Yeah Mate, the bloody starter may be stuffed but I still think ya earth lead is dead! :lol:
Why is it that the English language is common to both Australia and the USA but if I visit my daughter in Texas or Florida I need an interpreter? Ever tried buying something in Walmart, McDonalds, Taco Bell or anywhere else and no one can understand a word I'm saying?
One would not have thought a nation could so corrupt the English language in only 236 years since you kicked the POMs out, to the point the language is indecipheral in the Southern States. And New York!!!
So I am understood amongst my friends, here is the Australian to US Automotive Dictionary:
bonnet ... hood
boot ... trunk
bumper bar ... bumper
mud guard ... fender
windscreen ... windshield
indicators ... indicators, blinkers
petrol ... gas
bitumen ... asphalt
sealed road ... paved road
gravel ... road metal
ute, utility ... pickup truck
3 or 5 door ... hatch back
give a lift ... give a ride
lorry ... big rig
car park ... parking lot
bowser ... gas pump
gallon ... gallon (is nearly 20% smaller, 3.8 litres instead of 4.5)
overtake ... pass
pass ... pass each other driving in opposite directions
earth lead ... ground wire
Gear Lever ... transmission shifter
Gear box ... transmission
spanner ... wrench
torch ... flashlight
oxie welder ... torch
Gaol ... Jail
Fosters ... Possum p!ss, not consumed by Australians.
XXXX ... Our beer here in the Sunshine State (Queensland).
Shiner Bok ... almost as good as XXXX if an Aussie is thirsty in Texas.
Around here where I live we grow thousands of acres of sorghum, which I believe is called "milo" in the USA. Milo in Australia is made by Nestle and is a kids milk drink, similar to drinking chocolate.
By far the worst corruption of English is words like vehicle; in the Southern States it is pronounced as three sylables with a hic-cup in the middle Ve-HIC-le, whereas here in Australia it is one sylable, one smooth word: vehicle.
Bob in Oz