So having left Ireland to spread my wings I came to New York City...... one of the greatest cities in the English speaking western world. I had no idea that on arriving in an English speaking country that there could be such confusion over certain words used for certain things. I can't count the amount of times i have asked for something, said something or stood in a shop asking for an item using the Irish/English word for it and the looks of bewilderment and confusion that followed. As if speaking faster than the speed of light and having a Northern Irish accent wasn't confusing enough to Americans there was somewhat of a language barrier now too.
When I first came to America it was in June of 2000, I was Twenty and a bit of a greenhorn straight of the boat as we all usually are when we first arrive in the land of the free. This was also back when I was a smoker. Now in Ireland the slang word for cigarettes is "fags', this is widely and almost always used in Ireland when buying, asking for and offering cigarettes, you would say 'gimme a fag', or 'do ya want a fag?' or in a shop you would ask for 'Twenty fags please'. On one of the first days i was here i was staying in Sunnyside in Queens, I was not familiar with where the stores and delis were so I left the apt and went for a walk to find one because I needed cigarettes, I was walking around for a little while and it was hot out so i decided instead of wandering around aimlessly in the 80 degree heat id ask a passer by. I proceeded to stop a very nice older lady on the street and ask her if she knew where i could buy some fags? (not thinking about the fact that in America 'Fag' is a derogatory slang word for gay men) As you can imagine the nice lady was a bit taken back by the question, she replied back 'no im sorry i can't help you with that' and continued in a faster pace on down the street. Needless to say after walking a few more blocks it dawned on me what I had just done, although this didn't stop me in the next few weeks from making the same mistake again a few times in shops and elsewhere (old habits die hard). It took me a few more weeks to get used to calling cigarettes.....cigarettes.
Here are some other words that are different on opposite sides of the Atlantic.
In Ireland -
- Drapes are curtains (thats an easy one)
- Children are waines or waynes
- Diapers are nappies
- Binkys or pacifiers are Dummies or Do do's (This is another embarrassing one when you walk into Duane Reade or the Pharmacy and ask...Where are the Dummies!?!?)
- Bangs are fringes
- Mail or mail men/women are Post or postmen/women
- Garbage is rubbish
- Trucks are lorry's
- SUV's are jeeps
- Cell phones are mobiles
- Sneakers are slippers
- Gas is petrol or diesel
- A hero is someone who saves your life not a piece of bread
- A roll is a bap
- A Milky Way is a Mars and a Musketeer is a Milky Way
- The sidewalk is the footpath
- The trash is the bin
- Potatos are Spuds
- Soda is fizzy juice
- A Stroller is a pram
- Kindergarten is Play school
- Vacations are holidays
- Carnivals are Fairs
- Fava Beans are Broad beans
- Beets are beetroot
- Cookies are biscuits
- Candy is sweets
- The liquor store is an Off Licence
There are loads more that i cant think of right now, if there are any that you can think of post them!
