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Showing posts with label trousers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trousers. Show all posts

Thursday, June 29, 2023

American and British English Words You Should Know



 USA - UK

ball hop - porter

closet - wardrobe/walk in wardrobe/cupboard

comforter - duvet

cookies - biscuits

cops - police

diaper - nappy

eraser - rubber

faucet - tap

hack - tip

(car) hood - bonnet

gas - petrol

Jello (brand name) - jelly

jelly - jam

mail - post

pants - trousers

pavement - roadway/tarmac

porter - porter (at railway stations, bell hop is at hotels)

rubber - Durex (brand)

sidewalk - pavement

soccer - football

(car) trunk - boot

underpants - pants


UK  USA

biscuits - cookies

(car) - bonnet - hood

(car) boot - trunk

cupboard - closet

duvet - comforter

football - soccer

jam - jelly

jelly - Jello (brand)

nappy - diaper

pants - underpants

paper hanky - tissues/Kleenex

pavement - sidewalk

petrol - gas

police - cop/cops (plural)

post - mail

(hotel) porter - bell hop 

tap - faucet

tip - hack

trousers - pants

wardrobe/walk-in wardrobe - closet


Useful Websites

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_American_and_British_English

Please share links to your favourite blog posts

Monday, March 6, 2023

English, Americanisms, Australian

American flag.


British English - Other 

biscuit (UK) - cookie (USA)

cubicle (UK) - stall (USA)

jelly (UK) - Jello (USA brand name)

my mistake (UK) - my bad (USA)

shopping trolley (UK) - shopping cart (USA)

pants (UK) - underpants (USA)

spare room (UK) - guest suite (US)

Sweets (UK) - candies (USA)

tap (UK) - Faucet (USA)

toilet (UK) - restroom (USA)

trousers (UK) - pants (USA)

wash basin (UK) - bathroom sink (USA)

washing up liquid (UK) - dish soap (USA)

Useful Websites

I have several posts on Americanisms

Thursday, July 21, 2022

Essential Americanisms which Brits need to know, such as American English and snap fastener

Angela Lansbury with the flag, of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, called the Union Jack. Photo by Angela Lansbury.


The first thing I discovered when I looked up Americanism in Wikipedia is that Americanism to Americans is the term for a political movement. What I call Americanism is what Wikipedia calls American Language.  Here are some other words which are sometimes called 'false friends'.

American English - British English

American English - Americanism

Americanism + political party's promotion of US first

closet - wardrobe

eraser - rubber

Jello (brand name) - jelly

Kleenex - tissues, paper hankies

mix, mixed breed, mutt - mongrel

pants - trousers

popsicle - ice lolly

real estate - property

underpants - pants

snap fastener / metal snap - press stud


British English - American English

Americanism - American English

condom/Durex (brand name) - rubber

ice lolly - popsicle

jelly - Jello

mongrel - mutt, mix, mixed breed

Mom and Pop store - family owned corner shop

pants - underpants

paper hankies/tissues - Kleenex (brand)

parking lot - car park

press stud - snap fastener

property - real estate

rubber - eraser

trousers - pants

wardrobe - closet

Friday, April 8, 2022

American, Australian, British and Worldwide English - how to understand and be understood

American flag

Have you ever been misunderstood? I asked for a rubber in an American department store. 

The assistant told me, "We don't have any."

I found one. "What's this?" I asked. I gave her the polite smile, which says, "This dear, sweet, store assistant is doing her best, although she has the brains of a shoelace."

She looked at me with the polite smile, which says, "This customer might buy, if she can decide what she wants, although she has the brains of a sock."

She enlightened me. In America it's called an eraser. I asked what she thought I meant when I asked for a rubber

Oops. A rubber is a contraceptive. Take a look at these lists to avoid embarrassing and confusing moments. Watch out for pants.


 American - British

bangs - fringe

bellhop - (hotel) porter

broil - grill

diaper - nappy

eraser - rubber

fall - autumn

fanny pack - bum bag

frosting (on cake) - icing

gas - petrol

gas station - garage

math - maths

night stand - bedside table

outlet - power point/socket

pants - trousers

parking lot - car park

realtor - estate agent

row house - terraced house

sidewalk - footpath

truck - lorry

underpants - pants

vacation - holiday




Australian - British

barbie - barbecue/BBQ

doona - duvet

foyer (French) - lobby

g'day - good day/good morning/good afternoon/good evening

outback - back of beyond/remote area/in the wilds

Sheila - female

thongs - flipflops

Angela Lansbury wearing a Union Jack cap. Selfie photo.

British - American

duvet - comforter

garage - gas station

petrol - gas

Power point/socket - outlet

rubber - eraser

turn right - make a right


British - Australian

barbecue - barbie 

drawing pin - thumb tack

clothes - togs

duvet - doona https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_English_vocabulary

flip-flops - thongs

Mac/Mackintosh - raincoat

pavement - footpath 

pushchair/pram - stroller/pram

lobby - foyer

sandwich - sarnie

sleeping policeman - speed bump

village - station/town

Wellington boots - gumboots


British - New Zealand

sheep farm - station/sheep station



New Zealand - British

station / sheep station - farm / sheep farm


Useful Websites

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_English_vocabulary

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-10698283/American-expat-Sophia-living-Sydney-reveals-slang-terms-refuses-use.html

Friday, December 3, 2021

Americanisms which confuse the British - bill, goss, pants, start over, yard


For months I have been ignoring the message on the Daily Mail news pages 'Send us the goss'. I did not know what goss meant. Today I looked it up. The answer is below.

I still find that in Singapore, people think they are speaking British English, but talk about going out in the rain and having wet pants.

This makes me raise my eyebrowns, frown, wince. To the British, pants are what Americans call underpants. Make sure that  you are understood by all the audience members, including judges in an international speech contest. 

You have plenty of opportunity to create a humorous speech from words you have misunderstood at home, online, or when travelling. Just make sure that you do not unintentionally create a humorous speech.

Americanism - British English

billboard - poster / poster site

elementary school - primary school

Check - bill

goss - gossip

high school - secondary school

Pants - trousers

private school - public school

public school / state school - council school

some time back - some time ago

start over - begin again

underpants - pants

yard - garden


British English - Americanisms

begin again - start over

bill - check

garden - yard

gossip - goss

secondary school - high school

pants - underpants

public school - private school 

secondary school - high school

some time ago - some time back

trousers - pants


Useful Websites

BBC on Americanisms

https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-14201796

Wiki Americanisms

https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_New_International_Encyclop%C3%A6dia/Americanisms

Angela Lansbury's posts

https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2020/11/americanisms-and-british-english.html

https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2016/05/todays-americanism-candy-and-cookie-in.html


About the Author of this blog, Author Angela Lansbury

BIOGRAPHY

Angela Lansbury B A Hons ACG ALB PM5 EH5 DL5 VC5 
The Author of several books, including: Etiquette For Every Occasion. Wedding Speeches & Toasts. How to be the Best Man. Quick Quotations. Who Said What When.

Blogs travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com

dressofthedayangela.blogspot.com

translateforfun.blogspot.com

Braddell Heights Advanced Toastmasters Speakers Club Vice President Public Relations (VPPR), Previous President

Join BHA 1st Wednesday 7pm and 3rd Saturday 2 pm Singapore time 

Vice President Public Relations (VP PR) of Tampines Changkat Advanced;

Secretary of weekly online Singapore International Dynamic Toastmasters Speakers’ Club;

Member and past president of Harrovians toastmasters club, UK; Past member of HOD Toastmasters, London. Past member in Singapore of: Toastmasters Club of Singapore (TCS); Tiarel; and Senja Cashew.

More details from Toastmasters International find a club.

Regular attendee at annual Swanwick Writers’ School, England.

Regular attendee at annual Writers’ Holiday, Wales.

Contributor to poetry readings, and after tea courses on: Speaking On Radio To Promote Books; and Plots And Character.

Winner of many club and area speaking contests in the UK and Singapore.

Language advisor to Empire Toastmasters club in Indonesia.

Language and speech workshops in Singapore.

Speaker on radio and TV in England, Scotland, the USA, and Australia.

Compiler of a school course on public speaking for teachers to prepare pupils for school open days with attending ceremonies before government ministers, Singapore.

Former member of Harrow Writers’ Circle, London, and two writing groups in Singapore.

Angela is on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter. She would be delighted to link up with new friends.

I  also have a blog on comic poems.

 Please share links to your favourite posts. 

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Americanisms and Britishisms which travellers need to know: from British autumn to trousers, from American bassinet to underpants





American - English
bassinet - Moses basket
candy - sweets
cookies - biscuits
cop - copper
crib - cot
diaper - nappy
drooled - dribbled
eraser - rubber
Fall - autumn
fanny pack - bum bag
federal - national / nationwide
fussy - grizzly
hood - bonnet
onesie - Babygrow
pacifier - dummy
pants - trousers
scallions - spring onions
sneakers - trainers
sprinkles - hundreds and thousands
store - shop
stroller - pram/push chair
sweatshirt - jumper
tired - knackered
turn signal - indicator
trash - bin
truck - lorry
trunk - boot
underpants - pants


 


English - American
autumn - Fall
Babygrow - onesie
biscuits - cookies
bin - trash
bumb bag - fany pack
boot - trunk
copper - cop
cot - crib
dribbled - drooled
dummy - pacifier
grizzly - fussy
indicator - turn signal
jam - jelly / preserve
jelly - Jello
jumper - sweatshirt
knackered - tired
lorry - truck
Moses basket - bassinet
nappy - diaper
national - federal
pants - underpants
pram/pushchair - stroller
rubber - eraser
shop - store
spring onions - scallions
sweets - candy
trainers - sneakers
trousers - pants

Useful Websites
visitbritain.com
visitbritainshop.com
visitlondon.com
visitsingapore.com
https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2019/07/flags-and-food-for-singapores-national.html

About The Author
Angela Lansbury, the author, - not related to Angela Lansbury the actress nor any of the other dozen people named Angela Lansbury or Lansbury.
I have many more posts on Americanisms and language. I teach English and other languages to individuals and companies. I am a polyglot. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Sunday, July 8, 2018

Why You Should Protect Your Toes When Walking

Problem
If you walk uphill, you return downhill. Even walking on the flat, over bumps, you frequently turn your toes downwards. After a whiel of doing this, whether doing a hike or marathn or just a walk around the neighbourhood and up and down hill in a park, you might feel your roes start to hurt. Later you see blue bruises under the nail.

Answers
If you wear shoes with toe caps, that protects yhour toes from outside objects, everything from hitting a rock or a stone, step, a glass door, a wooden or metal base to a bed or a leg on a bed or chair or desk in a hotel room.
One of the causes is that your foot is not held over the ankle or at the heel and slides forward. The toe cap protects you from outside but does not stop your foot sliding forwards and hitting the front of the shoes.

Solutions
1 Wear socks - even in hot weather. Get dressed well in advance so you have time to find socks which are long enough and light enough around or heavy enough and co-ordinating colours with the shoes and skirt or trousers (US pants), and your belt and bag and hat and entire ensemble.

2 Put something soft in the toe of the shoe if you buy shoes a size too large to allow for swelling feet in the heat and on planes and heavy socks worn in winter or cold weather.

3 Carry a second pair of shoes (in your bag or rucksack or car boot) which rub in a different place or expose your toes in restaurants and when you don't need so much protection.

4 Avoid toilets down several flights of stairs in restaurants and buildings. Go to the toilet when you pass one on a level whether or not you feel desperate. Saves time and toes later.

5 Look for shoes which have support across the instep and the heel.

6 Tighten the strap at the back of sling backs. Your buckled strap which you keep treading on and creasing shows that it's not tight enough.

7 Tighten the laces on trainers. Whenever you stop with your group or by yourself for a break, check your laces. If necessary, pull them tight and re-tie the knot.

Happy walking!

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and phtographer. (Photos of fruised toes and various types of shoes will be added later.) Please come back and share links to your favourite posts.



Thursday, July 20, 2017

Quick Ways To Learn Welsh for: new, school, hat and more



Problem
I am already learning Welsh on Duolingo. How can I go faster?

Answer
List the words - with a memory aid. Then practise.
Go back and redo the lessons every couple of days to reinforce them.

Here are today's words:

English - Welsh
(Spaces inserted because automatic speller keeps changing my words.)
belt - g w r e g y s (memory aid - Good Wide Regulation Yellow Strap - visualise a Japanese obi or a martial arts belt)
blouse - blows
clothes - d i l l a d (I think of don't DILL y DA l l y, put clothes in cupboArD. d i l l a d.)
coat - cot
half slip - p a i s (letter h A l  f  S l I P - PA IS)
hat - het
new - n e w y d d
scarf - s g a r f f
school - y s g o l
suit - s i w t
tie - t e i
trousers - t r o w s u s

Welsh - English
blows - blouse
c o t - coat
d i l l a d - clothes
g  w r e g y s - belt
h e t - hat
n e w y d d - new
p a i s - half slip
s g a r f f - scarf
s i w t - suit
t e i - tie
t r o w s u s - trousers
y s g o l - school

Tips
Free learning on the internet:
www.duolingo.com

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. I have several posts on learning Welsh and other languages. Please share links to your favourite posts.


Monday, July 17, 2017

Welsh word look alikes and sound alikes

Problem
How do I remember Welsh words?

Answer
Look for patterns of letters and meaningful phrases.

Welsh - English
e s g i d i a u - shoes (sounds like yes giddy eye)
c r y s - shirt
m e n i g - gloves
n e w y d d - new
s a n a u - socks
s i w t - suit
t r o w s u s - trousers

English - Welsh
gloves - menig - the last letter of m e n i g is the first letter of gloves. Imagine a mirror image. The e in menage is second to last in the mirror.
New - n e w y d d (the first three letters are the same)
shirt - c r y s (looks like a crease in the shirt belong to Chris, creating a crisis, making us cry)
socks - s a n a u (pronounced san - eye; sanitary socks, I washed them. Both words start with the letter s and have five letters.)
suit - s i w t (The first and last letters are the same  s..t .  Both have the letter i. u an e are similar.)
trousers - t r w s u s  first two letters and last letter are the same which makes it easy to translate from Welsh back into English. Trous(res) (suit) us. Push the o and u together in trousers to make the letter w. It sounds similar in both languages.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Teacher of English and other languages. I have many posts on languages and travel. Please save and bookmark and share links to your favourite posts.

Saturday, May 6, 2017

Anti-chafing lace bands for thighs?


Problem
It's too hot to wear tights, but when you go bare-legged your thighs rub together. What can you do?

Answer
I thought it was just me, that I was overweight. But judging by the reviews on Amazon, lots of people have this problem. On Amazon I found two sets of products in the lower price range which I consider affordable. But I also looked at the dearer ones.

The reviews seems to say of some products:

SIZE
They are too large.
Therefore they soon fall down.
You could sew them tighter.
Or send them back and ask for a refund.
Or ask them to send the smaller size.

I was surprised at this, Usually I find items ordered from the internet, especially from Asia, are too small. Lots of websites from Asia carry warnings Asian sizes. To me this suggests that they have had lots of complaints from people in the West or Western body shapes which are larger.

HOLDING UP OR FALLING DOWN
The anti chafing bands with only one band of silicone will hold either top or bottom but not stay in place. Moral buy the dearer ones with two bands of grip.
One customer warns that if you have problems with hold up stockings you are likely to have problems with these.
Other customer implies that you could hold them up with the use of a suspender belt.

DO THEY WORK?
One customer said they worked well. Another said her pair caused chafing, being of stiff lace?

Any other alternatives?

DIY
Shave daily so that you don't have unshaven legs rubbing each other.

Wear leggings.
Buy leg warmers. Roll them up from the ankle. Of cut off the lower half.

Cut down old trousers which have frayed at the cuff or worn at the knees and wear them as an extra undergarment. Cut to above the knee, or to the length which suits the garment you are wearing on top.

take a long slip and sew it up the middle.

Wear fishermen's pants / trousers (wrap around pants or trousers). In the Uk we say trousers; pants is the word used in the UK for what Americans call underpants.)

Buy short johns or pantalettes or p a n t e l e t t e s or culotte shape underwear.

Wear thin silk shorts under your skirt or dress.

I found the sort without an extra inside gusset piece rub you with the seam, or split at the seam. I have resolved to sew in an extra gusset on new garments. Where do you get an extra gusset? Cut the thongs off a pair of thong type underwear which is too small or never gets worn.

Cut short a pair of old tights. Edge with ribbon or lace to prevent fraying and look elegant.

If tights are too hot on summer holidays, or business travel or living in the tropics, or give you thrush, you can order ope crotch tights.

Buy a band of street lace to make your own. Or sew the lace band onto French knickers.

Lanacane anti-chafing cream.
Vaseline.
Baby powder talc.
Big underwear from plus size shops.
Cycling shorts from cycling shops and websites.
Chafe ese.

Tips
I wish I'd found the word chafing before. I did a google search using the word chafing and found anti chafing gel from Tesco, costing £6.

From ebay I found Jasmine bandelettes.
I even found Lady Lace Pocket Anti-Chafing Thigh Bands for keeping your mobile phone or other items.
From about £5.
Lace pockets in three colours, black white and neutral, from about £2.
I ordered a pair in red, and black with a pocket, from two different suppliers. I'll let you know the results.

Bandelettes Elastic Anti-Chafing Thigh Bands – Prevent Thigh Chafing
https://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/B014MIBRKM/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_paging_btm_5?ie=UTF8&reviewerType=all_reviews
https://www.amazon.co.uk/xhorizon-Elastic-Anti-Chafing-Prevent-Silicone/ When I looked they were only £5.99 with free postage.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2648922/Can-end-curse-summer-thigh-chafing-FEMAIL-tests-products-DIY-remedies.html

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share posts.

Wednesday, May 3, 2017

Pick Pocket Proof Clothing You Could Or Should Buy


Problem
How do you stop items getting stolen when travelling? How do you avoid losing things which fall out of pockets?

Answers
Buy Pick Pocket Proof clothing. (That's a brand.) They are most secure having two sorts of closure, for example, a velcro or zip pocket and then another pocket with a zip underneath in the back of the inside of the pocket. Their website includes stories of how customers were saved from attempted pickpocketing attempts.

Look for
'cargo pants'.

You can also buy t-shirts with hidden pockets. Brands uncle Bastiat. You will find them on ebay and Amazon.
Underwear for men has concealed pockets.

You can buy multi-pocket jackets.
You can find other clothing and accessories by searching for
'hidden pocket'
'zip pocket' or
'secret pocket' or
'inside pocket' include belts.

Another phrase to search for is:
'stealth pants'.

Bags can have secret pockets underneath (designed for umbrellas - may be open at one end in which case sew on an extra zip or flap.

Before you throw away old shirts with fraying collars or cuffs, save the pockets to sew inside jacket or inside the outside pockets.

Tips
https://www.clothingarts.com
Their website has a video of the pockets within lockets in the women's pants. (In the UK we would say trousers - pants in the UK is what Americans call underpants).

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer. Please share my posts. Thank you.

Monday, April 10, 2017

Bargain Buy Holiday Pants For Hot Countries - Traditional Trousers and Fisherman's Pants


Problem
What can you wear that's cool in a hot country?

Answer
In Thailand, Singapore and Cambodia you can buy Fisherman's pants (trousers) from clothes shops and market kiosks. In Cambodia they are known as traditional pants and Cambodian pants. They look like culottes but wrap around with overlapping sides down the outside leg.

I had bought several pairs in Singapore for the novelty and because when looking for a long skirt I sometimes found a delightful fabric was bell shape pantaloons and the shopkeeper persuaded me to buy them by making a reduction. I am a sucker for bargains. However, I never wore them for about ten years. They didn't look right in London, too happy, nor in Singapore, the land of the cheongsam and miniskirts.

However, when I arrived in Cambodia in 2017 in stifling heat my first thought was I should have brought loose pyjama bottoms for night wear under my long night dress to keep off mosquitos.

And by day, maybe not pyjama bottoms. How about protecting my legs from flying insects with long pants or trousers as we say in England. Then walking around Ankor Wat I saw lots of tourists wearing fisherman's pants and regretted not having brought at least one of my pairs with me.


What are the advantages of fisherman's pants? They look like culottes but they are even cooler at the sides. You can walk up stairs safely without tearing the seams of tight jeans or trousers.

They are not tight on the crotch. They are flexible with two pairs of ties, front and back, to fit you as you expand in the heat or when you overeat.

They flat creating a cool breeze.

You look like a local in Cambodia.

We passed a kiosk on the path up to the entrance to the Sras Srang Royal Pool (like a huge square lake). I could not resist asking the price. The red and blue trousers, a print on a material similar to cotton although probably synthetic, no label, was three dollars. I then looked at a fancy oscillating colour wine fabric pair (used to be known as shot silk, or Thai silk, now mostly admitted to be synthetic but still very attractive and elegant, five dollars.

I called over my travel companion for advice. We had run short of cash because the tickets for the wats are sixty dollars for thee days and the office takes only cash. Three dollars.

Agreed. I had not tried them on but hoped they would fit. That's another advantage. Like wrap skirts, so long as they are not made for midgets, they fit any size.

Back in the hotel I tried them on. They were cool and they fitted. Bargain of the year. I think I must have paid three times the price in Singapore.

I had reckoned that if they didn't fit I had enough material to make something else, such as a skirt or bolero or scarf. As they do fit, I can use them as a template to make any leftover material, such as a spree length, into a fit me anytime, or fit anybody, pair of fisherman's pants.

Trousers and Toilets
I have now worm mine successfully in Cambodia. Any disadvantages? Yes. They are not ideal for quick removal and replacement in toilet cubicles which do not have spotlessly clean floors. You have to practice which pair of ties to remove and how to pull them between your legs quickly and tie them up again.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Researching Cambodia and Ankor Wat and What To Wear In Temples



Problems
What should you pack or buy in advance? What should you book?
World famous sites - such as Ankor Wat, Cambodia, trip of a lifetime. Is it safe? Where do I keep my passport - on me or in the hotel? What do I wear?

The name was means temple.

Answers
Picking a reliable hotel in advance should enable you to be briefed. But what about packing?

So far my research on Wikipedia and TripAdvisor suggests:
Ankor Wat and other old temples are not just historic ruin, they are considered holy sitee with a dress code and if you are wearing beach clothes you won't be admitted.

1 Avoid undergrowth and look where you are treading - there could be snakes in temple ruins.
2 A light scarf to cover shoulders is not enough, a piece of clothing covering shoulders is needed.
3 Sarongs are unsuitable for climbing steep steps as they reveal women's legs to those below. Wear trousers or leggings (which would be hot.
4 In order to wear cooler clothes for part of the day, either carry two sets of clothes (which weighs you down) or cargo pants (trousers) with zip off legs. (You might be able to buy them locally - but will they have your size?)
5 I suggest carrying a couple of safety pins to secure scarves or sarongs or clothes which get torn.
6 A safety pin did not work on my wrap skirt - just pulled out as I walked, leaving a hole. A better solution would be ribbons or better still ribbons on elastic.
7 Alternatively a flared skirt which enables you to mount steps.
8 A Punjabi outfit with matching trousers would be another option - if 'trousers' are allowed.
9 I have culottes.
10 What about the wrap tie farmer's trousers which I bought in Singapore and never wear?
I must admit they are hard to tie on, can't be removed easily when you go to the toilet without ragging fabric own dirty floors, Besides I never feel secure. I think they will gap or the ribbons will untie and the whole outfit will fall to the floor!

I shall be adding more thoughts as I continue researching today.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
Please like, follow and share my posts.

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Luggage and pockets protecting from pickpockets

pacsafe.com
Scottevest tops and trousers (USA pants) with lots of pockets
Travelon bags - lots of pockets and wife, solid shoulder straps