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highlyeccentricAge: 22
Where you grew up (Ages 0-18): Bit north of Newcastle, Australia (with stints in Perth, Wagga, and western sydney before the age of six)
1. A body of water, smaller than a river, contained within relatively narrow banks: A creek (pronounced creak); possibly a stream, if I'm writing, but not normally in spoken discourse.
2. What the thing you push around the grocery store is called: A trolley. Or "you bastard".
3. A metal container to carry a meal in: The only metal container I might carry a meal in would be a thermos. My lunch box is plastic, my lunch bag is insulated fabricy stuff. Currently I carry my lunch in a library bag, so.
4. The thing that you cook bacon and eggs in: I don't cook bacon and eggs (as![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
jumpthesnark and apiphile have pointed out, this question carries all kinds of interesting cultural assumptions about what we eat and how we cook it). But if you cook bacon and eggs in my house, I'd find you a frying pan to cook it in. You could also grill the bacon (in a griller) or boil the eggs (in a saucepan).
5. The piece of furniture that seats three people: Lounge, if it's in my parents house/ is leather / is fancy-lookin'. Couch, in most other cases. Sometimes a sofa, particularly if it folds out into a bed (these might also be fold-out-couches, depending on my whims).
6. The device on the outside of the house that carries rain off the roof: Gutter and drain pipe.
7. The covered area outside a house where people sit in the evening: Verandah if it's on the first floor, especially if the first floor is raised above ground level; balcony if it's on a higher level, or is small, or is uncovered; patio if it's on ground level and is paved. Porch if it's out the front of the house, especially if at ground level and paved (if raised and made of wood, it's a front verandah). Maybe a deck if it's particularly wide, uncovered or partially uncovered, and quite recently built.
8. Carbonated, sweetened, non-alcoholic beverages: soft drink
9. A flat, round breakfast food served with syrup: Waffles! Or pancakes, but they're not normally breakfast food for me.
10. A long sandwich designed to be a whole meal in itself: Asjumpthesnark and apiphile have pointed out, a sandwich IS a meal. A long sandwich is usually on a roll, so it's a roll. If it's purchased from an american chain store, it is permissible to call it a sub.
11. The piece of clothing worn by men at the beach: Boardshorts, preferably. Wetsuits, if they're surfers. Budgie smugglers if they're Tony Abbot / Peter Debnam / other people who should know better. Speedos if the wearer has a legitimate reason for showing off their junk (ie, they're a surf lifesaver or competitive swimmer). "Swimmers" as a general term.
12. Shoes worn for sports: Joggers; or some sport-specific term such as soccer boots, running shoes, ice skates, etc.
13. Putting a room in order: Tidying. If you also clean it, then cleaning.
14. A flying insect that glows in the dark: Uh... a firefly? They don't exist in Australia, whatever they are.
15. The little insect that curls up into a ball: SLATERS. My brother used to stalk them and eat them, before he could even walk. I don't know what insect the question is supposed to refer to, but I'm thinking of isopods, members of the phylum Crustacea.
16. The children's playground equipment where one kid sits on one side and goes up while the other sits on the other side and goes down: See saw, or if it's those weird swing things which have rubber seats which look like toilet plungers, "those things". I think I used to call it a "hunchback swing" as a kid, since the action of my mum pulling on my brother's end of the swing thing to make it go up and down reminded me of the Hunchback ringing bells in the Disney movie.
17. How do you eat your pizza: By hand.
18. What's it called when private citizens put up signs and sell their used stuff: If they put up signs saying "come buy my stuff from my house on X date", a garage sale. If they just put up signs saying "STUFF", then, uh, it's called "putting up signs to sell your second-hand stuff". When a group of private citizens get together for this purpose (eg, members of a Scout or Guide group), it might be a garage sale (if in a building with all profits to the organisation) or a car boot sale (if sold individually out of the car boot, with individuals taking the money).
19. What's the evening meal?: Dinner.
20. The thing under a house where the furnace and perhaps a rec room are: Australian houses have neither furnaces nor, normally, basements. I think there might be common terminology for the room on the ground floor of a Queenslander, (a Queenslander is a house built on stilts, to avoid flooding; some have a ground-floor room which might be used for storage, or a rumpus room or something, but presumably not for storing valuables, since it's going to get flooded), but I do not know what this word is.
21. What do you call the thing from which you can drink water in public places: A bubbler. Sometimes "drinking fountain", especially on council signs.
Where you grew up (Ages 0-18): Bit north of Newcastle, Australia (with stints in Perth, Wagga, and western sydney before the age of six)
1. A body of water, smaller than a river, contained within relatively narrow banks: A creek (pronounced creak); possibly a stream, if I'm writing, but not normally in spoken discourse.
2. What the thing you push around the grocery store is called: A trolley. Or "you bastard".
3. A metal container to carry a meal in: The only metal container I might carry a meal in would be a thermos. My lunch box is plastic, my lunch bag is insulated fabricy stuff. Currently I carry my lunch in a library bag, so.
4. The thing that you cook bacon and eggs in: I don't cook bacon and eggs (as
jumpthesnark and apiphile have pointed out, this question carries all kinds of interesting cultural assumptions about what we eat and how we cook it). But if you cook bacon and eggs in my house, I'd find you a frying pan to cook it in. You could also grill the bacon (in a griller) or boil the eggs (in a saucepan).5. The piece of furniture that seats three people: Lounge, if it's in my parents house/ is leather / is fancy-lookin'. Couch, in most other cases. Sometimes a sofa, particularly if it folds out into a bed (these might also be fold-out-couches, depending on my whims).
6. The device on the outside of the house that carries rain off the roof: Gutter and drain pipe.
7. The covered area outside a house where people sit in the evening: Verandah if it's on the first floor, especially if the first floor is raised above ground level; balcony if it's on a higher level, or is small, or is uncovered; patio if it's on ground level and is paved. Porch if it's out the front of the house, especially if at ground level and paved (if raised and made of wood, it's a front verandah). Maybe a deck if it's particularly wide, uncovered or partially uncovered, and quite recently built.
8. Carbonated, sweetened, non-alcoholic beverages: soft drink
9. A flat, round breakfast food served with syrup: Waffles! Or pancakes, but they're not normally breakfast food for me.
10. A long sandwich designed to be a whole meal in itself: As
jumpthesnark and apiphile have pointed out, a sandwich IS a meal. A long sandwich is usually on a roll, so it's a roll. If it's purchased from an american chain store, it is permissible to call it a sub.11. The piece of clothing worn by men at the beach: Boardshorts, preferably. Wetsuits, if they're surfers. Budgie smugglers if they're Tony Abbot / Peter Debnam / other people who should know better. Speedos if the wearer has a legitimate reason for showing off their junk (ie, they're a surf lifesaver or competitive swimmer). "Swimmers" as a general term.
12. Shoes worn for sports: Joggers; or some sport-specific term such as soccer boots, running shoes, ice skates, etc.
13. Putting a room in order: Tidying. If you also clean it, then cleaning.
14. A flying insect that glows in the dark: Uh... a firefly? They don't exist in Australia, whatever they are.
15. The little insect that curls up into a ball: SLATERS. My brother used to stalk them and eat them, before he could even walk. I don't know what insect the question is supposed to refer to, but I'm thinking of isopods, members of the phylum Crustacea.
16. The children's playground equipment where one kid sits on one side and goes up while the other sits on the other side and goes down: See saw, or if it's those weird swing things which have rubber seats which look like toilet plungers, "those things". I think I used to call it a "hunchback swing" as a kid, since the action of my mum pulling on my brother's end of the swing thing to make it go up and down reminded me of the Hunchback ringing bells in the Disney movie.
17. How do you eat your pizza: By hand.
18. What's it called when private citizens put up signs and sell their used stuff: If they put up signs saying "come buy my stuff from my house on X date", a garage sale. If they just put up signs saying "STUFF", then, uh, it's called "putting up signs to sell your second-hand stuff". When a group of private citizens get together for this purpose (eg, members of a Scout or Guide group), it might be a garage sale (if in a building with all profits to the organisation) or a car boot sale (if sold individually out of the car boot, with individuals taking the money).
19. What's the evening meal?: Dinner.
20. The thing under a house where the furnace and perhaps a rec room are: Australian houses have neither furnaces nor, normally, basements. I think there might be common terminology for the room on the ground floor of a Queenslander, (a Queenslander is a house built on stilts, to avoid flooding; some have a ground-floor room which might be used for storage, or a rumpus room or something, but presumably not for storing valuables, since it's going to get flooded), but I do not know what this word is.
21. What do you call the thing from which you can drink water in public places: A bubbler. Sometimes "drinking fountain", especially on council signs.
no subject
Date: 2010-05-03 04:32 am (UTC)Fireflies are pretty theoretical to me; I'm not sure I've ever actually seen one.
I am 100% sure that question 15 refers to terrestrial isopods. Man, I love how many names the little guys have acquired just in English.
no subject
Date: 2010-05-03 07:16 am (UTC)Or a wok? We wok stuff too.
Fireflies are awesome! I will have to use our nice camera later in the year and take pictures for y'all.
And yeah, I'm pretty sure 15 refers to isopod landlubbers as well. They are yummy, but it seems really hickish Southerners appear to be the only eaters of them.
no subject
Date: 2010-05-03 09:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-03 12:53 pm (UTC)I personally prefer their larger siblings. :)