# False friends: familiar names which mean something very different elsewhere **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 24, 2018, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-friends-familiar-names-which-mean-something-very-different-elsewhere/811121 "2018-03-24T18:07:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**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:** [March 24, 2018, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-friends-familiar-names-which-mean-something-very-different-elsewhere/811121/41 "2018-03-24T22:26:35Z")
In the UK, if you table a motion, you’re bringing it up for debate. In the US, you’re postponing debated. In most of the US, a “creek” is a stream of fresh water. In the UK, it’s a saltwater inlet. In French, the verb form “Je suis désolé” is often mistranslated to be “I am desolated.” It actually means, “I am sorry.” “Mean Mr. Mustard” by the Beatles actually means “Cheapskate Mr. Mustard.” US audiences sometimes don’t get that, despite the lyrics talking about how cheap he is. The Bonzo Dog Band album _The Doughnut in Granny’s Greenhouse_ is mysterious to US audiences, but in the UK, “Granny’s Greenhouse” was a euphemism for an outhouse. A doughnut was a device used to ease the pain of hemorrhoids. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-friends-familiar-names-which-mean-something-very-different-elsewhere/811121/42 "2018-03-24T22:31:51Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > “Mean Mr. Mustard” by the Beatles actually means “Cheapskate Mr. Mustard.” US audiences sometimes don’t get that, despite the lyrics talking about how cheap he is. I _did_ get that, actually, but it was only because it did indeed talk about how cheap he is. ---
**Author:** ![pdhenry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pdhenry/32/5561_2.png) [@pdhenry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pdhenry)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-friends-familiar-names-which-mean-something-very-different-elsewhere/811121/43 "2018-03-24T22:34:37Z")
ISTR that “pants” are what a Brit wears _under_ his trousers. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-friends-familiar-names-which-mean-something-very-different-elsewhere/811121/44 "2018-03-24T22:34:43Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > “Petrol” and “bangers” aren’t false friends, though, because they don’t mean anything in American English. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLOOHfjFazc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLOOHfjFazc)😃 ---
**Author:** ![BobBitchin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ea924/32.png) [@BobBitchin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobBitchin)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-friends-familiar-names-which-mean-something-very-different-elsewhere/811121/45 "2018-03-24T22:34:56Z")
I played a few gigs with an English guy. First gig he asked me if I had an extra lead. Huh? Did you bring extra leads? Um… Turns out cables/wires are leads.:smack: ---
**Author:** ![Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/59ef9b/32.png) [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorkshire_Pudding)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-friends-familiar-names-which-mean-something-very-different-elsewhere/811121/46 "2018-03-24T22:36:37Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > British sausages (bangers) are like none other: the filling-to-meat ratio is rather high, and they’re quite bland, at least the ones I’ve had. For me, it was an acquired taste. I’ve heard, though, that there are some regional variations that are better seasoned and quite tasty. I suspect all of the ones I’ve had came from the supermarket, and not from the butcher’s. The story goes that the moisture content - especially during the straitened times during the war - meant that sausages would explode during cooking unless pricked with a fork beforehand (a practice my Ma continued until well into the 80s). Hence “bangers”. Cumberland sausages are good and peppery, Lincolnshire sausages are more aromatically herbal; there’s quite a renaissance in sausages, with a fairly remarkable number of varieties. My local butcher does a marmalade and ginger sausage in fact, which is rather delightful. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-friends-familiar-names-which-mean-something-very-different-elsewhere/811121/47 "2018-03-24T22:37:09Z")
> [@pdhenry](#): > > ISTR that “pants” are what a Brit wears _under_ his trousers. And “suspenders” are garters. What Americans call “suspenders” are “braces” in Britain. ---
**Author:** ![Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/59ef9b/32.png) [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorkshire_Pudding)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-friends-familiar-names-which-mean-something-very-different-elsewhere/811121/48 "2018-03-24T22:39:04Z")
> [@BobBitchin](#): > > I played a few gigs with an English guy. > > First gig he asked me if I had an extra lead. > Huh? > Did you bring extra leads? > Um… > Turns out cables/wires are leads.:smack: Ooh, useful. Didn’t know that wasn’t more universal. Though being a drummer means leads aren’t quite so important… ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-friends-familiar-names-which-mean-something-very-different-elsewhere/811121/49 "2018-03-24T22:39:28Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Now tell us about Spotted Dick! Spotted dick is a steamed suet based cake dotted with raisins (hence the spotted, I cannot explain the dick). Served hot, almost always with custard. Syruppy drizzle on top optional. ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-friends-familiar-names-which-mean-something-very-different-elsewhere/811121/50 "2018-03-24T22:44:14Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > It’s something like a Christmas pudding—a little cake steamed (I think) and smothered in treacle (golden sugar sauce). Very sticky and sweet. I once worked in a Greek restaurant, and they had a dessert cake a lot like it, drenched in honey. (Don’t remember what it was called, though. Not baklava.) > > As to the origin of the name, I have no idea. 😕 Spotted dick specifically refers to a steamed pudding with currants. That’s the spots. It’s also not necessarily little, one can make it family-sized. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-friends-familiar-names-which-mean-something-very-different-elsewhere/811121/51 "2018-03-24T22:55:33Z")
[Available on Amazon!](https://www.amazon.com/Auntys-Spotted-Dick-95g/dp/B0170C0PVO/ref=sr_1_2_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1521932087&sr=8-2&keywords=spotted+dick) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2018, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-friends-familiar-names-which-mean-something-very-different-elsewhere/811121/52 "2018-03-25T00:03:18Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > “Petrol” and “bangers” aren’t false friends, though, because they don’t mean anything in American English. An American might not know what they mean, but they’ll at least know that they don’t know. Well, ‘bangers’ is often short for ‘gang bangers’. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2018, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-friends-familiar-names-which-mean-something-very-different-elsewhere/811121/53 "2018-03-25T00:12:33Z")
And “petrol” is some sort of sea bird. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2018, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-friends-familiar-names-which-mean-something-very-different-elsewhere/811121/54 "2018-03-25T00:22:47Z")
> [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](#): > > So, let me start with an example: a flapjack in the UK is a baked item, made from oats bound together with butter and syrup/sugar/honey, often containing nuts and/or dried fruit. In the US, it’s a pancake. Not only that, but US pancakes are fairly different from many other parts of the world. Thick fluffy things here but essentially crepes elsewhere. Or so foreigners on message boards have claimed in the past. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2018, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-friends-familiar-names-which-mean-something-very-different-elsewhere/811121/55 "2018-03-25T00:27:28Z")
> [@digs](#): > > And I’ve been served soda pop that was referred to generically as “a Coke” in Georgia, or “a Vernor’s” in Michigan. Nope. Pop is the generic in MI. Vernor’s is only ever a specific brand. Sort of like ginger ale but not quite the same. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2018, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-friends-familiar-names-which-mean-something-very-different-elsewhere/811121/56 "2018-03-25T00:33:45Z")
Pudding in the US is more-viscous custard. Pudding in the UK is um…way different (I’m not going to try to explain it because seven people will correct me). It’s also a word for the post-dinner sweet dish call “dessert” in the US. So in the UK you could have ice cream for pudding. But their pudding is not like ice cream 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2018, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-friends-familiar-names-which-mean-something-very-different-elsewhere/811121/57 "2018-03-25T00:39:31Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > Not only that, but US pancakes are fairly different from many other parts of the world. Thick fluffy things here but essentially crepes elsewhere. Or so foreigners on message boards have claimed in the past. Personally, I like mine dense and moist. Not as thin as crepes, but not big and fluffy either. Depends on how you make your batter. Folding in beaten egg whites will give you pancakes that are very light and fluffy. I stir some corn oil into mine instead. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2018, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-friends-familiar-names-which-mean-something-very-different-elsewhere/811121/58 "2018-03-25T01:56:27Z")
I learned last year that elephant ears mean something different outside the northeast of the US. Here an elephant ear is a baked puff pastry, coated with cinnamon and sugar, eaten cold at breakfast. In the south and other places it’s what we call fried dough. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2018, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-friends-familiar-names-which-mean-something-very-different-elsewhere/811121/59 "2018-03-25T02:32:12Z")
> [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](#): > > Can’t believe I forgot such an important one: a British fanny sits alongside that which Americans call by the same name, on the female of the species. When I was 19 my girlfriend and I took a trip to England together. I remember the scandalized, disapproving looks we got on the train when she mentioned putting the tickets in her fanny pack. We found out much later what was going on. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2018, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-friends-familiar-names-which-mean-something-very-different-elsewhere/811121/60 "2018-03-25T02:42:59Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Now tell us about Spotted Dick! So then I said, “Can I bum a fag with a spotted dick?” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-friends-familiar-names-which-mean-something-very-different-elsewhere/811121.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-friends-familiar-names-which-mean-something-very-different-elsewhere/811121.md?page=4)