So, time for some bit of trivia. In an earlier blog, I wrote about how we may speak the same language, but words don't always mean the same thing. Here are a few ways we differ in our mother tongue when it comes to driving terms:
Bad enough that they drive on the left here, which takes getting used to as a pedestrian let alone as a driver (don't even get me started on what it must be like to switch gears with your right hand). Driving words that are different:
- Bonnet: Sounds like you have to wear your Easter Sunday best when driving, but this is just the "hood" of the car.
- Boot: While like Canada, there are many drivers who should be given the boot, this is the trunk of the car.
- MPV (Multi-Purpose Vehicle)/People Carrier: Or, in our more simplified form of speak...a van.
- Lorry: That's a truck. Lorry originates from the word lurry, which means to pull something, while truck comes from the practice of bartering or exchanging. (Are you still awake?)
- Petrol: Gasoline (which, by the way, is often spelled in the UK).
- Tyre: We spell it tire, of course. However, here's where the story gets really interesting. Apparently, the spelling "tire" was used in the UK, until the spelling "tyre" was revived in the 19th Century, some say because academics gave up on everyone spelling it wrong. However, the Americans, who were tired of the Brits, decided they weren't reviving the ancient spelling, so stuck with tire.
- Windscreen: Windshield. Now perhaps that's because the English don't really have screens on their windows, where as we need something a week bit stronger than a mesh net to keep out the winter winds while driving.
And if you're car breaks down, get out your spanner (wrench) or mole wrench (vice grips), give the wing (fender) a tap, check the sump (oil pan) and the silencer (muffler), listen for pinking (engine knock), make sure the accumulator (battery) is charged ... or better yet, just take it to a garage and point (which is also what I do in Canada).
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