> And for the Italians a trolley is exclusively a suitcase with wheels.



This is _almost _true Einstein. People my age sometimes use _trolley_ with reference to a _carrello portavivande_, but I admit that is pretty rare these days. Carrello portavivande is _food trolley_ in BrE (even if I've heard _tea cart_ before...). While _food cart_ in the US apparently is a _mobile fast food stand_. So I wonder how a _food trolley_ is called in the US.


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## curiosone

chipulukusu said:


> This is _almost _true Einstein. People my age sometimes use _trolley_ with reference to a _carrello portavivande_, but I admit that is pretty rare these days. Carrello portavivande is _food trolley_ in BrE (even if I've heard _tea cart_ before...). While _food cart_ in the US apparently is a _mobile fast food stand_. So I wonder how a _food trolley_ is called in the US.



I'd probably call it a tea trolley or tea cart, if you mean the sort where you can wheel dishes in and out of the dining room (to/from the kitchen).


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## chipulukusu

curiosone said:


> I'd probably call it a tea trolley or tea cart, if you mean the sort where you can wheel dishes in and out of the dining room (to/from the kitchen).



Yes curio, that is what I mean. And I suspect now that _tea cart_ is AmE, not BrE... I may have been mislead by the word _tea_.


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## london calling

Paulfromitaly said:


> Would you please elaborate?
> We already have these entries, are they accurate?
> 
> *Termine in italiano*: *cassettone *(see photo)
> *Termine in AmE*: dresser / bureau
> *Termine in BrE*: chest of drawers
> 
> *Termine in italiano*: *credenza* (see photo)
> *Termine in AmE*: buffet
> *Termine in BrE*: sideboard / dresser


Yes, they are.


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## Einstein

I would call Paul's _credenza _a dresser, yes, but not a sideboard.
To me this is a sideboard.


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## Paulfromitaly

Einstein said:


> I would call Paul's _credenza _a dresser, yes, but not a sideboard.
> To me this is a sideboard.



So a sideboard to you hasn't got a top part with panelled shutters?


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## joanvillafane

Hi Paul and Einstein - I agree with Einstein's post #181 - sideboard, yes, but also a credenza.
Credenzas are sold as dining room furniture and also as office furniture 
https://www.google.com/search?q=cre...&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#q=credenza&tbm=shop

Edit: for further clarification (I hope!) the picture of "Paul's credenza" could be called a buffet, as posted, but also a "hutch." I don't know if anybody else mentioned that.


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## Einstein

Paulfromitaly said:


> So a sideboard to you hasn't got a top part with panelled shutters?


Right, and it's typically about 2m wide. The dresser is much narrower. Of course we may find something like a sideboard that also has a top part! I wouldn't know what to call that

However, I see that London Calling agrees with you that your credenza can be called both a sideboard and a dresser, so see if any other Brits have comments to make.


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## wildan1

I agree that in AE, _credenza_ describes a low piece of furniture that is sometimes in an executive office as a storage unit. My mother used the term for her dining room storage unit in our home, too, but nowadays I only hear it used in the context of office furniture.


----------



## london calling

Einstein said:


> I would call Paul's _credenza _a dresser, yes, but not a sideboard.
> To me this is a sideboard.


Sorry, I somehow missed that! Yes, Paul's photo is a dresser, definitely not a sideboard.


----------



## rrose17

Ciao, LC I was just wondering. If someone said "Did you see my wallet?" would you answer "Yes it's on top of your chest of drawers?". Nothing shorter?
Also,when I was growing up we'd call the "buffet/sideboard" _the china cabinet_.


----------



## london calling

rrose17 said:


> Ciao, LC I was just wondering. If someone said "Did you see my wallet?" would you answer "Yes it's on top of your chest of drawers?". Nothing shorter?


No, if it's on your chest of drawers (in your bedroom), it's on your chest of drawers! (Not on your chest or on your drawers.).


----------



## WordsWordWords

Yes london!

"No, if it's on your chest of drawers (in your bedroom), it's on your chest of drawers! (Not on your chest or on your drawers.)."


And when I actually have to say this during visits back to the US I realize how easy we have it over here to just say "E' sul comò"


----------



## PainDoc

Perhaps it's the sheer volume of posts  and I missed them but I can't believe no one has mentioned truck/lorry and apartment/flat, or the very different meanings of "fag" between BE and AE. Do NOT ask an American for a fag!

Growing up, we used the term "den" for the place where the family spent most of our time together watching TV or playing games. Now it's usually called a family room. 

A living room is more formal and usually reserved for entertaining guests. So we don't really live in our living rooms. The same goes for dining rooms. We don't usually eat there. It's usually for formal occasions. In our house I wanted to put up velvet ropes and call the living room "the museum" because our best stuff is there but we never seem to go in.

And you can sit in the waiting room or wait in the sitting room.

Some unfortunate Brits were arrested on arrival in the USA for posting a message to their friends on social media that they were going to "destroy" Los Angeles during their upcoming trip. The NSA does not speak BE.

Two countries separated by a common language.


----------



## curiosone

> Growing up, we used the term "den" for the place where the family spent most of our time together watching TV or playing games. Now it's usually called a family room.



Actually when I was growing up, we said "family room", and later on it became fashionable to say "den."  So the terms are both interchangeable, and evidently go in and out of fashion.



> ...the very different meanings of "fag" between BE and AE. Do NOT ask an American for a fag!


In the usual AE sense of the word, I cannot imagine anyone asking for one.   I'd also have little trouble understanding the BE meaning (from context and gestures, if nothing else), even tho' "fag" isn't an expression I'd use anyway (being a non-smoker).  But despite certain very specific differences, the distance between each side of the pond has gradually been narrowing, thanks to tv and film (and literature, for those of us who read).


----------



## chipulukusu

PainDoc said:


> Perhaps it's the sheer volume of posts  and I missed them but I can't believe no one has mentioned truck/lorry
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This difference I think accounts for the fact that the term _truck_ never became  popular in the UK and I still hear people call them four-by-fours there.
> 
> But PainDoc, if you go to post #127 of this thread you can find reference to a database which may contain most of the difference that you don't find in this same thread .
Click to expand...


----------



## london calling

Chip, a truck/lorry is a _camion_, not a four-by-four.


----------



## chipulukusu

I know London, but your cousins from the other side of the ocean call truck whatever car is  capable of guzzling a ridicolous amount of petrol per mile, like a SUV, a jeep or an offroad  vehicle.  Unless this has changed recently...


----------



## curiosone

Be careful who you call "cousin" - lots of Americans are not of English origin.

While it's true that trucks (in AE) can range from pick-ups to semis, a jeep is a jeep. 
And a "camioncino" is called a "van" (don't know if my Brit friends have a different term).


----------



## london calling

chipulukusu said:


> I know London, but your cousins from the other side of the ocean call truck whatever car is  capable of guzzling a ridicolous amount of petrol per mile, like a SUV, a jeep or an offroad  vehicle.  Unless this has changed recently...


But PainDoc said _truck/lorry, _i.e. truck as in lorry : a lorry is not a car of any description, ever. And a  pick-up truck is a pick-up truck in BE as well.)

Curio, a _camioncino_ is a van in BE too.


----------



## chipulukusu

Sorry everyone I didn't mean to say anything offensive,  I will be extra careful next time. 

I know this is no excuse, but in Italy we use "cousins" in a very loose sense. 
.
French, Spanish and Greek people are sometimes referred to as ""our cousins".

In addition I DO have cousins who are US citizens so my lame joke was even worse. 

But coming back to the topic, I was referring to the fact that a car like a four-by-four SUV is usually called truck even it it is not specifically meant to carry loads. N

But I suspect now that it's only the people I heard it from who use the term truck in this way.


----------



## london calling

chipulukusu said:


> But coming back to the topic, I was referring to the fact that a car like a four-by-four SUV is usually called truck even it it is not specifically meant to carry loads.


Non mi sono spiegata, mi sa.  Qui si parla unicamente dei due due termini inglesi per indicare un camion, _truck/lorry_. Il fatto che _truck_ in AE possa indicare altri mezzi di trasporto non è quindi rilevante al post di PainDoc, perché se un americano dice _truck_ e intende un camion in BE la parola corrispondente è _lorry_.


----------



## chipulukusu

Oops I think I understood what happened... When I am in the UK I always use the term trucks and people understand me, so I was convinced that "lorry" was...  AmE! 

Please forget about me... 

But I'm almost sure I heard a Canadian living mostly in the US talking about lorries...


----------



## Einstein

When I was a child, a truck in BrE was exclusively a wagon of a goods train. On the road we knew only lorries, not trucks.

However... nowadays everyone knows "truck" for the road vehicle and (correct me if I'm wrong) the word "lorry" is hardly known outside GB. In fact I've never taught the word "lorry" to Italian business students (I'd teach it to someone who was going to stay in the UK).

By the way, when we talk about our "American cousins" there is no suggstion of a blood tie, it's just a friendly way of saying "fellow Anglophones".


----------



## london calling

You might find this interesting: lorry vs. truck in a blog called 'separated by a common language'.


----------



## chipulukusu

Great link, thank you very much London! I can see that the four-by-fours that are called _trucks_ in America are usually _pick-up trucks._

P.S. I spent some time in Southern Africa but I didn't know the word _bakkie. _Next time I'll have something to show off!


----------



## Einstein

london calling said:


> You might find this interesting: lorry vs. truck in a blog called 'separated by a common language'.


Yes, nice blog! 

I'll have no lorry with you...


----------



## london calling

Einstein said:


> I'll have no lorry with you...




Keep on truckin', shall we?


----------



## wildan1

In AE _a truck _is a four-wheel vehicle for transporting goods--_a pickup_ (smaller), _dump truck_ (which can empty its contents hydraulically), or _a semi/18-wheeler_ (the really big ones). 

The term _truck _does not include _sport utility vehicles (SUVs)_--the type of vehicle started years ago by Land Rover.

PS: In AE _4x4 ("four by four")_ is a carpentry term--describing a piece of wood measuring 4 by 4 inches in thickness.


----------



## italtrav

wildan1 said:


> In AE _a truck _is a four-wheel vehicle for transporting goods--_a pickup_ (smaller), _dump truck_ (which can empty its contents hydraulically), or _a semi/18-wheeler_ (the really big ones).
> 
> The term _truck _does not include _sport utility vehicles (SUVs)_--the type of vehicle started years ago by Land Rover.



However, in the USA, SUVs are often grouped under the class, "light trucks," for regulatory and other purposes. See, for instance, the second paragraph of this Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sport_utility_vehicle


----------



## chipulukusu

Just for clarifying my stand, I think this:




is what I think may also be called a _truck_ in the US.
It obviously derives from a _pick-up truck_, but with a cabin at the back it's not a _pick-up_ any more, it's just... a _truck_!

To be honest my contacts in the US are almost esclusively people of remote italian origins or afro-americans, so it may be a _slang_ thing...


----------



## MR1492

chipulukusu,

You are right that the vehicle in the photo is based on a pickup truck and probably is a truck!!!  But we call it an SUV (sport utility vehicle).  Don't ask why!!!  It's all marketing and not technical definitions.

And if you want to know why, it's because to those people in the marketing department, calling it an SUV _suona bene_!!!  

Phil


----------



## chipulukusu

Thank you Phil, I am more than happy with your first-hand insight!


----------



## london calling

MR1492 said:


> And if you want to know why, it's because to those people in the marketing department, calling it an SUV _suona bene_!!!


The British and US 'Marketeers'  agree on this one, Phil: that's a SUV (and it's a SUV in Italian as well, pronounced SOOV, or sort of.) Or a 4 by 4.


----------



## Einstein

london calling said:


> and it's a SUV in Italian as well, pronounced SOOV, or sort of


In Milan it's *Süüv*.


----------



## silvialxk

Since you're talking about vehicles... Can I ask all of you how is _this one_ called in BE, AE... and in Italian? 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ute_(vehicle)

In Australian English it's called _UTE _and I had a very very veeery bad time when I had to find a decent translation for this term


----------



## Mary49

silvialxk said:


> Since you're talking about vehicles... Can I ask all of you how is _this one_ called in BE, AE... and in Italian?
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ute_(vehicle)
> 
> In Australian English it's called _UTE _and I had a very very veeery bad time when I had to find a decent translation for this term


A possible Italian translation (a mix of Italian and English) could be "berlina pick up" http://www.allaguida.it/articolo/holden-ve-ute-solo-per-il-mercato-australiano/5459/


----------



## WordsWordWords

silvialxk said:


> Since you're talking about vehicles... Can I ask all of you how is _this one_ called in BE, AE... and in Italian?
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ute_(vehicle)




To me this looks like a small _pickup truck_. 

It could be that within this list of terminology that we may be splitting hairs in some cases because when I looked here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pickup_trucks

there's a lot of variety among the images and I see everything from what I'd think of as SUVs to pickups and even regular-looking sedans. Go figure, quite confusing....


----------



## london calling

WordsWordWords said:


> To me this looks like a small _pickup truck_.


I'd call it a _pick-up truck_ in BE as well (we use the AE term for it, not the AusE one).


----------



## Mary49

I wouldn't call this http://cars-database.com/data_images/models/holden-ute/holden-ute-12.jpg  a "pick-up truck". It's a car, isn't it?


----------



## Tegs

Mary49 said:


> I wouldn't call this http://cars-database.com/data_images/models/holden-ute/holden-ute-12.jpg  a "pick-up truck". It's a car, isn't it?



It looks like a weird hybrid to me - not a car, but not quite a pickup truck either. I don't know what I'd call it in any language (this is the first one I've seen).


----------



## chipulukusu

Mary49 said:


> I wouldn't call this http://cars-database.com/data_images/models/holden-ute/holden-ute-12.jpg  a "pick-up truck". It's a car, isn't it?



I think most people simply say "_pick-up_" instead of "_pick-up truck_" so this may qualify as one. I mean a _pick-up.

EDIT: thank you London, I amended the mistake, as the original is still in your quote_


----------



## london calling

chipulukusu said:


> I think most people simply say "_pick-up_" instead of "_pick-up track_" so this may qualify as one. I mean a _pick-up._


Tr*u*ck, Chip.

And I personally say _pick-up truck_, not just _pick-up_. (I'm not saying you're wrong, of course.)  And to me it is not a car.


----------



## curiosone

*Termine in italiano:  montanaro**
Termine in AmE: mountaineer**
Termine in BrE: mountain person/mountain people (pl)

**Termine in italiano: campagnolo
Termine in AmE: redneck, country bumpkin
Termine in BrE: yokel, bumpkin

**Termine in italiano: contadino, coltivatore diretto
Termine in AmE: farmer
Termine in BrE: peasant? , farmer

**Termine in italiano: domenicale
Termine in AmE: Sunday driver
Termine in BrE: ?*


----------



## Matrap

Ciao curiosone

Che vuol dire "domenicale"? Dalla traduzione inglese mi pare di capire che corrisponda all'italiano: "X della domenica", per definire qualcuno che è un dilettante, inesperto che fa le cose in modo amatoriale. Ho capito bene?


----------



## curiosone

"Domenicale" (evidently not standard Italian) is a term I learned, when I was living in Modena (so maybe it's colloquial, and maybe my friends invented it, but it's so apt that I adopted it).  It refers to people (campagnoli, or the elderly) who go for a drive (only) on Sunday, and drive so slowly that they drive other drivers (the ones who drive every day) crazy.  I don't know of it as a general term, but it refers specifically to people who don't drive every day, and who obstruct normal traffic because they go FAR too slowly.


----------



## Matrap

curiosone said:


> "Domenicale" (evidently not standard Italian) is a term I learned, when I was living in Modena (so maybe it's colloquial, and maybe my friends invented it, but it's so apt that I adopted it).  It refers to people (campagnoli, or the elderly) who go for a drive (only) on Sunday, and drive so slowly that they drive other drivers (the ones who drive every day) crazy.  I don't know of it as a general term, but it refers specifically to people who don't drive every day, and who obstruct normal traffic because they go FAR too slowly.



Quello che avevo immaginato dunque. "Autisti/guidatori della domenica" potrebbe funzionare. In effetti "domenicale" non credo proprio sia italiano standard, io almeno non l'avevo mai sentito prima.


----------



## london calling

A _Sunday Driver_ (which is BE as well, so we can leave that one out) in the Italian they speak in this part of the country is a _guidatore della domenica_. 

Mai sentito _domenicale_ (qui, intendo).

Regards:

*Termine in italiano: contadino, coltivatore diretto
Termine in AmE: farmer
Termine in BrE: peasant? , farmer
*
A _peasant_ is a _contadino_ in BE. Not that we have peasants any more in the UK: they're called farmers these days. 

I would say that a _farmer _in BE is a _fattore or a coltivatore diretto. Farm-hand_ is another possibility, but i think that's AE as well, right?


----------



## curiosone

london calling said:


> Regards:
> 
> *Termine in italiano: contadino, coltivatore diretto
> Termine in AmE: farmer
> Termine in BrE: peasant? , farmer
> *
> A _peasant_ is a _contadino_ in BE. Not that we have peasants any more in the UK: they're called farmers these days.
> 
> I would say that a _farmer _in BE is a _fattore or a coltivatore diretto. Farm-hand_ is another possibility, but i think that's AE as well, right?


Agreed that _contadino_ is obsolete, and no longer used (except perhaps as a politically incorrect derogative), so I guess we don't need this voice on the IT/AmE/BrE list), either.  However, while "_coltivatore diretto_" is the politically correct term used by younger farmers, the older ones still use "_contadino"_ (which is not derogatory - at least not in Emilia Romagna, where there are lots of farmers).  People still go to "_comprare le uova dal contadino_" in Romagna.  "_Fattore_" is also correct, but I never hear people say it (I've seen it more written, than spoken).  And a _farm-hand_ works for a farmer, but doesn't run a farm (or own one). _Share-croppers_ (also almost obsolete) are also farmers, but don't own the land.


----------



## CPA

I had an uncle in the UK who was a farmer and another uncle in Australia who was a fruit farmer. By no stretch of the imagination could they be termed "contadini". The Italian equivalent of "farmer" would be "imprenditore agricolo", which probably means anything. "Fattore" to me is a "steward", someone who manages an absentee (gentleman) farmer's land. Historically speaking, a "contadino" is a peasant. Nowadays, around here, most of them have become "muratori" (or "imprenditori edili"!) who still tend their vineyards, olive groves and plots of land on the side.


----------



## Einstein

The nearest British term to _contadino _is _small-holder_ (some do exist still). _Peasant _is a historical or political term, not necessarily derogatory but would sound so if used to describe a farmer (or anyone!) in a developed country.

Farm-hand = bracciante.


----------



## wildan1

london calling said:


> *Termine in italiano: contadino, coltivatore diretto
> Termine in AmE: farmer
> Termine in BrE: peasant? , farmer
> *
> A _peasant_ is a _contadino_ in BE. Not that we have peasants any more in the UK: they're called farmers these days.
> 
> I would say that a _farmer _in BE is a _fattore or a coltivatore diretto. Farm-hand_ is another possibility, but i think that's AE as well, right?


In our (relatively) young country we have never had peasants (of course back in the day in some parts there were slaves who worked in the same way). Later many freed slaves became sharecroppers for their former masters, but the term is still used for people who farm on rented land and pay a part of their crop as rent.

A _farmhand_ is an employee of a farmer who is the owner.  Not at all the same as a sharecropper.

_Contadina_ (fem. form) is a term  that is alive and well over here--one of the biggest brands of Italian-style tomato products. We all know the word but few here have any idea of its actual meaning.


----------



## london calling

Einstein said:


> The nearest British term to _contadino _is _small-holder_ (some do exist still). _Peasant _is a historical or political term, not necessarily derogatory but would sound so if used to describe a farmer (or anyone!) in a developed country.
> 
> Farm-hand = bracciante.


I agree that a farm-hand is a _bracciante (agricolo)_, but they certainly say 'contadino' here to mean just that. I for example own an olive grove. I pay a 'contadino' to look after it (this is what the locals refer to him as), but when I pay his social security tabs for him I pay them for a _bracciante agricolo_ (and I am considered a _coltivatore diretto_).

There's an article here about the difference between a_ bracciante agricolo_ and a_ coltivatore diretto_, if anyone's interested.


----------



## L'Enrico

Einstein said:


> The nearest British term to _contadino _is _small-holder_.



Non so, mi sembra una traduzione piuttosto ristretta.
_Contadino_ è un termine piuttosto ampio, che deriva da _contàdo_, termine anticamente utilizzato per identificare le zone di campagna, e per estensione i lavoratori di essa, in opposizione ai centri urbani. Storicamente vi sono state in Italia diverse figure di contadini; dai braccianti, ai mezzadri, ai piccoli proprietarii terrieri che lavoravano la terra di persona. 

E.


----------



## Einstein

L'Enrico said:


> Non so, mi sembra una traduzione piuttosto ristretta.
> _Contadino_ è un termine piuttosto ampio, che deriva da _contàdo_, termine anticamente utilizzato per identificare le zone di campagna, e per estensione i lavoratori di essa, in opposizione ai centri urbani. Storicamente vi sono state in Italia diverse figure di contadini; dai braccianti, ai mezzadri, ai piccoli proprietarii terrieri che lavoravano la terra di persona.
> E.


Forse non sono stato chiaro; mi riferivo al contesto britannico, non solo dal punto di vista linguistico; quello che si definirebbe peasant praticamente non esiste più, a parte forse i crofters scozzesi. Storicamente, parlando dell'Italia, sono d'accordo che è applicabile la parola peasant. 
_Contadino _deriva da _contado_, come dici tu, e _peasant _ha la stessa derivazione di _paesano_.

To LC: yes, _contadino _is used more loosely, while legally a distinction is made between a wage labourer (bracciante) and someone who cultivates his own land. People often say "me lo cura il contadino" because he also has a plot of his own, although that may not be true in your case.


----------



## london calling

Einstein said:


> People often say "me lo cura il contadino" because he also has a plot of his own, although that may not be true in your case.


If I were talking to you about my olive grove I'd say "Me lo cura il contadino", but as far as I know he has no plot of his own.


----------



## curiosone

I think we're gradually reaching a definition of _contadino_ as used in modern times.  Historically it was the equivalent of _peasant_, but this is no longer true, as _peasant_ has a specific historical meaning - just as the meaning of _sharecropper_ has evolved (and I might add that the _sharecropper_ isn't necessarily black or white or yellow with pink polka-dots!).

As LC and Einstein suggest, _contadino_ is now used more loosely (and l'Enrico confirms that this is also historically true).  Maybe _land-worker _would be closer.  I also know _contadini_ who make ends meet by working as _muratori _or as _costruttori edili _(not always _imprenditori_) in-between work on their farms (or _terre _or _fondi).  
_
There are also large (wealthy) land-owners who are not called _contadini,_ but _proprietari terreni_ (the sort who may have large farms, and _farmhands/braccianti_, but may also rent their lands to smaller farmers (sometimes _sharecroppers - _though I suppose it depends on the contract).

So I suppose we could have multiple translations of _contadino_, as it is used, now.  And I'd probably translate _bracciante _to _picker, _or _itinerant picker_, or _farm laborer.  _Although _wage-labourer (wage-laborer _
in AmE) is also correct, it seems too vague to me, and not specific to farming (like _contadino_).  So let's try again:

*Termine in italiano: bracciante (agricolo)
Termine in AmE: farm laborer, picker (or itinerant picker)
Termine in BrE: wage labourer
*
*Termine in italiano: contadino*_*(modern usage), *_*coltivatore diretto**
Termine in AmE: (small) farmer, sometimes: subsistance farmer 
Termine in BrE:  (small) farmer*

*Termine in italiano: mezzadro
Termine in AmE: sharecropper, tenant farmer
Termine in BrE:  tenant farmer, crofter, cropper?*


----------



## Paulfromitaly

*Termine in italiano*: formare i bioccoli/i pallini (tessuto)
*Termine in AmE*: to pill
*Termine in BrE*: to bobble


----------



## Einstein

Paulfromitaly said:


> *Termine in italiano*: formare i bioccoli/i pallini (tessuto)
> *Termine in AmE*: to pill
> *Termine in BrE*: to bobble


I take my hat off to your erudition, Paul, I didn't even know such verbs existed, let alone that there was an AmE/BrE difference!


----------



## Paulfromitaly

Einstein said:


> I take my hat off to your erudition, Paul, I didn't even know such verbs existed, let alone that there was an AmE/BrE difference!



I only came across it by sheer chance


----------



## curiosone

Well, "pill" works as a verb, but the "pallini" I always called "freddies."


----------



## Tegs

Ah, I don't know if we refer to the "pallini" on their own. The noun "bobble" refers to the elastic band you use to tie your hair back. You can say that you're jumper is very bobbly though. 

Freddies is definitely AE  A Freddie in BE is a specific chocolate bar.


----------



## london calling

Tegs said:


> Ah, I don't know if we refer to the "pallini" on their own. The noun "bobble" refers to the elastic band you use to tie your hair back. You can say that you're jumper is very bobbly though.


So you've never consulted the Internet to find out how to remove bobbles from your clothes,  Tegs? See, done it for you!


----------



## Paulfromitaly

london calling said:


> So you've never consulted the Internet to find out how to remove b*o*bbles from your clothes,  Tegs? See, done it for you!



Must say the girl is well clever


----------



## london calling

Paulfromitaly said:


> Must say the girl is well clever


Will correct immediately!


----------



## curiosone

Paulfromitaly said:


> Must say the girl is well clever



"Well clever?"  Is that some sort of BrE-ism?  We just say "the girl is clever"....dalle mie parti.


----------



## sound shift

We (BrE) can say "The girl is clever" too. "Well clever" is a colloquial way of saying "very clever".


----------



## Einstein

sound shift said:


> "Well clever" is a colloquial way of saying "very clever".


Is that Midlands or North? Never 'eard it dahn sahf.


----------



## sound shift

I hear it here, but I don't know how far its range extends.


----------



## wildan1

Paulfromitaly said:


> *Termine in italiano*: formare i bioccoli/i pallini (tessuto)
> *Termine in AmE*: to pill
> *Termine in BrE*: to bobble


Yes, this is definitely a clear difference. 
_
To bobble_ in AE is only what people shaking their heads do all the time, or especially those silly dolls they make (bobble heads).


----------



## london calling

Einstein said:


> Is that Midlands or North? Never 'eard it dahn sahf.


My brother uses it, but he picked it up somewhere else: we don't say it in London.


----------



## Tegs

curiosone said:


> *Termine in italiano:  montanaro**
> Termine in AmE: mountaineer**
> Termine in BrE: mountain person/mountain people (pl)
> 
> **Termine in italiano: campagnolo
> Termine in AmE: redneck, country bumpkin
> Termine in BrE: yokel, bumpkin
> 
> *


I just noticed these a few pages back and I don't think they've been discussed since. Country bumpkin is also BE, not just AE 

Mountain people to me is a derogatory term for wild hairy unwashed people who live near or on mountains, and the singular is mountain man/woman. Is this what "montanaro" and "mountaineer" (AE) mean?


----------



## Paulfromitaly

Tegs said:


> I just noticed these a few pages back and I don't think they've been discussed since. Country bumpkin is also BE, not just AE
> 
> Mountain people to me is a derogatory term for wild hairy unwashed people who live near or on mountains, and the singular is mountain man/woman. Is this what "montanaro" and "mountaineer" (AE) mean?



Montanaro brings to mind this picture of a not too clean and well mannered person although the term itself is not derogatory. Some people may use it in an offensive way.



> *montanaro* s. m. e agg. (f. -_a_) [der. del lat. _montanus_ «montano»; cfr. lat. mediev. _montanarius_, _montenarius_]. –
> 
> *1.* s. m. Persona che è nata e che vive, o anche soltanto che è nata e cresciuta, in montagna: _un robusto m_.; _i m_. _del Cadore_; _i canti dei montanari_.  Con riferimento all’idea di forza rude e di abitudine alle fatiche, o  anche a*lla rozzezza di modi, d’aspetto e di carattere, considerate  tipiche della gente di montagna*: _forte e resistente come un m_.; _Non altrimenti stupido_ [= stupito] _si turba Lo m_., _e rimirando ammuta_, _Quando rozzo e salvatico s’inurba_ (Dante); talvolta con valore spreg.: _che modi da m_._!_; _m_. _che non sei altro!_


----------



## Tegs

Paulfromitaly said:


> Montanaro brings to mind this picture of a not too clean and well mannered person although the term itself is not derogatory. Some people may use it in an offensive way.



Ok, it sounds pretty close to the BE "mountain man"  What do AE speakers call an alpinista then, i.e. a person who climbs mountains with all the proper gear etc?

montanaro - mountain man (mountain people) BE - mountaineer AE

alpinista - mountaineer BE - ?? (AE)


----------



## giovannino

_Webster's _lists two meanings for _mountaineer:

_* 1*:  a native or inhabitant of a mountainous region

*      2: *a person who climbs mountains for sport


I believe that the word is only used in sense 2 in current BrE (the Oxford Dictionary lists sense 1 but labels it as _rare_​). I don't think it's used in a derogatory way in sense 1 in AmE but we'll have to wait for confrirmation from AmE speakers.


----------



## london calling

giovannino said:


> _Webster's _lists two meanings for _mountaineer:
> 
> _* 1*:  a native or inhabitant of a mountainous region
> 
> *      2: *a person who climbs mountains for sport
> 
> 
> I believe that the word is only used in sense 2 in current BrE (the Oxford Dictionary lists sense 1 but labels it as _rare_​). I don't think it's used in a derogatory way in sense 1 in AmE but we'll have to wait for confrirmation from AmE speakers.


Giovannino, abbiamo già detto tutto quello che dici qui e abbiamo anche già chiarito il tutto!


----------



## sound shift

I took part in a rather, er ... _spicy _discussion about the use of "mountaineer" in the sense of





> *1*:  a native or inhabitant of a mountainous region


 in the English Only forum, at http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=2350878&highlight=mountaineer (37 posts). I think the conclusion to be drawn from that post is that it is rare for AmE speakers or BrE speakers to use "mountaineer" in that sense, despite what some dictionaries say.


----------



## giovannino

london calling said:


> Giovannino, abbiamo già detto tutto quello che dici qui e abbiamo anche già chiarito il tutto!



Ciao Jo, sono un po' confuso... Viste le domande poste da Tegs:



			
				Tegs said:
			
		

> What do AE speakers call an alpinista then, i.e. a person who climbs mountains with all the proper gear etc?
> 
> montanaro - mountain man (mountain people) BE - mountaineer AE
> 
> alpinista - mountaineer BE - ?? (AE)



non mi sembrava affatto che fosse già stato chiarito tutto, almeno per quanto riguarda l'uso AmE. Ecco perché avevo citato un dizionario americano, chiedendo inoltre agli amici nordamericani di dirci se in AmE _mountaineer _possa essere usato con connotazione spregiativa.

EDIT: Mi pare che il link fornito da sound shift dimostri che non c'era niente di male nell'approfondire un po' la questione.


----------



## london calling

Getting back to another way of expressing the AE 'mountaineer' as in 'inhabitant of a mountainous region': in BE _mountain dweller_ would work too (although I daresay it's perfectly acceptable in AE as well).

Tegs, you're authorised to delete this post if someone's already said this.


----------



## wildan1

> *Termine in italiano: campagnolo
> Termine in AmE: redneck, country bumpkin
> Termine in BrE: yokel, bumpkin*


_Country bumpkin_ is a synonym in AE of _hick, yokel or _(in Black English) _bama_.

_A redneck_ is a social status--originally the term blacks gave to the low-class whites that worked in the fields--they worked under the sun, so the skin of their necks was burnt red. It is now used with pride by some people who fit the description. A more negative synonym is _white trash_ or (in Black English) _cracker_.

Nowadays any of those latter terms describes any white person of a lower social and educational level--possibly from the countryside, but most cities have plenty, too.


----------



## WordsWordWords

Wildan I was thinking the same terms, this might be helpful (as well its links internal) for people unfamiliar with the vernacular:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_trash

In addition there's the word "hillbilly" that I would put with "redneck" before "country bumpkin"; the former two are to my mind more offensive while the latter seems more quaint. But that might depend on where in the US one is from (I'm from Minnesota, Wildan hails from closer to the south-eastern US where there may be more contact with these terms )


----------



## m.bianchi

What about the use of "grocery" in AmEn for "supermercato"?

In in MA, Boston, and I've never heard anybosdy talking about supermarket...
Can anybody confirm this?


----------



## L'Enrico

wildan1 said:


> _A redneck_ is a social status--originally the term blacks gave to the low-class whites that worked in the fields--they worked under the sun, so the skin of their necks was burnt red.




This is commonly believed to be the origin of the word, but this might not be the case. According to some etymologists, _redneck_ originated in Scotlad in the 1600s, when protestant rebels would sign their manifesto in blood and then wear a red cloth around their neck. From there it evolved to mean any Scottish presbyterian, and it became a slur only later when Scottish and Irish presbyterians migrated to America, where they weren't exactly welcomed by the original English settlers.

E.


----------



## curiosone

wildan1 said:


> _Country bumpkin_ is a synonym in AE of _hick, yokel or _(in Black English) _bama_.
> 
> _A redneck_ is a social status--originally the term blacks gave to the low-class whites that worked in the fields--they worked under the sun, so the skin of their necks was burnt red. It is now used with pride by some people who fit the description. A more negative synonym is _white trash_ or (in Black English) _cracker_.
> 
> Nowadays any of those latter terms describes any white person of a lower social and educational level--possibly from the countryside, but most cities have plenty, too.



Since I am FROM a hillbilly state, I beg to differ, regarding "_redneck_" being a synonym of "_hillbilly_."  A "_redneck_" doesn't specifically imply a person who lives in the mountains (like the term _hillbilly_ does).  And I might also add that "_hillbilly_" can be more (or less) derogatory, depending on who uses the term (it can also be used humorously, as I do).  But it is NOT a synonym of "_white trash_" (which is always offensive).  _Mountaineers_ (in the AmE sense, and using a non-derogatory term instead of "_hillbilly_") or _Appalachian people_ (used as a description of a people living in the Appalachian mountains) implies people who live in the mountains, and (in Appalachia) do subsistence farming, who live in isolated mountain areas who are maybe "rozzi" but are also self-sufficient.  They may be poor, but only in the sense that they don't have much money.  Because they are able to grow/build/create most of what they need - and, in fact, are famous for their handicrafts (quilts, hand-made dolls, wooden toys, homespun cloth, etc etc).

Thus stated, let's get back to the WR's work on this page, which is to supply (and catalogue) terms listed this way:

*termine in Italiano:*  alpinista, scalatore
*termine in AmE:* mountain climber
*termine in BrE:* mountaineer

*termine in Italiano:* campagnolo
*termine in AmE:* country bumpkin, hick, yokel, redneck (Black English: bama)
*termine in BrE:* yokel, country bumpkin, bumpkin

*termine in Italiano:*  montanaro (in a derogatory sense)
*termine in AmE:* hillbilly
*termine in BrE:* mountain man / mountain people (pl)

*termine in Italiano:*  montanaro (NOT in a derogatory sense)
*termine in AmE:* mountaineer
*termine in BrE: *​??

Addition:


> What about the use of "grocery" in AmEn for "supermercato"?
> 
> In in MA, Boston, and I've never heard anybody talking about supermarket..Can anybody confirm this?



In AmE both terms exist.  A _supermarket_ refers to really HUGE groceries.  But we do usually say "_I'm going to the grocery" or "I'm going to (_or_ "need to") get some groceries," _whether we go to a small (or medium-sized) grocery, or to a big supermarket.


----------



## rioferdinand

Passepartout ( a key that opens all doors?) I know in BE as 'skeleton key'
Barra in BE is 'coffin' 
Riformatorio in BE = borstal (old-fashioned) or young offenders' institute (modern)
scontrino fiscale is 'VAT receipt' VAT = Value added tax like the Italian 'IVA'
Banco dei testimoni is normally called 'witness box'


----------



## WordsWordWords

@ curiosone Thank you for your valuable input! You cleared up a lot of those terms for me!

Can I ask you to shed more light on the term "redneck"? I have always though it was fairly offensive and yet you have grouped it with "country bumpkin, hick" which I have always heard used more lightly. 

Thank you


----------



## curiosone

> Passepartout ( a key that opens all doors?) I know in BE as 'skeleton key'
> Barra in BE is 'coffin'
> Riformatorio in BE = borstal (old-fashioned) or young offenders' institute (modern)
> scontrino fiscale is 'VAT receipt' VAT = Value added tax like the Italian 'IVA'
> Banco dei testimoni is normally called 'witness box'



Hi Rioferdinand!   Would you mind putting this in the format (listed) as we have been asked to do, in this discussion of Italian/AmE/BrE terms?  It makes it a lot easier for the rest of us (as well as for WR, trying to create a database).

So, after specifying that "skeleton key" and "coffin" are said both in AmE and BrE (so there's no need to add them to the database): 

*termine in Italiano: *Riformatorio
*termine in AmE:  *Reformatory (for juvenile delinquents)*termine in BrE: *borstal (old-fashioned) or young offenders' institute (modern)

*termine in Italiano: *scontrino fiscale
*termine in AmE:  *receipt or tax receipt (IVA/VAT are European taxes, in the States we have "sales taxes" which can vary from state to state)
*termine in BrE:  *'VAT receipt' VAT = Value added tax like the Italian 'IVA'

*termine in Italiano:* Banco dei testimoni
*termine in AmE:  *witness stand 
*termine in BrE:  *witness box



> Can I ask you to shed more light on the term "redneck"? I have always though it was fairly offensive and yet you have grouped it with "country bumpkin, hick" which I have always heard used more lightly.



Hi WWW!   As far as I'm concerned, "country bumpkin" (admittedly a bit quaint, but I've used it) and "hick" are also derogatory.  Where I come from, we make a distinction between "hillbilly" (hills) and "redneck"  (not necessarily hills), but I think "redneck" also is used more for Southerners (I never heard of a "New England redneck"), where the sun is hotter.


----------



## rrose17

curiosone said:


> but I think "redneck" also is used more for Southerners (I never heard of a "New England redneck"), where the sun is hotter.


Well I'm afraid that we have rednecks up in Canada and the term has nothing to do with how hot the sun is   but is just a label for a certain reactionary way of thinking.


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## WordsWordWords

Yes exactly -- rrose, this is what I had in mind, that in many areas I think "redneck" has morphed into a name for a (white) person who is reactionary and possible has -- how should I put it? -- unrefined, closed-minded or even racist views/behavior toward African-Americans or people of color in general. 

I realize, curiosone, that the terms you've listed ring true to as a native of the area where they are used a lot, but as I said in my post (#131), given the sheer geographical size of the US (plus Canada, evidently!), these terms may be found with slightly different meanings and uses depending where you are... 

Makes it really difficult to come up with a cut and dry definition (as for many of the terms in this thread, whether BrE <--> AmE or even variants within North America!).


----------



## curiosone

WordsWordWords said:


> Yes exactly -- rrose, this is what I had in mind, that in many areas I think "redneck" has morphed into a name for a (white) person who is reactionary and possible has -- how should I put it? -- unrefined, closed-minded or even racist views/behavior toward African-Americans or people of color in general.
> 
> I realize, curiosone, that the terms you've listed ring true to as a native of the area where they are used a lot, but as I said in my post (#131), given the sheer geographical size of the US (plus Canada, evidently!), these terms may be found with slightly different meanings and uses depending where you are...
> 
> Makes it really difficult to come up with a cut and dry definition (as for many of the terms in this thread, whether BrE <--> AmE or even variants within North America!).



Well maybe we need to research discussions regarding the term _redneck_.  Here's a list :  http://forum.wordreference.com/search.php?searchid=2589941
I don't have time to check them out tonight, but maybe we need to do yet another IT/AmE/BrE just for "redneck" in the offensive sense of racist/bigot/ignorante.  
(Il termine _razzista _non mi sembra sufficientemente colorito - but the slang term _terrone _maybe comes closer).


----------



## CPA

curiosone said:


> I don't have time to check them out tonight, but maybe we need to do yet another IT/AmE/BrE just for "redneck" in the offensive sense of racist/bigot/ignorante.
> (Il termine _razzista _non mi sembra sufficientemente colorito - but the slang term _terrone _maybe comes closer).



_Terrone _is a derogatory term for a Southern Italian, as opposed to _polentone_ (Northern Italian). It's certainly not a synonym for racist/bigot/ignorante. Those, plus _campagnoli_, rednecks and yokels, can be found throughout the country.


----------



## london calling

CPA said:


> _Terrone _is a derogatory term for a Southern Italian, as opposed to _polentone_ (Northern Italian). It's certainly not a synonym for racist/bigot/ignorante. Those, plus _campagnoli_, rednecks and yokels, can be found throughout the country.


That's what I was thinking.


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## chipulukusu

Non posso dire qual'è la parola italiana che _redneck_ mi richiama alla mente perché non voglio buttarla in politica... . Forse _zotico_ è un termine che si può usare tranquillamente, anche se manca della coloritura di _razzista, sciovinista e conservatore._

We _real terroni _(expecially those scattered around the world) are usually proud of being a mix of Europe, Africa and Middle East, so I wouldn't say that _terrone_ and _racist _is the same or a similar thing.

_Point of attention: _I still find the word _terrone_ pretty offensive if not used by a fellow southerner. If someone from South Italy tells me "_Sei proprio un terrone_" I don't take it bad because I know what he means (but I am a bit carefully in saying this myself, as my accent doesn't obviously qualify me as a _terrone)_. I don't have problems myself to say "_sono proprio un terrone". _But if anyone else calls me _terrone_ I usually don't say anything just because I am an accomodating person, but I _do_ find it offensive. I take the word _terrone_ not very differently from how an afro-american can take the _n_ word (_I_ can say it, you _can't_!); maybe less intensly, but similarly...

Of course other people from South Italy may think differently


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## curiosone

CPA said:


> _Terrone _is a derogatory term for a Southern Italian, as opposed to _polentone_ (Northern Italian). It's certainly not a synonym for racist/bigot/ignorante. Those, plus _campagnoli_, rednecks and yokels, can be found throughout the country.



Romagnoli are sometimes called the "Terroni del Nord"  - even though we like polenta (con ragù e salsiccia), too.

The question is, how would you translate _redneck_ into Italian? (is _campagnolo_ correct?)?  And what do BrE speakers call a _redneck_? Because what I'm hearing from Ron and others is that _redneck_  (elsewhere than the South) also means _racist/bigot, _which isn't how I'd say it in the South (I'd say something about "good old boys").


----------



## King Crimson

As to the translation of _redneck _I gather this is a term that may have different meanings depending on whether we mean a _campagnolo _or a _razzista/bigotto _(as already pointed out by chipu). Of course, sometimes by calling someone a _campagnolo _we also imply a narrow-minded, intolerant person (that is a _razzista/bigotto_), but the two concepts are not necessarily associated.

P.S. Curio, as far as I know Veneti (inhabitants of Veneto) are "Terroni del Nord" par excellence...


----------



## curiosone

King Crimson said:


> P.S. Curio, as far as I know Veneti (inhabitants of Veneto) are "Terroni del Nord" par excellence...



Must be an East Coast thing...  (Romagna is just South of the Veneto area).  Anyway I might add that when we speak of "terroni" in Romagna, or about romagnoli being "terroni," we say it's because romagnoli are more cordial, and enjoy life more than other "nordici/polentoni."  

I figure it's a question of sunshine (Californians usually have sunnier dispositions than New Yorkers).


----------



## london calling

Matrap said:


> Un saluto a tutti.  La mia vuole essere più una domanda che un'affermazione. Sbaglio o esiste questa differenza tra BE e AE?
> E se sì, è riferta solo al calcio o anche ad altri sport?
> 
> *Termine in italiano: *Allenatore
> *Termine in AmE*: Coach
> *Termine in BrE*: Manager
> 
> Grazie a chiunque vorrà intervenire.


We say _coach_ as well in BE. Of course a coach can also be a manager, but not necessarily.


----------



## sound shift

Yup. And a manager can also be a coach, but not necessarily.


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## King Crimson

In this case I would tend to agree with Matrap, as to the term _manager _being more used than _coach_, at least at the top levels of the sport. Just have a look at the Wiki page (here) on the English Premier League: the word used is Manager (with a section dedicated to the EPL's managers). Perhaps, coach/coaching were the terms more used in the past, but nowadays when it comes to top-tier clubs or leagues (such as the EPL, La Liga or Serie A) we are actually talking about full-fledged managers, having to deal not only with the day-to-day activity on the pitch, but also with the transfer market, public relations etc.


----------



## elisatbd

☺ said:


> Prendeteli con le pinze:
> 
> 
> Termine in italiano: Grondaia
> Termine in AmE: Downspout
> Termine in BrE: Drainpipe
> 
> 
> Termine in italiano: Spiffero
> Termine in AmE: Draft
> Termine in BrE: Draught
> 
> 
> Termine in italiano: Assegno
> Termine in AmE: Check
> Termine in BrE: Cheque
> 
> 
> Termine in italiano: Passepartout
> Termine in AmE: Mat board / Matte board
> Termine in BrE: Mount board
> 
> 
> Termine in italiano: Bara
> Termine in AmE: Coffin
> Termine in BrE: Casket
> 
> 
> Termine in italiano: Carillon
> Termine in AmE: Music box
> Termine in BrE: Musical box
> 
> 
> Termine in italiano: Casella
> Termine in AmE: Check box
> Termine in BrE: Tick box
> 
> 
> Termine in italiano: Banco dei testimoni
> Termine in AmE: Witness box
> Termine in BrE: Witness stand
> 
> 
> Termine in italiano: Macinare
> Termine in AmE: To grind
> Termine in BrE: To mince
> 
> Termine in italiano: Scontrino (fiscale)
> Termine in AmE: Check / Sales check
> Termine in BrE: Ticket
> 
> 
> Termine in italiano: Casa delle bambole
> Termine in AmE: Dollhouse
> Termine in BrE: Doll's house
> 
> 
> Termine in italiano: Riformatorio
> Termine in AmE: Reformatory
> Termine in BrE: Community home
> 
> Termine in italiano: Pacco
> Termine in AmE: Basket / Package / Wedding tackle
> Termine in BrE: Lunchbox / Privates
> 
> 
> Termine in italiano: Finocchio / Frocio
> Termine in AmE: Faggot / Fag
> Termine in BrE: Queer / Poof
> 
> Termine in italiano: Ciao / Pronto!
> Termine in AmE: Hello
> Termine in BrE: Hallo / Hello / Hullo



Sempre sentito "gutter" per grondaia in BE. E "downpipe" per tubo di scolo. Drainpipe mai sentito e suona piu' tubo di scolo che una vera e propria grondaia, o sbaglio?


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## Paulfromitaly

Please have a look at the existing database before suggesting terms that may already be there  

*Termini che hanno una traduzione diversa in American English e in British English*


----------



## elisatbd

Sorry, didn't notice there was a database.


----------



## elisatbd

Grondaia is not there, nor are all its possible translations.
Can we use this thread and discuss it here?


----------



## CPA

elisatbd said:


> Grondaia is not there, nor are all its possible translations.
> Can we use this thread and discuss it here?



Confermo che "gutter" è grondaia in BE ma ha anche questo significato. Da cui, "He grew up in the gutter" = per strada, spregiativo. "Drainpipe" è BE per "tubo di scolo"; forse oggi è stato sostituito dall'AE "downpipe".


----------



## london calling

CPA said:


> Confermo che "gutter" è grondaia in BE ma ha anche questo significato. Da cui, "He grew up in the gutter" = per strada, spregiativo. "Drainpipe" è BE per "tubo di scolo"; forse oggi è stato sostituito dall'AE "downpipe".


Agreed. Hence my mother's _Stop speaking like a guttersnipe_!, which was her response to my trying not to sound 'posh' when speaking to my schoolmates.


----------



## CPA

Jo, here's an interesting note from Wiki:

"Gutters were a frequent talking point of English playwright Oscar Wilde, who said that all of humanity lived in gutters and attributed the worth of an individual to whether they were lying face down or face up in said gutter."

I suppose your Mum meant face down!


----------



## london calling

CPA said:


> I suppose your Mum meant face down!


Probably not, actually: you try saying anything when you're face down in the gutter! 

And since when was Oscar Wilde English? Begad and begorrah....

Anyway, I think a _gutter_ as in a street/road gutter is the same in both brands of English, so that meaning doesn't have to be added to the database.


----------



## wildan1

CPA said:


> Confermo che "gutter" è grondaia in BE ma ha anche questo significato. Da cui, "He grew up in the gutter" = per strada, spregiativo. "Drainpipe" è BE per "tubo di scolo"; forse oggi è stato sostituito dall'AE "downpipe".


_Gutter_ in AE is the horizontal part of rain collection system and _downspout_ is the vertical part going to the ground.


----------



## curiosone

I might add that "drainpipe" (in AE) also brings to mind "tubi di scarico" - so if our BE friends aren't familiar with it, it's evidently AE.  But I'd likely use it for "downpipe", too - as the latter is not a term I'm familiar with (although it's easy to understand).


----------



## elisatbd

I guess I've heard drainpipe in BE, used for "tubo di scarico" (drainpipe of the washing machine or of the bathroom), but not for "tubo di scolo" (the pipe draining water from the gutter), which I'm pretty sure they call it downpipe.

Anyway, the digression about Oscar Wild and down-facing people in a gutter was hilarious!


----------



## CPA

This, this and, would you believe, this are drainpipes.

Jo, present company excepted, I can think of one or two people who are still spouting away while lying face down in the gutter.


----------



## wildan1

CPA said:


> This, this and, would you believe, this are drainpipes.
> 
> Jo, present company excepted, I can think of one or two people who are still spouting away while lying face down in the gutter.


The first two would be called _downspouts_ in AE; the third looks like a _gargoyle_ to me...


----------



## Tegs

Bolletta di elettricità - electricity bill (BR) - electric bill (AE)


----------



## wildan1

Tegs said:


> Bolletta di elettricità - electricity bill (BR) - *electric bill (AE)*  (or _light bill_)


----------



## sarasarissima

Termine in italiano: ascensore
Termine in AmE: elevator
Termine in BrE: lift

Termine in italiano: bagagli
Termine in AmE: luggage
Termine in BrE: suitcases

Termine in italiano: pantaloni
Termine in AmE: pants
Termine in BrE: trousers


----------



## Einstein

sarasarissima said:


> Termine in italiano: bagagli
> Termine in AmE: luggage
> Termine in BrE: suitcases


Are you sure about this? In BrE we say *suitcase*, *bag *or whatever for a single item and *luggage *as the collective, uncountable term. I thought it was the same in AmE for *suitcases, bags* etc., while *baggage *was preferred to *luggage *(I thought that was why airports direct you to the *baggage claim*, not the *luggage claim*). I'll be interested to read other comments.


----------



## wildan1

Einstein is correct:  _luggage, baggage, suitcases _and _bags_ are all used for various contexts in AE.

_Luggage_ is something that is sold in a store, usually as a matched set, but in my experience it is not used in the context of actual travel. 
_
Baggage, suitcases_ or _bags_ are what you take on a trip.

Note that luggage and baggage are non-count; suitcase and bag are count nouns: _A piece of luggage_ or _some baggage_; _a suitcase, a bag._

PS: Someone who has a lot of bad past psychological experiences has _a lot of_ or even _too much baggage_ (not _luggage_!)


----------



## chipulukusu

I agree, in the Uk at the airport you go to the _baggage claim_, but they invite you to reduce the number of security alerts by not leaving any piece of _luggage_ unattended.


----------



## Einstein

Ah, then _luggage _is used differently. In BrE I would not _buy luggage_; to me _luggage _means everything that I'm taking on my trip: the suitcases/bags _with their contents_. Even a plastic bag from the supermarket would be part of my luggage. So in that context we can say: AmE, _baggage_; BrE, _luggage_.

Of course, baggage is a perfectly legitimate term in BrE too, just a bit less usual and a little old-fashioned to my ear.

PS: a nice distinction from Chip.


----------



## sarasarissima

Thank you Einstein, wildan1 and chipulukusu...I really thought that in UK they don't use luggage. Actually my teacher from school told me that...but I must say that a filipino teacher for "vocabulary building" is not the best choice! 

Thanks!


----------



## wildan1

sarasarissima said:


> Termine in italiano: pantaloni
> Termine in AmE: pants, trousers
> Termine in BrE: trousers


Both terms are used in AE; _trousers_ is a higher-register word--you would see it in a clothing advertisement more than in a casual conversation, where _pants_ is the usual term most used for both men's and women's trousers.

The BE kind of _pants_ are called _underpants_ in AE.
_Pantaloons_ are a blousy kind of costume trousers worn by clowns or Arab sheiks.


----------



## london calling

Tegs said:


> Bolletta di elettricità - electricity bill (BR) - electric bill (AE)


Termine in italiano: Bolletta per la fornitura di energia elettrica** (fam. 'bolletta della luce').

** that's what's written on the one I've just had to pay.


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## Paulfromitaly

*Termine in italiano*: pupillo
*Termine in AmE*: fair-haired boy
*Termine in BrE*: blue-eyed boy


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## k in the desert

verseau213 said:


> I'm probably chiming in late, but wanted to share because I've never heard anyone in my life call what is seen in the picture for "credenza" a buffet in the US. I've always called/heard it called a hutch, and when Googled it matches the pictures.



As an American, I've heard buffet, sideboard, hutch AND CREDENZA used for this piece of furniture. Credenza is a also a word in English. I've always thought of hutch as a casual way of referring to it or a simple type of sideboard.


----------



## london calling

k in the desert said:


> As an American, I've heard buffet, sideboard, hutch AND CREDENZA used for this piece of furniture. Credenza is a also a word in English. I've always thought of hutch as a casual way of referring to it or a simple type of sideboard.


_Credenza_ is used in AE but not in BE, as far as I know. And I've never used the word 'hutch': that I would keep rabbits in (well I wouldn't actually, because I hate the idea of keeping an animal in a cage), so there's yet another difference.


----------



## k in the desert

wildan1 said:


> Both terms are used in AE; _trousers_ is a higher-register word--you would see it in a clothing advertisement more than in a casual conversation, where _pants_ is the usual term most used for both men's and women's trousers.
> 
> The BE kind of _pants_ are called _underpants_ in AE.
> _Pantaloons_ are a blousy kind of costume trousers worn by clowns or Arab sheiks.



We also use the word _slacks_ in AE.


----------



## london calling

k in the desert said:


> We also use the word _slacks_ in AE.


_Slacks_ means ladies' trousers in the UK, although to be honest only much older people (my parents, who are in their eighties) say it these days.


----------



## chipulukusu

Hi London, am I wrong or _slackers_ is still used for some sort of casual baggy trousers or sportish outfit? Or is it a brand name, maybe?


----------



## london calling

chipulukusu said:


> Hi London, am I wrong or _slackers_ is still used for some sort of casual baggy trousers or sportish outfit? Or is it a brand name, maybe?


To me a _slacker_ is a _lazy bugger!_ Seriously, see this. _Scansafatiche/lavativo_.

I have no idea if it is a brand name and I've never heard anyone call baggy trousers slackers (but that doesn't mean people don't, I may just never have heard it): have you tried checking it out on Google?.


----------



## Tegs

Slackers are definitely lazy people, not trousers!


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## chipulukusu

london calling said:


> To me a _slacker_ is a _lazy bugger!_ Serioysly, see this. _Scansafatiche/lavativo_.
> 
> I have no idea if it is a brand name and I've never heard anyone call baggy trousers slackers (but that doesn't mean people don't, I may just never have heard it): have you tried checking it out on Google?.



Yes, but 99% of the results agree with your _scansafatiche_ meaning I don't know where I got that idea from...


----------



## wildan1

chipulukusu said:


> Hi London, am I wrong or _slackers_ is still used for some sort of casual baggy trousers or sportish outfit? Or is it a brand name, maybe?


Are you confusing that with _Dockers_, a popular brand of casual slacks made by Levi Strauss?


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## Einstein

Another point about slacks in BrE: I've always thought of them as something fairly tight, in spite of the name that suggests baggy.


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## london calling

Einstein said:


> Another point about slacks in BrE: I've always thought of them as something fairly tight, in spite of the name that suggests baggy.


That has never occurred to me.  It just means ladies' trousers to me (did ladies wear tight slacks all those years ago?).


----------



## chipulukusu

wildan1 said:


> Are you confusing that with _Dockers_, a popular brand of casual slacks made by Levi Strauss?



Yes, it is well possible. Or maybe I got confused by a similarity in sound... people who go jogging wear _sneakers _and... _slackers_! Sorry


----------



## k in the desert

curiosone said:


> Well maybe we need to research discussions regarding the term _redneck_.  Here's a list :  http://forum.wordreference.com/search.php?searchid=2589941
> I don't have time to check them out tonight, but maybe we need to do yet another IT/AmE/BrE just for "redneck" in the offensive sense of racist/bigot/ignorante.
> (Il termine _razzista _non mi sembra sufficientemente colorito - but the slang term _terrone _maybe comes closer).



Hi,
I'm jumping into the "redneck" discussion a little late, but it seems to me that there are many definitions of a "redneck," so it's a word difficult to use if you haven't grown up with it. A very important characteristic of a person called a "redneck" is usually his lack of education, so it all goes hand in hand - his neck is red because he works in the sun, he may be racist out of ignorance, etc. Over the past 10 years, comedians have made hay (made use) of the term, in particular, Jeff Foxworthy who has a whole schtick (routine) on what it is to be a redneck. Here's a link that you may find amusing: http://www.fortogden.com/foredneck.html


----------



## WordsWordWords

Hello,

Here's a greeting that I've heard differently in BrE compared to what we say in AmE:

*Termine in italiano: Come stai?

Termine in AmE: How are you? / How are you doing?

Termine in BrE: Are you OK?

*I heard this BrE expression from everyone while in England this summer. It struck me as strange, because in AmE "Are you OK?" is something I would ask if I saw somebody who does not look well physically/emotionally. 

Any input from BrE natives?

Thanks!


----------



## sound shift

Well, BrE speakers also say "How are you?"


----------



## chipulukusu

WordsWordWords said:


> Hello,
> Here's a greeting that I've heard differently in BrE compared to what we say in AmE:
> *Termine in italiano: Come stai?
> Termine in AmE: How are you? / How are you doing?
> Termine in BrE: Are you OK?
> *I heard this BrE expression from everyone while in England this summer. It struck me as strange, because in AmE "Are you OK?" is something I would ask if I saw somebody who does not look well physically/emotionally.
> Any input from BrE natives?
> Thanks!



I've also noticed this, but I've also noticed that it seems to me to be more every passing day...
Last week-end in every shop I went I was greeted with a "_Hiya, are you ok?_". I am sure it was not like this just one year ago! And I also wanted to ask about this in the forum!
I can't help noticing this because this is a greeting that always displaces me a bit as an Italian. I never know if I am expected to answer with a "Yes I'm fine thank you, and you?" or just with a smile and another "How are you" like I'm used to do when I'm addressed with a more traditional "How are you?"

I don't know if you agree, but this seems to me somehow a new trend in today's BrE...


----------



## Einstein

I agree with sound shift: "How are you?" is perfectly normal in BrE too. Of course, we have various alternatives, including "Are you OK/all right?" or simply "All right?". I don't live in the UK so I don't know recent trends, but I don't think we can really establish an AmE/BrE difference here based on two different clearly dominant expressions.


----------



## Matrap

Credo che l'intento di WWW non fosse quello di affermare che in UK non si dica "how are you". Sarebbe da pazzi pensarlo. Credo volesse sottolineare la peculiarità solo BE di "are you ok" rispetto al normale uso per chiedere come si sta fisicamente (ad esempio dopo che qualcuno è caduto) e non come formula di saluto.


----------



## Einstein

Matrap said:


> Credo che l'intento di WWW non fosse quello di affermare che in UK non si dica "how are you". Sarebbe da pazzi pensarlo. Credo volesse sottolineare la peculiarità solo BE di "are you ok" rispetto al normale uso per chiedere come si sta fisicamente (ad esempio dopo che qualcuno è caduto) e non come formula di saluto.


D'accordo, ma volevo solo dire che per me non c'è una differenza così netta da meritare una voce in questo glossario. Per citare un altro esempio, io da Brit non direi "How are you?" al primo incontro, ma più probabilmente "Pleased to meet you" o un equivalente meno formale. Oppure, come semplice saluto, "Hello"; quando un americano che vedo per la prima volta mi chiede "How are you?", non so se gli devo dire "fine, thanks!" o semplicemente ripetere "How are you?". Assomiglia un po' al vecchio "How do you do?"
Il mio punto è che stiamo parlando più di convenzioni che di vocaboli.


----------



## Matrap

Einstein said:


> D'accordo, ma volevo solo dire che per me non c'è una differenza così netta da meritare una voce in questo glossario. Per citare un altro esempio, io da Brit non direi "How are you?" al primo incontro, ma più probabilmente "Pleased to meet you" o un equivalente meno formale. Oppure, come semplice saluto, "Hello"; quando un americano che vedo per la prima volta mi chiede "How are you?", non so se gli devo dire "fine, thanks!" o semplicemente ripetere "How are you?". Assomiglia un po' al vecchio "How do you do?"
> Il mio punto è che stiamo parlando più di convenzioni che di vocaboli.



 Perfettamente d'accordo.


----------



## WordsWordWords

Matrap said:


> Credo che l'intento di WWW non fosse quello di affermare che in UK non si dica "how are you". Sarebbe da pazzi pensarlo. Credo volesse sottolineare la peculiarità solo BE di "are you ok" rispetto al normale uso per chiedere come si sta fisicamente (ad esempio dopo che qualcuno è caduto) e non come formula di saluto.



 Yes, that is exactly what I was trying to say -- it just sounded strange to me to have this question asked. Initially it made me wonder if I had an expression on my face that seemed to indicate I was unwell... As Chip said in post #189, is this something recent?


----------



## curiosone

Einstein said:


> D'accordo, ma volevo solo dire che per me non c'è una differenza così netta da meritare una voce in questo glossario. Per citare un altro esempio, io da Brit non direi "How are you?" al primo incontro, ma più probabilmente "Pleased to meet you" o un equivalente meno formale. Oppure, come semplice saluto, "Hello"; quando un americano che vedo per la prima volta mi chiede "How are you?", non so se gli devo dire "fine, thanks!" o semplicemente ripetere "How are you?". Assomiglia un po' al vecchio "How do you do?"
> Il mio punto è che stiamo parlando più di convenzioni che di vocaboli.



However I'm having difficulty, trying to imagine saying "How are you?" to someone I have just met.  Like you, I'd likely say "pleased to meet you" (or, in a very formal context: "How do you do?").   The closest I can think (of this "How are you?" form) might be (in the context of a store clerk greeting a potential customer in a "friendly, ice-breaking" way) something like "How are you, today?" - but if I were the salesperson, I'd more likely say "Hello" or "Can I help you with anything?" to someone I had never met (not a regular customer).

But "Are you OK?" (to my AmE ears) would make me wonder if I looked ill.  It would make sense only if I had just tripped, or something similar.  If this is frequently used in BE, I would call it a BE colloquialism.  So if we're tranlsating "Come stai?" from Italian, I'd put "How are you?" as both BE and AmE, and then the colloquial variations ("Are you OK?" as BE and "How are you doing?" as AmE).


----------



## wildan1

curiosone said:


> However I'm having difficulty, trying to imagine saying "How are you?" to someone I have just met.  Like you, I'd likely say "pleased to meet you" (or, in a very formal context: "How do you do?").


_How are you?_ is now a very common way to engage with a person one has just been introduced to. It's not really a question and its intonation isn't usually like that of a question; it just a type of greeting. Or _Nice to meet you_. 
_
Pleased to meet you._ sounds a bit formal or hackneyed in modern AE, in my opinion. _How do you do? _is a leftover from long ago...


----------



## rrose17

wildan1 said:


> _How are you?_ is now a very common way to engage with a person one has just been introduced to. It's not really a question and its intonation isn't usually like that of a question; it just a type of greeting. Or _Nice to meet you_.
> _
> Pleased to meet you._ sounds a bit formal or hackneyed in modern AE, in my opinion. _How do you do? _is a leftover from long ago...


I agree completely. _Hi, how are you?_ in a store or especially a restaurant would sound totally appropriate to me. Not necessarily sincere, but often heard.


----------



## curiosone

I guess the problem stems from the fact that (probably due to regional/colloquial usage), I'd more likely say "How are you doing?" which (spelled the way I'd likely pronounce it) would become "Hahr ye doin'?"


----------



## rrose17

curiosone said:


> I guess the problem stems from the fact that (probably due to regional/colloquial usage), I'd more likely say "How are you doing?" which (spelled the way I'd likely pronounce it) would become "Hahr ye doin'?"


This is distinctly American! I remember I used to go to Dallas with a female colleague to go shopping. I'm in the fashion business and we are always "doing the stores". Every store we'd go into we'd be greeted with "How y'all doin' ladies?" Now, I am a man with a beard, so that was my first clue that this was just a common greeting lacking just a bit in sincerity...


----------



## wildan1

_How you doin'? _is also a standard greeting in US Black English (often used not as a question--a greeting whose answer can be the same "non-question"). 

Living in a city with a population that is 60% black (Washington, DC), I and many others who are not black use it pretty frequently in informal settings, too!


----------



## curiosone

rrose17 said:


> This is distinctly American! I remember I used to go to Dallas with a female colleague to go shopping. I'm in the fashion business and we are always "doing the stores". Every store we'd go into we'd be greeted with "How y'all doin' ladies?" Now, I am a man with a beard, so that was my first clue that this was just a common greeting lacking just a bit in sincerity...



I'd say it's specifically Southern, as a California friend (to whom I had said "Hahr ye doin'?" - without realizing I had pronounced it that way) replied "Ah'm jest fahn."


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## curiosone

Termine in italiano: posate
Termine in AmE: flatware, cutlery
Termine in BrE: cutlery


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## rrose17

I always found it interesting and even a point a of pride the differences between American and Canadian words/expressions. For what it's worth in Canada we say cutlery but I always thought Americans said silverware. Is the use of silverware regional? Old fashioned?


----------



## curiosone

rrose17 said:


> I always found it interesting and even a point a of pride the differences between American and Canadian words/expressions. For what it's worth in Canada we say cutlery but I always thought Americans said silverware. Is the use of silverware regional? Old fashioned?



My posting here was subsequent to a discussion on this thread: http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=2725542
(entitled "lucidare le posate").  I agree that "silverware" is often used, referring to cutlery (we say both "cutlery" and "flatware" south of the Canadian border ), but (as Elfa pointed) out, technically "silverware" refers to sterling silver or silver-plated cutlery (which we posh people still use  ).


----------



## wildan1

curiosone said:


> My posting here was subsequent to a discussion on this thread: http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=2725542
> (entitled "lucidare le posate").  I agree that "silverware" is often used, referring to cutlery (we say both "cutlery" and "flatware" south of the Canadian border ), but (as Elfa pointed) out, technically "silverware" refers to sterling silver or silver-plated cutlery (which we posh people still use  ).


I don't think most people would infer that something called _silverware _was made of silver.  To me it is the most common term used in AE for eating utensils--whether made of silver, stainless steel or aluminum. _Flatware_ is a term you would hear in a shop or advertisement--not many people use it in conversation. _Cutlery _in AE refers to kitchen knives.

On the other hand, if you talk about getting out the _silver_ for a special meal, there is no doubt what you are talking about.


----------



## curiosone

Checking Merriam-Webster, I see that AmE usage does include a generic form of "silverware" (though personally I always make a distinction, as I use both, and I'd never serve eggs with a silver fork! ).  

Merriam-Webster has both meanings (knives, and flatware) for cutlery.


> cutlery noun \ˈkət-lə-rē\
> : sharp tools made of metal (such as knives and scissors) that are used for cutting things
> : forks, spoons, and knives used for serving and eating food


----------



## Paulfromitaly

*Termine in italiano*: fari anabbaglianti
*Termine in AmE*: dimmed headlights
*Termine in BrE*: dipped headlights


*Termine in italiano*: fari abbaglianti
*Termine in AmE*: headlights on high beam
*Termine in BrE*: headlights on full beam


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## wildan1

Paulfromitaly said:


> *Termine in italiano*: fari anabbaglianti
> *Termine in AmE*: dimmed headlights
> *Termine in BrE*: dipped headlights
> 
> 
> *Termine in italiano*: fari abbaglianti
> *Termine in AmE*: headlights on high beam
> *Termine in BrE*: headlights on full beam


_High beam_ is indeed the "official" term for that in AE--you would read that in a car user manual, for sure--but most people normally just say _bright lights _or simply _brights: "Put on _(or_ dim_)_ your brights."_


----------



## Paulfromitaly

wildan1 said:


> _High beam_ is indeed the "official" term for that in AE--you would read that in a car user manual, for sure--but most people normally just say _bright lights _or simply _brights: "Put on _(or_ dim_)_ your brights."_



So lights and bright lights/birghts?


----------



## wildan1

Paulfromitaly said:


> So lights and bright lights/birghts?


No, a car has _headlights_ (not _lights_), but _brights_ is the term most people use instead of the official term _"high beams"_.


----------



## CPA

In BE it's "full headlights" and "dipped headlights".


----------



## WordsWordWords

curiosone said:


> My posting here was subsequent to a discussion on this thread: http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=2725542
> (entitled "lucidare le posate").  I agree that "silverware" is often used, referring to cutlery (we say both "cutlery" and "flatware" south of the Canadian border ), but (as Elfa pointed) out, technically "silverware" refers to sterling silver or silver-plated cutlery (which we posh people still use  ).



Hi all,

I think there must be some regional influence, but don't know what it could be. I grew up in Minnesota using only the word "silverware" at home; yet my father is from Southern Illinois, and my mother from New York City, so I cannot fathom where the usage is from in my family... Oddly enough, the terms "cutlery" and "flatware" always seemed more formal sounding to me -- maybe because I encountered them in the housewares sections of large department stores?


----------



## Einstein

This is one that came to mind so I looked it up in the database:
*
Termine in italiano: *maglione*
Termine in AmE: *sweater*
Termine in BrE: *jumper

There are quite a lot of words around. In BrE the oldest word was "jersey" (haven't heard it for years!). But it was replaced by "pullover", which I see isn't included above. Does that sound very old to other Brits? "Jumper", on the other hand, is something I've always heard women say, while men continued to say "pullover".
"Sweater" to me is an alternative in BrE too; I don't find it strictly AmE.


----------



## WordsWordWords

Einstein said:


> This is one that came to mind so I looked it up in the database:
> *
> Termine in italiano: *maglione*
> Termine in AmE: *sweater*
> Termine in BrE: *jumper
> 
> There are quite a lot of words around. In BrE the oldest word was "jersey" (haven't heard it for years!). But it was replaced by "pullover", which I see isn't included above. Does that sound very old to other Brits? "Jumper", on the other hand, is something I've always heard women say, while men continued to say "pullover".
> "Sweater" to me is an alternative in BrE too; I don't find it strictly AmE.



Don't let's forget that Italian term "golf", which tripped me up for a long time when I first came to Italy....


----------



## wildan1

Einstein said:


> This is one that came to mind so I looked it up in the database:
> *
> Termine in italiano: *maglione*
> Termine in AmE: *sweater*
> Termine in BrE: *jumper


_Sweater _is accurate for AE. 

AE _jumper_ is a completely different piece of clothing--a sleeveless dress worn over a blouse or other top.


----------



## WordsWordWords

@wildan1 -- Thanks for the comment (and link) for "jumper" in AmE, it's a common point of confusion, especially since the AmE jumper has returned to fashion in recent years.

What is that garment called in BrE?


----------



## chipulukusu

WordsWordWords said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I think there must be some regional influence, but don't know what it could be. I grew up in Minnesota using only the word "silverware" at home; yet my father is from Southern Illinois, and my mother from New York City, so I cannot fathom where the usage is from in my family... Oddly enough, the terms "cutlery" and "flatware" always seemed more formal sounding to me -- maybe because I encountered them in the housewares sections of large department stores?



I've also noticed that in the UK. Even in the poshest department stores where they show the most expensive cutlery, actually silver or silver plated one, you never see a _Silverware _section. Unless in some places there you can find a _Silver Gifts_ section which also display some silver cutlery.


----------



## Einstein

WordsWordWords said:


> Don't let's forget that Italian term "golf", which tripped me up for a long time when I first came to Italy....


Yes! "Golf" should be added to the Italian as an alternative for "maglione".

To wildan1: Yes, I know "jumper" is different for Americans. I wasn't questioning the accuracy of "sweater" in AE, I was saying that I don't find it unusual in BrE either. We'll see what other Brits say.


----------



## chipulukusu

WordsWordWords said:


> @wildan1 -- Thanks for the comment (and link) for "jumper" in AmE, it's a common point of confusion, especially since the AmE jumper has returned to fashion in recent years.
> 
> What is that garment called in BrE?



I think it's called _pinafore_, but I've omly seen it on magazines, I've never heard it in my family or from friends or acquaintance..


----------



## chipulukusu

Einstein said:


> Yes! "Golf" should be added to the Italian as an alternative for "maglione".
> 
> To wildan1: Yes, I know "jumper" is different for Americans. I wasn't questioning the accuracy of "sweater" in AE, I was saying that I don't find it unusual in BrE either. We'll see what other Brits say.



As a non British who is very attentive and interested to the use of words by British people, I think that j_umper _is still much more used than _sweater_ even among the youngster who are the more exposed to American Tv...


----------



## curiosone

chipulukusu said:


> I think it's called _pinafore_, but I've omly seen it on magazines, I've never heard it in my family or from friends or acquaintance..



I used to wear a pinafore when I was very little, but it was a sort of dress or overdress (what I'd call a "grembiulino" in Italian).  I remember wearing one with flounces in summer (by itself, as a sort of sundress).  But it was usually worn over other clothes, to keep them clean, and it wasn't the same as what I'd call "jumper" (in AmE), which was what I'd describe as a "salopette" (dungarees) with a skirt.  The Oxford Dictionary has this definition for "pinafore" : 
noun 

(also _British_ *pinafore dress*) a collarless sleeveless dress worn over a blouse or jumper.

a woman’s loose sleeveless garment, typically full length and worn over clothes to keep them clean.

a sleeveless apron-like garment worn over a young girl’s dress, typically having ties or buttons at the back.

A jumper (in AmE) cannot be worn without a blouse or something underneath, and its definition (in AmE) is: 
_North American_ a collarless sleeveless dress, typically worn over a blouse.


----------



## chipulukusu

curiosone said:


> But it was usually worn over other clothes, to keep them clean



No wonder I don't usually hear it around




curiosone said:


> which was what I'd describe as a "salopette" (dungarees) with a skirt



Thank you Curio, I was struggling to remember how my daughter calls a jeans salopette. It's _dungaree_!


----------



## london calling

chipulukusu said:


> I was struggling to remember how my daughter calls a jeans salopette. It's _dungaree_!


Dungaree*s*...


----------



## chipulukusu

london calling said:


> Dungaree*s*...


Thank you London


----------



## beacher

curiosone said:


> A jumper (in AmE) cannot be worn without a blouse or something underneath, and its definition (in AmE) is:
> _North American_ a collarless sleeveless dress, typically worn over a blouse.



It's kind of puzzling me right now, if you google it you'll get bunch of images of normal sweater (sometimes hoodies, but google plays up from time to time). I wonder if based on Curiosone definition it is the italian equivalent gilet?


----------



## wildan1

curiosone said:


> I used to wear a pinafore when I was very little, but it was a sort of dress or overdress (what I'd call a "grembiulino" in Italian).  I remember wearing one with flounces in summer (by itself, as a sort of sundress).  But it was usually worn over other clothes, to keep them clean, and it wasn't the same as what I'd call "jumper" (in AmE)


We call that kind of protective covering _a smock. _In a hospital context it's called _a nightie.

A jumper_ isn't protective--it's a sleeveless, collarless dress covering a shirt or blouse.


----------



## london calling

wildan1 said:


> We call that kind of protective covering _a smock. _In a hospital context it's called _a nightie._



What ho, another difference!

A _nightie_ in BE is short for nightdress: you would wear a nightie at home too. So, would you say this was right?

*Italian*: camicia da notte
*BE:* nightie/nightdress
*AE:* nightdress

*Italian*: camice degente
*BE:* hospital gown
*AE*: nightie


----------



## wildan1

london calling said:


> What ho, another difference!
> 
> A _nightie_ in BE is short for nightdress: you would wear a nightie at home too. So, would you say this was right?
> 
> *Italian*: camicia da notte
> *BE:* nightie/nightdress
> *AE:* nightdress
> 
> *Italian*: camice degente
> *BE:* hospital gown
> *AE*: nightie


Sorry, out of obvious context, it should be _hospital nightie_ or _hospital gown_. _Nightie_ is also an AE term for a lady's nightgown.


----------



## chipulukusu

To remain in the topic, the last _craze _about what to wear in the UK seems to be the _onesie_ a baggy all-in-one suit (my daughter's favorite is a dalmatian one with a hood with ears and a tail) that I usually call ironically a _bed suit_ because I could sleep in it wherever I am...
Apparently people is starting wearing this also for going outside (hopefully without ears and tails... though the ones with an animal look are all but rare) to the dismay of people with a taste for fashion...
Is this term also used in the US or there is an equivalent term for this sort of giant _baby suit _(provided that the _onesie_ craze has alredy hit the US, of course)?Honestly I don't have any idea about where this term comes from...


----------



## london calling

wildan1 said:


> Sorry, out of obvious context, it should be _hospital nightie_ or _hospital gown_. _Nightie_ is also an AE term for a lady's nightdress.


Ok, thanks!

PS. Do you say _nightgown_ as well as _nightdress_? We do, although _nightgown_'s rather old-fashioned.


----------



## joanvillafane

Hi chip - yes, onesies are also seen here, although I'd like to know where your daughter wears hers.  Here they are not allowed in schools, except on special "pajama days" (yes, we have that, too!).  It's a one-piece garment, and without the ears and tail would probably be called a _jumpsuit._  The word _"onesie" _comes from baby apparel, as you guessed.


----------



## chipulukusu

joanvillafane said:


> Hi chip - yes, onesies are also seen here, although I'd like to know where your daughter wears hers.  Here they are not allowed in schools, except on special "pajama days" (yes, we have that, too!).  It's a one-piece garment, and without the ears and tail would probably be called a _jumpsuit._  The word _"onesie" _comes from baby apparel, as you guessed.



Hi Joan, I'm confident that she will wear them only at home (she's studying in Scotland so they suit the cold climate...)

I was also thinking that we don't have a term for this in Italian. We have _calzamaglia_ but it is reserved to a very tight second-skin like outfit. An _animal onsie _would probably simply be called _costume_ in italiano.
Cheers


----------



## london calling

chipulukusu said:


> Hi Joan, I'm confident that she will wear them only at home (she's studying in Scotland so they suit the cold climate...)


And of course I bet she's obliged to wear a uniform to school, right?...


----------



## chipulukusu

london calling said:


> And of course I bet she's obliged to wear a uniform to school, right?...



No London, this is my older daughter, who is going to Uni. I think her age range is the main target for this _onesie _craze. I think younger kids may fear to look childish in them...


----------



## london calling

chipulukusu said:


> I think younger kids may fear to look childish in them...


. Yes, I imagine they would.


----------



## curiosone

beacher said:


> It's kind of puzzling me right now, if you google it you'll get bunch of images of normal sweater (sometimes hoodies, but google plays up from time to time). I wonder if based on Curiosone definition it is the italian equivalent gilet?



I think "gilet" is already on the WRF list, but it corresponds to "vest" in AmE and to "waistcoat" in BrE (if we refer to the button-in front kind) - and none of these are worn to protect other clothing. If you refer to the pullover kind, it would be called a "sleeveless sweater" in AmE, and (I guess) a "sleeveless jumper" in BrE.
​


> *wildan1
> *We call that kind of protective covering _a smock. In a hospital context it's called a nightie._



-
Since we are both AmE native speakers, I wish you'd quit referring to "we" when you say things differently than I do. Neither of us have greater authority over than the language than the other, and your use of "we" sounds as if you thought you did (or were in a majority). Let's just say that colloquialisms are allowable, that I'm probably older, and therefore remember a lot of old-fashioned words.

"Pinafore" is an old-fashioned word (in my opinion), and in fact I only remember its use when I was very young. I am also familiar with the word "smock" (to describe protective clothing, or more specifically an over-shirt you don't mind getting dirty), but it isn't exactly the same thing, tho' probably a more modern evolution of the old-fashioned pinafore (which was more decorative - I remember flounces - like some of the "grembiulini da scuola" used in Italy until recent years).



> Originariamente inviata da london calling
> PS. Do you say _nightgown as well as nightdress? We do, although nightgown's rather old-fashioned._



Frankly, I don't say "nightdress" at all - I say (and note I make no presumption of speaking for wildan) either "nightie" or "nightgown" or "night shirt." I also say "hospital gown" (and not "hospital nightie"). So here's my modified version:​
-*Italian: camicia da notte
BE: nightie/nightdress
AE: nightie/nightgown/night shirt-*​

*
[*]Italian: camice degente
BE: hospital gown
AE: hospital gown, hospital nightie ​(which I repeat I'm not familiar with, but have left because that's how wildan would say it) ​*


----------



## london calling

giovannino said:


> Penso che sia vero il contrario: casket (NAmE), coffin (esp. BrE)


We say_ coffin_ in BE for sure.


----------



## curiosone

london calling said:


> We say_ coffin_ in BE for sure.



We say "coffin" too, but it has a more Halloweeny (horror) connotation than "casket" (in AmE, anyway) - which is the term used by funeral parlors, and doesn't have any "Robert Englund"-type interpretations.


----------



## wildan1

curiosone said:


> Since we are both AmE native speakers, I wish you'd quit referring to "we" when you say things differently than I do. Neither of us have greater authority over than the language than the other, and your use of "we" sounds as if you thought you did (or were in a majority). Let's just say that colloquialisms are allowable, that I'm probably older, and therefore remember a lot of old-fashioned words.



My "we" has nothing to do with you, curious one--I am referring to myself and other educated native speakers living in the urban United States. Otherwise I would qualify my comments as reflecting dialect, regionalisms, slang, spoken styles used by certain age groups or sub-cultures.

Your perspective as an expat living overseas is of course different, curiousone--I can't speak for you. My own experience, when I lived as a long-term expat in a non-English speaking country, was that it's easy to mix up terms one hears from other native speakers from other places, influences from the host country language and to fall behind on how language has evolved back home.


----------



## King Crimson

If I'm not mistaken this is not yet in the list:

*Italian*: scotch
*BE:* sellotape
*AE:* scotch tape


----------



## Tegs

Just to add to this pinafore debate, in BE, as I'm used to it anyway, pinafore is a dress you wear over a blouse, usually as part of a school uniform. It is not protective clothing though - you don't wear it over another dress or anything. It's not the same as an artist's smock or a particular type of nightie you'd wear in a hospital. It's just an old-fashioned sort of dress


----------



## King Crimson

Here's another one:

*Termine in italiano: *negozio di dolciumi
*Termine in AmE: *candy store
*Termine in BrE: *sweetshop


----------



## london calling

King Crimson said:


> If I'm not mistaken this is not yet in the list:
> 
> *Italian*: scotch
> *BE:* sellotape
> *AE:* scotch tape


Aggiungo:

*BE:* sellotape/sticky tape.


----------



## wildan1

Tegs said:


> Just to add to this pinafore debate, in BE, as I'm used to it anyway, pinafore is a dress you wear over a blouse, usually as part of a school uniform.


That's exactly the description I meant when referring to_ jumper_ as a different item in AE. When I was in Catholic schools the girls had to wear jumpers (in an ugly blue plaid) to school every day.


----------



## london calling

wildan1 said:


> That's exactly the description I meant when referring to_ jumper_ as a different item in AE. When I was in Catholic schools the girls had to wear jumpers (in an ugly blue plaid) to school every day.


Yes, what you in the States call a _jumper_, we call a _pinafore_.


----------



## wildan1

london calling said:


> Aggiungo:
> 
> *BE:* sellotape/sticky tape.


_Scotch_ is a brand name, so it is capitalized in AE: _Scotch tape_, although the term is widely used for any brand of _cellophane tape _(which is the correct AE generic term).


----------



## london calling

wildan1 said:


> _Scotch_ is a brand name, so it is capitalized in AE: _Scotch tape_, although the term is widely used for any brand of _cellophane tape _(which is the correct generic term)


Right, but it isn't in Italian.

PS. _Sellotape_ is also a brand name but is used in BE to indicate any brand of sticky tape/cellophane tape (but we don't capitalise it, generally speaking).


----------



## chipulukusu

london calling said:


> Right, but it isn't in Italian.
> 
> PS. _Sellotape_ is also a brand name but is used in BE to indicate any brand of sticky tape/cellophane tape (but we don't capitalise it, generally speaking).



London is right about Italian, I've used _scotch (_probably spelled _scoc_ or _scocc_) since childhood and only when I bought a tape cassete years later I realized that _Scotch _was a brand name!


----------



## Willower

london calling said:


> Yes, what you in the States call a _jumper_, we call a _pinafore_.


 I think I'd call it a pinafore dress to distinguish it from a pinafore which is an old fashioned word for what's now usually called an apron.

Reverting to an earlier discussion on greetings 



> Hello,
> 
> Here's a greeting that I've heard differently in BrE compared to what we say in AmE:
> 
> *Termine in italiano: Come stai?
> 
> Termine in AmE: How are you? / How are you doing?
> 
> Termine in BrE: Are you OK?
> 
> I heard this BrE expression from everyone while in England this summer. It struck me as strange, because in AmE "Are you OK?" is something I would ask if I saw somebody who does not look well physically/emotionally.
> 
> Any input from BrE natives?
> 
> Thanks!*



In the part of the UK where I live,some widely used informal greetings are not "_*Are* you OK_?" which I too would take as an expression of concern, but one of the following "_*You* OK_?"; "_Are (unstressed) *you *OK?"; "[*You*]Alright?.  _These would usually be prefaced by "Hi or hello." A widely used term (one that I taught a recent group of language students, factory workers who had previously learned that the correct greeting was "Good morning/afternoon") is "Orrite?"


----------



## King Crimson

Not one-hundred per cent sure about this one but let's see what native speakers, on both sides of the pond, say:

*Termine in italiano: *lampada a stelo / piantana
*Termine in AmE: *floor lamp
*Termine in BrE: *standard lamp


----------



## sound shift

I (BrE) call that a standard lamp.


----------



## chipulukusu

Willower said:


> In the part of the UK where I live,some widely used informal greetings are not "_*Are* you OK_?" which I too would take as an expression of concern, but one of the following "_*You* OK_?"; "_Are (unstressed) *you *OK?"; "[*You*]Alright?.  _These would usually be prefaced by "Hi or hello." A widely used term (one that I taught a recent group of language students, factory workers who had previously learned that the correct greeting was "Good morning/afternoon") is "Orrite?"



As a non British I agree that "you alright?" [uorraa'it] with an emphatic "ai" part is a perfectly normal way to be greeted in England and I take it like an _hiya_ not like a "_Do you feel alright_?" What I noted is a recent shift toward saying "_(are)_ _you ok?_" instead of "_(are) you alright_".
I mantain that _hiya _as a greeting is less formal than _hello_ but more formal than _hi_, a bit like our _buongiorno, salve, ciao_ set. At the same time I find _are you ok?_ a bit more familiar than _are you alright?_ so I wonder if this is a step toward being welcomed with a _Hi, you ok? _in the next future. I don't see absolutely any problem in this, of course, but in Italy it is becoming usual to be greeted in shops with a _ciao_ by shop assistants some decades younger than you, and not everybody finds this nice.


----------



## wildan1

In AE _Hiya_ is an old, mid-20th Century (or older) informal expression for _Hello_; now really only used to be funny or anachronistic. I think of a grandfather greeting a small grandchild this way nowadays...

AE greetings similar to the new BE use of _"You alright?"_ could include _Hi, Hi guys_ (directed to both genders), _Hey_ (somewhat southern), _Hey y'all_ (definitely southern), _How you doin'?_ (predominately Black AE outside the south).

PS: In South African English you often hear _Howzit?_ as an informal greeting, not really used as a question.


----------



## Willower

"_Hiya_" is still usable in Br English, although I think it's a bit more restrained - more like "_higher_" than the "Hiya pardner" of 1950s Westerns- i's not really any more formal than "Hi", nor is it particularly old fashioned, though  it's probably used more as a response to "hi" than as an initial greeting.  

The difficulty in offering translations of greetings is that there are so many variations in vocabulary, register, and implication. I might well greet a close friend with a smile or nod, perhaps asking something like - How are you/ How are things going? or going straight into conversation.  If I'm out walking my dog and I pass a young man that I don't know, I'll probably say "_All righ_t? (ie_ I am noticing you  and being polite, please don't hit me over the head and steal my mobile phone_") while his reply "_Orrite_" (or in this part of Wales, "_Orrite Butt"_ or "_Orrite Mun") _ means "_Of course I won't, you silly old bat. I'm a polite well-brought up boy who doesn't mug women old enough to be my grandmother, despite the fact that I have steel pins puncturing every orifice on my body_..." His older counterpart (with or without the steel pins) will be greeted with "Hello" or "Morning/afternoon/a comment on the weather"

I imagine that every language has nuances like these?


----------



## curiosone

wildan1 said:


> new[/U] BE use of _"You alright?"_ could include _Hi, Hi guys_ (directed to both genders), _Hey_ (somewhat southern), _Hey y'all_ (definitely southern), _How you doin'?_ (predominately Black AE outside the south).



"_Hi Guys_" sounds Midwestern to my Kentucky ears (certainly north of the old line dividing North and South).  "_Hey_" is frequently used in my parts (as in "J_ohn says "Hey_"). My brother has pointed out to me that my use of "youall" instead of "y'all" marks me as Kentuckian (as opposed to "deep South") - what he doesn't understand is that I'm proud to be a Kentuckian.  "_How you doin'_?" may well have "Black English" origins, but it's very common "down my way" - and certainly isn't limited to African-Americans (or outside the south).  It's also said "_How're you doin'_?"



> Willower posted "...Hiya pardner" of 1950s Westerns..."



I always heard it said "Howdy pardner."  I only learned "Hiya" on Facebook from some Brits.


----------



## Willower

I stand corrected curiosone!


----------



## chipulukusu

Willower said:


> "_Hiya_" is still usable in Br English, although I think it's a bit more restrained - more like "_higher_" than the "Hiya pardner" of 1950s Westerns- i's not really any more formal than "Hi", nor is it particularly old fashioned, though  it's probably used more as a response to "hi" than as an initial greeting.
> 
> The difficulty in offering translations of greetings is that there are so many variations in vocabulary, register, and implication. I might well greet a close friend with a smile or nod, perhaps asking something like - How are you/ How are things going? or going straight into conversation.  If I'm out walking my dog and I pass a young man that I don't know, I'll probably say "_All righ_t? (ie_ I am noticing you  and being polite, please don't hit me over the head and steal my mobile phone_") while his reply "_Orrite_" (or in this part of Wales, "_Orrite Butt"_ or "_Orrite Mun") _ means "_Of course I won't, you silly old bat. I'm a polite well-brought up boy who doesn't mug women old enough to be my grandmother, despite the fact that I have steel pins puncturing every orifice on my body_..." His older counterpart (with or without the steel pins) will be greeted with "Hello" or "Morning/afternoon/a comment on the weather"
> 
> I imagine that every language has nuances like these?



Hi willower, thank you for the amusing explanation, it's quite clear now! I would like to take profit and ask you additional clarifications, but I'm afraid it would be OT in this ITA-US-UK thread... 
Most of my _social_ contacts are in a relatively small area (Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield, Nottingham, Derby) and I've never been greeted with an _hello_ all this time. I think _Hiya, 'r' you alright_ is by the far the more common greeting wherever I'm a stranger (not _hi_ by the way). I almost always start with a _hello_ and I see that this immediately qualify me as a foreigner...


----------



## Matrap

Mi confermate questa distinzione? Per lo meno sulla carta dovrebbe esserci:
* 
Termine in italiano: *scarpe da tennis/ginnastica/sportive.
*Termine in AmE: *tennis shoes/sneakers.
*Termine in BrE: *tennis shoes/trainers.


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## Willower

The Br English is correct, Matrap, although there are some regional variations.


----------



## Willower

*Penso che questo *è un altro esempio?*

Termine in italiano: melanzana
Termine in AmE: egg plant
Termine in BrE:aubergine
*
"Egg plant " si usa molto meno spesso in Br E.


----------



## WordsWordWords

@ Willower: The term "Hiya pardner" of 1950s Westerns >>> is actually "_Howdy_ pardner" 

Can anyone comment on this: 
Is it possible that "Hiya" is actually a compromised pronunciation of "Hi you"? (The latter is, of course, not used -- but it crossed my mind since we can say "How are ya", written as well as spoken.)


----------



## Matrap

Willower said:


> The Br English is correct, Matrap, although there are some regional variations.



Grazie Willower.


----------



## WordsWordWords

Willower said:


> *Penso che questo *è un altro esempio?*
> 
> Termine in italiano: melanzana
> Termine in AmE: egg plant
> Termine in BrE:aubergine
> *
> "Egg plant " si usa molto meno spesso in Br E.



Eggplant is the correct AmE term; but it is one word, not two.


----------



## Paulfromitaly

*Please have a look at the database, some of your suggestions are already there 

Termini che hanno una traduzione diversa in American English e in British English*


----------



## Willower

Thank you Words! This thread is teaching me a lot about AmE


----------



## WordsWordWords

No problem Willower!
Same for me with expanding my knowledge of BrE vocab and usage.


----------



## Willower

Apologies Paul;the discussion is so interesting I forgot to check!


----------



## CPA

Tegs said:


> Just to add to this pinafore debate, in BE, as I'm used to it anyway, pinafore is a dress you wear over a blouse, usually as part of a school uniform.



Do you mean what used to be known as a "gym-slip" but had nothing to do with PE?


----------



## King Crimson

CPA said:


> Do you mean what used to be known as a "gym-slip" but had nothing to do with PE?



Yes, according to Wiki, but with a caveat. I quote:
"The term gymslip primarily refers to athletic wear; otherwise the term pinafore dress (British English) or jumper dress (American English) is usually preferred."

Looks like we have come full circle with all this pinafore-jumper (and now gymslip) debate...


----------



## wildan1

In AE it's known as a _jumper_ (not _jumper dress_).


----------



## Willower

A pinafore dress is different in design from a gymslip - the latter usually has a pleated skirt and is often worn with a tie belt, but they are pretty similar.  Gym slips were, I think, originally worn by girls and young women for "music and movement" back in the 1920s and Britney Spears more recently ... The two terms are not interchangeable!


----------



## london calling

CPA said:


> Do you mean what used to be known as a "gym-slip" but had nothing to do with PE?


I used to wear a pinafore as part of my school uniform. It was made of fine (grey) wool. A _gym-slip_ to me is something again (not that I had to wear one: we used to wear an Aertex blouse and a short grey wool wrap-round skirt).


----------



## Tegs

King Crimson said:


> Yes, according to Wiki, but with a caveat. I quote:
> "The term gymslip primarily refers to athletic wear; otherwise the term pinafore dress (British English) or jumper dress (American English) is usually preferred."
> 
> Looks like we have come full circle with all this pinafore-jumper (and now gymslip) debate...


No, a pinafore dress is definitely not something you'd do any sort of athletic activity in. It is an uncomfortable creation, usually in an ugly colour, which unfortunate girls across the UK are obliged to wear every day in school.


----------



## Paulfromitaly

*Termine in italiano*: slitta
*Termine in AmE*: sled
*Termine in BrE*: sledge


----------



## london calling

Paulfromitaly said:


> *Termine in italiano*: slitta
> *Termine in AmE*: sled
> *Termine in BrE*: sledge


Dipende.

Per me _sled/toboggan e sledge _sono la stessa cosa (slittino) . Slitta (come quella di Babbo Natale, per intenderci) per me si dice _sleigh_ (come anche in AE, fra l'altro), non _sled/sledge/toboggan_.


----------



## chipulukusu

Mi hanno riferito questa cosa ma non ho modo di verificare:

*Termine in italiano*: rabboccare
*Termine in AmE*: top off
*Termine in BrE*: top up

Rabboccare significa riempire (fino all'orlo ma non necessariamente) un bicchiere o in genere un contenitore parzialmente vuoto.
E' vero? E se è vero cosa devo dire se voglio ricaricare il telefonino negli USA, _top up_ o _top off_?


----------



## WileyWanimal

Personalmente, non ho mai sentito la frase "top off" in quel senso... Mi suonerebbe molto strano se qualcuno mi dicesse che dovevano "top off" il telefonino. Infatti non sono mica sicura se riuscirei a capire! EDIT: No, scusate, penso che capirei ma sarebbe davvero strano.


----------



## Einstein

london calling said:


> Dipende.
> 
> Per me _sled/toboggan e sledge _sono la stessa cosa (slittino) . Slitta (come quella di Babbo Natale, per intenderci) per me si dice _sleigh_ (come anche in AE, fra l'altro), non _sled/sledge/toboggan_.


Sono d'accordo su _sleigh_. Per me invece _sled _è la versione AmE di _sledge_​, come dice Paul. Non so se gli americani dicono anche _toboggan_.


----------



## Paulfromitaly

london calling said:


> Dipende.
> 
> Per me _sled/toboggan e sledge _sono la stessa cosa (slittino) . Slitta (come quella di Babbo Natale, per intenderci) per me si dice _sleigh_ (come anche in AE, fra l'altro), non _sled/sledge/toboggan_.



Si, forse slittino sarebbe più corretto anche se in italiano chiamiamo slitta anche lo slittino, ovvero un mezzo NON trainato.


----------



## wildan1

Einstein said:


> Sono d'accordo su _sleigh_. Per me invece _sled _è la versione AmE di _sledge_​, come dice Paul. Non so se gli americani dicono anche _toboggan_.


We do say _toboggan_, but it is a different item from _a sled_ -- it is a traditional item usually ridden by two or more people together -- see here.


----------



## danalto

*Termine in italiano: *occhiali*
Termine in AmE: *glasses*
Termine in BrE: *spectacles*
*
Prima volta che entro qui, spero di aver fatto tutto giusto, e soprattutto spero che sia vero che non è presente questa voce, nel nostro database!


----------



## london calling

The last time I was in the US I borrowed a friend's (spare) phone and I definitely had to top it up, just as we do in the UK.  I doubt the Americans top off their phones (but let's wait and see, you never know).


----------



## london calling

danalto said:


> *Termine in italiano: *occhiali*
> Termine in AmE: *glasses*
> Termine in BrE: *spectacles*
> *
> Prima volta che entro qui, spero di aver fatto tutto giusto, e soprattutto spero che sia vero che non è presente questa voce, nel nostro database!


I never say 'spectacles' I always say glasses......_spectacles_ is sooooo old-fashioned.


----------



## chipulukusu

london calling said:


> The last time I was in the US I borrowed a friend's (spare) phone and I definitely had to top it up, just as we do in the UK.  I doubt the Americans top off their phones (but let's wait and see, you never know).



Thank you London this looks reasonable... but if I go to an American pub and they put to much foam in my glass of beer, should I ask to _top up_ or _top off_ my glass? (my original doubt...)

EDIT: WR dictionary reports both _top up _and _top off_ with this meaning, but apparently with no geographical reference...


----------



## sound shift

Yes, "spectacles" sounds old-fashioned to me too. The short version, "specs", is heard much more often than "spectacles", I reckon. The only time I _might _use one or the other is when there _might be _scope for confusion between glasses to drink from and glasses for sight. In such circumstances, "eyeglasses" is available to AmE speakers, if I remember rightly - but if "eyeglasses" is present at all in BrE, it's pretty rare. It has never passed my lips.


----------



## danalto

london calling said:


> I never say 'spectacles' I always say glasses......_spectacles_ is sooooo old-fashioned.


Allora ignoriamo questo mio contributo


----------



## rrose17

london calling said:


> The last time I was in the US I borrowed a friend's (spare) phone and I definitely had to top it up, just as we do in the UK.  I doubt the Americans top off their phones (but let's wait and see, you never know).


I agree. And in a bar, for Chip, you would still ask for your beer to topped up, not off, at least in my experience. There's the expression "To top* it *off..." but this means to add insult to injury or to make things worse.


----------



## Matrap

chipulukusu said:


> Thank you London this looks reasonable... but if I go to an American pub and they put to much foam in my glass of beer, should I ask to _top up_ or _top off_ my glass? (my original doubt...)
> 
> EDIT: WR dictionary reports both _top up _and _top off_ with this meaning, but apparently with no geographical reference...



Chip, credo che il tuo dubbio sia più che legittimo. In AE "top off" ha lo stesso significato di "top up" in BE quando vuol dire "riempire". In BE invece "top off" dovrebbe limitarsi al significato di "chiudere in bellezza"/" mettera la ciliegina sulla torta". Ma l'ultimaparola spetta ai natives ovviamente. 

EDIT: Anche rrose è per "top up". Come non detto allora.


----------



## curiosone

> Termine in italiano: Macinare
> Termine in AmE: To grind
> Termine in BrE: To mince
> 
> Grind and mince are both used in BE, in different contexts.



I seem to remember a "recent" discussion of the BE/AE differences between "grind" and "mince."  In AE, "grind" translates "macinare";  "mince" means to "tritare finemente."



> Termine in italiano: Scontrino (fiscale)
> Termine in AmE: Check / Sales check
> Termine in BrE: Ticket
> 
> BE = receipt



Whoa!!! Hold your horses!  If we're talking about a "scontrino fiscale" it's "receipt" or "sales receipt" in AE, too.
When AE speakers ask for the "Check" at a restaurant, we're asking for the "Conto" (Italian) or "Bill" (BE).

Termine in italiano: Conto (al ristorante)
Termine in AmE: Check
Termine in BrE: Bill


----------



## london calling

curiosone said:


> I seem to remember a "recent" discussion of the BE/AE differences between "grind" and "mince."  In AE, "grind" translates "macinare";  "mince" means to "tritare finemente."
> 
> *Yes, we call minced beef what you call ground beef. *
> 
> Whoa!!! Hold your horses!  If we're talking about a "scontrino fiscale" it's "receipt" or "sales receipt" in AE, too.
> When AE speakers ask for the "Check" at a restaurant, we're asking for the "Conto" (Italian) or "Bill" (BE).
> 
> Termine in italiano: Conto (al ristorante)
> Termine in AmE: Check
> Termine in BrE: Bill


I agree, Curio.


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## PatsRule

curiosone said:


> I seem to remember a "recent" discussion of the BE/AE differences between "grind" and "mince."  In AE, "grind" translates "macinare";  "mince" means to "tritare finemente."
> 
> 
> 
> Whoa!!! Hold your horses!  If we're talking about a "scontrino fiscale" it's "receipt" or "sales receipt" in AE, too.
> When AE speakers ask for the "Check" at a restaurant, we're asking for the "Conto" (Italian) or "Bill" (BE).
> 
> Termine in italiano: Conto (al ristorante)
> Termine in AmE: Check
> Termine in BrE: Bill



I agree Curiosone - In the US, we use both "minced" (you mince garlic) and "grind" (you grind coffee/spice seeds).


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## london calling

PatsRule said:


> I agree Curiosone - In the US, we use both "minced" (you mince garlic) and "grind" (you grind coffee/spice seeds).


We grind coffee, cheese and spices in the UK as well. If I were to put garlic in a pestle and mortar and pound it I would say I was grinding it. If I were to put it in a blender I would blend/grind it. I'd never say I was mincing it. 

That said, I might chop it finely, but generally speaking I crush it.


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## PatsRule

london calling said:


> We grind coffee, cheese and spices in the UK as well. If I were to put garlic in a pestle and mortar and pound it I would say I was grinding it. If I were to put it in a blender I would blend/grind it. I'd never say I was mincing it.
> 
> That said, I might chop it finely, but generally speaking I crush it.




There is a tool you can buy online that minces garlic - a garlic presser - it doesn't grind it, doesn't pound it.
In the UK, would you say that it "presses the garlic", "crushes the garlic" or "minces the garlic"?


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## wildan1

london calling said:


> The last time I was in the US I borrowed a friend's (spare) phone and I definitely had to top it up, just as we do in the UK.  I doubt the Americans top off their phones (but let's wait and see, you never know).


In the context of a cell phone Americans usually talk about _adding minutes_.


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## wildan1

london calling said:


> We grind coffee, cheese and spices in the UK as well. If I were to put garlic in a pestle and mortar and pound it I would say I was grinding it. If I were to put it in a blender I would blend/grind it. I'd never say I was mincing it.
> 
> That said, I might chop it finely, but generally speaking I crush it.


do you really _grind _cheese? In AE we _grate _​cheese.


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## chipulukusu

wildan1 said:


> In the context of a cell phone Americans usually talk about _adding minutes_.



By the way, I am used to the expression _buying units_, meaning topping up a cellphone. I see that nobody has mentioned it, so I'm wondering if it could be South African English. If it is so, it's OT here, and I apologise for that.

EDIT: "I don't have units", "don't eat up all my units" and the like are also expressions I'm very familiar with...  Any idea about where they come from?


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## Einstein

wildan1 said:


> do you really _grind _cheese? In AE we _grate _​cheese.


Me too (BrE)! I've never heard of grinding cheese, Jo. To me grinding means reducing to a powder.


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## sound shift

PatsRule said:


> There is a tool you can buy online that minces garlic - a garlic presser - it doesn't grind it, doesn't pound it.
> In the UK, would you say that it "presses the garlic", "crushes the garlic" or "minces the garlic"?


I call this a garlic 'press', not 'presser'. In my English, it presses/crushes the garlic. It's not a mincer, so it doesn't mince it (although we do now see "mince three cloves of garlic" creeping into the recipes in British newspapers).


> Me too (BrE)! I've never heard of grinding cheese, Jo.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> To me grinding means reducing to a powder.


I wouldn't use the verb "to grind" with cheese, but there are a few online photos of "cheese grinders". They are mostly of the turn-the-drum-with-the-handle type.


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## london calling

wildan1 said:


> do you really _grind _cheese? In AE we _grate _​cheese.


Whoops, sorry! Yes, we grate cheese, my mistake.

PS Pat, I agree with sound Shift: we use a tool call a _garlic press_.


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## aefrizzo

Einstein said:


> Me too (BrE)! I've never heard of grinding cheese, Jo. To me grinding means reducing to a powder.


Il formaggio grattugiato sugli spaghetti (pomodoro, carbonara, almeno da Roma in giù) arriva in tavola proprio come una polvere, più o meno grossolana, e mi fa pensare proprio a "ground cheese" anche perché lo si ottiene non solo dalla grattugia ma anche da un blender. Per altre ricette (e in particolare a Londra anche per gli spaghetti), arriva come trucioli o "petali" (come da pubblicità chic). Usereste "to grate" in entrambi i casi ?


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## PatsRule

sound shift said:


> I call this a garlic 'press', not 'presser'. In my English, it presses/crushes the garlic. It's not a mincer, so it doesn't mince it (although we do now see "mince three cloves of garlic" creeping into the recipes in British newspapers).
> I wouldn't use the verb "to grind" with cheese, but there are a few online photos of "cheese grinders". They are mostly of the turn-the-drum-with-the-handle type.



You are right - it is a garlic press (I may refer to it at home as "that garlic presser thingy" which may have caused me to get used to using the wrong term.
However, it does mince the garlic.  If you look into the garlic press tool after you mince the garlic, you will see what is left is really the "crushed"/"pressed" garlic and what comes out, is the minced garlic.


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## WordsWordWords

From post #285:


sound shift said:


> Yes, "spectacles" sounds old-fashioned to me too. The short version, "specs", is heard much more often than "spectacles", I reckon. The only time I _might _use one or the other is when there _might be _scope for confusion between glasses to drink from and glasses for sight. In such circumstances, "eyeglasses" is available to AmE speakers, if I remember rightly - but if "eyeglasses" is present at all in BrE, it's pretty rare. It has never passed my lips.



For me, today "specs" has taken on a different meaning entirely >> an abbreviation for "*specifications*" for example in a technical context but probably others as well. I would not use "specs" at all as having to do with "eyeglasses".


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## sound shift

PatsRule said:


> You are right - it is a garlic press (I may refer to it at home as "that garlic presser thingy" which may have caused me to get used to using the wrong term.
> However, it does mince the garlic.  If you look into the garlic press tool after you mince the garlic, you will see what is left is really the "crushed"/"pressed" garlic and what comes out, is the minced garlic.


You don't say which variety of English you speak, but I suspect an AmE-BrE difference here. I've got a garlic press, but I don't refer to what comes out as "minced garlic".


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## london calling

sound shift said:


> I've got a garlic press, but I don't refer to what comes out as "minced garlic".


Same here.


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## PatsRule

sound shift said:


> You don't say which variety of English you speak, but I suspect an AmE-BrE difference here. I've got a garlic press, but I don't refer to what comes out as "minced garlic".



I updated my profile and you suspected correctly - it _was_ an AmE-BrE difference.  
I've seen many British chefs in America use the word (I guess it was for our benefit).
I wonder if one day, as a result of globalization, we will all just find ourselves speaking "Britican/Ameritish English" and be done with it.


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## curiosone

sound shift said:


> You don't say which variety of English you speak, but I suspect an AmE-BrE difference here. I've got a garlic press, but I don't refer to what comes out as "minced garlic".



I don't either.  I call it "crushed garlic" (or maybe "pressed garlic").  If I want to "mince" anything, I use a knife - not a garlic press - nor a mortar and pestle.  So maybe PatsRule's way of saying it is something colloquial to a different area of the U.S. than I'm familiar with (and I cover most of the east, which doesn't include Nebraska).


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## WordsWordWords

curiosone said:


> I call it "crushed garlic" (or maybe "pressed garlic").  If I want to "mince" anything, I use a knife - not a garlic press - nor a mortar and pestle.



I completely concur. I'm from Minnesota/Wisconsin and I've always heard/used "crushed garlic" for what comes out of a garlic press.


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## chipulukusu

*Termine in italiano: * punto e basta*
Termine in AmE: * period*
Termine in BrE: * full stop
*
* This is like in:
_Ho detto che non ci vai alla festa. Punto e basta!_ *
*_I said you're not going to the party. Period._*
*_I said you're not going to the party. Full Stop.

_This is only an attempt based on what I can hear on TV, for what regards AmE (President Obama just recently), and on what I've never heard from a BrE speaker.
Regarding garlic, if I want to leave it in the food, I _chop_ it with a _mezzaluna_ if I'm asked to remove it from the food I _crush_ it leaving the "skin" on so that the pieces are kept together. We call it _lasciare la camicia_ (leave the shirt) in Italy. But unfortunately I'm not allowed to cook in England...


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## PatsRule

curiosone said:


> I don't either.  I call it "crushed garlic" (or maybe "pressed garlic").  If I want to "mince" anything, I use a knife - not a garlic press - nor a mortar and pestle.  So maybe PatsRule's way of saying it is something colloquial to a different area of the U.S. than I'm familiar with (and I cover most of the east, which doesn't include Nebraska).



I am from NYC and the "NE" was for NorthEast - not Nebraska - but it is now changed.

As for the "Garlic Press" not being used for mincing, try to google "garlic press" and go to the Williams Sonoma (where I do most of my kitchen utensil shopping) and look at their ad... and I quote "Mince garlic while leaving behind the papery skin – and garlicky fingers  – with this self-cleaning tool. Simply drop an unpeeled clove into the  hopper and close the handles, and the clove is forced through a  sharp-edged stainless-steel grid"

However, I don't speak hillbilly, nor do I speak British English, so I guess we just have to leave it as "we _do_ say things differently around here."


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## WordsWordWords

Hi Chip --

*Termine in italiano: punto e basta
Termine in AmE: period
Termine in BrE: full stop
*
I agree. Indeed, the AmE/BrE difference is pretty evident in the film "Grease", in which the character Rizzo thinks she may be pregnant and says to her friend "I feel like a faulty typewriter" because "period" is also an English colloquialism term for "mestruazioni".  I don't know if this was lost on UK audiences...

As for your garlic comment I think if it is crushed it ends up in tiny pieces but what you refer to is what I would say "to crack" it or maybe "to bruise" it. Maybe there's another term in English for that (AmE or BrE)


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## chipulukusu

WordsWordWords said:


> As for your garlic comment I think if it is crushed it ends up in tiny pieces but what you refer to is what I would say "to crack" it or maybe "to bruise" it. Maybe there's another term in English for that (AmE or BrE)



Thank you Words, in fact I _crack_ garlic when I do like that, I don't really _crush_ it in pieces.


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## curiosone

PatsRule said:


> I am from NYC and the "NE" was for NorthEast - not Nebraska - but it is now changed.
> 
> As for the "Garlic Press" not being used for mincing, try to google "garlic press" and go to the Williams Sonoma (where I do most of my kitchen utensil shopping) and look at their ad... and I quote "Mince garlic while leaving behind the papery skin – and garlicky fingers  – with this self-cleaning tool. Simply drop an unpeeled clove into the  hopper and close the handles, and the clove is forced through a  sharp-edged stainless-steel grid"
> 
> However, I don't speak hillbilly, nor do I speak British English, so I guess we just have to leave it as "we _do_ say things differently around here."



Hi PatsRule! 
Thank you for specifying about NYC, because (joking about "hillbilly English" aside), my mother is from Boston, and I've never heard "minced garlic" referring to a garlic press in New England, either.  But then (1) my garlic press works better if I peel the cloves a bit first, (2) I usually leave my garlic whole or cut in half (and peeled) anyway (so I can remove it), (3) I'm not afraid to get my fingers stinky  (perhaps because I learned a trick about scrubbing them with lemon juice), and (4) I don't shop at Williams Sonoma (partly because they don't like overseas customers). 

I might comment that NYC English is usually considered "different" by other (non NYC) Americans.  But let's stick to the topic.  I am not aware that Williams Sonoma is an authority on the English language.  Usually when I want to check on a word or terminology, I look it up in a dictionary (or two).  So I consulted both the Oxford and Merriam-Webster dictionaries.  The consensus is that "press" refers to extraction of liquids, "mince" refers to cutting/chopping finely, "crush" refers to pulverizing, and "crack" (in the sense we're using it) refers to breaking into coarse pieces - which agrees with the sense given by Words and Chipukulusu (Hey to both!).

Oxford Dictionary provides this definition of "garlic press":
_noun
_a handheld device for crushing cloves of garlic through a sievelike receptacle._
_
Wikipedia provides a thorough explanation (of which I'll only quote part): "A *garlic press **is a kitchen utensil to crush garlic cloves efficiently by forcing them through a grid of small holes, usually with some type of piston... *Garlic presses present a convenient alternative to mincing garlic with a knife..." 
[here's the entire explanation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garlic_press  ]
_
[...and maybe this entire discussion about garlic should be transferred to the English Only Forum]_


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## london calling

WordsWordWords said:


> *
> *As for your garlic comment I think if it is crushed it ends up in tiny pieces but what you refer to is what I would say "to crack" it or maybe "to bruise" it. Maybe there's another term in English for that (AmE or BrE)


If I crush garlic (i.e. flatten it using the handle of a kitchen knife, with or without its skin on) it doesn't end up in tiny pieces, it ends up looking 'squashed' /'flattened' (like a fly when you swat it!) . It only ends up in pieces if I chop it. And I don't crack garlic either, I only crack nuts. And I  bruise things like cardamom pods (_bruising_ to me is less aggressive than _crushing_...) .


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## curiosone

london calling said:


> And I  bruise things like cardamom pods (_bruising_ to me is less aggressive than _crushing_...) .



Really?  I pulverize cardamom seeds (removed from the pods) with a mortar and pestle, as I need ground cardamom for my recipes.


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## london calling

curiosone said:


> Really?  I pulverize cardamom seeds (removed from the pods) with a mortar and pestle, as I need ground cardamom for my recipes.


Ground cardamom is different from bruised cardamom.  I have several Indian recipes which require bruised cardamom pods, not ground cardamom seeds.


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