The same word, different meaning conversation....

[MOD NOTE]

Talking to real people, be nice, Christmas, blah, blah,blah.....

If I come back from Freak Out Wednesday to find that this thread has gone completely postal then I'm locking every single thread on the entire forum until after Christmas. AND I'm cancelling Christmas.  AND Father Christmas will not be coming to your houses.   Understood?  

I have always used a duvet rather than a comforter or quilt and always found them in Target of all places, so they are certainly not an "exotic" thing in America... BUT to get back to the original point of the thread which was the SAME word that means different things, not different words for the same thing.

Daddy Long Legs (Regional US) = Harmless spider with long legs
Daddy Long Legs (UK) = A scary looking flying bug with long legs and big wings

I was so confused when a flying monster came into our living room over the summer and DH said it was a Daddy Long Legs and I couldnt for the life of me figure out how a spider was flying!

I always thought it was a daddylonglegs, all run together with no capitals.

Garden (US) = place with flowers or veggies that you pick weeds out of
Garden (UK) = Yard (US)

I've heard the term spaz or spasdic in the US as a verb, meaning "freaking out" (or upset)...such as "This girl in the grocery store was totally spazzing out (or spasdic) because she lost her credit card."  I never really used the term myself but until this thread I never knew it had a negative connotation in the US or UK.  Regionality has a lot to do with it I'm sure.

I always thought it was a daddylonglegs, all run together with no capitals.

Seriously?  Why must you be that way?  Who cares...?  For the record:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daddy_longlegs

Seriously?  Why must you be that way?  Who cares...?  For the record:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daddy_longlegs

Because that's how contrex rolls...

This explains a lot why DH is a bit scared of Daddy longlegs!  I always wondered, since I just remember them as the harmless, silly-looking spider from my country girl in Texas days .  Also, I've never actually seen the (US) Daddy longlegs here in the UK...do they even exist over here?

This explains a lot why DH is a bit scared of Daddy longlegs!  I always wondered, since I just remember them as the harmless, silly-looking spider from my country girl in Texas days .  Also, I've never actually seen the (US) Daddy longlegs here in the UK...do they even exist over here?

We saw one on our trip to NH this summer and my dh said he had never seen anything like it.  So, they don't have them here in Cambridge/Suffolk at least. 

Due to my boredom at work, I have discovered that what we call Daddy Longlegs in the US are actually Pholcus Phalangiodes and are in the UK, but I'm with you - I have never seen them here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Distribution.pholcus.phalangioides.1.png

Because that's how contrex rolls...

I wasn't actually trying to correct anybody; I was contributing my own regional variant. That's what I thought this thread was about.

sorry if this one has been mentioned but UK coffee cake is coffee flavored cake with coffee flavor icing, and US coffee cake is a mix of ? cinnamon, nuts and stuff (molasses? syrup?) with white sugar icing.

I thought daddy long legs were better known as crane flies here? It's the term we use up in these parts and seen loads here.

Garden (US) = place with flowers or veggies that you pick weeds out of
Garden (UK) = Yard (US)

I'd say that they are the same - mines a yard because it's small one behind a terrace house so thats a yard to me.

From other threads...

Reverse charge (UK) = collect call (US)

Return (as in ticket) (UK) = round trip (US)

As previously stated, may be subjected to regional exceptions.

Return (as in ticket) (UK) = round trip (US)

As previously stated, may be subjected to regional exceptions.

And single (UK) = one way (US)

I  messed up the first time I got on the bus to go into Lincoln and asked for a one way!