Accident or wreck?

Max Crisp

@Orson_Kart (7993)

• United Kingdom

19 Jan

Coincidentally, there was a report of a “chip wreck” near Beachy Head yesterday. Thousands of bags of frozen chips (fries) were washed up on the beach. Apparently they came from a container that had fallen from a ship during Storm Goretti.

2 people like this

Anna

@LadyDuck (495470)

• Italy

18 Jan

@JudyEv - A wreck would be a car totally destroyed, a total catastrophe.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (374360)

• Rockingham, Australia

18 Jan

A wreck to me would be very bad; a total catastrophe.

1 person likes this

Eva James

@wolfgirl569 (131120)

• Marion, Ohio

18 Jan

I have used both of those the same way. I say totaled if the vehicle is not savable

3 people like this

Max Crisp

@Orson_Kart (7993)

• United Kingdom

19 Jan

@JudyEv Monday is washing day, is everybody happy?

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Eva James

@wolfgirl569 (131120)

• Marion, Ohio

19 Jan

@JudyEv I say laundry usually and yes to cookie.

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@JudyEv (374360)

• Rockingham, Australia

19 Jan

Another one is that I'd normally use 'washing' rather than 'laundry'. And of course, cookie and biscuit is the common one.

2 people like this

Go Crossbones

@crossbones27 (52347)

• Mojave, California

18 Jan

So you saying its like slang, do not ask America, they speak no slang anymore and British are always uptight. Dammit maybe I start ww3, but sure was fun.

2 people like this

@JudyEv (374360)

• Rockingham, Australia

18 Jan

I wouldn't call it slang, just a different way of saying something.

Max Crisp

@Orson_Kart (7993)

• United Kingdom

18 Jan

Who are you calling uptight?

3 people like this

rebelann1949

@rebelann (116419)

• El Paso, Texas

18 Jan

Yes, I remember @jaboUK helping me understand what terms not to use when chatting with a Brit, it floored me because those terms here ment something completely different. Does your English differ much from Brit English?

2 people like this

rebelann1949

@rebelann (116419)

• El Paso, Texas

19 Jan

That does make sense. Here English is often mixed with other languages. Here it is influenced by Mexican.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (374360)

• Rockingham, Australia

19 Jan

I remember Jabo. I always enjoyed her posts. I think our English fits better with the UK than the USA which is understandable.

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LindaOH

@LindaOHio (216498)

• United States

18 Jan

I always say accident. Fortunately I've never been in one. Have a great day.

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@JudyEv (374360)

• Rockingham, Australia

19 Jan

'Accident' is more common here too. Thanks for the good wishes.

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LindaOH

@LindaOHio (216498)

• United States

19 Jan

@JudyEv You're very welcome.

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Winterishere

@thedevilinme (4936)

• Northampton, England

18 Jan

I see the Scorchers made the top spot again in the BBL

2 people like this

@JudyEv (374360)

• Rockingham, Australia

19 Jan

They've done well. Let's hope it continues.

@JudyEv (374360)

• Rockingham, Australia

20 Jan

@thedevilinme I hadn't heard that. I wouldn't say that's necessarily true but it sounds good.

Winterishere

@thedevilinme (4936)

• Northampton, England

19 Jan

@JudyEv Their orange shirts are supposed to be the color of the Perth sunsets

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BarBaraPrz

@BarBaraPrz (51509)

• St. Catharines, Ontario

18 Jan

Here in Canada (at least Ontario) the police prefer the term "collision".

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@coolimrose (655)

• Australia

19 Jan

I'll use this next time I see an accident.

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@JudyEv (374360)

• Rockingham, Australia

19 Jan

@coolimrose We use collision/collide here too.

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@coolimrose (655)

• Australia

19 Jan

Wreck is an absolute write-off. An accident is much softer. Wrck can be used for both living and non-living objects. It's all passable in colloquial language, but when it's printed, it should be used appropriately. Just because a certain group of people use it does not make it right.

1 person likes this

@coolimrose (655)

• Australia

20 Jan

@JudyEv Yes, that's how it works, but is that right?? Shouldn't we always strive to do the right thing or check people when wrong? Why, as humans, do we just let it go??

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@JudyEv (374360)

• Rockingham, Australia

19 Jan

What you say is true but if enough people use it often enough sometimes it becomes common usage.

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snowy

@snowy22315 (204442)

• United States

18 Jan

I would say here they are somewhat intechangeable.A wreck doen;t have to mean a total loss of a vehicle, that's a great pic by the way,

2 people like this

@JudyEv (374360)

• Rockingham, Australia

19 Jan

I have a file for 'landscapes' and I choose one from there if I don't have something more appropriate.

May2k8

@May2k8 (19724)

• Indonesia

18 Jan

The words that are commonly used are accidents, we rarely hear other words.

2 people like this

@JudyEv (374360)

• Rockingham, Australia

19 Jan

That's probably most common here too.

1 person likes this

@DaddyEvil (170017)

• United States

19 Jan

I use the words interchangeably, depending on what I was talking about and how bad the accident was. (If I didn't want to worry somebody, I'd say I was in a minor "fender bender", even if the car was totaled.)

1 person likes this

@DaddyEvil (170017)

• United States

19 Jan

@JudyEv Yes, that's understandable. We call those "dings".

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@JudyEv (374360)

• Rockingham, Australia

19 Jan

We sometimes talk about a bing or bingle if it's just a slight bump.

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RasmaSandra

@RasmaSandra (95331)

• Daytona Beach, Florida

18 Jan

There are quite a few differences between American English and English English, which I guess is used in Australia.

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@JudyEv (374360)

• Rockingham, Australia

19 Jan

Yes, that's true. It's mostly English English for us.

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Traceyjayne

@Traceyjayne (8938)

• United Kingdom

19 Jan

In the UK we would say “ I was an absolute wreck “ meaning we were nervous or distraught. If we were in a car accident and the car couldn’t be mended we would say it was a write off.

1 person likes this

@coolimrose (655)

• Australia

19 Jan

This is an exemplary example and self-explanatory. Here, wreck is a perfect work to showcase our inner feelings, which can never be termed as an accident. It speaks of the total impact it has on a person and the gravity of the issue. A divorce can wreck a person, as it can destroy someone beyond repair. Here, the harm is internal, not external, so it cannot be termed as an accident.

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@JudyEv (374360)

• Rockingham, Australia

19 Jan

We use 'wreck' in that context too.

Valentina

@valherma00 (1623)

• Zagreb, Croatia (Hrvatska)

18 Jan

i also use a word accident more.

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@JudyEv (374360)

• Rockingham, Australia

19 Jan

That's what we'd do too.

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Valentina

@valherma00 (1623)

• Zagreb, Croatia (Hrvatska)

21 Jan

@JudyEv that's good

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Amber

@AmbiePam (115028)

• United States

18 Jan

Honestly, we say both. It just differs on what day you catch us. I have noticed if it is really minor I without a doubt say accident. Come to think of it, I wonder if it depends on how bad the accident was that determines what word we use to describe it.

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@coolimrose (655)

• Australia

19 Jan

Of course, it totally depends on the severity of the damage.

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@JudyEv (374360)

• Rockingham, Australia

19 Jan

I can't imagine a scenario where we would say 'I was in a wreck' which is why I noticed it on here. We'd say 'I was in an accident' or maybe 'I was in a collision'. We might say 'the car was wrecked' meaning it couldn't be fixed.

@coolimrose (655)

• Australia

19 Jan

This was a very thoughtful and entertaining discussion. Thanks.

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