More things that mystify me. I am getting the hang of "English as a foreign language", but I do need a couple of explanations.

Sue this is brilliant, I am not sure how I missed seeing it, probably I was away. The English language even changes throughout the UK... And I have come across baby showers in the UK

My family and I, are truly Londoners.. with the Essex accents.. but I do not , wear Fake spray tan, wear false nails or eyelashes, my boobs are natural, and i do not say 'Oh Shut Up' lol.. we have a very popular program here in the Uk Called :- The only way is Essex which is filmed very close to my home.. they have introduced a whole new english language..Which my children love..
big hugs - Maria xx

Sue I really enjoed this post. :) but I have one for you. Where I'm from (South Carolina) we have a dance called..... are you ready for this????? The Shag....... yep.... but it doesn't mean the same as Britians slang for it. The "shag started back in the 1920/30 when swing dancing was popular. It showcases the male dancers footwork...
it is really a mixture of swing and rock n roll. LOTS of fun (like the other can be Hehe)
So here is a link to show you the face not the other. (ROFL)
Thought you might enjoy this.


I know this has nothing to do with embroidery but just thought you might "Geo a kick"

3 comments

by keeponsewing 07 Nov 2012

That is suppose to say "get a kick" out of this. :)

by spendlove 07 Nov 2012

ROFL indeed! Actually a shag is a sea bird in UK - I'm much too naive to know any other meanings!

by asterixsew 07 Nov 2012

It is also a type of rug with a long fibre - pile.

Saw some mug rugs today in the quilt display at the craft show .To me they looked like small quilts ,slightly smaller than A5 paper although one was a waratah flower & leaves which had been cut out & machined stitched randomly in gold thread ,to create a very lovely shaped mug rug

Even in Australia we have differant names for objects In Queensland we Call a Suitcase a "Port" short for portmanteau. and a Swimming costume "Togs". the southern states have their own names for them. Hugs Joyce

I'm a Canadian and here we have "showers" for a new bride or a new baby. It's a time gals get together to shower the person with gifts. It's not always just for the women -- I've been to a shower for the couple getting married -- they guys bring something for the guy and the women bring something for the lady. Also, mugs seem to be more common than china cups that have saucers so "mug rugs" (aka coaster) are practical to save table from the heat and spills; they are also washable and fun to use. Avis

hi sue ..in australia my understanding of a shower be it baby or bridal is to shower as in give the guest of honor lots and lots of gifts as in shower her with gifts.....hope this makes sense......soozie

1 comment

by jobaby 07 Nov 2012

We do the same thing in the USA in Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, Georgia and I guess the rest of the states but those listed I know for sure.

When I said I nursed my grandaughter I meant held her. In USA it means feed her from the breast. I wandered why I got a funny look

2 comments

by greysewist 16 Aug 2012

That is partly why our version of La Leche League -Nursing Mothers' Association changed their name to Australian Breastfeeding Association a number of years ago :)

by keeponsewing 07 Nov 2012

To me nursing doesn't mean breastfeed it means taking care of someone. So telling me you nursed your grandmother my first thoughts were you were taking care of her. :)

Thanks Sue, for this post. It has been quite entertaining to say the least. It's a small world but with all of our differences you might wonder why. LOL Hugs & Stitches. Liz

The shower i have been sewing for is a bridal party mostly ladies get together with gifts for the bride to be.We play games and win prizes plus a big door prize.
Yes a mug rug is the same as a coaster(well to me) sometimes mug rugs are larger then your normal coasters hugs carolyn

Thank you for all these answers! As a foreigner, I was delighted with all the explanations!.... I was beggining to think that my difficulties were due to my age!!!!! Thanks God, they are just language differences! You should try to learn Portuguese language!!!! We have the same problems with language differences between North and South despite Portugal is a small country! Here, in Cute, I learn anything everyday. Thanks!!!

Love all these answers! Some I'll just have to ponder on, maybe down by the crick!

Hi Cuties, I have'nt been here for a while and missed all the chatter. With the different English spoken in the different countries, maybe we should compile a Cute Dictionary. In South Africa we have overlockers and I never knew what a serger was until somebody one day asked what it is. So you get a Garage where we buy petrol - others call it a Filling station. We have robots, others call it traffic lights and so on. Very confusing. Hugs to all.

1 comment

by pldc 18 May 2023

we say gas station, I had no idea traffic lights we called robots. This is such a great learning site

This thread has turned into a sheer delight.
I wondered how cuties from around the world that didn't speak english, managed to join in... obviously they are very clever... I take my hat off to you all.

America is not the only place to have the custom of baby & bridal showers... we have them here in australia too.

1 comment

by kitty2011 15 Aug 2012

My apologies also... as I got the explanation of a mug rug completely wrong..lol
hugs kitty

I have loved reading this. It makes me think how we as a international group have been able to communicate so successfully with each other. We may have a few words that are confusing, but for the most part we understand each other. With that being said - for those of us here at Cuties - it is a small world. I am proud and happy to say that I belong to this group. Hugs and flowers to you all.

And how do you invite people to a shower?
You get on the dog and bone, off course, and holler for your mates.
Might have a few sangers for refreshments, or better still, people can bring a plate.
Weather permitting, we might light up the barbie and throw on a few snags. Can't forget the deadhorse.
Oh, and if you are in N.S.W. you might enjoy these with a schooner, maybe a Fosters.
Another form of English, Ockerism.

5 comments

by spendlove 15 Aug 2012

Some of that was Cockney rhyming slang!

by sewfrenzie 15 Aug 2012

Love this one! Really made me think, lol!

by noah 15 Aug 2012

The showers we hold are#1 family only (you call them on the phone)
#2 Work shower all the girls from were you work make an evening shower and shower you with gifts for setting up house keeping hugs carolyn

by oigelcox 16 Aug 2012

A lot of our language came with the english settlers so it is cockney Hugs Joyce

by pldc 18 May 2023

what are sangers & snags & a dead horse?

This thread was a hoot to read. I am a deep south girl. I have a southern drawl that southern people make fun of. My work home was in Chicago and when people would call us in GA they would burst out laughting. I love it. I totally confused my son’s girl friend the other day when I told her I needed a hose pipe. She thought she might find me one at the dollar store. :0) For those not in the know, a “hose pipe” is a garden hose, water pipe. Something used to water the garden…

2 comments

by katydid 14 Aug 2012

DON' T KNOW ABOUT A HOSE PIPE, AND I AM ALSO SOUTHERN. MAYBE YOY ARE DEEPER SOUTHH THEN ME!!!!

by keeponsewing 07 Nov 2012

I know what a hose pipe is but I'm thinking age has to do with that. Tracies mom probably used that word. :)

This is the greatest post I've read in a while, I have thoroughly enjoyed all the answers! Question, though: do you not have "baby showers" or "bridal showers" in England? No party for the mother-to-be or the bride-to-be, with presents that will be useful for baby or newly-wed? I didn't realise that was a purely American custom.

By the way, if you REALLY want to get confused about English, spend some time in "Pennsylvania Dutch" country, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. I have cousins there, and sometimes they would come out with totally unintelligible words and phrases. My poor brother, when he was a little kid, came in one day just steaming. Mom asked him what was the matter, and he said, "Oh, that Jeff (our cousin), he offered me a soda, and all he gave me was a lousy pop." In Northwestern PA, USA, we call things like Coke "pop", most everyone else calls it "soda". To us, a "soda" is an ice-cream soda, with whipped cream and a cherry on top. No wonder my poor brother was so disappointed! And that's even the same state, not even a different country. I think we do pretty well here, given all our language differences. And when we don't, like Sue, we ask. Thanks so much for the question, this has been the most entertainment I've had in a long while. Big hugs, Marji

8 comments

by spendlove 15 Aug 2012

The "shower" hasn't reached the UK yet. I'm sure it is only a matter of time!

by ansalu 15 Aug 2012

No baby-showers in Germany and I don't think that they come. I'm sure it comes from an old superstition that you should not buy stuff for the baby before it is born. Afterwards no party cause mother and baby need privacy ;o)

by sewfrenzie 15 Aug 2012

Here in Minnesota we call A soft drink "pop" also. One of my daughters was traveling here in the USA and asked for a "Coke" as in Coca Cola, and was asked "what kind"? She said you know a Coke. It took a while before it became apparent to the waitress that she needed to list the "cokes" available. Pepsi cola, Coca Cola etc. My duaghter and the waitress got a chuckle out of it once they realized what the problem was.

by maltamade 15 Aug 2012

Here in Malta we call "pop" a soft drink!!

by elizabethak 15 Aug 2012

Note in SA soda or pop was as "cooldrink". I think with the advent of TV in the early seventies we picked up a lot of Americanisms but some things don't change. Coke will always be Coke as years gone by there was only Coca Cola now we have so many brands they are all colas and not cokes!And don't forget the best of all our famous braai! What about billies(biltong)which to non SA's is really yuck!

by greysewist 16 Aug 2012

In different States of Australia drink names can vary. Fizzy drink in a can would be called 'cordial' in Tasmania, but in Victoria, one State over, cordial is the concentrate that you add water to and not fizzy.

by oigelcox 16 Aug 2012

In Queensland Australia we call fizzy drinks Soft drinks. Cordial is fruit syrup mixed with water. Coca Cola is just Coke. hugs Joyce

by pldc 18 May 2023

In Canada we call pop by their name brands Ginger Ale, Root Beer Coke or Pepsi Orange Crush & so on

What a funny thread! Thanks for asking, Sue!

I loved reading all the answers in this post. Australia has it's fair share of slang-words which confound everyone else!!

You are not alone in your need of explanations. I had never heard of a mug rug until I saw it on here. I kind of figured it out from the comments. And again, Canadian English is a bit different too!
I used to work with a lady from England (don't remember which part now)and I found out some differences from her.
I've been told by a few that English was the hardest language to learn. I took French in school, but have forgotten more than I knew!

4 comments

by ansalu 14 Aug 2012

I'm german and had in school english, french and latin. For me latin was the hardest (so many conjugations/declensions) and the hardest is that you have no real use for it in normal life. This made english and french easier for me (and I have to admit that I hated french :o) Greetings Bettina

by ansalu 14 Aug 2012

that I hated french cause of the pronunciation. Started learning english with 5 so this was my favorite ;o).
I'm sure one of the most difficult "languages" to learn is swiss german. If you did not trained it as a child it is hard to get the right intonation *lol*

by ansalu 14 Aug 2012

intonation. My aunt was married for nearly 50 years there and they still hear that she is a " Dütsche" (german) wheter me and my sister stayed with her and her husband most of our holidays and we can slightly assimilate :o)

by bnilla9241 16 Aug 2012

I took Latin in High School. In the medical field it is used a lot. A large amount of words in English have their roots in Latin.

enjoying this thread, Bonnie

OH. cuties, it is the same with Spanish,,,when I went from Cuba to Mexico I was 13 years old, my father send me to his office to ask one of the guys working there for something, as I was asking my father realized that I was going to asked the cuban way and followed me...just to find a very confused worker as he thought I was asking him to make love to me!!! so you see, different countries having the same language still have big differences and can get you in trouble!!!!****

OK - this was reversed for me when DH was in England to work. We were in the Yorkshire area where he was living, and a gentleman was talking to me, explaining something and I must have had a blank look on my face, for he looked at my husband and asked - "does she not speak the queen's English?" - well, never did understand a word he told me. LOL

1 comment

by spendlove 14 Aug 2012

They have a language all of their own in Yorkshire!

It's the spelling that gets me. I used to have a difficult time knowing the difference between garbage and cabbage. When asked what I was cooking I answered "garbage rolls" and wondered why the funny faces looking at me.

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by ansalu 14 Aug 2012

Angie this is really funny. Try to envision a picture in my mind of your "delicious" meal :o)

And if you think the English language here in the States is rough it gets even harder to understand when you have a person from the Northern United States visit the Southern States. We have a language all our own here. In fact it was hard to write this without using any of our slang words. LOL

7 comments

by katydid 14 Aug 2012

Well,I am from East Tennessee and people have called me a "hillbilly", but I do not consider myself to be from the back woods. Now, I live in Georgia and have been called "a little Georgia Peach". I guess that is not as negative as being called a "redneck". He ! He!

by hogfan 14 Aug 2012

Oh girl I am smack dab in the middle of the Ozarks and have neighbors that are sone of the Red neckiest Bubbas around HA!
You are lucky to be called a Georgia Peach being from Arkansas I am lucky to be called just "Arkie" HA!

by lenamae 15 Aug 2012

I was borned in Ark. and they called people from Ark ridge runners.
here in NC we are called Tar heels because of our ball team the tar heels
Lenamae

by hogfan 15 Aug 2012

Well I am for sure a ridge runner since i live in Rabbit Ridge on Ridge lane HA!
Tarheels are cool but I didn't get my name from loving pigs I am a huge Arkansas Razorback fan which is our state's big team.

by greysewist 16 Aug 2012

What a great address to have, hogfan. Must make your postman smile each time they deliver to you :)

by bnilla9241 16 Aug 2012

Well, I was born in Massachusetts and have lived a majority of my life in Arkansas! Go Hogs!! I too am a Hog Fan.
My sister thinks I talk funny, but I think that she talks normally. I guess I had Yankee on the brain! Yankee is an expression used in reference to people from New England. (Northern side of the east cost)
Hugs, Bonnie

by bnilla9241 16 Aug 2012

reference to someone from New England. That is, Maine, Vermont, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island,Connecticut,
and a few more in that area.

not to worry we say "go mow the lawn", the english say "go cut the grass", we say "go run her over"(as in to the shops) they say "give her a ride" which boggles my brain as you are not actually giving it to her? ah well we adjust & you are great to ask because until this site I didn't even know what a mug rug was either & I was given one which I turned into a change purse before I was told what it was LOL (which is laugh out loud)! Hugs Loralye

5 comments

by pldc 14 Aug 2012

oh & for us we can have a baby shower before but usually after the baby is born because we all want to see the wee one!

by katydid 14 Aug 2012

I rug is also slang for a wig or hair piece.

by lflanders 14 Aug 2012

Kay, you are a perfect example of just one of the reasons I love Tn! I have never met but one person from there that was now very friendly. I later found out that he was an implant. He was from out west. Colorado, I think. You have to be from Tn or just plain love everything about it to have the wonderfully friendly attitude that just flows in the veins.

by lflanders 14 Aug 2012

plain love everything about it to have that friendly and helpful attitude. I have met two of my favorite people in the world in Tn. One was an implant and one was born there and is now in Ga.

by biddysews 15 Aug 2012

in Aus a rug can be a blanket until i saw one i thought a mug rug was somthing you wraped around a mug.and also a Mug could be some one that is foolish I like this post. It is fun to see how we all are different yet we are all the same as we are all drawn to this post.

FYI...If you see a listing for a design of LIVESTOCK, it will be for farm animials out in the pasture............ not rats in the attic! This happened here at one of our military bases with British friends/exchange officer. They lived in base housing and the wife's phone call to inform/complain sounded like a prank call! Ha! We all laughed.

You understand how it can be sometimes difficult for me (france) with just my dictionnary...
Hugs to all of you

7 comments

by rescuer 14 Aug 2012

I will help you anytime with English. Will you help me with my French?
You can try using Google Translate. It is not perfect.
Like this:

by rescuer 14 Aug 2012

Je vais vous aider à tout moment avec l'anglais. Voulez-vous m'aider avec mon français?
Vous pouvez essayer d'utiliser Google Translate. Il n'est pas parfait.

by pldc 14 Aug 2012

Ce Bon!

by spendlove 14 Aug 2012

Claude, your English is wonderful!

by ansalu 14 Aug 2012

Same to me. It's tricky if the LEO-dictionairy give you 5 words for "Dusche" (=shower) and one of them is "douche" without a explanation (see my comment *lol*). But it's always better than the translation programs and a good training for my brain and my english skills :o)

by ansalu 14 Aug 2012

and my english skills. Even my french is getting better :o)

by marjialexa 14 Aug 2012

Claude, it's so good to see you again!!

I love it! Sue, you are amazing in following along with all our strange words! Now, come on to visit us in the south & you'll REALLY be confused! However, some of our words are just strange due to our accent. One that comes to mind is "poke". That's a paper bag; a wild plant safe to eat in the spring but NOT later on; a sharp jab! But doesn't matter, just ask & laugh & learn!

4 comments

by pldc 14 Aug 2012

wow I never knew this either, well except the sharp jab....but even that one is strange as we "poke" someone on facebook to say "hello"? go figure

by spendlove 14 Aug 2012

Hence the expression "Buying a pig in a poke", meaning without seeing what you are buying especially when it turns out to be a bad purchase!

by lflanders 14 Aug 2012

Way to go!!!!

by gerryb 14 Aug 2012

Right!!

I am pretty sure Sue was born in England - as I was but I also find some of the words/ phrases used on Cute not always easy to understand. Is a 'fat quarter' something to do with material for quilting???

8 comments

by mops 14 Aug 2012

A 'fat quarter' is a half of a yard halved by putting the selvedges together as opposed to a quarter yard (might that be a 'slim quarter'?)

by pldc 14 Aug 2012

18inches by 22 inches

by rescuer 14 Aug 2012

I only learned of "fat quarters" when I began quilting. It must be very confusing to those who use the metric system instead of fabric by the yard.

by jrob 14 Aug 2012

My husband thinks a fat quarter may be a body part, but he's not sure!;)

by sewfrenzie 15 Aug 2012

jrob, that is so funny!!!
Diane

by maltamade 15 Aug 2012

I always wanted to know what a "fat quarter" was. I have seen it mentioned when look at fabics on line - I thought it might have something to do with a number of squares Many thanks for explanation.

by oigelcox 16 Aug 2012

A fat quarter is made by cutting 4 pieces from 1 yard of fabric 4 equil quarters . a fat 8 is 8 pieces cut from a yard. hugs joyce

by pldc 18 May 2023

jelly rolls are fabric too lol layer cakes too

Sue, we do have many oddities in our langauge here in the states. I have a funny story to share about my grandaughter. They had been camping for a couple of weeks when I talked to her. She said "Grandma I haven't had a bath in 2 weeks" my respones was Oh! my she went on to share that they only had showers in the campgrounds. LOL Hugs & Stitches, Liz

Good questions and you got lot's of answers. I had not heard of a "mug rug" until viewing projects here. They were always coasters in this part of the US.

2 comments

by janetedna 15 Aug 2012

Well where are they known as mug rugs? and who called them that in the first place if some of you from the US didn't? because that's where I thought the term came from. Jan

by clawton 15 Aug 2012

I have no answers for you. Sorry. Within the US there are many different terms used for lots of things. It really depends upon what part of the country you live in.

Oh Sue, so it isn't English that you stumble over, it is American English. We tend to make our language up as we go along I think! As shown in all the answers here, we use the same spelling for different meanings and the same meanings for different spellings. I had never heard of a mug rug until I got on cute and there are other words used that I don't understand but just let them go if I can manage not to need the word. Happy learning to you and all of us also. Hugs, Debra

3 comments

by cfidl 14 Aug 2012

Lol! You have made my morning smile! Thanks

by airyfairy 14 Aug 2012

Debra, that is exactly the problem.

by spendlove 14 Aug 2012

It is all part of the fun!

This is what I learned at school here in Germany:
1. A shower is the same as a douche (like the design from katulle). In another context it could be a heavy rain.
We don't have Baby-Showers here (not as a tradition). Maybe comes from an old superstition that you should not buy stuff for the baby before it is born (maybe something back from times when the childhood mortality was high?).
2. A mug rug is something that most of the people here never heard of. Just the crafters ;o) Agree with the explanation of turtleowl...
Greetings, Bettina

1 images:[1]

9 comments

by rescuer 14 Aug 2012

We even make things complicated with your explaination of a shower as a douche. We only use douche for a very personal feminine shower.

by rescuer 14 Aug 2012

One of my classmates had a horrible time trying to learn the French word for shower. She acted like a 12 year old child and had a tantrum every time the instructor used the word.

by ansalu 14 Aug 2012

Shame on me about the douche. Maybe because in german we say "Dusche" for both: The place in the bathroom (shower tub) as for the action of taking a shower (difficult to express).
Mug Rug in the meaning of a large coaster is " größerer Untersetzer" or "Platzdeckchen" :o)

by ansalu 14 Aug 2012

". The next to that would be a place mat > "Tischset" or "Platzdeckchen" (more the old style :o).

by rescuer 14 Aug 2012

Bettina, there is no shame. I studied German as a teenager in school. My teacher did not speak German at all. I did not learn much. I do know it is very difficult to translate meaning.

by rescuer 14 Aug 2012

Another example that adds to confusion during translation is a napkin. Where I live now, is a paper or cloth towel to wipe your face at the table.

by crafter2243 14 Aug 2012

Oh Bettina I saw this one coming. My mother when visiting announced in a loud voice she was going to take a d.....

by ansalu 14 Aug 2012

Angie that could have been me *lol*

by hightechgrammy 14 Aug 2012

I have never heard of Douching as anything other than washing or cleaning the very personal part of a woman with spraying water or other mixtures! He he

Sorry to be misleading but I am , and have always been English! It is just that the language we use here in England is not the same as that you use in the rest of the world!!

2 comments

by ansalu 14 Aug 2012

Hihi Sue this little confusion about your native language give me a smile :o)

by rescuer 14 Aug 2012

That explains why you understand the Queen's English instead of the language spoken in the USA. LOL!
Isn't it funny how different things are from one area to another? Even in the USA there are major differences.

Sue, you are doing a great job of learning English! You are doing so well, I did not know English was not your first language. I hope you will continue to ask. You are welcome to PM me anytime you have a question you don't want to post here.
English is very hard to learn. Plus we have silly words like shower that can mean many things. We also make up other words like "mug rug" and mix up words that sound the same or they are spelled the same like "so and sew" or "to, too, and two" or there, their, and they're.
Shower means to clean yourself like a bath. A shower is a pleasant rain with little or no wind. We also "shower" people with gifts before a wedding or the birth of a new baby. It is a party that includes silly games and lots of gifts. There have been posts recently about gifts for showers.
For fun AND to help everyone (who speaks English as a first language) understand how hard the English language can be to learn, I will post a picture.

1 images:[1]

4 comments

by theduchess 14 Aug 2012

My favorite: I'll be walking down the aisle when I can get off the isle.

by cfidl 14 Aug 2012

LOL! Thanks!

by spendlove 14 Aug 2012

Sorry to mislead you!

by rescuer 14 Aug 2012

I am not upset at all. I am amused. I am very glad you asked!
I have really enjoyed the answers and comments.
Thank you Cuties for the smiles, education, and especially the laughter!

As a teacher of "English as a foreign language" I can agree! English is probably the hardest language to learn because we have so many words with more than one meaning! I am so proud of you for your hard work! Keep at it. Watch English TV and read English magazines. That helps alot!

6 comments

by spendlove 14 Aug 2012

I should watch more American programmes!

by rescuer 14 Aug 2012

American programs might be torture!
Fair warning. LOL

by marjialexa 14 Aug 2012

No, we need to watch more British programs! I highly recommend "Keeping Up Appearances", "Are You Being Served", and if you have a truly awful sense of humor, "Black Adder". Funnier than anything we have, for sure.

by rescuer 14 Aug 2012

I LOVE the "Bucket woman!" She reminds me of my grandmother. LOL
"May to December" and "Mulberry" are also delightful!
I agree Marji, we need to watch more British programs.

by killiecrankie 16 Aug 2012

My sister -in-law is the bucket woman.Brother-in-law said if she wasn't family you would have anything to do with her.

by spendlove 16 Aug 2012

Black Adder is wonderful! Our daughter has known all of the scripts off by hear for most of her life. Not so keen on the "bucket woman"

See, Sue, even WE can't decide.;)

1) A shower is a party where gifts are given, usually for a new baby or a wedding
2) A mug rug is large coaster with space for a pastry or cookie beside the mug.

1 comment

by spendlove 14 Aug 2012

Thank you for that very precise answer!

"Shower" can be (as Kitty2011 says) a means of bathing oneself. "Baby Shower" is a party held before a baby is born at which gifts are brought for the nursery. It can also mean a brief fall of rain :) Not sure in what context you are asking but perhaps these explanations will help :)

Hi sue,
Firstly can I say how much I admire anyone who can speak more than their native language.

And next I never realised how hard it can be to explain a simple object.

A mug rug is something that wraps around a mug, whereas a coaster is a little mat that sits under a glass/mug/cup to protect the table top.

.... do you mean 'shower' as in method of bathing oneself? it's instead of a bath. .... (stand up)