# Different things that have the same name (where you live) and nobody gets confused **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 17, 2021, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739 "2021-01-17T16:33:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2021, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/21 "2021-01-17T21:23:16Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > That’s normal in the UK too - because the pedestrian footpath was paved (that is, laid with close fitting flat pieces of dressed stone) whereas the road would be cobbled, or later, tarmacadam Interesting. Because in standard US English the spreading of asphalt or concrete over a prepared surface is to “pave it”. And the machine doing the spreading is a “paver”. Though we also use “pavers” as a noun meaning flat masonry or concrete bricks intended to be set into the ground forming a solid surface tiling the plane. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2021, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/22 "2021-01-17T21:32:41Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > In the UK, I believe there is a clear distinction made between “buses” (which serve a single metropolitan area, and have provisions for standing passengers) and “coaches” (which travel between metropolitan areas, have no standing areas, and have large cargo space for luggage) That’s correct - coaches are normally more comfortable and better equipped (I suppose because they are generally for longer end-to-end journeys)\ Buses are traditionally pretty spartan inside. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2021, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/23 "2021-01-17T22:17:00Z")
An Australian example: chips. Covers both British “chips” and British “crisps”. Not sure what the distinction would be in the US - fries versus chips? ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2021, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/24 "2021-01-17T22:20:39Z")
I used to live in a state where a cabinet was both a piece of furniture and a beverage. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2021, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/25 "2021-01-17T23:29:13Z")
A screwdriver is both a tool and an alcoholic beverage. It’s pretty easy to know which is meant by the context. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2021, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/26 "2021-01-17T23:29:52Z")
Kailua is a major township here on Oahu, while Kailua-Kona is a sizable entity on the Big Island. People keep them straight though, even when referring to the latter also as just Kailua. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2021, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/27 "2021-01-17T23:30:30Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > It helps that we don’t have the other kind of biscuits here at all (except when we knowingly make them as an imported idea). We do have cookies, and I think that word has been embedded in British English probably since WWII, but we regard ‘cookies’ as a fully contained subset of the category ‘biscuits’ See, for me crackers and cookies are two completely different things. I don’t see a need for a category that encompasses both. A cracker is a savory snack. It goes with cheese or soup. A cookie is dessert (sweet or pudding in British terms I guess). It goes with a glass of milk. If I want a cracker specifically and not a cookie, what do I ask for? A non-sweet biscuit? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2021, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/28 "2021-01-17T23:32:45Z")
Or a guy from Georgia, but that should be very easy in context, unless you are talking Jeffrey Dahmer. 🤪 ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2021, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/29 "2021-01-17T23:33:21Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > An Australian example: chips. Covers both British “chips” and British “crisps”. Not sure what the distinction would be in the US - fries versus chips? Yes. British crisps are potato chips. British chips are French-fried potatoes, or French fries, or fries. Pringles are labeled “potato crisps” on the can, but I’ve never heard anyone actually refer to them with that term. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2021, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/30 "2021-01-17T23:36:22Z")
To a lesser degree- "soda’, which can mean plain carbonated water or a sugary soft drink like Pepsi. “Cup” can mean a standard measure or a drinking vessel with a handle, smaller than a mug. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2021, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/31 "2021-01-17T23:41:14Z")
Grass Weed ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2021, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/32 "2021-01-17T23:46:24Z")
I guess you could essentially add every slang term that has two meanings. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2021, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/33 "2021-01-18T00:05:43Z")
The first such word that occurs to me in American English that seems to confuse English people is trailer. It can be (1) a relatively large “mobile home” intended for permanent habitation (which is mobile in theory but usually installed in permanent location), or (2) a relatively small camper towed behind a powered vehicle (caravan). There are other uses that are less likely to be confused, like the movie preview. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2021, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/34 "2021-01-18T00:27:11Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Pringles are labeled “potato crisps” on the can, but I’ve never heard anyone actually refer to them with that term I believe that’s the government’s handiwork. Being made of potato flour and gosh knows what other agricultural and chemical debris, they don’t fit the US regulatory definition of “potato chip”. So the manufacturer had to invent a more generic term. I’ve never heard of anyone refer to a Pringle as anything other than … a Pringle. They are (thank goodness) _sui generis_. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2021, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/35 "2021-01-18T01:17:54Z")
[GeorgeCarlin] You can prick your finger, but don’t finger your prick. [/GeorgeCarlin] ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2021, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/36 "2021-01-18T01:18:55Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > They are (thank goodness) _sui generis_ . Unfortunately, [that’s not the case](https://www.lays.com/product-category/lays-stax). ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2021, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/37 "2021-01-18T01:23:26Z")
My faith in humanity has been dashed. When the Pringles concept didn’t multiply to their competitors after their initial introduction I thought maybe we’d turned a corner into being actual intelligent life forms. Even through Trump, and later COVID I held out hope. Your cite of Stax prove my faith in human intelligence was misplaced. I now see I was wrong; tragically wrong. So it has come to this. > **[So It Has Come To This](https://xkcd.com/1022/)** > > 'Come to what?' 'You. Me. This moment.' ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2021, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/38 "2021-01-18T05:16:17Z")
A “trunk” can be a storage compartment in an automobile or a large piece of luggage. And yet it’s rarely confusing when someone says “That item is in the trunk”. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2021, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/39 "2021-01-18T05:57:50Z")
Beans must be a candidate. You’ve got the green ones for your Thanksgiving casserole, but the baked type which are a different animal altogether. ---
**Author:** ![UDS1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e47774/32.png) [@UDS1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS1)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2021, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/40 "2021-01-18T06:46:11Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > If I want a cracker specifically and not a cookie, what do I ask for? A non-sweet biscuit? If you want a cracker specifically you ask for a cracker. It may help to be aware that, in BrE, while crackers and cookies are both kinds of biscuit; they are not exhaustive of the kinds of biscuit that are to be had; there are many biscuits which are neither crackers nor cookies. Cookies have a soft, chewy texture and crumble easily; they will usually contain chocolate chips, nut chips or similar. But something like a digestive biscuit, a layered biscuit or a shortbread biscuit is not a cookie; it’s just a biscuit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739.md?page=3)