True Stories of Confusion!
Fanny Pack or Bum Bag???
The first time I heard someone talk about his or her "fanny pack" I nearly
died. A word of warning for any US people visiting the UK .I suggest you
call them "bum bags" like we do otherwise you may get some really peculiar
looks. Surfice as to say the word fanny here refers to a much more intimate
part of the female anatomy than your backside ;0)
Jane Yeadon
Brownie Guider, London, UK
Cots
When I was pregnant with my now 2 year old, in the UK, Mark's parents asked
if we would like Mark's old cot for the baby to sleep in. The first chance
that Mark and I were alone, I went on and on, something like 'What kind
of a country is this, having babies sleep on cots! How dangerous! I want
to go home where we know what we're doing!' Mark calmed me down, and although
completely confused, said he would take me shopping to see if there was
anything safer than a cot. When we got to the store, I pointed to a crib
and said 'That is what a baby should sleep in, for heaven's sake!' He said
ever so sweetly, 'Yes, dear. We call those 'cots''.
Catherine Butler
Brownie Leader, Frisco, TX - Tejas Council
Spotted Dick
Some American GS Leaders attended an International Camp our County (North
Yorkshire West, UK) hosted in 1994. They were very puzzled to know what
'Spotted Dick' was - they had seen it on a restaurant menu!!
Their best idea was that it was a banana with chocolate chips!
Liz Watts
Troop Leader, Girl Scouts of Tres Condados Council, California, USA
Former Brownie Guider and County Hillwalking Adviser, UK
Footnote - I was actually going to post the end of this story to the
list a few days later, but I was too busy at the time. The end of the story
would have included an explanation as to what 'Spotted Dick' actually is
(I was hoping to get people's imaginations moving!!), and a description
of the Yorkshire meal that was cooked in honor of our foreign guests that
included … Spotted Dick! - Liz
**********
A couple of people replied to a question on the WAGGGS-L list asking "what
IS Spotted Dick"?
**********
A steamed sponge type pudding with currants (hence the "spotted") mixed
through - normally served hot with custard. Where the "Dick" element comes
from I have no idea. Delicious but fattening. It is also normally made
with suet and not margarine. Very much a "comfort" pudding.
Jan Bain
Guider 1st Banff Guides, Banff & Buchan, Scotland
Spotted Dick is a steamed sponge pudding with currants in it. I don't
know how it got its name - it is an old traditional pudding. Someone possibly
named Richard or Richards made a pudding that was spotted with currants.
Eileen Kermode
Guide Guider, Maghull, Liverpool, England
Erasers
I thought my spouse and I had certainly run through all the UK-US faux
pas until the day we were in the stationary store. He was looking for some
decorated/multi-colored erasers to give to his students for rewards. I
nearly died when I heard him ask the clerk if he could get a special discount
if he purchased colored 'rubbers' in bulk.
Catherine Butler
Brownie Leader, Frisco, TX - Tejas Council
Hotties
My daughter, with 5 other girl scouts from the US, several from the UK
and Canada visited New Zealand for a guide-hosted tour of the South Island.
The US contingent arrived a day early and were hosted in Nelson. One of
the girls was walking about with the host daughter and asked about boys,
or in slang terms, "Hotties." The host daughter asked about the term, which
was defined as a hot looking guy.
New Zealand was enjoying their winter months, without the central heating
so common in the US. That night, in an effort to make the US visitor more
comfortable, the host mother asked her guest, "Would you like to sleep
with a hottie?" My daughter's friend says she replied, "sure, but where
will you find one on such short notice?" All the while the host daughter
was rolling on the floor laughing.
As many of you have already figured out, or know, what in the US we
call a hot water bottle is called a hotty in NZ.
Kathi Yu
Silver Spring, MD, Girl Scout Council of the Nation's Capital
Torches and Flashlights
I spent one summer during my college years working as an intern on an international
magazine staff based in Los Angeles. Other interns were from Sweden, Australia,
and the UK. One weekend we decided to drive to the ocean for a moonlit
walk on the beach. As we went to our rooms to gather our gear before going
to the cars, one of the UK folks cautioned me, "Be sure to bring a torch!"
I couldn't imagine where he expected me to find a pine bough in the middle
of Los Angeles, or why he'd want to use torches on the beach instead of
flashlights. Didn't realize until he showed up a few minutes later with
a flashlight in his hand that a flashlight was a torch in the UK.
:)
Jane Schuler
Cadette Leader, Knoxville, TN
Tea
While I was staying with my mum-in-law in England, I remember that I would
make a pot of tea, then set it out to cool so that I could use it for 'iced
tea'. My mum-in-law would always see the pot, and throw it out as
it had gone cold. I never told her that was the whole point!
She must have thought I was a really stupid, making pots of tea and then
not drinking them!
Catherine Butler
Brownie Leader, Frisco, TX - Tejas Council
A cautionary tale from Canada
I once asked where the washroom was in a Holiday Inn in the US and found
myself in the laundry room......
Wendy Baker
Campbellford, Ontario, Canada
Lemonade
When my parents visited Texas, they stayed with some friends of my Uncle,
and when offered a drink my dad asked for shandy. For those of you from
outside the UK, it's a mixture of beer and lemonade (what you would call
Sprite!). Mixing it with American lemonade didn't have quite the same effect!
Another one was squash, which in America is a type of vegetable, but
here is a concentrated fruit juice drink which you add water to.
Kim Dobson
Guide Guider and Brownie Guider
Reading, Berkshire, England
Bathroom
When I was a missionary in Japan, the gas man came to our apartment to
check out the hot water heater. I still couldn't understand Japanese very
well and didn't know what he wanted, so he said in English, "bathroom".
Thinking that he needed to relieve himself, I showed him where the toilet
was, which was in a small room like a closet. He shook his head and pointed
to the room next to it which had the bathtub and hot water heater in it.
He wanted to check out the hot water heater in our Bath Room!
Charlotte M. Meyer
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This page last updated March 24th, 2000