# Perfectly Normal American Words That Can Get You In Trouble Overseas
If you pay attention to other countries, you probably already know that we sometimes have different words for the same things.
For example, the trunk of a car in the U.S. is called a “boot” in Australia, South Africa, Singapore, Malaysia, the U.K. and several other countries. We go on vacation, while people in several other countries go on “holiday.” And while people in Australia (and sometimes New Zealand) might get cozy and warm under a “doona” on a cold night, here in the U.S. we’d probably call it a comforter.
That’s easy enough. Different word, same thing.
But things can get MUCH more interesting when we use the same word, and that word means something completely different in another country.
That’s when some major miscommunication, and sometimes some really funny miscommunication, can happen.
Rooting For Your Team? Maybe Don’t Say That In Australia
In the U.S., you can “root” for whatever sports team you want. The Yankees. The Celtics. Maybe you’re a glutton for punishment and root for whatever team has broken your heart for the past 30 years.
But if you’re in Australia, you might want to find another way to express your support.
That’s because “root” is Australian slang for having sex.
So telling an Australian you’re “rooting for the Yankees” could potentially give them an entirely different mental image than the one you intended. 😉
Nice Pants!
I read about a woman from the U.S. who was visiting England for the summer. She saw a stranger across the street and decided to walk over and compliment them.
She told them she liked their khaki pants.
Perfectly normal compliment in the U.S., right?
Her partner later pulled her aside and explained the problem.
In British English, “pants” commonly means underwear, not trousers. And apparently her pronunciation of “khaki” sounded close enough to “cacky,” which is British slang associated with poop, to make the whole thing even worse.
So what she thought was essentially, “Hey, nice beige trousers!” apparently didn’t sound anything like that to the person receiving the compliment.
Double whammy!
And DEFINITELY Be Careful With “Nonce”
A digital marketing consultant from the U.S. was on assignment at his company’s U.K. headquarters when he jokingly called a co-worker a “nonce.”
He apparently thought it was a relatively harmless insult, along the lines of “idiot” or “dummy.”
It most definitely is not. Not on that side of the pond.
In the U.K., “nonce” is a highly offensive slang term for a sex offender, particularly one who abuses children.
Suddenly those dirty looks he was getting made a whole lot more sense.
But It’s Not Just Americans
No worries, though. The same thing happens in the other direction, too.
I read this story a while back and literally laughed out loud.
A British wildlife researcher was working on a project in rural Wyoming. She was on the night shift of a sage grouse project with her American boss, and the two of them were sitting alone in a pickup truck logging data after fitting a bird with a radio collar.
She made a mistake in her notes.
So she turned to her American male boss and asked:
“Do you have a rubber?”
In the U.K., a “rubber” is an eraser.
In the U.S….
Yeah.
It can mean a condom.
And they’re alone together. At night. In a pickup truck. In rural Wyoming.
LOLOL!
Where Are My Thongs?
Then there’s the Australian who marries an American and comes to the U.S. to visit their in-laws.
They’re staying with them for a few weeks, living out of suitcases, and inevitably something goes missing.
So imagine the Australian casually asking their genteel American mother-in-law:
“Have you seen my thongs?”
In Australia, “thongs” are what Americans call flip-flops.
In the U.S., of course, a thong is usually a VERY different article of clothing.
Hopefully Mom eventually figured out nobody was asking her to locate their missing skimpy underwear. 😉
“I Could Murder An Indian”
And then there’s this one.
An American travel writer had recently moved to the U.K. to be with her British partner. One day, her partner came home from work and announced that he “could just murder an Indian.”
Ummm…EXCUSE ME?!?!
Understandably, the American was appalled.
But there was a translation problem.
In British English, saying you “could murder” something can mean you’re extremely hungry for it. It’s roughly equivalent to an American saying, “I could kill for a pizza right now.”
And “an Indian” can refer to an Indian meal or Indian takeaway.
The guy wasn’t announcing homicidal intentions toward anyone. He was hungry and wanted Indian food.
Which, needless to say, sounded VERY different to his American partner.
Same Language…Sort Of
English is spoken in countries all over the world. But stories like these are a good reminder that just because two people technically speak the same language doesn’t mean they’re always speaking the same language.
Most of the time, the differences are harmless. Maybe someone asks where the lift is instead of the elevator, puts something in the boot instead of the trunk, or wants a biscuit when you would’ve called it a cookie.
But every once in a while, you wind up accidentally telling an Australian who you’re having sex with, asking your boss for a condom in a dark pickup truck, or thinking your boyfriend just announced plans to commit murder.
And that’s when Google Translate isn’t going to save your a$$. 😉
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