You say Potato I say Spud!

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!