Eh, your underwear on fire is it?

An Irish colleague of mine was asking my advice on shopping for black trousers for work. She was asking for suggestions for shops around town that sell them.

So as soon as I remembered that I saw some in Sisley, I emailed her and said

" Hey, you could get black pants from Sisley for €23!" and felt proud that I could suggest value for money pants, for work purposes.

"No thanks, I already have enough black underwear! Irish refers pants as underwear,ie panties,briefs.We call them trousers here! Hahaha". she emailed back within a nanosecond.

Wait, a minute, I have never heard of pants being referred to as underwear before this, and......we (or maybe i'ts just me and my family?), we either say slacks or pants, although in Malaysia trousers are used synonymously .

Oh my, sumpah malu and if I remember correctly the common phrase as a kid when someone is lying goes something like "Liar liar your pants is on fire".

I guess it's the American influence from the Media, that we tend to mix between Queen's English and American English. And mess up our head. But at times I take it as an advantage because when an American speaks to me in a different lingo, I can still understand him/her.

I recall the one time that the Irish auditor was asking for a rubber from her Chinese colleague.(I happened to be in the room at the time, so I eavesdropped). So the Chinese girl asked her,
" What is that? Rubber?".

I know that an eraser is a rubber and a rubber is an eraser, (again because of the influences of the Media). So the Irish auditor pointed the eraser/rubber to her. The Chinese girl confidently said " That is an eraser!" and made the Irish auditor looked even more confused. Obviously she would think that she is right, well because English is her mother tongue. But the Chinese auditor would think she is equally as right because that's what she has been taught in school.

I just had to laugh and then said to them both "Haha, it's both an eraser or a rubber. Back in Malaysia, we call it a rubber or eraser. I suppose the British calls it a rubber, and the Americans call it an eraser. To each its own." Or I could get their origins mixed up.Or I could also be wrong!

ps-this is the eraser that my 2nd brother collected as a child. a whole biscuit tin full.!

PS-Wikepedia says: In parts of the United Kingdom, trousers is the general category term, and pants refers to underwear