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A comment on The secret button at pedestrian crossings. Parent comment

Re:The secret button at pedestrian crossings by scott_s on Thursday May 30, 2013 @10:35AM (#5792740)
My understanding of British English is that they would not call something a "knob" in polite company. Americans (and I am one) think nothing of it. So, there are a decent amount of words with slightly different meanings throughout the English speaking world.
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Re:The secret button at pedestrian crossings by votingprawn on Thursday May 30, 2013 @11:35AM (#5793125)
Plenty of British English speakers would use the word "knob", for example I have no idea what I would call the knobs on the cooker other than knobs.

Or the knobs on amplifiers, or door knobs - well I suppose door handle works but door knobs are distinctly different from handles in my mind.

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Re:The secret button at pedestrian crossings by polshaw on Thursday May 30, 2013 @12:58PM (#5793653)
dial :)
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Re:The secret button at pedestrian crossings by votingprawn on Thursday May 30, 2013 @01:26PM (#5793846)
Hmm yes perhaps, I tend to think of a dial as part of a measurement device. So a volt/ammeter has a dial, a clock has a dial etc.

I suppose I could see myself calling the temperature setting of a cooker the "Temperature dial", but not the mode selector knob thing. Mode/Temperature selector is quite a good one actually. Still doesn't come to hand like knob does though.

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