American expat shares the common phrases he had never heard of before moving to Australia

An American expat has listed some of the common Australian phrases he’s learned since moving to Australia and what the locals say back in his home state of Georgia. 

Adam Foskey was taken aback by the ‘odd’ spellings of some words and phrases, but said he preferred some of them over the American alternative.

‘First up we have the word “kerbside” but spelt with a “k” – I would usually just spell it “curbside” back home,’ he said in a TikTok video.

The next word that befuddled him was ‘whipper snipper’ which is a colloquial term for the gardening tool brush-cutter that is used for clearing overgrown grass, weeds, brambles, and small hedges.

‘In America, I would call that a “weed-eater” but I prefer whipper snipper because it rhymes,’ Adam said.

Adam also did not understand why Australians refer to napkins as ‘serviettes’ – but multiple commenters claimed they distinguished between the two because serviettes are traditionally paper while napkins are fabric.

‘Lastly, we have roquette,’ Adam referred to the green leafy vegetable commonly used in salads. ‘I usually call it “arugula” but I like roquette better because I get tongue-tied even trying to say arugula.’

An American expat has listed some of the common Australian phrases he’s learned since moving to Australia, and what the locals say back in his hometown of Georgia

Many Australian commenters were shocked to see some of these phrases termed ‘common.’

‘Kerbside is definitely not a thing here,’ wrote one woman. ‘It’s curbside or gutter.’

‘Did every Aussie just look up roquette and realise there was another spelling?’ asked a man. ‘I’ve only ever known it as rocket!’

‘Love your videos, but it’s rocket … it never sang with Diana Ross.’

But others agreed with some of Adam’s preferences.

‘Whipper snipper has got to be one of the greatest words of all time,’ wrote one man.

Adam also recently caused a stir online after pointing out one major difference between US and Australian kitchens.

He revealed Americans tend to make tea by boiling water on the stove rather than using a kettle. 

In a video posted to his popular TikTok page, Adam makes tea as he would in America – by filling a pot with water and bringing it to a boil on the stove – then again as he would in Australia – by simply flicking on the kettle.  

Adam also recently caused a stir online after pointing out one major difference between US and Australian kitchens 

America vs Australia: In a video to TikTok the Georgian man who now lives in Melbourne, showed that Americans make tea by boiling a pot of water on the stove while Australians simply flick on the kettle

Hundreds of Aussie viewers in the comments were shocked to discover that Americans don’t use electric kettles but boil their water on the stove or in the microwave instead

Hundreds of Aussie viewers in the comments were shocked to discover that Americans don’t use the ubiquitous kitchen gadget. 

‘What! America doesn’t have kettles!? Did they forget? Or.. what??’ one wrote.  

‘I remember struggling to make a tea in the USA using the coffee maker, called downstairs for a kettle I got silence,’ said another. 

‘Note to self: Pack the kettle for Disneyland trip,’ a third joked. 

Some pointed out that many Americans skip the stove altogether and use the microwave while others tried to explain why kettles were so uncommon. 

‘I read a whole thread by Americans this morning about boiling water on the stove vs in the microwave…’ one person said.  

‘It’s that the power outlets are low voltage in US so kettles don’t really work or would be super slow to heat,’ another user explained.