An American mocked the British for saying ‘washing-up liquid’ and nearly started a diplomatic incident – 21 transatlantic pushbacks
12.
>mfw Americans call a cold-on-the-cob a “popsicle” pic.twitter.com/7oVHOb0T0J
— GIVE ME LOST KINGDOMS III (@StripeyShima) September 6, 2025
13.
Soap in the UK basically just means bar soap. While as “washing-up liquid” describes exactly what it is, liquid for washing up with.
— My profile picture (@heavenly_otter) September 6, 2025
14.
But it’s not just for dishes. It’s for cutlery, pots, pans, jugs, cups, plates. Dishes is not a universal term for any item in the kitchen. It is a liquid that you wash up with. Dish soap is an Americanism that is truly insane.
— Themis (@ThemisJ3) September 6, 2025
15.
Look at your wristwatch and let me know how long until we can go horseback riding along the sidewalk right here real quick.
— mable agwitch (@fredtheimpaler) September 6, 2025
16.
Americans call sitting cross legged ‘sitting criss cross’ and spell cheque as ‘check’ I’d maybe sit this one out.
— Calum Mew (@calummew) September 7, 2025
17.
Wait Americans call washing up liquid “dish soap”???
— Alex W (@koenig_jakob) September 7, 2025
18.
Nothing can ever rival the shock that Brits and Aussies experience when they first learn that Americans don’t have electric kettles. https://t.co/gQnSVqqzd7
— Fr John Corrigan (@FrCorrigan) September 6, 2025
19.
You guys call an indicator a blinker bc it goes blink https://t.co/gj4O94Hodt
— frociaggine (@ChanelBeige) September 7, 2025
20.
The concept of “washing-up” is alien to the yankoid, who uses a dishwasher, washing machine and dryer for everything https://t.co/IdR4c73IFM
— Honksea (@Bonksea) September 6, 2025
21.
Well I don’t like the American tendency to refer to everything as a brand name even when it’s not that brand. Tylenol, Bandaid, Popsicle, and many others besides.
We don’t do this a lot and even then it’s just hoover, and people do say vacuum. https://t.co/PIaMokcAYJ
— extremely african (@paxfulania) September 6, 2025
Amal Dorai reached out with a reconciliatory hat-tip.
They make up for it with the word “ming / minging” which is incredibly useful and has no American equivalent
— Amal Dorai (@amaldorai) September 6, 2025