# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/121 "2021-01-20T02:30:52Z")
> [@pirviii](#): > > How about a generic term like food turner? Tongues, if you are kitchen cool. ---
**Author:** ![UDS1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e47774/32.png) [@UDS1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS1)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/122 "2021-01-20T03:34:31Z")
> [@pirviii](#): > > How about a generic term like food turner? I use mine for more then pancakes. But you also use it for more than just turning — for example, you use it to transfer food from the pan to the plate. Depending on what you’re cooking you may use it to mix or spread the food in the pan. In my variant of English it’s a spatula. It it has slots in the blade it’s a fish slice, which is not something different from a spatula, but rather a particular kind of spatula. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/123 "2021-01-20T05:56:01Z")
How about those of us who are used to calling it a pancake turner keep right on calling it a pancake turner, and those who want to call it a spatula instead call it a spatula? If it doesn’t bother you that you’re using the same word for two distinctly different things, why does it bother you what name some want to use to distinguish them? “Pancake turner” has over 2,600,000 hits on Google, one of the first of which is a definition in the Oxford dictionary, which says it’s been in use at least since the early 17th century. It’s a name for something. Does it make perfect logical sense? It doesn’t have to. Names very often don’t. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/124 "2021-01-20T06:55:53Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Fascinating. This is what the US calls a fish spatula: > [https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&tbm=isch&source=hp&q=fish+spatula](https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&tbm=isch&source=hp&q=fish+spatula) > > The odd asymmetrical shape and almost full-length slots are what mark it out for fish use. Non-slotted spatulas are not for fish. See, that’s what I would call a _that thing_. “Hey, pass me that thing - no, the one next to.the purple spatula. Yeah, **that** thing.”. I try to always be precise. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/125 "2021-01-20T20:42:33Z")
Same thing in South Africa. (Warning: nightmare fuel) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/tWlRbOGXYp0/hqdefault.jpg "I wanna be a Simba Chippie") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWlRbOGXYp0) If you wanted to disambiguate because it wasn’t clear from context, you _might_ say “hot chips” for the freshly-fried ones. Or “slap chips” if having with battered fish. But the packaged snacks are chips, and anyone who calls packet chips “crisps” is clearly foreign. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/126 "2021-01-20T20:43:10Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > There is a reason for that. On a horse-drawn conveyance, it was a storage compartment for boots. And at the other end of the carriage, the ‘bonnet’ covers the compartment where the hats were kept. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/127 "2021-01-20T20:43:44Z")
Whole lot of people in this thread have weird names for their egg lifters. > [@thorny\_locust](#): > > “Pancake turner” has over 2,600,000 hits on Google No, “Pancake” “turner” does. “Pancake turner” just has 243 000. There’s a difference. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/128 "2021-01-20T21:22:09Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > their egg lifters Their _what_? I’ve got a drawer full of omelet folders, sandwich spinners, and patty rotators, but I’ve never heard of that one. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/129 "2021-01-20T22:02:46Z")
Taiwanese call “toast” the kind of bread that you can make toast out of, as well as the finished product. After 17 years together, I still can’t get used to my wife asking me to pick up some toast at the supermarket. Foreign languages are like that. Japanese only have one word for both “foot” and “leg” while having many different words for “wear” depending on the type of clothes such as shirts, pants, or hats. Chinese doesn’t have one word for “cousin”, but distinguishes between the children of brothers or sisters and if they are older or younger. ---
**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 20, 2021, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/130 "2021-01-20T22:12:29Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > Chinese doesn’t have one word for “cousin”, but distinguishes between the children of brothers or sisters and if they are older or younger. We had a really amazing thread a few years ago about all the various ways different languages have words for relations by blood or marriage. And the amazing range of which attributes they track w different words vs which they subsume under a common term. I couldn’t come up with a good way to search for the thread or I’d link it here. ---
**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 20, 2021, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/131 "2021-01-20T22:25:40Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > Taiwanese call “toast” the kind of bread that you can make toast out of, as well as the finished product. After 17 years together, I still can’t get used to my wife asking me to pick up some toast at the supermarket. I believe they do the same thing in Germany. > [@TokyoBayer](#): > > Foreign languages are like that. Japanese only have one word for both “foot” and “leg” Same in Bengali. You have _hath_ (hand/arm), _angul_ (finger), _pa_ (leg/foot), and _payer angul_ (foot-finger). If you want, you can get more specific for “foot”: _payer pata_ (“leaf of the leg”) > [@TokyoBayer](#): > > Chinese doesn’t have one word for “cousin”, but distinguishes between the children of brothers or sisters and if they are older or younger. In Bengali, you have _bhai_ (brother/younger brother), _dada_ (elder brother), _bon_ (sister/younger sister), and _didi_ (elder sister). That goes for all siblings and cousins from your generation (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc., with no “removals”). You can be more specific if you want to: you can say “own elder brother” to indicate your actual sibling. Or you can modify with the five types of aunts and uncles: - _jætha-moshai_ (father’s elder brother)/_jethi-ma_ (his wife)—adjectival form: _jætutho-_ - _kaka_ (father’s brother/younger brother)/_kaki-ma_ (his wife)—adjectival form: _khurtutho-_ - _pishi-ma_ (father’s sister)/_pishe-moshai_ (her husband)—adjectival form: _pistuto-_ - _mama_ (mother’s brother)/_mami-ma_ (his wife)—adjectival form: _mamato-_ - _mashi-ma_ (mother’s sister)/_mesho-moshai_ (her husband)—adjectival form _mastuto-_ So, for example, if you were being non-specifc, you could just say _didi_ (elder sister), or you could say _khurtuto-didi_ (father’s younger brother’s daughter who is elder to you). ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/132 "2021-01-20T22:33:20Z")
From another site (and maybe off-topic): “Arabic does not have a collective noun for camel. There exist separate words for male camel, female camel, castrated camel, young camel, old camel, …” " In Swedish, there is no word equivalent to _grandmother_ / _grandfather_ . You **always** have to specify whether you’re referring to a paternal or maternal grandparent." The Inuit have many words for “snow” - e.g. - qanuk: ‘snowflake’ - kaneq: ‘frost’ - kanevvluk: ‘fine snow’ - qanikcaq: ‘snow on ground’ - muruaneq: ‘soft deep snow’ - nutaryuk: ‘fresh snow’ - pirta: ‘blizzard’ - qengaruk: ‘snow bank’ ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/133 "2021-01-20T22:36:25Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > > [@thorny\_locust](#): > > > > “Pancake turner” has over 2,600,000 hits on Google > > No, “Pancake” “turner” does. “Pancake turner” just has 243 000. There’s a difference. You are correct. Plenty of people selling them under that name, though; as well as other references. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/134 "2021-01-20T23:33:25Z")
> [@Mark\_Finn](#): > > The Inuit have many words for “snow” - e.g. > > - qanuk: ‘snowflake’ > - kaneq: ‘frost’ > - kanevvluk: ‘fine snow’ > - qanikcaq: ‘snow on ground’ > - muruaneq: ‘soft deep snow’ > - nutaryuk: ‘fresh snow’ > - pirta: ‘blizzard’ > - qengaruk: ‘snow bank As do English speakers: Snow Slush Powder Drift Sleet Flake Crust And those are just the ones I could list from memory. I bet Google knows a lot more. ---
**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 20, 2021, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/135 "2021-01-20T23:43:46Z")
I see “chippies” is a cute slang term of choice too. Which leads me to another interesting pairing… “Chippy” - chip that you eat “Chippy” - carpenter Not that many people would be confused enough by “my cousin’s a chippy” into thinking your cousin is a fried potato, however… ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/136 "2021-01-20T23:49:49Z")
Until partway through the 20th century, English had no way to refer to brothers and sisters collectively. “Sibling” was a technical term used in anthropology and psychology that only gradually (by say 1975) become a common term in everyday speech. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/137 "2021-01-20T23:51:17Z")
To sanction something is to give it your approval. Unless you are applying a penalty as a rather concrete way of signalling your disapproval. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/138 "2021-01-20T23:51:51Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > “Chippy” - chip that you eat > “Chippy” - carpenter > > Not that many people would be confused enough by “my cousin’s a chippy” into thinking your cousin is a fried potato, however… No, we’d all assume your cousin is a bimbo. (courtesy of noir detective novels mostly) ---
**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 20, 2021, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/139 "2021-01-20T23:53:50Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > No, we’d all assume your cousin is a bimbo. ??? My slang search is failing me… ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739/140 "2021-01-21T00:01:26Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > My slang search is failing me… Courtesy of Google: > [@](#): > > What’s a chippy girl? > > noun, plural chip·pies. > > Slang. a promiscuous **woman**. a prostitute. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-things-that-have-the-same-name-where-you-live-and-nobody-gets-confused/930739.md?page=8)