tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post743573213347415730..comments2024-03-16T00:21:43.240+00:00Comments on Separated by a Common Language: flannel and washclothlynneguisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comBlogger54125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-64626942571633658512021-05-24T00:57:00.036+01:002021-05-24T00:57:00.036+01:00"Facecloth" and "washroom" are..."Facecloth" and "washroom" are among the Canadianisms I've noticed in the stories of Alice Munro (i.e., words that I as an American don't use). Munro's American publishers do impose American spellings, but they don't go so far as to change Canadian words.<br /><br />From the Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles:<br />"There are a number of variant names for this item in Canada, e.g. <i>wash cloth</i>, <i>wash rag</i>, etc., some of which are of higher frequency than <i>face cloth</i>. <i>Face cloth</i>, however, is more frequently used in Canada than in other dialects, although only by a small margin compared to Ireland (see Chart 1). In the North American context, <i>face cloth</i> takes on a Canadian dimension. There is a low US count (see Chart 1), which is regionally centred, apart from the South, in the Northeast (see DARE). It is possible that <i>face cloth</i> 'wash cloth' is the result of a preservation in Canada, i.e. a New England, mid-Atlantic term in Canada, in like manner as positive <i>anymore</i>."ktschwarznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-61640660010918134072021-05-23T15:00:57.765+01:002021-05-23T15:00:57.765+01:00I've always assumed it's just a suitcase. ...I've always assumed it's just a suitcase. (Noun definition 1.2 here: https://www.lexico.com/definition/case) He's getting out of this place, so he needs one.lynneguisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-4788821772310435392021-05-23T14:54:35.643+01:002021-05-23T14:54:35.643+01:00Good Blog and great song. Does anyone know what t...Good Blog and great song. Does anyone know what the "case" refers to, as in "new shoes and a case"?Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09243166507385616481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-8296472780568649352021-05-08T14:22:28.591+01:002021-05-08T14:22:28.591+01:00I'm going to put on my pyjamas and go to bed a...I'm going to put on my pyjamas and go to bed as I am quite tyred. :D Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15337688095905333832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-57600098929301257172021-01-25T01:28:02.753+00:002021-01-25T01:28:02.753+00:00I live in the UK and have always used the word fla...I live in the UK and have always used the word flannel. Also say flannelette sheets which I put on the bed during the cold winter months. Had never heard of the word washcloth before tonight while watching an American crime TV programme which described having a washcloth in a crime photo. Had to Google it, which brought me here, admittedly a little late to the conversation. Very interesting it is too.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-44677129627558643282018-03-26T04:46:06.217+01:002018-03-26T04:46:06.217+01:00I am in Western Australia with English parentage. ...I am in Western Australia with English parentage. We always called them flannels. I now use either flannel or facewasher.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11435048978246798660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-86146666367277300262014-11-26T06:44:18.118+00:002014-11-26T06:44:18.118+00:00I believe cricketers are referred to as donning t...I believe cricketers are referred to as donning the flannel!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-49724103429399517142014-11-24T12:28:34.542+00:002014-11-24T12:28:34.542+00:00Bryn
Not many British readers would immediately r...Bryn<br /><br />Not many British readers would immediately recognise that <i>flannels</i> are trousers (not underpants). It isn't that the language has dropped the word — it's just that tailoring has changed. I believe that even cricketers no longer wear <i>white flannels</i>.<br /><br />We still say <i>denims</i> for trousers made of denim and <i>corduroys</i> for trousers made of corduroy, but these terms are giving way to <i>jeans</i> and <i>cords</i>.<br /><br />We also say <i>nylons, oilskins, tweeds</i> for sets of clothes which aren't just trousers. In the singular we can speak of <i>a fur</i> or <i>a fleece</i>. In the past the uncountable <i>linen</i> could refer to (among other things) underwear. <br /><br />I remember reading <i>woollens</i>, but I think that was only in department stores. Another old-fashioned use is <i>silks and satins</i>.David Crosbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01858358459416955921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-147548573161797652014-11-24T10:39:24.916+00:002014-11-24T10:39:24.916+00:00Late comment is seven years late, but it wasn'...Late comment is seven years late, but it wasn't until the last couple months reading Sherlock fanfiction that I figured out what a BrE flannel was - and yes, the first couple times I mentally pictured a small square of flannel cloth, which left me terribly confused. And it was only last year that I finally figured out pants/underwear. Which strikes me as terribly odd, since I learned most of my BrE/AmE reading Buffy fanfiction a decade ago. But somehow those words (and possibly more) never caught my attention. It's nearly always been called a washcloth (seldomly a facecloth) in my part of America.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07647588461246925063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-27564574608549606392014-07-22T15:17:04.290+01:002014-07-22T15:17:04.290+01:00The AmE types posting hinted at but never stated m...The AmE types posting hinted at but never stated my experience, having grown up in California and many other states, we always used dishrag (for the kitchen) and washrag (for the bathroom). I never heard of facecloth or flannel in this context. My wife, who grew up near Boston with a mother from Maine, always used dishcloth and washcloth. (never facecloth). n0aaahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08020996948408839877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-30427748273167825162014-05-30T18:50:36.585+01:002014-05-30T18:50:36.585+01:00As I say in the post: "Cotton flannel fabric ...As I say in the post: "Cotton flannel fabric (originally flannel was wool(l)en) is sometimes called flannelette--moreso (in my experience) in BrE than in AmE. So, Better Half talks about our flannelette sheets, and I talk about our flannel sheets."<br /><br />But one can say 'flannel' too.lynneguisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-29380021034885790972014-05-30T18:37:18.688+01:002014-05-30T18:37:18.688+01:00Hana
The sort of flannel used for sheets is often...Hana<br /><br />The sort of flannel used for sheets is often called <i>flannelette</i>.David Crosbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01858358459416955921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-2282578681306812922014-05-30T18:30:30.217+01:002014-05-30T18:30:30.217+01:00Hana
If I may ask... what does the UK call "...Hana<br /><br /><i>If I may ask... what does the UK call "flannel" cloth?</i><br /><br />We call it <i>flannel</i>.<br /><br />It makes a pair with <i>a flannel</i> along with:<br /><br /><i>fur ~ a fur<br />fleece ~ a fleece<br />nylon ~ a pair of nylons<br />oilskin ~ oilskins<br />denim ~ denims<br />corduroy ~ corduroys</i>David Crosbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01858358459416955921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-5896729121242422222014-05-30T17:15:49.997+01:002014-05-30T17:15:49.997+01:00I appreciate all of the comments. If I may ask......I appreciate all of the comments. If I may ask... what does the UK call "flannel" cloth? For instance, here in the US, we often (particularly in winter) prefer flannel sheets, because they are both softer and warmer, than mere cotton (which is better suited to summer months). I am trying to purchase some "flannel sheets" for my daughter to take with her to University, and I have no idea what reference to use.<br /><br />-HanaHanahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10677722735661656310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-24600053080891700492013-10-12T07:32:04.745+01:002013-10-12T07:32:04.745+01:00I live in Alabama and my grandfather (88 years old...I live in Alabama and my grandfather (88 years old) has lived here all of his life as well. He says "flannel" instead of washcloth. Whereas most of us here in the south don't even say washcloth either...we usually just call it a "rag". I think that's interesting though, how a man like my grandfather whose only exposure to Britain was in WWII says at least one word like they do. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-29199653051906357802012-09-16T14:53:17.900+01:002012-09-16T14:53:17.900+01:00Interesting that facecloths are considered too per...Interesting that facecloths are considered too personal to share. If facecloths were truly only used on people's faces, surely no one would mind sharing them, so long as they were laundered between uses.<br /><br />Bath towels are rather more obviously used to dry more than just faces, and yet they're provided, perhaps because people can't be expected to travel with towels in their luggage. I guess we're not meant to think too much about just what people are drying off with the shared bath towels.David Laurihttp://www.davidlauri.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-48893620713618195332011-03-24T15:30:26.405+00:002011-03-24T15:30:26.405+00:00I'm an American, born & raised in Cincinna...I'm an American, born & raised in Cincinnati, OH. We've always said dish cloth for what is used to wash dishes, dish towel for what is used to dry dishes, and wash cloth for what is used to wash ourselves. I work for a textile company & our Canadian customers say "facecloth" - I had never heard this term before that. I thought it was odd at first, since the cloth is used for washing the body as well as the face. Also, in recent years, we've begun to refer to some of our washcloths as "wash towels", I think its really just a marketing thing, when selling to the better hotel chains, etc., someone apparently thinks it sounds nicer. Maybe it implies that the item is larger if called a towel instead of cloth, I just think it is confusing. Also, regarding the term flannel, we sell some hospital items we call bath blankets or warming blankets, they are what they cover you with when awaiting surgery, etc., our Canadian customers refer to them as flannels or flannel sheetsAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-49596892042999841582010-11-21T10:56:16.561+00:002010-11-21T10:56:16.561+00:00I was born and raised in Los Angeles, and I was ta...I was born and raised in Los Angeles, and I was taught to be pretty specific about towel-words. In the bathroom, we have face towels/washcloths (the latter probably comes from my grandma, who was raised in a few places throughout the US, including Chicago, New York, Albequerque, and Los Angeles), hand towels, and bath towels. In the kitchen, we have dish cloths.Kristine Kellerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09900711834411953487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-41883731330138682862010-10-04T07:47:17.896+01:002010-10-04T07:47:17.896+01:00I was grateful yesterday that I had learned what a...I was grateful yesterday that I had learned what a "flannel" was through UKtoUSwithlove and your blog. We have been in England for about 10 weeks now and when a neighbor walked my son back from playing at their house she told me that he got a bump on his head, but she put a flannel on it. If I didn't know what she was talking about, I would have thought she was pulling an old grunge t-shirt over his head!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-76963271405523824742010-05-16T06:51:09.536+01:002010-05-16T06:51:09.536+01:00I was born and raised in Detroit, Mi, by a British...I was born and raised in Detroit, Mi, by a British father and Russian mother who met in British controlled China (1930"s) and many words and phases that I use and think with are 100% British. I would first think of or call a wash cloth a flannel because I was taught that. Only recently have I realised I use many British words.mathman1http://mathman1@comcast.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-21381499964377274082009-08-06T22:28:08.525+01:002009-08-06T22:28:08.525+01:00Also Canadian, also facecloth. "Washcloth&quo...Also Canadian, also facecloth. "Washcloth" would be acceptible but might need clarification to be sure whether it was a dishcloth or a facecloth.<br /><br />Flannel evokes pajamas. And Canadian hotels all provide facecloths, plus often a shoe rag, to discourage you from using the facecloths to clean your shoes.Aviatrixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13634111275860140084noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-17232844869566579372009-08-05T20:31:49.856+01:002009-08-05T20:31:49.856+01:00I'm Canadian, we always used "face-cloth&...I'm Canadian, we always used "face-cloth" or "face-towel" in our house (I live British Columbia if that helps), washcloths are more for dishes and floors in my house!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08820475652498158320noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-67905087039842501912009-03-15T00:48:00.000+00:002009-03-15T00:48:00.000+00:00Also, I have never seen pajamas spelled with a y. ...Also, I have never seen pajamas spelled with a y. Oh, and this a great blog, by the way.Nathaniel Cornstalkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05784953716180250232noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-43816637467481670402009-03-15T00:47:00.000+00:002009-03-15T00:47:00.000+00:00I'm American, and I've always used flannel to refe...I'm American, and I've always used flannel to refer to the (usually plaid) flannel shirts a lot of farmers in the mid-west wear. If I'd heard "a flannel for my face" I would have been very confused.Nathaniel Cornstalkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05784953716180250232noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-88018169278246829572007-07-19T17:03:00.000+01:002007-07-19T17:03:00.000+01:00Semi-relevantly, "moreso" is not a word in any dic...Semi-relevantly, "moreso" is not a word in any dictionary I've seen. I think it should be "more so".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com