🇺🇸American Household Phrases Brits Don't Understand! 🇬🇧
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- čas přidán 15. 06. 2024
- We decided to have a chat about some of the household related words and phrases that Brits and Americans say differently! Let us know any other you think of!
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We call the dishes by their actual names until they end up piled in the sink, then they’re dishes.
Same unless it's a a glass pan.
100%
100% agreed.
I don't know why this made me laugh so much 😂
Probably because I have dishes to do....
The movie is “overboard”.... sorry, I meant film.
In the US a “Wardrobe” is a piece of furniture, while a closet is built into the house. Also "wardrobe" refers to your collection of clothing, with the sense of "fashion".
Hence, "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe."
@@JDogg1971 That was written by a Brit and takes place in England...so bad example
Wardrobe is also what a bunch of clothes is called.
As an American, I used the word "cupboard" at work last week and got completely roasted by my co-workers. I don't know why honestly, but I found out the hard way I'm of a minority to use that word in the south 😂
@FearnTuckerBentley we call those curios or hutches.
The term trash “can” came about when all of them were metal
Too add they were also ment to hold ashes at first to, and where called a ash can first.
exactly!!!
Hence Dustmen.
Oddly some tiny trash receptacles in my house are still metal with a pedal you step on to release the lids. But we call these smaller ones, "Waste-paper baskets." They aren't baskets though and mostly mostly are placed in bedrooms and bathrooms.... "Trash CANs" are the big metal cans, that almost nobody has anymore. The plastic ones that are gigantic stay out doors in the backyard for the trash company to come & collect, are called "Bins." Generally, the indoor trash / garbage is just called either the "trash" or "garbage," and those get emptied into the outdoor "bins." "Trash CANs" tend to be like public trash cans in a park or along a sidewalk where people walk. I don't hear "Trash cans" used to describe trash receptacles inside of people's homes here.
Waste paper basket is another 1. Stupid
We call them “dishes” when they are all piled together
Like how a pile of shirts, pants, socks, etc are “clothes” when piled together.
If it's in a person's house, I say Bathroom. If it's a public toilet, I say Restroom.
Me too
This is pretty much universal in the States. Though they are also interchangeable (particularly “bathroom”, for a public restroom). “Toilet” can be used, but that’s rare. And “washroom” isn’t uncommon, but for the restroom in higher-end establishments, or “executive washrooms” in a business (a personal bathroom for the higher-ups).
Totally agree... I think people don’t say toilet because it will make you think of what they’re going to be doing in your bathroom. It’s like a polite way to keep from bringing that to someone’s mind.
Nobody goes there for a rest.
@@fionagregory8078 unless you have small children and go there for a mental break. 😁
I had a friend in the UK that told me he was pissed... I was like "Oh my, what's going on, are you ok?. He stated that being pissed meant just being drunk. Lol. Being pissed here means being angry.
I have always thought that was an American word for drunk because up in western Canada, its very common for another word for drunk
@@joeydepalmer4457 Not that I'm aware of. I have family in Michigan close to the border of Canada and use it in the context of being angry as well. I'm in the Midwest and we definitely use it in two different contexts. Pissed-Angry, Piss-urinate. You may be right though, I just have NEVER used or heard it as being drunk.
well in western Canada, our English is for sure a mix between American and British English regardless of what people from Toronto say. you just never realise how much of each we are until you see videos like this
We do say pissed off to mean angry.
@@sophiefrancis8295 I have also used pissed off as sort of depressed after a bad days work!!!
Lia says “bits and bobs” when talking about the bureau-which sounds like what we would maybe call “odds and ends” just like little random things.
Ooooh ok now I get it lmao
@@anakinvader9120Bric A Brac also applies
To sum them (blanket, duvet, comforter, etc.), we call them “covers”. Like, “Stop hoggin all the covers”.
Yup. That way we can call it the same thing year round lol
Then there’s the bedspread, which wasn’t mentioned at all.
If an American says, I need a new wardrobe, that means I need to replace all my clothing. A collection of clothing is a wardrobe here.
True, also a free standing closet in which to hang your new "threads" . ;)
Vince O'Driscoll yes
Not always. A wardrobe is also a piece of furniture that holds your clothing. An armoire is a wardrobe.
🤣 yes!
In America, wardrobe means your collection of clothes in total.
I’m American and had no idea what they were talking about when they said “bureau” I’ve only ever heard people call it a dresser.
Yes. This. Tall dresser and/or low dresser.
yes, we call it a dresser too.
I've heard bureau refer to a dresser or desk at times. We were broke, but my Mom always took Country Living, Colonial Home and similar mags, though we lived in rural California. I was raised in a retired blue-collar gentry neighborhood. Try to wrap your mind around that, retired master machinists, small garage owners, or, in my Grandfather's case, LAFD alarm tech. Many pristine 1960s Cadillacs, impalas &c. This was in the 1980s.
I only knew it was bureau because of the movie Chicago. Lol
its bureau in french
When we say pavement, we're talking about the surface of the street.
Or it could be the sidewalk...."we pound the pavement looking for a job."
@@kathleenpetty1926 But only in that phrase/context. Or the phrase "hitting the pavement" -- would conjure in image of trotting down an open road (no sidewalks out there).
Side of the road is the shoulder or curb in the USA
To us, a cot is a folding bed used for camping outdoors with a tent and sleeping bag, etc.
Americans say “trash can” all the time -- whether it’s made out of metal or plastic.
I agree, and that‘s because it wasn‘t until the late fifties to mid sixties that trash “cans” were made of plastic. Before that they were made of metal and cylindrical, and thus correctly called cans.
@@jeffhands7097 Well, to be fair, the British refer to tins all the time, but they are all made of aluminum (aluminium!).
Yeah growing up in the '60s and '70s all the trash cans or garbage cans were galvanized steel or aluminum and were typically 30 gallon or ~50 gallon capacity. The plastic ones didn't come into popularity in New Jersey until the '80s.
A sidewalk isn't part of the paved road. It's a separate concrete walkway that runs along side the road. How far it is from the road can vary a little, for example here in Texas urban neighborhoods it often has approximately 3 feet of grass between the road and the sidewalk. But it can be more or less space between the road and sidewalk in business and other common type areas.
Carrie Estridge In the UK it's a "pavement" if it runs alongside the road, but if it's set away from the road, it's just a "footpath" or "path".
A closet is a built-in room used for hanging clothes and other storage. A wardrobe is a standing cabinet (a piece of furniture) for that purpose usually used in older buildings without closets.
A writing table as Joel describes is a secretary.
A dresser is long and short. A chest of drawers is tall and narrow.
Yep, you've got it down! One of my pet peeves is when someone calls a chest of drawers a, "tall dresser"! I always respond with, "No such thing as a tall dresser. You mean chest of drawers." It's a small thing. But still, it annoys me. Lol! 😂
And a walk in closet is about the size of a UK flat.
R Pigeon FabNayNay Where I’m from(Louisiana) chest of drawers and dresser are interchangeable. The phrase “tall dresser” would never be used.
BVSchaefer I say armoire instead of wardrobe, but my parents say wardrobe.
I've only ever heard chest of drawers from my relatives that live east of the Mississippi. All of us out west say dresser...no matter the height or width.
A pacifier is often called a “binky” in the US.
its called both
And a dummy in Australia, lol
Or a Paci
I have always said Nuk, but that's because it was the brand name of the pacifier
Not on Georgia.
Me *American*: WTF is a bureau? Bureaucracy?
We'd say dresser or closet for clothes.
I'm American I've herd the word "bureau" used. It's a piece of bedroom furniture. It's usually a little taller than a standard dresser.
I'm 52 and only heard it from my grandparents generation. So it may have been used at one time but has fallen out of usage in recent years.
Depends on what state you’re from
Yep. Heard both. Bureau is an older term I think.
Bureau may be an east coast term. My parents say that and they are from NJ and PA
Bureau is a french term for office. In the home a writing bureau has a pull down leaf to form a writing table..it folds up when not in use... there's the roll top desk variation too..
We typically say “dresser” in the Midwest. I’ve never heard anyone use “bureau” to describe this piece of furniture. Love your videos!
Right? Lol. I rarely hear that
We say bureau here in Massachusetts.
I've always used both a bureau is a tall chest of draws and the dresser is about waist high chest of draws and has a mirror on the back.
Many of my older relatives would say "bureau", especially the ones who lived in rural areas.
We say bureau in Rhode Island, too
In my house, we grew up saying “bed spread,” but we used “comforter” for the fat fluffy topper, and “duvet” for the ones with removable outer shells. 🤷🏻♀️ Kansas🌾
Me three! Bed spread (typically for thinner ones, but could be used for thick ones too) or comforter (for thicker ones).
Same on the bedspread
the Shell is the duvet
This.
Yeeyee all my kansans represent!
I’m English and I always say ‘do the dishes’ - including my grandparents 😂
I say that, too (but then I grew up in England). But I hear other Americans say it. "Wash the dishes" is probably more common here.
Also,it's a nice thing to do when your friends invite you over for dinner,but you have to ask first.
Growing up, everyone I’ve met in the U.S. had fitted sheet, sheet, then a comforter. There may have been a thin duvet cover over the comforter to change its style, but that was much less common. Most just have a thick fluffy comforter with a unique pattern over top of the sheet and the fitted sheet. The logic behind it was explained to me as only needing to wash the two sheets and being able to leave to comforter for just warmth and decoration.
In my family, a bedspread is a topper that fits the bed and falls almost to the floor on the sides and end (eliminating the need for a bed skirt) with enough material to encase the pillows at the top; a comforter is the big fluffy quilted topper that only fits the bed and and falls only about halfway to the floor (necessitating the need for a bed skirt); a quilt is a quilted topper that is only the thickness of two sides of material with a thin layer of batting (or other thin filling. My former father in law used denim from discarded jeans) in between. I have seen quilts that are big enough to not need a bed skirt, but more commonly, they are about the size of a comforter. Quilts and comforters are usually used with pillow shams, or the quilt is used as a blanket.
A typical make up of bedding is:
fitted sheet
flat sheet
blanket or quilt used as blanket (if needed for extra warmth)
bed spread or quilt/comforter used with pillow shams and bed skirt
any decorative items (throw pillows, throws, etc.)
Also in the USA we still say "chips" when it's "fish and chips." But in any other context it's fries.
Exactly!
What they call “chips” (“fat fries”) would generally just be called French fries, but if they were being specifically indicated on a menu as “fat fries,”’ then they would be called “steak fries” because they’re more substantial and more likely to be served with steak in a restaurant.
@@DavidMichaelCommer The great American fry debate is the kind you prefer. Steak fries, shoestring fries, waffle fries, and in my opinion potato wedges are just a variety of fry. Potato wedges and steak fries are my favorite.
Don't forget about potatoe wedges
We have an absolute plethora of “fries” in the US. It’s amazing!!! How about spicy sweet potato fries... yummmmmm!!!
Pacifier is also nick named a “BINKY”..
Growing up with my Pennsylvania dutch mother, we called a pacifier a snutzer.
(The u sound is similar to sound in "put")
wasn't a character on arthur called Binky
@@pencilpen8838 yes Binky Barnes
I've heard it called a "nook".
I thought binky was a blanket?
...and then there are some Americans who say, "waRsh" for wash. With an emphasis on the R. I don't, but it happens.
Yeah, waRsh is some of a Eastern U.S. thing, like people from Boston and a few southern accents too.
I live in Georgia and waRsh really hurts my ears.
I'm guilty of saying warsh. I'm also guilty of using the word ain't which actually means are is not I hated my English teacher for jumping my butt in class for that. So I ask her how would she say ain't could have done nothing. She could not reply to it I laughed so hard cause she know I was right.
That's just the midAtlantic accent.
It is comparable with the British West country accent. Apparently there is a town on the East coast where their accent is identical.
'Dummy' comes from 'dumb' ('inability to talk', a 'mute'). Hence, it means 'silencer', or 'muter.'
We also have lollipops or suckers here that are called dum dums.
Thicker French fries in the US are called steak fries
Oh yeah, we'd get them with our Prime Rib! Now, I'm officially hungry!
Or Jojo fries/wedges
Steak fries and wedges are totally different
Leah DelPezzo
I have also heard potato wedges or home fries. So many different phrases for the same thing!
@@rebeccawhittle6865 wedges are wedge shaped, steak fries are not.
I’m American, and when I studied abroad in London, I thought it was so funny that what I call “dish soap” was called “washing up liquid”
Savannah Don’t associate london with britain. Their is Scotland and wales don’t forget. It’s not just england
The Spiderman: Savannah didn't even say 'Britain'..... she said she studied in 'London'; everyone knows where London is located. (ps: it's not 'their', it's 'there'.)
Bev West London is a shithole
@@ahickin Is washing-up liquid called something else in rest of Britain? If not, what's your point?
Bev West it’s actually not ‘there’ it’s ‘they’re’
The British bureau sounds like a secretary desk.
I love how y’all are so specific about everything
It always sounds so dirty when Brits say “toilet”. “Bathroom” and “restroom” sound much more polite in public.
I say where’s the shitter?” or “where’s the pisser” 😂
I agree wholeheartedly! It sounds much classier....
Tang Li - I’ve even used ''the ladies' room'' whether or not there’s a gender specific toilet, or not!
"we Brits love to sound bougie~"
But you don't go there for a rest.
I think of a wardrobe as a free standing closet. If it's a closet, it's in the structure of the building.
A free standing closet can also be a locker or wall locker, since they are usually placed against a wall.
@@nowthatsjustducky I distinguish a locker by the construction. If it looks like one I'd use at the gym or school, I consider it a locker. Though usually I do think of those as secured to a wall or the floor.
I think of an armoire
@@annap.2069 I looked up the definition of Armoire just now and saw that it was a type of wardrobe. Though a little more ornate.
@@fad23 to me it's in general.
I'm from central Illinois (living in Saint Louis, still the midwest) and I grew up saying Chester Drawers ... for the lazy way of Chest of Drawers. We also says sofa and couch either way. We also had blankets, bed spreads and comforters and quilts were always the special quilted pattern blanket that Grandma (or some other older lady made)
"And the dish ran away with the spoon."
I asked my son to throw out the rubbish. He told me I was watching my British people too much
Rubbish. Yes. Trash and garbage. Yes
In Hawaii we call it rubbish too. Not surprisingly our monarchy was heavily influenced by England before the American overthrow.
My Granny used the phrase "washing up" when she would tell me to go wash my hands and face. As in, "Go wash up for supper "
I remember my father asking where the restroom was and being told you had to go to a hotel for that.😂
I keep my house cold just so I can cover with a comforter. So here is the difference a duvet is like a sack the comforter goes in but not all comforter use a duvet if that makes sense. So if you have a comforter that can't be laundered easily thats why you would usually use a duvet. My kids have weighted blankets that have glass beads in them it would be way to heavy to launder that in my home washing machine. I believe they are suppose to be dry cleaned but you put a duvet on it so that you can take that off and wash it to keep the bedding fresh and clean. If you have a down comforter you also use a duvet because it too can't be laundered at home, its dry cleaned. My comforter is stuffed with fabric fill which is like a polyester cotton like stuff so it can be laundered in my washing machine no issue.
Cupboard is regional because in texas we call them cabinets. We have cabinets in the bathroom and the kitchen.
We call the chest of drawers is the one that is taller and a dresser usually is wider with a mirror on top. My mom spells chest of drawers Chester drawers lol I laughed so hard at her. I've never heard someone call a chest of drawers a bureau. Not sure where that comes from.
I don’t think anyone would really say pass me that “dish” when doing dishes. We’d probably specify plate or bowl or whatever, but we just refer to them all collectively as dishes, even the silverware. Also, “washing up” for us would probably mean like taking a shower lol.
Duvet isn’t very uncommon here. Actually in NYC there was a club called Duvet, because it has beds lol.
For us, closets are built into the wall. Cabinets/cupboards are affixed to walls. Wardrobe is a separate piece of furniture to store clothes in, and opens like a closet. I know I grew up calling it an armoire though. We might say chest of drawers too, but I think a dresser is more common. I usually hear bureau when it’s like a vanity table with drawers.
Some people call cribs “bassinets” or “cradles”, but they’re actually different. It’s still a place for a baby to sleep though.
An additional note: Americans use “trash” as a noun and a verb.
n. It’s in the trash.
v. Trash it.
Christopher Peterson and a word for getting drunk! “I was so trashed”
The kind of trash that doesn't burn.
I agree that in America "trash" is both a noun and a verb [To trash verb] to reject to push away to get rid of [ trash noun ] The stuff you throw in the trash can because you don not want it anymore
@EpicUndead If I as an American say that her clothes are trashy I mean that she is dressed in a lower class non pretigious way.
@@wen33 Wasted and trashed are ways of saying drunk in my U S neighborhood
“Loo” - one of the theories at least- is that it comes to the English via the French - cry of 'gardyloo' (from the French regardez l'eau 'watch out for the water'), was shouted by medieval servants as they emptied chamber pots out the window and onto the streets... this later became “looky loo”- not too posh, is it?
Interesting
In Norway, posh people started using the German euphemism das Haus (the house) or das kleine Häuschen (the little house). It was considered more sophisticated. That has now evolved into dass (so only the definite article). And that is now the most vulgar way of referring to the toilet in Norway.
@@reng7280 We either use 'toalett,' which is pronounced similar to the french toilette (but which has been changed to fit Norwegian grammar) or 'bad,' which means 'bath,' short for 'baderom' ('bathroom').
No one I know in my whole American life has used the term “bureau” in that context lol
I think it may have been said in the movie, "Gone With the Wind." I think it's more common in the south. Up north we say dresser or chest.
“…no one I know…” With 330 million Americans, not surprising. I think it is regional and also generational thing.
Where I live (Atlanta), a duvet is a cover for a comforter, like a huge pillow case.
In the US, the "pavement" is the actual roadway (the paved road surface).
Same in Nashville
I call the wardrobe "armoire" in America.
Many do, and pronounced the french-ish way, "arm-MWAH". :)
Never "ar-more" nor "ar-moyre".
I ordered an armoire online and auto-correct changed it to armpit-definitely not what I wanted!
Castilda0311 You just made me laugh for real out loud. Not many people can do that. 😂
Movie is called “Secret Obsession” with Brenda Song. And I noticed you said “film” when Americans typically say “movie”.
A dish rag is for washing dishes. A dish towel is for drying dishes. A bar towel is for wiping the table and counters. A wash cloth is for washing your skin. A hand towel is for drying your hands. I've lived in many US states and this is common vernacular.
There are many different dialects in the US so I’m certain that this won’t be the same for everyone but this is how I use the terms in this video:
Dishes is just a general term for plates, bowls, cups, pans, etc. like they each have their own name but if they are all together (like in the sink) or you’re talking about all of them at once, they’re dishes. We would say “can you get me that dish?” when asking for a plate, we would just say “could you get me a plate?”
I say trash and garbage interchangeably. Garbage can is a phrase used very often. I think a lot of people would maybe use that for the garbage bin outside that you would wheel to the curb for the garbage man to pick up. Dumpster is the same thing but on a much larger scale used in more public areas. Apartment buildings or stores would use a dumpster since they collect more trash. Bin is a very generic term. In simple terms it’s just a large container used to hold something else. Garbage bin, laundry bin, storage bin, etc. Rubbish I think is a British thing, I’ve never heard an American use that to refer to garbage.
Fries and chips are different. We call your crisps chips and your chips fries.
Duvet and comforter are different things. Comforter is just the nice thick blanket that you would make your bed with, usually comes with matching pillow shams and maybe some other things. Duvet would be the kind of comforter that has a cover that zips and you can take on and off. Sometimes I refer to the comforter as a blanket just because that’s what I sleep with. Blankets are kinda a general term but they are usually thinner, made of different material, and don’t have any matching pieces. Throw blankets/lap blankets are smaller and maybe something you would would use to decorate your bed or couch to make it seem comfy and cozy. Sheets are under the bed spread (another word for comforter). Fitted sheets go around the mattress and a flat sheet/top sheet goes on top of that. A quilt I would think would be something hand made.
I say pacifier (paci) or binky. Dummy is a person who is being dumb.
You would never park on the sidewalk. The sidewalk is a strip of concrete on the side of the road designated for walking. I’m sure some Americans refer to roads and such as pavement, I personally don’t. Hearing pavement I think of the actual material the road is made out of so I guess to me that would be another word for asphalt. The curb is where the edge of the sidewalk meets the road. “Park your car on the curb” makes sense to me although I don’t think I would phrase it that way. If you said it to me, it would mean that your car is parked on the side of the road next to the sidewalk. Parking your car ON the curb though would kinda be a bad thing like you’re parked incorrectly.
I say bathroom but if I’m in public or trying to be polite I say restroom. Toilet is the actual physical toilet and would never refer to the bathroom as a toilet. We don’t have rooms with just a bath in them so you would never get confused by the term bathroom. If you wanted to get technical a bathroom with toilet, sink, and shower or bath is a full bathroom and a half bath (short for bathroom) or powder room is just a sink and toilet. But if I was at someone’s house I wouldn’t ask “where is your powder room?” I’d just say bathroom. I’ve never used the term loo, I think that’s just a British thing.
Closet is like is own space with shelves attached to the wall and has doors. Dresser is just a piece of furniture with drawers that you put folded clothes in. Wardrobe to me would be like a large piece of furniture with doors that you would hang clothes in, it’s like a freestanding closet. I’ve never heard bureau used. Cupboards/cabinets are found in kitchens and bathrooms and are attached to the wall.
A cot and crib are also different. A cot is like a temporary collapsible bed that you might use camping or if you were visiting someone. A crib is what older babies sleep in, usually has “bars” to keep them in and safe. A bassinet is usually what smaller babies sleep in before transitioning to cribs. Bassinets are in like an oval/boat shape and cribs are large and rectangular.
Kiara Hensley this!! But we did use bureau and dresser interchangeably.
Agree with all of this.
That was very well written! And accurate for me at least. :)
So a bed spread for me was a very light large blanket that you spread over your regular blankets to keep them from getting dirty during the day and they usually match your dust ruffle you also take it off your bed at night and don’t sleep with it. And a quilt is hand made for sure everything else I totally agree with.
When I was a very young child, we lived in a house that did not have a garbage disposal. We had a weird can that was down in the ground in the backyard. It had a cover you stepped on to open it up, and that’s where you put food scraps, which were the garbage. A garbage man came to get the garbage. And the trash man came for the trash-which we put into the metal trash cans out front on trash day. (This was near Boston, Massachusetts. Probably dating myself here.) Anyway, when I was growing up, “garbage” was food scraps, “trash” was everything else, used interchangeably with “rubbish.”
Tbh a majority of us call it a bathroom even if there isn’t a bath in it 😂 it’s just ingrained in us. Sometimes the ladies/men’s room if we’re being proper and if we’re at a restaurant the “rest room” is most used.
We also call it a rest room, which on the face of it sounds like a good place to take a nap.
And of course ladies have the powder room and sailors have the head. :D
@@mkshffr4936 In navy boot camp a recruit in our company asked the Company Commander for permission to use the bathroom . He got roasted .
Wherever I am, I ask "where is the toilette". Works every time and no confusion about taking a bath or a nap.
For me, "bathroom" is only used at home and it always has a bath or shower. I only use "restroom" in public because obviously they wouldn't have a shower or bath in there and it's more socially acceptable.
I love what you said about "get the dish" being generic. My husband speaks 3 languages. I only speak English but english is pretty specific. One time he told me to get something out of the "box" in the bedroom. I was looking all over for a 📦. I couldn't find one. He came in huffing and puffing and gets in his dresser drawer. 😆 and i laughed like am I the idiot or are you hahaha. A drawer and a box are not the same thing! Same thing he get english idioms wrong all the time. But it makes me smile because some times they make more sense. Like I was "begging" for something and in America you would say something like stop with your "puppy dog eyes" he said "stop with your homeless dog eyes". 🤣🤣🤣 and when i corrected his phrase he laughed and said "homeless dogs beg dont they?" (True)
Duvet vs Comforter vs Blanket... very easy.
A Duvet is TWO pieces, an outer cover and an inner piece, much like a pillow and pillowcase.
A comforter is ONE piece, looks much like a Duvet and is usually always quilted,, meaning there is sewing that compartmentalized the "filling" so the filling will not move around inside.
A blanket on the other hand usually looks nothing like a Duvet or Comforter. A blanket is usually just one piece of material (cotton, wool, etc) so when comparing a Comforter to a blanket the blanket will have no separation where as a comforter will be made of two pieces of material sewn together with something stuffed in between the two layers.
A Quilt, is similar to a Comforter except instead of having "filling" a Quilt is made of two or three complete pieces of fabric, each piece making up a layer as part of the whole (if it's a patchwork Quilt then the patchwork would be considered one layer. If there are two layers then the two layers are usually a different fabric, cotton and wool. If there are three layers then the top and bottom layers are usually the same and the center fabric is different Cotton-Wool-Cotton and these layers are all sewn together. However, you could also have a patchwork top layer with a wool center layer and then a really soft cotton layer sewn on the bottom.
"Blanket" is often used as a generic term for any of these, just like the term "Bedspread"
When I was a kid we had trash "cans" that were actually made out of metal. So that's where it came from and we just never changed it though they are generally plastic now.
It's funny how in movies though you still see the metal ones. Dudes fighting in an alley always throw each other into these lidded metal cans no one's used since the 70s. Either that or there's the big pile of totally uniform green trash bags. They're usually there if, say, you have to jump from a fire escape.
Well, a "can" is a shape, not the substance it's made from. Hence, "aluminum can", or "tin can".
Sorry... hit "send" too soon.
"Can" is short for "canister", if believe. So, it's perfectly fine to call the plastic "can" a trashcan.
Duvet is like a big pillow case that the comforter goes inside.
Duvet is the blanket that goes into a duvet cover, usually a down comforter that you want to protect
You’re describing the duvet cover. The duvet is a plain comforter with button loops that is meant to go inside a duvet cover. When you have the whole thing together it is also a duvet.
When I say Duvet, I mean the insert and the cover together as a whole. When they’re now “put together” I say duvet cover or duvet insert. There’s also comforter
That’s how I’ve always heard the word used, too!
i have no clue what a comforter is, but a duvet cover is like the case that the duvet (thick blanket) goes inside. i just call them
covers tho
Dish is also an archaic as in like the 1950s for a pretty woman, as in "She's a dish!"
a snack, a meal
In America we say " wash the dishes", and towel when you take a shower. No crisp but potato chips...
Bathrooms are in homes because they have baths. Restrooms are the public toilets. Asking someone in public "where are the toilets?" sounds uncouth.
Saying "toilet" sounds so rude. My kids would get in trouble if they ever asked "Where's the toilet?" It's restroom or bathroom, but restroom is preferred in public or friend's houses. You're so right!
Amber Stephens Also restrooms is more formal
Not to mention, back in the day there were seating areas behind the first door of the restroom but outside the door that leads to the actual toilets and/or urinals. This seating area in ladies restrooms had mirrors to allow for hair and makeup checks.
🇺🇸 I say Bathroom at home, and Restroom in public, because it sounds more formal. I would never say “Where are the Toilets?” That just sounds weird.
@Sean Beckerer My home has 2 full bathrooms and 2 half bathrooms - 1 bath + 1 bath + ½ bath + ½ bath = 3 bathrooms?!
The one thing that most bothers me is Brits calling the ground the "floor". The floor is a construct and the ground is what nature provides
YES!
I've heard a lot of Americans call the floor inside a house "the ground" and that annoys me more. Lol
That's not true. On a farm, a lot of buildings - chicken coop, machine shed, smokehouse, etc. have dirt floors.
@@drzarkov39 I can accept that, though wouldn't do it myself, but a street in London is certainly the ground not the floor.
@@habakkuk4711 I agree, a street in London is certainly the ground not the floor. But then, I've never heard any Brit say they are driving on the floor.
US: paper towels
UK: Kitchen roll
So funny to watch your videos pre covid!
I was raised in Kentucky, now live in Ohio ❤️ I would never say “bureau” - we say “dresser.”
Love you two! ❤️🌼
The only time I've ever heard bureau is when talking about the FBI. So bureau is more like an office or something. A chest of drawers is a dresser.
Different, but technically (distantly) related concepts. Have you not heard of a “writer’s bureau”? It’s a piece of furniture that was once common in upper-class homes, and can still be found in homes of any social class, but is more rare nowadays. It’s basically a writing desk that opens up with doors on top that have compartments and/or drawers, and usually drawers underneath. It usually” folds up” when you close it (though not always), making it more compact. As in, the “desk” part, or writing surface, usually retracts into the piece of furniture. As I understand it, the name for “bureau” in the sense of “department of __” is distantly related to this.
Well, now you know it is used interchangeably with dresser in parts of the US. ;)
In German Bureau is just an office so it makes sense
Duvet is posh in the States. It is generally thick and puffy and has a cover that it fits into. A comforter is thinner and doesn't have a cover. A blanket in the U.S. can be made of many different materials. My grandparents had wool blankets which were itchy, but also have a polar fleece blanket that's warm and comfy.
Is a Dovet something you sleep on after jigh
Lia your explantation of duvet is what I’ve always understood them to be. A comforter is what goes into the duvet cover.
“Go wash up” in my home is telling my children to go wash their hands for dinner. “Help me do the dishes” you are right on. 😁 Regularly used to ask a spouse or children to help clean up in the kitchen. “Help me do the dishes parent”? Not exactly sure about that one?.. I would look very strangely at one of children if they said “help me do the dishes parent”....🤣
I think they meant to say "Help your [parent] do the dishes", not the other way around. :-) But, it would make more sense if they said "Help me do the dishes, Mom" or "Help me do the dishes, [specific person]." "Help me do the dishes, Parent" sounds demeaning.
Where I am in America---The square mini ones are wash cloths (for the bathroom)/ dish cloth or rag (for the kitchen), then hand towel (bathroom) / dish towel (kitchen) - when I've heard tea towel used, it is for dish towel's that are thinner material and often times purely decorative. After that we have bath towels (there's the regular, small older size towel, and a larger towel that seems to be more common these days (but the length that goes around the body barely changed), then beach towels. I've only recently heard/ seen bath sheets.
Haha. You asked for this info!
starryeyedkel good explanation!
The whole "wash cloth" thing is a mystery to people around the world who rub soap directly on to the skin. I wonder how many people outside of North America use a wash cloth to bathe.
Not "clothes", it's "cloths"
A dish towel and a tea towel are the same thing, although tea towels are sometimes decorative or souvenirs more than something you'd use to dry the dishes.
I wouldn't know how to get clean without a washcloth!
I live in Southern CA and I have always had mattress cover, top and bottom sheet, blanket and bedspread or comforter. Fold back as needed.
In the Midwest here. Growing up we had dressers and wardrobe in each bedroom. In my mom’s house she has a dresser, wardrobe, and a closet. Ware drone and closet are not interchangeable. Closet is built in and a wardrobe is furniture. We did have a bureau but we considered a bureau as a really fancy almost decorative writing table and not a full desk.
Wondering what part of the US uses “bureau”...I only know that as a dresser. 🤔
Bringing Up Baby I have only ever heard the word “bureau” in reference to a piece of furniture meaning a desk - like the old-fashioned kind they just mentioned. (Midwest US)
Lisa Anne Savu yes, same! Like an old desk
I’d heard it in the Northeast and have seen it in catalogs.
The FBI
Bureau is used among a lot of older people, referencing a tall dresser, usually
The polite phrase for the “bathroom” (in my mind) is the ladies room or the men’s room. Toilet sounds a bit crass. Sorry, 🙂
Joe Charleston it’s actually the Loo, The Royal Family use the word Loo
that's true. also "lady's" or "gents"
It's "restroom" in the Midwest. My hubby is from Missouri and he moved to Florida where he met me. It weirded me out that he kept calling it the restroom because "restroom" is what you call a public bathroom. But that's how they refer to all bathrooms where he's from.
@Ashley Penn. Missouri isn’t in the Midwest. It’s considered a Southern state. But yes, the usage of restroom you mentioned is actually interchangeable in the Midwest, but typically refers to a public bathroom there as well. What you’re describing is more of a Southern usage.
I've never understood the whole polite thing... like what's there to be polite about? You're just asking where you can go pee or whatever. I usually say bathroom or restroom but I also sometimes say latrine due to my time in the military.... but that's just cause those were the words I've learned..I've never associated any of them as being more or less polite but I've heard some people say something along those lines... weird.
I must say, you got most things right in this video. Bravo. Good job chaps.
In the U.S., helping your parent "do the washing" is helping to do the laundry and trash cans used to be made of metal identical to Oscar the Grouch on Sesame Street. And yes, trash and garbage is the same thing just like pop and soda; same thing, different words.
Sheet = Sheet
Comforter = Comforter
Duvet = A huge pillowcase for your comforter with buttons and/or zippers
Blanket = Thinner comforter
Quilt = Stichworked thick blanket
Comforter=duvet. Comforter/duvet cover also=quilt cover. Growing up we had "summer quilts" which were thin quilt-design fabrics quilted with a thin cotton fill. "Quilt" didn't mean "piecework quilt" to me until my teens.
Duvets, duvet covers, and comforters are three different things. And blankets tend to be one or two layers of fabric. Comforters and fevers both have filling.
'Pavement' in America refers to the actual roadway, as long as it's got a hard surface.
The sidewalk can also be called pavement. However, I think a lot of us are referring to the road because of the black top pavement rather than concrete used for curb, gutter and sidewalk.
Where I'm from, pavement and asphalt are interchangeable. I normally think of asphalt when I hear "pavement", which includes roads, parking lots, and driveways.
We drive on Parkway and park on Driveways!
bobobobinalong especially referring to an asphalt surface, not concrete.
@@bradosborne5044 yeah, we gotta explain that one...just kidding!
Here in the US, we have cabinets and closets (two different things). We also don’t really say “bureau” either, except maybe when referring to a writing desk or an old-fashioned, standalone cabinet used as a display case or something? We also say “chest-of-drawers” in the South, but usually it comes out sounding more like “chester drawers.” But for that, the word most people use is “dresser.”
My dad's family lived in Kentucky. When I would go stay with my Great Aunt, we slept with fitted sheet, sheet, blanket, duvet, comforter/quilt (depending on the weather).
When my Dad wanted me to do the dishes he would say , “ Go bust those suds” 😂😂🤣
This is awesome haha
When I was younger and living alone as a single guy, I would use a garbage can to do the dishes and just buy more. LOL
My dads family always said KP duty which is kitchen patrol duty. 🤣🤣
@@jeanettes2170 KP in the service isn't that keep peeling.. as in potatoes...?
Tracy Recycle Hippie Chick maybe in your generation but not in my grandparents generation.
So, I've always known a comforter to be a very thick, fluffy "bedspread;" a duvet as a cover for a down or weighted blanket; a blanket is more utilitarian; a quilt is typically patchwork and has approximately 3 layers sewn together, so it's generally a bit heavier, and the smaller blankets that people put at the end of their bed would be a "throw" or "throw blanket." Also, I've always used a fitted sheet, then a flat sheet with a blanket of some sort on top of that.
Also, pavement here is typically the road itself, while the sidewalk is generally between the curb and grass/yard made of where pedestrians can walk, etc. without being in the street.
For us (idk if it's my family or a regional thing) but a quilt can be a comforter. A duvet has a cover on it. A comforter is basically anything except a blanket. A blanket is usually purely for warmth. Often wool, as well as thinner. Bedspread is the whole setup. Same with you, throw is just a blanket that's usually too small for the bed so it sits on the end to be pretty.
Easier to wash a flat sheet than a comforter or blanket. So keep your sweaty body touching the sheets!
An actual "bedspread" is a thin one-sided covering for the bed. Fancy side goes up, the other side is often not fit to be seen. It's for looks.
The movie with Brenda Song on Netflix is Secret Obsession.
Thank you! I scrolled through a whole lot of comments just to find the name of that movie, lol.
I learned that a sheet and blanket are tucked in the end of the mattress but a comforter just rests on the bed.
Unless you are at a hotel. Some tuck the comforters in like the sheet and blankets. I used to work as a maid at a hotel on the strip and I was confused when they told me that I had to tuck the comforter in the end of the bed. It had to have that perfect fold to. To this day my sheets have to be perfectly tucked. My husband hates it because its to tight he has to pull it apart at night lol.
@@shadowkissed2370 So, one Tucked. One no-Tucked
@@johnbowers6258 Seinfeld?
I don't like my top sheet tucked in on the bottom because I like to tuck them around my feet or I feel trapped. A duvet is a thin cover that goes over a comforter to change the look. A quilt is made of many different color fabrics and sewn together in a pattern. In my house we call a cupboard in the kitchen a cabinet or a cupboard.
@@shadowkissed2370 I've stayed at some hotels that did that, which was frustrating because comforters are usually shorter that blankets and sheets so I always had to also pull it apart at night.
Florida here. For me:
1. Tea towels are either dish or hand towels. Small, square towels = wash cloths.
2. Garbage and trash are interchangeable. It IS a trash can. Many are can shaped. 😛
3. Your "chips" are potato wedges.
4. Comforter = bed spread, and I only have a sheet on my bed, unless it's during our 2-3 weeks of winter.
5. You should NEVER park on the sidewalk!
6. I prefer Moscato. Sorry!
7. Bathroom is in my house. Restroom is a public bathroom. My 85 y.o. former bartender mother calls them "johns." 😄
8. Bathrooms have cupboards also. I'd call a "bureau" a dresser.
Californian here.
1. Same. Dish or hand towels are in the kitchen, wash cloths are in the bathroom for your face or maybe hands.
2. Yup. Garbage and trash are both nouns and interchangeable.
3. Only time we allow the word “chips” to refer to fries is fish n chips at a restaurant.
4. Same. I have a comforter but I use my fleece blanket for winter nights.
5. Indeed, no parking on sidewalks. However, in the Bay Area, you are allowed to have two tires on the sidewalk when you park? But there are traffic laws about that. I live in cities where that isn’t allowed.
6. Liquor is my drink of choice :)
7. Yes, bathroom is personal, restroom is out in public. I’ve heard the “John” before, but definitely from older generations.
8. We know what wardrobes are, but we call them armoires. If you have one, that is :) most of the time we have dressers to put our clothes in, cupboards as well.
Small square face cloth is a flannel here in the UK
@@amberlouise86 In the US, flannel is a type (or two) of fabric. A "flannel suit" is made of tabby-woven wool, sometimes with a slightly brushed finish. "Flannel pajamas" (or pyjamas) are winter sleepwear made of cotton with a brushed, almost furry finish (the fabric is more properly called "flannelette", but "flannel" has become the popular term). We would NEVER iuse flannel (or flannelette) as a towel!!!
I think of a tea towel as an embroidered gift towel used as a decoration, and never put into daily use.
No. A Potato Wedge is, the name implies, a wedge. A chip is a chip. We do have Wedges however.
The equivalent of a chest of drawers in America isn’t bureau, we usually call it a dresser. A good amount of people do still call it cheat of drawers. Usually older generations or people from the south
I have never heard anyone say bureau for bedroom furniture. I’ve always heard dresser drawers or chest of drawers I am from the southeast. I also think of bureau for the FBI “federal bureau of investigation” and relate that term to that group.
The word duvet is of French origin, meaning "down" - the first feathering of young birds. Down stuffed & sewn between two layers of fabric and used on a bed to keep warm.
In Australia we call it a doona.
@@rebeccasimantov5476 Doona was a trade/brand name of the first company to sell 'continental quilts' in Australia. Kimpton's Doona
@@cassieoz1702 Didn't know that...thanks for the info...
The only time that I've heard "duvet" used by an American, it referred to what I call a "bedspread."
I was going to say that. It's only a duvet if it's stuffed with duvet. If it's fibre fill, it can't be duvet, it's a comforter in Canada, I don't know in the states.
The only time anyone in America say “bureau” is when we are talking about the FBI......
😂
That's incorrect we say bureau in New England and we also say rubbish bin.
@@Mo-fh4ow We said that in Indianapolis too.
I live on the west coast and we definitely don’t say bureau 😂
@@TiffaniWright23 Okay. Ya don't know what ur missin'. We also sometimes call a couch a "davenport".
pavement is what they tar the road with. sidewalk is typically made of concrete.
When I was a kid here in America, bins were really giant galvanized steel cans with lids. We called them “trash cans” and it just stuck even through they are now made with plastic.
Pavement usually refers to asphalt (road, parking lot) in my experience.
Could me in a poured concrete sidewalk as well. "Don't smash your head on the pavement".
In American English a dummy would be a mannequin or dressmaker's form. Also a ventriloquist's doll.
Or a crash test dummy (Buster from Mythbusters).
@@davidh6284 Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm czcams.com/video/eTeg1txDv8w/video.html
A dummy is anything that stands in for something else, like a crash test dummy, or even a artillery round that has no projectile (also called a "blank")
Also a dummy is slang for someone who needs HowTo.Com to tie their shoes. Again, the idea is that you're so dumb (not vocally) that you are a placeholder for a real person.
Also stupid
I think a dummy is used to “dummy up” a crying baby. In other words to make the baby shut up.
We call a bureau desk a ‘secretary’. Also, a bathroom without a place to wash your body is often called a restroom. If it’s a small space with only a toilet and sink, it’s called a half-bath. This us usually where a guest would have access.
In love with Joel!
Dish also means to gossip. “What’s the dish? Or “We’re just dishin’”. It’s also an old-timey word for a cute woman.
Here in UK we say dish the dirt 😂🙌
I like the cute woman reference. "Man what a sweet dish!" Yeah, I've seen it in old movies... Cary Grant, Rudy Vallee, etc.
@@FlowtnWitWalden
So basically the old timey way of calling someone a snack.
"Dishing" as in gossip is a new one on this old geezer (I'm 64). But "dish" as babe or cute woman has been around as long as I can remember. (Probably will be banned soon by the PC police.)
@@pat1cust2 Yeah, i've never heard Dish for gossip either. I've heard Scoop..... as in what's the scoop.
Semantic satiation is the name for the feeling when a word sounds weird or meaningless when you say it over and over.
I looked up that to try to learn more about it...then I thought of the word piranha, and how it never looks correctly spelled no matter where I put the H
@@EverlastingHobnocker Same with Rhianna.
Let me totally blow your mind as to duvet, comforter, blanket I'll add my southern idiom and I would say bedspread or quilt "as for the patchwork cover that I would sew form many fabrics, of which I've made a quit a few" for the top cover; blanket for the heavy cotton covers used under the bedspread or quilt; and sheets or linens for the thin cotton, sateen, or silk covers used under the blanket 's' and on top of the mattress "these are what you would sleep between as so to be warm and not itchy" Funny story: when I was a small girl and slept between my two older sisters, my sister Linda and I would always wake up freezing in the middle of the night as my other sister Teresa would turn over and over until she was rolled up inside all the bed coverings with only a tuft of her hair sticking out of the top! We couldn't figure out how she could breath! Also we wouldn't say bureau at least not in the southern US we would say chest of drawers or with an accent it might sound more like "chess a drawl" LOL Enjoyed your video!
The movie is called " A Secret Obsession" and the actress is Brenda Song
I have one of those fold-down writing desks that I inherited and I've known it as a secretary.
Yesss! Exactly
My mother had a fold-down writing desk, too, and we also called it a secretary.
I think of secretary somebody who greets guests at a bussiness or makes schedules or has an affair with the CEO
The movie Joel was mentioning is called "Secret Obsession"
Aimee Stojevich I saw this one!!
Thank you!!!
Aimee Stojevich bless you!!
Great movie!
I prefer "Overboard" (1987). It's the same premise but a comedy.
9:33 “2020 project”... turned out to have much more time than expected 😂😂
I’m American, and I love watching you guys, and my daughter’s favorite show is Peppa Pig. So between the two all day, I don’t say any specific words differently, but I always find myself “thinking” in a British accent. I will imagine myself saying what I am about to say with an accent, or after I have a conversation with my husband or daughter, I’ll replay it in my mind with a British accent/phrases. Clearly I need to get out of quarantine 🤣
To me, a blanket and a comforter are the same thing. When it's really thin, it's a sheet. I've never said duvet a day in my life.
I always think of comforter like a heavy thick warm blanket.
A duvet is like a cover for your comforter, much like a pillowcase for your pillow. They're gaining popularity in the U.S.
I say bedspread. I’m from NY.
A duvet goes into a duvet cover. A comforter is like a quilted duvet but doesn’t go inside a cover
For us pavement is where a car or bus drives but a sidewalk is for pedestrians to walk or ride scooters.
Yes! A cot is a folding camping style bed! Good job lia!
A duvet is like a pillow case for your comforter that is usually white but a comforter that has color on it doesn’t require a duvet. A blanket is thinner but can still be warm. Usually you would have a sheet then a blanket.
We only use “dishes”. Like do the dishes. I’ve never said get the dish 😹 otherwise we specify plate or bowl
How about, "What dish did you bring to the potluck?"