Seperated by a common language??

[Malc]

OK its a Friday thing but contibutions for fun, plus any other language too!  You never know when you might need a part when on holiday (vacation)
Afew I know
Limey...........Colonies[:p](only kidding!)
sump...................oil pan
sill...................rocker panel
bonnet.................hood
boot...................trunk
manifold...............header
indicator..............turn signal
windscreen.............windshield
defroster..............defogger
tyre...................tire (a spelling thing)
spanner................wrench
gearbox................transmission
brake servo............brake booster
disk (brake)...........rotor
brake light............stop light
wing...................fender
softtop................ragtop

none car ones..........
roundabout.............rotary
pavement...............sidewalk
motorway...............interstate
dual carraigeway.......divided highway
slip road..............ramp

there are others but had better do some work  
Malc

[graphic66]

How about "sleeping policeman" anybody run into any of these lately.

[Richard Madison]

Also: mineral oil (motor oil); torch (flashlight); bulkhead (firewall); damper (shock absorber); earth (ground); latch (handle); paraffin (kerosene); prise (pry)...

Richard M

[hauser]

Anyone remember that Austin Powers film with Michael Caine?  Father and son are discussing something and you had to read the subtitles to figure out what they were saying.

1969 280sl 5 spd        1999 ML320          Gainesville,Fl.

[TheEngineer]

Don't they also drive on the wrong side of the road? I hear a lot of yankees get killed there because, when crossing a street: The yankee looks left first. But let's not forget the good things: If it weren't for places where Mercedes sells cars with the steering wheel on the passenger side, we could not buy outside R.H. mirrors.

1969 280SL,Signal Red,  Retired engineer, West- Seattle, WA

[hands_aus]

wing = fender = mud guard

parafin is a solid substance  or waxy liquid often used as a laxative by older folk,

in Oz at least.



Bob (Brisbane,Australia)
RHD,1967 early 250 SL, auto

[JamesL]

Ooh, yeah. My neighbourhood is full of the lazy bu**ers

[n/a]

Here are a couple I come across all the time:
Hand break..........Emergency break
Petrol sation.......Gas station

I'm not gonna go into "Obergine" vs "Eggplant"

Having lived in the US for a very long time I find myself more related to the second column....sorry guys.
Mo

[mdsalemi]

I'll never forget the tongue in cheek "limey" book I had on repairing a mid 60's Austin Cooper S.  They said that "carburetor" (or however you want to spell it depending on where you are from )is a French word meaning "It's the electrical system, stupid!) To those that don't know, the incredibly simple SU carbs were rarely the cause of any issues, while the Lucas electrical systems have been blamed for the downfall of the British empire![:0]

What makes that somewhat funny in the context of our 113's is that with our overly complex (and often poorly functioning depending on age and level of maintenance)fuel injection system we do indeed have fuel related issues on occasion, sometimes even more often then electrical!

Michael Salemi
1969 280SL
Signal Red w/Black Leather
Restored

[graphic66]

Don't forget that a "panel beater" is a good thing in Limey speak

[Mike Hughes]

I've seem to be perpetually confused by the terms "near side" and "off side."  Am I right to understand "near side" to mean the side of the car nearest the "kerb" in normal driving?  This would make the "near side" the passenger side of a right hand drive model driven in the U.K.  Is the "near side" still the same side on the Continent or elsewhere in the left hand drive world?

- Mike Hughes  -ô¿ô-
  1966 230SL Auto P/S
  Havanna Brown (408)
  Light Beige (181)
  Cream M-B Tex (121)

[Malc]

quote:Originally posted by Mike Hughes

I've seem to be perpetually confused by the terms "near side" and "off side."  Am I right to understand "near side" to mean the side of the car nearest the "kerb" in normal driving?  This would make the "near side" the passenger side of a right hand drive model driven in the U.K.  Is the "near side" still the same side on the Continent or elsewhere in the left hand drive world?

- Mike Hughes  -ô¿ô-
  1966 230SL Auto P/S
  Havanna Brown (408)
  Light Beige (181)
  Cream M-B Tex (121)

Mike,
Even I get confused but here we go.
Nearside refers to the side nearest the kirb ie the sidewalk (oh dear) thus when viewing a car from the rear that would be the left hand side
THus offside is the right hand side of the vehicle.
Now it all starts to get confusing when you have left and right hand drive cars.
For expample:
My 62 MGA was an export model to the USA, thus is left hand drive. Now I found it in Connecticut when I lived there and managed to get it back on the road after 3 months, note that there was a tree growing through the floor when I "discovered" it.
It has knock on wire wheels and the centre caps are handed ie left and right hand threads and yes they are marked nearside and offside, but for the UK! THus appear to be the "wrong way" for the US market!
Confused???
I still am

Then again did you know that more people in the world drive right hand drive cars than left!

Malc

[J. Huber]

Then of course there is that pesky pronunciation thing as well...

My car is in the garage (guhr-raj), while a few of you keep yours in the garage (gare-ij)  

Now if you'll excuse me, I am going to dance off like Fred Astaire...


James
63 230SL

[hughet]

I had a 66 E-Type roadster for 15 years and still have the (Robert Bentley) shop manual. It has a whole glossary of English - American equivalents on page 4. Terms like gudgeon pin (wrist pin) silencer (muffler) and welch plug (freeze plug) were entertaining but the best terms were mechanical situations that a chap might encounter. Terms like lumpy tickover (rough idle) fierceness (clutch chatter)and snatch (which I guess might be a grabby clutch) really kept us laughing.
Mike Myers may be reading that manual for ideas for his next Austin Powers flick.

[Ben]

That "nearside" and "offside" thing was a Country specific lingo that the motor trade would use when ordering parts.

For example, if you worked in a dealer in the UK and had to order parts, you dont care what way dealers in another country would consider nearside and offside. Fact is YOU have to order parts and if you are in the UK and you need a left front wing, be it from an RHD car or a LHD car you still need a nearside wing !!

.........have I just confused things further ??

Regards,
Ben in Ireland.
'64 230SL 4sp.
'03 CLK Kompressor

[Raymond]

Here in the South, (U.S.) we have the ability to use more than one word for the same thing.  On your list; gearbox, defroster, manifold, sill, and soft top, are all terms my friends and family have been using since I can remember.  I guess we just enjoy variety in our language.  

Now, before I tell this, I have to say that I love the UK.  But we've always referred to Lucas as "The Prince of Darkness".  And, after having friends with Triumphs, MGs, and an E-type Jaguar, I came to believe the reason that England never developed a computer industry is because they couldn't figure out how to make them leak oil.  

Ray
'68 280SL 4-spd Coupe

[France]

Hi Guys,

Ah, now, I think I can explain "near side."  It may stem from a horsey term.  The near side is the LH side as you sit astride the horse, and it's also the side from which you always mount.  Makes sense, if you think of the transition from horse-drawn carriage to early motorcars.
 
My grandfather, a surgeon in Washington, bought a custom-built car in 1914.  It was the most powerful car of its day and peaked at something like 90+ MPH.  Called Daddy Long Legs, it is now in the Dearborn museum.  He drove it from Spokane to the Pan Pacific Exposition on Treasure Island in San Francisco in 1915 and stayed in the Palace Hotel with the car parked outside and guarded. On the way he lobbed hand grenades at the road hogs (people drove in the middle of the road at that time; there were no lanes) to make them think they had had a blowout so they would pull over. My mother told me he always referred to the near side of that car, as if it were a horse. He was quite a character...


Trice
1968 280SL US, signal red/bl leather, auto, kinder