Posted on

CoBloWriMo #8-Vocabulary

Scroll down to see more content

Oh I’m a stickler for vocabulary, and spelling, and pronunciation!

‘twahl’ not ‘toyl’

‘go-day’ not ‘go-dette’

I get irked when fellow steampunks call the draped overskirt they’re wearing a ‘bustle’.  This is a bustle.  and yes, it’s underwear, and yes, I’m wearing it on top.  Because I can.

I’m very aware of the misunderstandings caused by the big differences between UK and US English, including garment names [trousers/pants, vest/undershirt, waistcoat/vest, pants/underwear etc] and fabrics themselves [toile/muslin, and let’s not even start on calico, muslin and cheesecloth lol]

Then again, I’m one of those people who get really pissy when someone misuses an apostrophe, so you should feel free to ignore me.  Just not here!

 

20 thoughts on “CoBloWriMo #8-Vocabulary”

  1. Thank you for making me grin so much my cheeks ache. An educational post for me too because I didn’t realised our U.K toile was muslin in the U.S.A. With that in mind please educate some more. I’d like to know the differences between calico and cheesecloth, perhaps in a separate post? Your humour is infectious.

    Liked by 1 person

  2. Pah. I’m annoyed by bad apostrophes, too. Even when I sometimes do it myself. (I take the relatively recent arrival of *that* to mean I’ve gone nearly native in English… at least written English.)

    Liked by 1 person

    1. We had it dunned into us at grammar school… It drives me mad when native English speakers misuse their own language. It’s embarrassing when I’ve taught classes with overseas students, and they show polite horror when the English kids in the class argue with me when I correct their shoddy English.
      One of my current pet hates is the way that ‘should have’ is becoming ‘should of’. Infuriating!

      Like

  3. Absolutely with you on this! Despite the differences, I still find sewing English much easier than sewing German. Even though it is also my first language, it is so confusing. I mean why call the fold a “breach” or having trouble to distinguish a godet with a gusset sometimes? Sigh.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. That’s interesting. ‘Breach’ as in ‘break’ perhaps? I think that it’s important that we try to use the ‘correct’ terminology, there are enough difficulties in learning all this in the first place!

      Like

      1. It also means break I think (Bruch in German). But it is very archaic. Yes there are! And it’s important we educate people about the terms, especially in historical costume because wrong words lead to misconceptions. A pannier is no bustle, people…

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Canadian here… I think we call them ‘snaps’. Poppers are amyl nitrate, but a press stud sounds like an attractive newspaperman to me. 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

  4. Is there a list somewhere of the different meanings for sewing terms? Perhaps we need a UK/ US phrase book!!!!. Going away from the sewing I think our vocabulary in general has changed, my pet hate at the moment is the phrase “from the get go” what’s wrong with the word ‘start’ or beginning ? Yes we were taught grammar at the grammar school but that was in the days of O and A levels.

    Liked by 1 person

  5. Are press studs the same as snaps?
    Having just written a book (Creating Couture Embellishment) with a UK publisher (Laurence King Pub.) but being American we spent some time sorting out UK vs. US sewing terminology- even just to be clear that we were “talking” about the same thing during editing. For example, in the US we have grommets (which are large and two piece) and eyelets (which are small and one piece); in the UK you have just grommets- regardless of size and #of pieces. At least I think that’s how the UK version is… Haha! (I am clear about the US terminology; the editors @ LKP to care of the UK terminology.) There are 2 editions of the book: the UK version and the US version. Yes, we should create have a UK/US sewing dictionary.
    **** Love the eye candy showing the vest/undershirt and pants/underwear! ***

    Like

    1. Yep snaps=poppers=press studs. I think newer sewers probably default to US terminology because of the insane amount of YouTube ‘tutorials’ by noobs. Personally, I buy eyelets, grommets are rubber things that go in your ear! I think as long as people are aware of these vocabulary differences, all is well, but all too often people can be totally misled by reading without a filter!

      Like

  6. Bored of! No ………….. bored with! The Guardian is a frequent source of this mistake, in headlines too! Also I hate using pants instead of trousers, though occasionally I do, and I’ve even thrown the odd ‘make’ in there (embarrassed scowl)….. but not often. I do love your lobster bustle. It reminds me of the walrus and the carpenter somehow.

    Liked by 1 person

      1. ‘Make’ – verb used as noun, often used in sewing forums. It’s not one I’m keen on. I thought it had been mentioned in another comment. Gosh, I’m watching my ps and qs on this one! 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.