# What do North Americans call those things that you use to fasten your shirt? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 5, 2009, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-north-americans-call-those-things-that-you-use-to-fasten-your-shirt/495475 "2009-05-05T23:44:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-north-americans-call-those-things-that-you-use-to-fasten-your-shirt/495475/41 "2009-05-06T14:27:29Z")
That article doesn’t mention that the European system is now as common in the UK as the old British system. I always ask for size 44, not size 10. ---
**Author:** ![Kal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Kal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kal)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-north-americans-call-those-things-that-you-use-to-fasten-your-shirt/495475/42 "2009-05-06T14:30:04Z")
Shoe sizes always strike me as being hideously complicated, but if memory serves the basic idea is that UK shoe sizes start at zero, American at one. Same size, different starting point. Bit similar to how we number the floors of a building differently. UK way is ground, first, second; US way is first (or ground), second, third. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-north-americans-call-those-things-that-you-use-to-fasten-your-shirt/495475/43 "2009-05-06T15:27:02Z")
So, I’d have to press button number 2 in the lift to get to my flat on the third floor? ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-north-americans-call-those-things-that-you-use-to-fasten-your-shirt/495475/44 "2009-05-06T15:38:33Z")
> [@scifisam2009](#): > > I’d probably find the Grandpa Simpson stuff funnier if it weren’t taking the piss out of me. Silly me, for asking a question on the Straight Dope, really. I should know everything already. I really didn’t intend to take the piss, honest. Just making a random joke, not one at your expense. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![runcible\_spoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc29f/32.png) [@runcible\_spoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/runcible_spoon)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-north-americans-call-those-things-that-you-use-to-fasten-your-shirt/495475/45 "2009-05-06T15:42:12Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > Just to be clear, I don’t think an American would fail to understand a reference to an “Obama badge.” However, I think “Obama pin” would be slightly more common than “Obama button.” In my experience, button/pin mean different kinds of logo/slogan-attached-to-clothing items. Here’s a flag [button](http://www.the-mia.com/assets/USA_flag_button.JPG)and a [pin](http://thekee.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/flag-pin-large1.jpg). Note that the pin is attached more like an earring, although they’ll occasionally have a safety-pin-style attachment. Buttons are invariably safety-pins. They’re also cheaper, since you just need a button press, while pins are usually custom made, and higher quality. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-north-americans-call-those-things-that-you-use-to-fasten-your-shirt/495475/46 "2009-05-06T15:49:03Z")
> [@wolfstu](#): > > There are many varieties of tasty Swiss cheese. One, which has a lot of holes in it, is called [Emmentaler](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmenthaler). Of course, there’s German and French Emmental cheese too (And probably Austrian?) American cheese isn’t called American cheese, anyway. It’s called “pasteurized American cheese processed food substitute”. ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-north-americans-call-those-things-that-you-use-to-fasten-your-shirt/495475/47 "2009-05-06T15:57:10Z")
> [@Waffle\_Decider](#): > > On the topic of item of clothing: I understand that “pants” in British English can mean “female underwear”. Is it ever used in the UK to mean “trousers” in the North American sense, or is that its only meaning? I thought it referred to male and female underwear (as opposed to the US usage of panties, which is only female). A piece of trivia that interested me is that with all the words Japan stole from the US, they stole “pants” from England. Pants in Japan means underwear. ---
**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:** [May 6, 2009, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-north-americans-call-those-things-that-you-use-to-fasten-your-shirt/495475/48 "2009-05-06T16:13:45Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > American cheese isn’t called American cheese, anyway. It’s called “pasteurized American cheese processed food substitute”. I know this is meant as a joke, but in an effort to pre-empt any possibility of spreading misinformation: 1. Most (all?) cheese sold in America is made from pasteurized milk. 2. “Processed cheese” (100 percent cheese), “processed cheese food” (at least 51 percent cheese), “processed cheese spread,” and “processed cheese product” (less than 51 percent cheese, e.g., Velveeta), are not the same thing. The latter three contain additional ingredients to make them soft and spreadable. American cheese slices are processed cheese, not processed cheese food. 3. The “substitute” part is made up. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-north-americans-call-those-things-that-you-use-to-fasten-your-shirt/495475/49 "2009-05-06T16:19:06Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > 1. The “substitute” part is made up. Actually, that was copied verbatim from a package of Kraft Singles. ---
**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:** [May 6, 2009, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-north-americans-call-those-things-that-you-use-to-fasten-your-shirt/495475/50 "2009-05-06T16:25:27Z")
After looking into it further, I’ll concede the point. The latter three categories, i.e., the “not cheese” categories, are considered “cheese substitutes.” However, there is such thing as American cheese that is properly labeled simply “processed cheese” and not one of the other categories. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-north-americans-call-those-things-that-you-use-to-fasten-your-shirt/495475/51 "2009-05-06T16:36:36Z")
I heard that y’all use the word ‘fanny’ differently than we do here. Zat true? ---
**Author:** ![Kal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Kal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kal)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-north-americans-call-those-things-that-you-use-to-fasten-your-shirt/495475/52 "2009-05-06T17:04:06Z")
Yep. Lady bits, rather than backside. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-north-americans-call-those-things-that-you-use-to-fasten-your-shirt/495475/53 "2009-05-06T17:09:48Z")
> [@scifisam2009](#): > > Just FYI, ‘pants’ also means ‘crap, useless’ as in ‘that film was pants.’ It has a few other slang usages, but that’s the most common one. Wait, really? I always thought ‘pants’ as slang meant good. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-north-americans-call-those-things-that-you-use-to-fasten-your-shirt/495475/54 "2009-05-06T17:11:16Z")
> [@JSexton](#): > > Wait, really? I always thought ‘pants’ as slang meant good. Nope. Everyone was, in actual fact, telling you that your NASCAR musical sucked. ---
**Author:** ![jujuju](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7993a0/32.png) [@jujuju](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jujuju)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-north-americans-call-those-things-that-you-use-to-fasten-your-shirt/495475/55 "2009-05-06T17:23:00Z")
> [@scifisam2009](#): > > You know, the little plastic, metal or wooden circles that go through a hole on the other side of the shirt. In the UK they’re buttons, but I know that, in the US and (I think) Canada, buttons are little metal safety-pinned circles with logos or slogans on, that we in the UK call badges. > > Of course, perhaps the word safety-pin is one of those two-countries-divided-by-the-same-language words too. :dubious: The little metal safety pinned circles are called _pieces of flair_. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-north-americans-call-those-things-that-you-use-to-fasten-your-shirt/495475/56 "2009-05-06T17:50:25Z")
> [@JSexton](#): > > Wait, really? I always thought ‘pants’ as slang meant good. I thought pants was good, too! Damned uncivilized post 1968 society where kids are using newfangled slang and being uncharacteristically rude to one another. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-north-americans-call-those-things-that-you-use-to-fasten-your-shirt/495475/57 "2009-05-06T18:59:14Z")
> [@scifisam2009](#): > > _snip_ > OK then, tell me what British people call ‘American cheese.’ It’s not ‘American cheese.’ _snip_ So what do the British call American cheese? ---
**Author:** ![ivn1188](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e480ec/32.png) [@ivn1188](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivn1188)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-north-americans-call-those-things-that-you-use-to-fasten-your-shirt/495475/58 "2009-05-06T19:39:36Z")
American cheese and Velveeta get a bad rap. They have a nice flavor, great stability and meltability, and a great shelf-life. Compared to some rather expensive yet bland Bries or a few of the dirty-sink smelling Stiltons I’ve had, American cheese can hold its own, when used the right way. Snob appeal aside, high end aged cheddar on a cheeseburger generally overpowers everything else, and turns into a grainy mess. ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-north-americans-call-those-things-that-you-use-to-fasten-your-shirt/495475/59 "2009-05-06T19:50:45Z")
> [@jujuju](#): > > The little metal safety pinned circles are called _pieces of flair_. Only in the context of chain restaurants where the corporate overlords are trying give the chain a fun and whimsical feel. The wait staff is told to get a lot of funky and whimsical buttons to put on their uniforms. These restaurants also tend to have wacky crap nailed to the walls. Bennigan’s and Fridays are examples of this. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-north-americans-call-those-things-that-you-use-to-fasten-your-shirt/495475/60 "2009-05-06T19:55:59Z")
> [@gazpacho](#): > > Only in the context of chain restaurants where the corporate overlords are trying give the chain a fun and whimsical feel. The wait staff is told to get a lot of funky and whimsical buttons to put on their uniforms. These restaurants also tend to have wacky crap nailed to the walls. Bennigan’s and Fridays are examples of this. \*_ **Fwooooosh!** _ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-north-americans-call-those-things-that-you-use-to-fasten-your-shirt/495475.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-north-americans-call-those-things-that-you-use-to-fasten-your-shirt/495475.md?page=4)