Why do Americans call petrol 'gas'

Haha no one in england says 'pram' you probably picked that up from one of those 18th century British costume dramas. We actuaaly call them pushchairs

We also say 'mobile phone' instead of cell phone

'pavement' instead of sidewalk

and mum instead of mooooommm

in response to OP:

Because we Americans are an ass-backwards society who decided that because way back when we were fighting you Brits for our independence, we were going to be even more rebellious and refuse to even talk like you did and invented arbitrary words for things that Brits had named with much more common sense.

Then again, the constitution was written on hemp and I'm pretty sure all our founding fathers were stoned off their gourds in the first place when they decided, "Hay Queenie, you suck! lolz! We quit!"

tl;dr: Americans call things Brits and the rest of the world have named sensibly by non-sensible names just to be contrary assholes.

Originally posted by Idonthaveabeard
Haha no one in england says 'pram' you probably picked that up from one of those 18th century British costume dramas. We actuaaly call them pushchairs

We also say 'mobile phone' instead of cell phone

'pavement' instead of sidewalk

and mum instead of mooooommm

Pretty sure plenty of people say pram.

Stupid thread, as others have said they call it gas because it's easier than saying gasoline.

You say toma'to
I say tomatoe

Let's call the whole thing off

With apologies to the Gershwins


well somebody had to do it,sorry!

At least we don't call fries "chips" and chips "crisps".

You guys are all backwards

reply to post by BobbinHood

You guys are all backwards

At least we can have a pint when we turn 18, you have to be 21, but you can drive when youre 16??
You guys are all backwards.

Im only joking.

In Spanish, it's called 'Gasolina'.
Make's sense.

Originally posted by Idonthaveabeard
Haha no one in england says 'pram' you probably picked that up from one of those 18th century British costume dramas. We actuaaly call them pushchairs

We also say 'mobile phone' instead of cell phone

'pavement' instead of sidewalk

and mum instead of mooooommm

Sorry; monty python and the holy grail actually: "knights of the round table (camelot scenes): " I have to push the pram alot"...
love it,silly British people...

reply to post by Idonthaveabeard


Petrol is short for petroleum the greek word for oil. Gas is short for gasoline the refined fuel from petroleum

Originally posted by smithjustinb
Is a bird in the hand worth two in the bush?

Do dogs chase cats?

Yes it is. Yes it is.

Really? That many people don't know.

Gas is short for gasoline. Petrol is short for petroleum.

Petroleum is refined into gasoline, and diesel, which is what we use in our combustion and diesel engines.

Gas makes more sense than petrol. Because so many things can be derived from petroleum(crude oil) is is silly to think we put crude oil in our GAS tanks.

reply to post by Dr Cosma


It's funny here in the states the only reason you have to be 21 to drink is because if a state allows drinking under that age the governemnt will stop paying for the road and roadwork. That aside it's easier for teens to get drugs than beer, you can walk up to a total stranger and ask and most of the time they have what you want. With ease of access who the heck would waste there time and money on alcohol that makes you

I don't call it gas or petrol...I call it a
wallet drain!

Originally posted by stonebutterfly
What the heck is mash?

but we speak American here and you guys speak Kings English.

The english accent is oddly erotic to me....but you get an australin accent and holy smokes....

She'll be right mate, ill just throw the dingo in the back of me ute. and we can get the flock out of here. you grab the tucker box and the tinnies and ill fill the old girl up with some "diesel" ..

We call them trailers while you call them caravans . We have trailer trash , do you have caravan trash ? Then there is the boot and the bonnet . It's hood and trunk to us .

From what I can remember, us Brits call trucks 'Lorries' because a Lorry is short for 'loading trolley', which is what they used back in the day when horse power actually referred to the animal pulling the thing.

We also call the thing kids get karted around in by various names; pushchair, buggy, pram (perambulator).

Chips are large chunky fried potatoes often eaten with battered fried fish - fish 'n' chips, while fries over here refer mainly to french fries the likes of which can be consumed at McDonalds.

Crisps are what Americans refer to as Chips for some reason, I prefer to call them crisps as it is also a fair description of their texture.
What was weird for me, when I was in the States, was a 'meal' (I use the term as loosely as possible here) I ate at KFC. It came with mash potato instead of fries! I love mash but not that pastey grey stuff I had in KFC in Manhattan. YUCK!

One of my favourite differences in pronunciation is the word Oregano, in the UK we put more emphasis on the 'A' after the G. We pronounce it as 'Ah'. When I hear an american person say it it sounds a little funny.

Americans definitely have it wrong with the word 'Aluminium'.....it is not, I repeat NOT Aloo-min-um.
Look closely, it features TWO of the letter I. American people completely disregard this second I for some reason, not the case in other similar words like plutonium which is really weird!
Aluminium is the only one you refuse to read correctly.

But don't stop, I like the fact that we have different dialects and ways of pronouncing things. We have some seriously broad accents in parts of the UK. I even have trouble understanding some fellow brits, especially the further north you go..

Originally posted by BobbinHood
At least we don't call fries "chips" and chips "crisps".

You guys are all backwards

There's a distinction between french fries and chips. If I cut up a potato and put it in the oven, those are chips. They're not fries, in anyway shape or form.

And what you call chips(crisps) aren't chips either. They're very thinly sliced pieces of potato. Not a chip.

They've all got pretty technical meanings, objectively we're right

"Americans pronounce Herb, erb, we say herb because it has a F'n "H" in it!" - Eddie Izzard

Thats a good question. I take it you're from the other side of the pond? Do you also wonder why Americans still haven't adopted the metric system, among other things? Most Americans arbitrarily assign a name to something and it sticks, even if it doesn't make sense.

I always tell my kid its bio-diesel... even when it is just gas.

Sri Oracle

Originally posted by WorstCaseScenario
From what I can remember, us Brits call trucks 'Lorries' because a Lorry is short for 'loading trolley', which is what they used back in the day when horse power actually referred to the animal pulling the thing.

We also call the thing kids get karted around in by various names; pushchair, buggy, pram (perambulator).

Chips are large chunky fried potatoes often eaten with battered fried fish - fish 'n' chips, while fries over here refer mainly to french fries the likes of which can be consumed at McDonalds.

Crisps are what Americans refer to as Chips for some reason, I prefer to call them crisps as it is also a fair description of their texture.
What was weird for me, when I was in the States, was a 'meal' (I use the term as loosely as possible here) I ate at KFC. It came with mash potato instead of fries! I love mash but not that pastey grey stuff I had in KFC in Manhattan. YUCK!

One of my favourite differences in pronunciation is the word Oregano, in the UK we put more emphasis on the 'A' after the G. We pronounce it as 'Ah'. When I hear an american person say it it sounds a little funny.

Americans definitely have it wrong with the word 'Aluminium'.....it is not, I repeat NOT Aloo-min-um.

That's "rich" it is indeed: "Aluminum"

Aluminum at Chemical Elements.com
Basic Information | Atomic Structure | Isotopes | Related Links | Citing This Page

Basic Information

Name: Aluminum
Symbol: Al
Atomic Number: 13
Atomic Mass: 26.981539 amu
Melting Point: 660.37 °C (933.52 K, 1220.666 °F)
Boiling Point: 2467.0 °C (2740.15 K, 4472.6 °F)
Number of Protons/Electrons: 13
Number of Neutrons: 14
Classification: Other Metals
Crystal Structure: Cubic

I don'tknow what the hell "aluminium" is...
Guess that's the same family as "unobtainium"????

www.chemicalelements.com...

Originally posted by WorstCaseScenario
Look closely, it features TWO of the letter I. American people completely disregard this second I for some reason, not the case in other similar words like plutonium which is really weird!
Aluminium is the only one you refuse to read correctly.

But don't stop, I like the fact that we have different dialects and ways of pronouncing things. We have some seriously broad accents in parts of the UK. I even have trouble understanding some fellow brits, especially the further north you go..