Canadian bewildered over Aussie term: ‘What is this, Harry Potter?’
- Replies 14
If you think navigating the unique Aussie slang can be difficult, what more if you’re unfamiliar with the concept entirely?
One Canadian living in Australia, Josiah Hein, was left flabbergasted after coming across a certain term in an Australian calendar.
'Here in Australia, look at this—there are 60 minutes in an hour, 24 hours in a day, seven days in a week,’ he said.
‘But look, they’ve got something called a fortnight here. Fourteen days in a fortnight. Have you heard this word before?' he added in his video, which has now been viewed 730,000 times.
Confused about the word, Hein said: 'What is this, Harry Potter?'
Hein clarified in the comments section that back in Canada, they would simply say 'every two weeks' and shared his disbelief that Australians say both 'fortnight' and 'fortnightly'.
But where did the term ‘fortnight’ come from?
It’s actually an Old English term ‘fēowertīene niht’, which means ‘fourteen nights’.
It used to be used by Anglo-Saxons as a way to measure the time between a full moon and a new moon, but it was later phased out of North American English in the 1880s.
However, the term is still common amongst countries that are former British colonies and still forms part of British English—such as Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
Aussies were also left in shock by Hein’s revelation saying:
'Bro what? Who doesn’t have fortnight?' One replied.
'Okay, we both learnt today that a fortnight in [Australia] is not universal across the world in all Western countries,' another added.
'Wait, there are places in the world where they don’t use the word “fortnight”?' a third asked.
After Hein’s previous videos where he lost his mind at airport etiquette in Australia, many began to suspect he’s just trolling Australians now.
'I’m convinced this entire account is a parody at this point,' one said.
'Okay, I’ve let your other videos slide in the past, but this HAS to be satire,' another added.
You can watch Hein’s full video below:
Source: TikTok/@josiahhein.
In other news, Hein was on a domestic flight to the Gold Coast when he requested a coffee with ‘creamer’, only to be met with utter confusion from the flight attendant.
While the ‘usual’ for most Aussies is to receive a little packet of whole milk when they order coffee on flights, Hein pointed out that in the United States, where he had recently been, people get something called 'creamer' instead.
In spite of its misleading name, ‘creamer’ is far from real cream. Instead, it's a substitute made from evaporated milk solids, vegetable oil, corn syrup, and a mix of additives and preservatives.
Many people in the comments were surprised at Hein’s reaction while pointing out that milk is a much healthier option.
You can read more about this story here.
Members, have you or someone you know had their mind blown in a similar way? Let us know in the comments below—we’d love to hear your stories!
One Canadian living in Australia, Josiah Hein, was left flabbergasted after coming across a certain term in an Australian calendar.
'Here in Australia, look at this—there are 60 minutes in an hour, 24 hours in a day, seven days in a week,’ he said.
‘But look, they’ve got something called a fortnight here. Fourteen days in a fortnight. Have you heard this word before?' he added in his video, which has now been viewed 730,000 times.
A Canadian man was confused at the sight of the common Aussie term ‘fortnight’. Image source: TikTok/@josiahhein.
Confused about the word, Hein said: 'What is this, Harry Potter?'
Hein clarified in the comments section that back in Canada, they would simply say 'every two weeks' and shared his disbelief that Australians say both 'fortnight' and 'fortnightly'.
But where did the term ‘fortnight’ come from?
It’s actually an Old English term ‘fēowertīene niht’, which means ‘fourteen nights’.
It used to be used by Anglo-Saxons as a way to measure the time between a full moon and a new moon, but it was later phased out of North American English in the 1880s.
However, the term is still common amongst countries that are former British colonies and still forms part of British English—such as Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
Aussies were also left in shock by Hein’s revelation saying:
'Bro what? Who doesn’t have fortnight?' One replied.
'Okay, we both learnt today that a fortnight in [Australia] is not universal across the world in all Western countries,' another added.
'Wait, there are places in the world where they don’t use the word “fortnight”?' a third asked.
After Hein’s previous videos where he lost his mind at airport etiquette in Australia, many began to suspect he’s just trolling Australians now.
'I’m convinced this entire account is a parody at this point,' one said.
'Okay, I’ve let your other videos slide in the past, but this HAS to be satire,' another added.
You can watch Hein’s full video below:
Source: TikTok/@josiahhein.
In other news, Hein was on a domestic flight to the Gold Coast when he requested a coffee with ‘creamer’, only to be met with utter confusion from the flight attendant.
While the ‘usual’ for most Aussies is to receive a little packet of whole milk when they order coffee on flights, Hein pointed out that in the United States, where he had recently been, people get something called 'creamer' instead.
In spite of its misleading name, ‘creamer’ is far from real cream. Instead, it's a substitute made from evaporated milk solids, vegetable oil, corn syrup, and a mix of additives and preservatives.
Many people in the comments were surprised at Hein’s reaction while pointing out that milk is a much healthier option.
You can read more about this story here.
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