Friday, February 23, 2007

Terminology lesson *updated*


This is a cot



This is a crib
(Or cradle, but that's quite an old-fashioned term.)



This is a moses basket


Well, that's what we call them in England, anyway. Some recent comments suggest that things might be mixed up somewhat on the other side of the pond. (And Bassinet is not a real word.)
Updated: I'd forgotten about the word cradle.

7 comments:

delphi said...

And I would call them, in order, a crib, a cradle, and a moses basket. A bassinet would be a really fancy moses basket on a stand.

It is funny the quirks between our versions of English :).

laura said...

i think you're trying to start something, treggy. what you call a crib is, as delphi noted, a cradle - and not an entirely safe thing, either. yes, a moses basket is a moses basket (hey, you got one right!), but you're missing the point on the bassinet (which IS a real word, at least according to the random house unabridged dictionary). it has a hood, and it's often floofy, unless it's part of your pack-n-play (which is the brand name for a play yard, which used to be called a play pen - still with me here?), but even then it could still be floofy, depending on the pack-n-play design.

shall we get into strollers/carriages/perambulators?

Smarshy said...

Treggles, you blokes can't figure out what side of the street to DRIVE on, I'm sure not going to accept your definitions of these items.

In order or appearance:
1)Crib
2)Crazy looking dangerous thing asking for a lawsuit, and
3) Bassinet

We only call it a Moses basket if we are considering floating our baby down a river.

I've been meaning to ask you; when you are delivering your verdicts in court, do you ever sob like our American buffoon who delivered his verdict on the Anna Nicole Smith custody trial? Mkes me want to move the Antartica.

Smarshy said...

Um, I meant move TO Antartica. I'm not yet strong enough to move Antartica itself.

Clare said...

OK, weighing in here. Down here in Melbourne, they are called a cot, a cradle and a bassinet. and YES, bassinet is a real word here in Oz (not that any Brit's thing we aussies speak english correctly down under).

and yes, as Laura taunted, why don't we get into the whole pram, stroller, carriage, buggy, pushchair thingy as well?

and one question, what is a perambulator? That's a new word to me!!

Jillian said...

Ahh, Treggles. As Clare stated, those things are what she said they are.

The American 'cot' is called a camp bed here and the pack and play thingy is a travel cot.

Add 'trolley' to your list of wheelie-things-babies-go-in to confuse matters further and we could really get a discussion going!

Glad you got all the stuff you need:)

Treggles said...

Oh Boy, what have I started here? Whose language is this anyway?