Regional variation in words

Discussion in 'General Chatter' started by seebs, May 21, 2015.

  1. chthonicfatigue

    chthonicfatigue Bitten by a radioactive trickster god

    Inspired by mild Twitter furore, I've come to the realisation that I have never once (aloud) called an article of clothing used for swimming a 'bathing suit' or a 'swimsuit'.

    Nope, over here it's a swimming costume. Or a cozzie, if you're being vernacular, and I never thought about how that particular term might confuse people, somehow.
     
    Last edited: May 19, 2021
    • Informative x 5
    • Agree x 3
  2. Deresto

    Deresto Foolish Mortal

    Yeah i had never heard that term for swimsuit in my life until about a couple years ago when i heard it on an episode of peppa pig

    Edit: also if you're jumping up and down in muddy puddles, you must wear your boots
     
    Last edited: May 19, 2021
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  3. Wingyl

    Wingyl Allegedly Magic

    the clothes you wear in the pool are called togs

    EDIT: NZ english
     
    Last edited: May 19, 2021
    • Informative x 3
  4. Acey

    Acey hand extended, waiting for a shake

    This explains so much about my friend‘s little daughter (she loves Peppa Pig) so thank you for this edit!

    Also, it’s a swimsuit in northern California—you’ll hear bathing suit occasionally and it’s not a totally foreign term or anything, but it’s not common. Specific types of swimsuit may be referred to as just [style name] (eg bikini, one-piece), and men’s shorts for swimming are generally called swim trunks or just trunks? I don’t think I’ve heard the phrase swimming costume in my life, though, so that’s super interesting!
     
    • Agree x 2
  5. bornofthesea670

    bornofthesea670 Well-Known Member

    I grew up with swimsuit. Occasionally bathing suit. Parents are from west virginia and I grew up in arizona
     
    • Agree x 3
    • Informative x 1
  6. Verily

    Verily surprised Xue Yang peddler

    Parents from California but both lived all over the place and met in Texas before moving to Chicago. Swimsuit and bathing suit are considered totally interchangeable, but I think swimsuit sounds slightly more straightforward, while bathing suit sounds a bit more colloquial. My dad, who has much stronger Californian roots, is more likely to say bathing suit than my mom, who has some East coast.
     
    • Agree x 1
  7. ChelG

    ChelG Well-Known Member

    Today I learned that British and American pronunciations of "conch" are different - "consch" vs "conk".
     
    • Informative x 3
  8. Deresto

    Deresto Foolish Mortal

    Conk
    I love that, it sounds so much nicer than consch
     
    • Agree x 3
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