Tissues/Kleenex

In the states, many people use the words tissue and Kleenex interchangeably. Do the British do the same?

I suppose it's similar to the way the British call a vacuum cleaner a Hoover, but in the US we would never call it that. And we never Hoover the carptet, we vacuum them.

But I wonder if the British wipe their eyes or blow their noses into Kleenex or tissues or maybe something else?

Of course we probably all use toilet paper in a pinch when we run out of Kleenex.

... or when we happen to be at the toilet and couldn't be bothered going out to get some tissues. I can't speak for the British but in Australia they're usually called "tissues" though "Kleenex" would be understood. "Hills Hoist" (a brand name) was once common for clothes lines in Aussie Eng.

<<... or when we happen to be at the toilet and couldn't be bothered going out to get some tissues. >>

LOL, Jim, and that was interesting about the clothes lines.

I wonder how many other brand names we've adopted that only our countries would recognize, although it's also interesting that the Australians would understand what a Kleenex was. But would you commonly use the term?

Well, in the American South, a common term (or so I'm told) for carbonated beverages is 'coke'...so Pepsi would be 'coke'...yeah, I don't get it either. It's pop to me.

<<Well, in the American South, a common term (or so I'm told) for carbonated beverages is 'coke'...so Pepsi would be 'coke'...yeah, I don't get it either. It's pop to me.>>

"Oh yes, that's right, american nic, a coke. In Boston, we didn't call all carbonated drinks a coke but we did call all those cola-type drinks (including Pepsi) cokes.

But then we called, what most Americans call, soda - tonic. That had a lot to do with Coka-Cola though, since when it first came out it had cocaine in it and so it was considered, "medicinal." Oh for the good old days!


I've heard of pop too. Midwestern?

Terry - Band-aid (plastic bandage for cuts), Aeroguard (mosquito repellent), Vegimite (yeast product). Like as Jim says, a Kleenex would be understood to be a tissue but Kleenex is a brand that makes more than tissue papers. Likewise, to Hoover something would be understood to vaccuum something.

Yeast product? For women?

I wouldn't use the term "Kleenex" to mean "tissue", no, nor do you hear it much if ever in AusE.

Guest, Vegimite is something you put on toast not in your nether regions. This is an interesting one because I can't even thing of a decent generic name which isn't simply a description i.e. "yeast extract spread" or the like.

Jim - thats because Vegimite pretty much invented the concept "yeast extract spread", but since then as we know, other similar products have appeared on the market. It is even more defining than the Hills Hoist, which just changed the form of a clothes line.

>>I've heard of pop too. Midwestern?<<

That is used in much of the Midwest, but in eastern Wisconsin, where I'm from, we primarily use "soda" rather than "pop", which just sounds somewhat off to myself.

Here in the Northeastern U.S. we use "soda" as well - "pop" likewise sounds a bit odd to me, and it's not part of my idiolect at all.

<<That is used in much of the Midwest, but in eastern Wisconsin, where I'm from, we primarily use "soda" rather than "pop", which just sounds somewhat off to myself.>>

Travis:
Our respective areas have interesting similarities in vocabulary. For example, eastern Wisconsin shares "soda" with the Northeast even though it's surrounded by the sea of "pop" that spans the northern inland United States. http://pharyngula.org/images/soft_drink_names_lg.gif

And even more interesting, Wisconsin and southeastern New England (i.e., eastern Massachusetts plus Rhode Island) are the only regions in the entire country that use "bubbler" instead of "water fountain" or "drinking fountain". http://csumc.wisc.edu/WiscEng/bubbler-terms-1-04.jpg

Vegemite's not really like band-aid or glad wrap (cling film for covering food), it's just that most people buy Vegemite rather than equivalents, and there's no obvious name for it. But Dick Smith's Aussie Mite, or Marmite, or Promite or whatever aren't really Vegemite, they're vegemite substitutes. (There seems to be a common thread to the naming, so I suppose you could call them all "*mites", pronounced "starmite" I suppose.) Tim Tam's another one a bit the same, though I think it's perhaps further towards the generic trademark side of things because you're more likely to see fake Tim Tams without the packet than fake Vegemite without the jar nearby. (Tim Tams are an Australian chocolate biscuit of the very finest kind. I understand Americans have nothing equivalent because there idea of a chocolate "cookie" is a biscuit with cocoa in it, like an Oreo. Oreos are meant to be the most popular American (chocolate) "cookie", and if they are, you have my sincerest pity.)

For most Australians, "coke" means what is correctly called "cola". I don't think any Australian ever says "cola" though, unless they're talking about something cola-flavored, like cola-flavored Chubba Chups or cola-flavored cordial (a sweet, usually fruit-flavored syrup you mix with water and give to kids in AusE, not a liqueur as in in AmE). But Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Tarax Cola, Schweppes Cola, non-name equivalents etc. are just coke. (Other fizzy soft drinks like lemonade (e.g. Sprite), lemon squash (e.g. Solo) etc. aren't "coke" as I believe they are in the American South, they're soft drinks or fizzy drinks.) There's a minority of pedants who insist that Coke means Coca-Cola, but IME they tend to be rude and the sort that thinks Coca-Cola is god's gift to humanity yet generally would prefer to drink dog's piss than Pepsi... (Well, that applies to Melbourne. YMMV in other parts of Australia.)

"Doona" is the local word for what others call "duvets" or "continental quilts" (and interestingly pronounced almost the same as the Norwegian word "dyne" which means ... doona). Apparently it too derives from a trade mark, but I've never seen a Doona-brand doona advertised...

I think "Xerox" gets used in the States to mean "photocopier"/"photocopy" ... It's another one that's never in Australia. We all just say "(photo)copier"/"(photo)copy".

"Icypole" mean something like "iced lolly", but I think we've had this discussion before? ... I don't really remember what the generic word for icypoles is, no-one I know uses it.

A heard at one point (maybe here?) that "Anzac Biscuit" is actually a trademark, held by the RSL (Returned and Services League and licenced out quite liberally—I think the biggest limitation is you're not allowed to call them "Anzac Cookies", but who would want to? The very idea is ... beyond description!

<<But Dick Smith's Aussie Mite, or Marmite, or Promite or whatever aren't really Vegemite, they're vegemite substitutes. >>

Let the Marmite - Vegemite war begin! :-) But to answer Terry's original question, we also use the brand name Kleenex. (Here in Germany, they're called Tempo, the best-known brand). The Germans also find it hilarious when I teach them the verb 'to hoover'! :)

I suppose that in most parts of the world "Kleenex" is used and would be understood to mean "tissue", but it's not that common of a expression?

Anyway...
When I think of "Kleenex", I think of cheap, flimsy tissue folded in half and packaged in boxes that sit on tables.

When I think of "Tempo", I think of quality, thick tissue folded 8-12 times (I think?) and stuffed into little plastic packs that go into pockets.

I waste lots of "Kleenex" for all purposes without thinking, but I tend to value "Tempo" and reserve them for my nose.

<<Guest, Vegimite is something you put on toast not in your nether regions.>>

Glad you cleared that up for me! :)