Now, don't get your knickers in a twist. In America, that would mean something quite different than in England. Same word, different meaning. Knickers over here were what I wore as a kid... they only came in corduroy, and were outer pants that went down to about the knee with an elastic band at the bottom. Corduroy knickers in England would not only be uncomfortable and bulky... they'd be downright kinky.

Now, I hear that cavorting on the davenport, while a delightful passtime over here, would be rather acrobatic and even dangerous in England. Over here, a davenport is a couch is a divan (or a studio couch) while it is a small, slant-topped table in England. Ouch!

Words come in and out of fashion in both countries, and they often date us. Sometimes, they cause confusion and misunderstanding, or more often, just quizzical looks.

The Opry over here is the Grand Old Opry, not the Opera, with "opera glasses" Opry glasses are usually filled with Miller.

Then, there are brand names like Marmite (which I thought was a small, weasel-like animal at first) or Frigidaire, over here. When I was a kid, all refrigerators were Frigidaires, because it was such a popular brand name. Same with Kleenex... I didn't hear the term facial tissue until I was in High School (which was probably something else in England. Isn't Gymnasium a term for lower Elementary School in England? Or is it Germany?

Life used to be simpler. If you had a cold, you took an aspirin (not a tylenol or an Excedrin or all the other pain killers) kept a box of Kleenex at your side, and if you wanted to drink cold liquids, you went to the "fridge." Peanut Butter was either Skippy or Peter Pan.

And God help you if you go to another English-speaking country. Better bring your English to English Dictionary.

Got any other words that passed in favor, or mean radically different things in different countries? Or don't mean anything, as far as you're concerned?

Leave a note on the chiffarobe, or the credenza, or the day bed..

Jerry-mander