What trips you up when reading books from different English-speaking countries?

[Loosheesh]

Originally Posted by Quoth

I think if you have read widely (in time and space) and know what origin the book is nothing linguistic will trip you up.

^This. Diverse interests and friends (and travel) help as well.

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by Quoth

I think if you have read widely (in time and space) and know what origin the book is nothing linguistic will trip you up.

"nothing" seems extreme, unless one is omniscient. Not a common condition in my experience. The frequency may be greatly reduced, but to insist there is zero chance of it happening, as saying "nothing will" does, smacks of hubris.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by gmw

Hmm... no one has mentioned thongs. When an Australian puts thongs on their feet it can - so I am told - conjure strange imagery to residents of other countries.

When I was growing up in New York, admittedly some time ago , we called them thongs, also. I have no idea if the usage has persisted or if New Yorkers have knuckled under.

[DiapDealer]

When I was a a youngster, we wore what we called "tongs". Not sure if the pronunciation was regional (Am Midwest) or just children getting it wrong, but they were definitely the things that many refer to as flip-flops.

[Loosheesh]

Originally Posted by Uncle Robin

"nothing" seems extreme, unless one is omniscient. Not a common condition in my experience. The frequency may be greatly reduced, but to insist there is zero chance of it happening, as saying "nothing will" does, smacks of hubris.

Speaking for myself, I don’t mean absolutely ‘nothing’, but it rarely happens and definitely not with the type of things mentioned here.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by Uncle Robin

"nothing" seems extreme, unless one is omniscient. Not a common condition in my experience. The frequency may be greatly reduced, but to insist there is zero chance of it happening, as saying "nothing will" does, smacks of hubris.

Oh, things even from your own culture will trip you up, I just meant nothing in the sense of the tripping things mentioned.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by Loosheesh

Speaking for myself, I don’t mean absolutely ‘nothing’, but it rarely happens and definitely not with the type of things mentioned here.

Agreed

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

When I was a a youngster, we wore what we called "tongs". Not sure if the pronunciation was regional (Am Midwest) or just children getting it wrong, but they were definitely the things that many refer to as flip-flops.

I've heard flip-flops called thongs, though in the 1960s we called them flip-flops. I begged to get a pair for the beach instead of sandals and only wore them a few times. Too uncomfortable between the toes yet fell off if you ran. The underwear thongs were more commonly called g-strings in 1960s Ian Fleming's books. My dad, at the time, explained they were almost non-existent ladies underwear. I later checked my mum's chest of drawers and she only had regular pants.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by gmw

Hmm... no one has mentioned thongs. When an Australian puts thongs on their feet it can - so I am told - conjure strange imagery to residents of other countries.

They (footwear) were thongs (or Zori) when I was a teenager in the 50's in Santa Barbara. I had to look up 'Flip flops' to verify my guess when I came across the term while reading.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

You may appreciate this page.

I know that the word gay used to have a completely different meaning in the US.

[Apache]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I know that the word gay used to have a completely different meaning in the US.

So, The Gay Nineties means different things depending on whether you are talking about the 1890's or the 1990's.
Apache

[hobnail]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Not sure if it is still common, but I paused when I heard cigarettes referred to as 'fags.'

Or in books set in medieval times when a bundle of gathered sticks was called a faggot. Made me wonder how the name for a bundle of sticks got transferred over to gays.

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by gmw

Hmm... no one has mentioned thongs. When an Australian puts thongs on their feet it can - so I am told - conjure strange imagery to residents of other countries.

Originally Posted by hobnail

I never know what to call them and they go by a lot of names. When I was a kid, back in the 1950s and 60s we called them go-aheads. Now I'd call them flip flops. Maybe call them sandals but I think of sandals as being less casual, made of leather.

Originally Posted by issybird

When I was growing up in New York, admittedly some time ago , we called them thongs, also. I have no idea if the usage has persisted or if New Yorkers have knuckled under.

I've always called them flip-flops but have occasionally heard them referred to as thongs.

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by Uncle Robin

"nothing" seems extreme, unless one is omniscient. Not a common condition in my experience. The frequency may be greatly reduced, but to insist there is zero chance of it happening, as saying "nothing will" does, smacks of hubris.

Originally Posted by Loosheesh

Speaking for myself, I don’t mean absolutely ‘nothing’, but it rarely happens and definitely not with the type of things mentioned here.

Originally Posted by Quoth

Oh, things even from your own culture will trip you up, I just meant nothing in the sense of the tripping things mentioned.

I think most of us posting here know the actual meaning of most of the words we've mentioned. But even so, for words that have different usage in different countries my mind usually pictures the local meaning, however briefly, before switching.

[hobnail]

Originally Posted by Quoth

IMy dad, at the time, explained they were almost non-existent ladies underwear. I later checked my mum's chest of drawers and she only had regular pants.

Almost non-existent as in extremely skimpy or unlikely to be found? And what would you have done if you found a thong in your mum's unmentionables?