14

I was well aware of the different meanings of rubber, not least because there are the same definitions in my mother-tongue. However, while reading a text about differences between British and American English I read the following lines:

Here's something else for Americans to be aware of: did you know that an eraser is called a rubber in Britain? A good British Mum makes sure her children go to school with a rubber in their pencil case.

So, it's also not new to me that there are differences between British English and American English, but I was and still am surprised that that could somehow be misinterpreted.

Checking the dictionary (OALD and OED) I learned that rubber as condom is indeed an Americanism, though I can hardly believe that British people do not know/use that word.

The other way round, I can imagine to some extent that Americans are not aware of the fact that it isn't that popularly known/used in British English.

Anyway, when talking to British people do I really have to expect that they don't know what I'm talking about when using the word rubber instead of condom?

And when talking to American people, should I avoid rubber and use eraser instead whenever I expect it might sound ambiguous? To be more concrete: the OALD designates rubber (as eraser) as British English, thus do I have to suspect that an American may not be aware of that meaning?

Finally, when talking to both an American and a British at the same time, which words do I use for condom and eraser so that both will understand me correctly?

Improve this question
10
  • 7
    I'm not sure about the British perspective, but as an American, I would be surprised if you asked me for a rubber and were expecting an eraser.
    – Cameron
    Commented Jul 16, 2012 at 21:23
  • 16
    In AmE used by much older people, 'rubber' can also refer to 'galoshes' (rubber anti-water shoe cover). Lots of embarassed laughs by the young whippersnappers. Really, does any of this come up in conversation anymore?
    – Mitch
    Commented Jul 16, 2012 at 21:41
  • 9
    At whoever voted for close as general reference: I really like to see that link to "to the standard Internet reference source that can definitively and permanently answer that question" about usages and different connotations in two dialects.
    – Em1
    Commented Jul 16, 2012 at 21:46
  • 6
    As an Australian, using "rubber" to mean "condom" just sounds weird. Rubber and eraser are interchangeable. I don't know if that's just the area I grew up in or a more Australia-wide thing, though.
    – AlbeyAmakiir
    Commented Jul 17, 2012 at 0:59
  • 3
    @mgb, not that I'm aware. But I agree. We have our own weirdness in language. Even moving from Adelaide to Sydney, I'm finding not all my words mean the same thing!
    – AlbeyAmakiir
    Commented Jul 17, 2012 at 3:35

8 Answers 8

Reset to default
15

Anyway, when talking to British people do I really have to expect that they don't know what I'm talking about when using the word rubber instead of condom?

Yes. That definition of rubber is not really used in the UK. Some people would know it from personal experiences of Americans. Like me. I know it because I have met some Americans in the UK and this word came up in the context of meeting one of them: in primary school, there was an American pupil in the last year. This definition would not generally, be reliable in the UK.

And when talking to American people, should I avoid rubber and use eraser instead whenever I expect it might sound ambiguous? To be more concrete: the OALD designates rubber (as eraser) as British English, thus do I have to suspect that an American may not be aware of that meaning?

That would be the most reliable approach. As you can see from this discussion, there are some Americans who are aware of the British meaning of rubber but it is not used in the USA. Because of this, it is unreliable in the USA and many Americans might not know this meaning. When talking to Americans, it would be best to use the American word, eraser.

Finally, when talking to both an American and a British at the same time, which words do I use for condom and eraser so that both will understand me correctly?

For a condom, just use the word condom. This is the proper word used in the UK and the USA. As the following links show, using the word rubber to mean a condom, is American slang:

US slang for a condom (Cambridge Dictionaries Online)

[countable] American English informal a condom (Longman Dictionary)

And the USA has this slang for the word, as well as the word itself.

For the word eraser, there will have to be a different kind of answer. This is an example of, one of the many differences in American English. Because the word eraser is not generally, reliable in the UK, it is not certain that any, particular British person, will know its American meaning. Whether or not it will be understood, will depend on which, particular British people you talk to.

If you talk to an American person and a British person at the same time, just use the word condom. It is understood in both countries.

Regarding eraser, you have a few possibilities. If you find out first, that one of the two knows the word used in the other's country; you can use a sentence that has just that word. For example, if you knew that the American person knows the British meaning of rubber, you can use just that. It could be that you are writing with a pencil and want to change some of the writing. You could ask, "have you got a rubber?". If you don't know in advance whether one of the two knows the word used in the other's country; you would need to use a sentence that covers both words. For example, you could ask "have you got a rubber/eraser?". You could also find out by asking, when you talk to them.

Improve this answer
4
  • 2
    As a Brit, I'd be extremely surprised if someone didn't know that rubber could be used as a word for condom or if someone didn't know that eraser referred to a rubber (apart from anything else, pencil eraser is the proper term for them here - staples.co.uk/erasers/cbk/406.html ).
    – Jack Aidley
    Commented Jan 18, 2016 at 12:50
  • 2
    @JackAidley - Yes, you'd think "pencil eraser" would at the absolute least be understood simply from the meaning of those words.
    – T.E.D.
    Commented Mar 6, 2018 at 17:18
  • @JackAidley Well I didn't until a few years ago. Thankfully it never became a problem for me. At the same time Americans don't know words like tosser. Oh I'm sure some do but many do not. They typically don't know the word knackered either. Otoh I think they mostly know what knickers are. At the same time though they don't know the difference between pants (the clothing and the other meaning) and trousers.
    – Pryftan
    Commented Jan 3, 2020 at 21:44
  • It's easy to assume people know all the same things you do, and if you as e.g. a young male white English college student meet a young male white American college student, you will have a lot in common in terms of cultural knowledge and experiences. But as you meet different people with different life experiences, then the differences mount.
    – Stuart F
    Commented Sep 15, 2022 at 16:07
16

As far as British English is concerned, a rubber is normally an eraser (unless the context specifically indicates otherwise). Using the word for a condom is not unknown; but the usual "rubber" epithet for that is rubber johnny. Having said that, the word condom is far more likely to be used to refer to a condom than any other term. The Government started using "condom" in anti-AIDS advertising in 1987 and it's now acceptable and mainstream with no euphemisms needed.

Received wisdom on this side of the Atlantic is that rubber should not be used in the New World if you mean "eraser", because you don't remove pencil marks with a condom. I'm sure a native American English speaker will say what the right words are on their side of the ocean.

Improve this answer
10
  • 3
    Oddly, the question calls for a word to "use for both an eraser and a condom" instead of separate words for each.
    – James Waldby - jwpat7
    Commented Jul 16, 2012 at 22:13
  • 1
    @jwpat7 Hmm. You're right. Obviously the answer to that is "rubber". I read that as "words", I think. Rule 1: Always read the question. Perhaps it should say "words".
    – Andrew Leach ♦
    Commented Jul 16, 2012 at 22:17
  • 4
    I think this is another one of those contexts like pissed, where quite a few Americans are unaware of (or surprised by) the British meaning (drunk), but most Brits know the American one (angry), and don't see anything odd about a slang word having two different meanings. I suppose that's partly because there are more Americans, so their language variants dominate global media. But I do often get a sense that Americans on average are more likely to think words can only have those meanings sanctioned by (US) dictionaries.
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Jul 16, 2012 at 23:09
  • 2
    @Fumble: I think you merely notice the one more than the other. Even on english.se there have been many instances where UK participants have been astonished by common American words, meanings, and pronunciations.
    – GEdgar
    Commented Jul 17, 2012 at 0:15
  • 2
    @Em1 In that case, those words are eraser and condom. But using eraser in Britain would cause people to wonder why you didn't say "rubber" like everyone else.
    – Andrew Leach ♦
    Commented Jul 17, 2012 at 6:44
10

My experience indicates that Americans frequently misunderstand the use of "rubber" - even in a classroom setting, where erasers are quite common and condoms often less common. I grew up in Hong Kong and the USA, and asked a classmate in the USA if I could "borrow [his] rubber". I received odd looks from him and nearby classmates, and clarified with "eraser". I have related this story as a humorous anecdote on a number of occasions, and often surprise most people here in the states when I state my request to borrow a "rubber" - this indicates to me that it is not commonly understood by many Americans. As such, I would prefer "eraser" over "rubber" to avoid derailing a conversation or request.

Improve this answer
8
  • 1
    The fact that an American is in a classroom setting doesn't change the fact that eraser is simply not a commonly recognized way to interpret rubber in American English, just as public school would never mean "elite independent school" instead of "traditional government-funded school" and car valeting would never mean "thorough cleaning and polishing of a car" instead of "working as an attendant who parks cars for customers."
    – choster
    Commented Jul 17, 2012 at 16:33
  • @choster are you indicating extraneous information?
    – Iiridayn
    Commented Jul 23, 2012 at 16:30
  • 4
    I am saying that the American reaction is not a "misunderstanding" as in as taking one meaning for another. There is only one familiar meaning of rubber in American English.
    – choster
    Commented Jul 23, 2012 at 18:44
  • @choster - Actually, "rubber" is quite commonly used (with no smirks) when discussing car tires. So there are at least two different meanings. (And did I ever tell you I used to test rubbers for the Air Force?)
    – Hot Licks
    Commented Jun 15, 2016 at 15:48
  • @HotLicks Exactly how often does anyone, regardless of dialect, ask to borrow a car tire in a classroom setting? Context is everything.
    – choster
    Commented Jun 15, 2016 at 16:11
10

I think, from the variants presented in these answers, that the answer to your final question is simple. If you're aiming for maximum clarity, use "condom" for condoms, "eraser" for erasers, and skip the ambiguous "rubber" altogether.

That is, if you're aiming for clarity. :)

Improve this answer
10
  • 1
    See the OP's last question: "when talking to both an American and a British at the same time", this will remove ambiguities. Also, if you're talking to someone who's neither British nor American, and you're not sure where he gets his vocabulary.
    – Avner Shahar-Kashtan
    Commented Jul 18, 2012 at 7:51
  • 1
    Whether or not it will remove ambiguity, will depend heavily on whether the particular, British person would know the word eraser. Eraser is American English and not really used in the UK, which already has a literally English word for it: rubber. That would be an assumption to say that you would have clarity, when using this word with British people.
    – Tristan
    Commented Jul 18, 2012 at 19:48
  • 1
    To think that it would be relatively easy to understand it, would be an assumption. I know from my primary school experience, that this was not the case. When an eraser was asked for by the American pupil, I and the other children at the table asked "what's that?". They then explained by saying what it was for. It's not guaranteed that all British people would know that word. It's worth remembering that American English is not the language of England, or the rest of the UK.
    – Tristan
    Commented Jul 19, 2012 at 14:00
  • 1
    Well, of course it isn't. That's what this whole question and thread is about.
    – Avner Shahar-Kashtan
    Commented Jul 19, 2012 at 14:02
  • 3
    Good point, "Eraser" is not ambiguous because it is either understood directly or not understood, whereas "Rubber" is ambiguous since it could mean two different things to different people. It's better for someone to not understand, than to misunderstand.
    – Xantix
    Commented Sep 12, 2012 at 7:26
2

Why is solid latex known as rubber? Because of its ability to rub out pencil marks! That being the case, there should be no embarrassment in asking someone for a rubber.

Improve this answer
1
  • Quite true. I have the distinct feeling that many decades ago I had teachers who referred to erasers as India rubbers to head off potential schoolboy sniggers. But that was Britain, where mostly we called the other ones johnnies rather than rubber johnnies. I've no idea why we chose to discard a different word from each pair, rather than the same one.
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Jul 31, 2012 at 22:45
2

Also, American slang for a hospital gown is "Johnny", so English people in US hospitals should be aware that if a nurse asks you to put on a "Johnny", it's probably a mistake to slip on a condom.

Improve this answer
3
  • Haha! I never knew that.
    – chasly - supports Monica
    Commented Oct 12, 2015 at 2:44
  • 3
    I've never heard that, and have been a American for a long time. (All my life, in fact.) Since I won't assume you're lying, it must be a regional term.
    – RonJohn
    Commented Dec 4, 2017 at 3:46
  • That needs some documentation. I can see patients asking for the item and being embarrassed.
    – Nigel J
    Commented Mar 8, 2018 at 16:25
1

Anyway, when talking to British people do I really have to expect that they don't know what I'm talking about when using the word rubber instead of condom?

I'm a Brit living close to London, so I can help with this one.

In the UK, "Rubber" and "Johnny" are the two most popular colloquialisms for Condom. Johnny is more common today - Rubber is more of a nineties term.

However, our first understanding of a "Rubber" is an "Eraser". We do not use the term "Eraser".

If you ask a man in the street for a Rubber, he will think you are talking about an Eraser.

If you ask him in a Club, well... :-)

Improve this answer
1
  • What happened to "raincoat" as euphemism for condom?
    – RonJohn
    Commented Dec 4, 2017 at 3:48
0

In general, lots of words have multiple meanings. Sometimes it's obvious which meaning is meant by the context, sometimes it's not and the sentence is confusing. Lots of words have different meanings in different dialects. As anything related to sex is often an awkward subject, we often use euphemisms to talk about sex, giving yet more meanings to other words.

So yes, as an American, to me the word "rubber" can mean the soft, pliable material that comes from rubber plants, the synthetic substance made from petroleum products to behave like rubber, car tires, condoms, something to do with the card game Bridge, maybe other meanings. I'm aware of the British use to mean "eraser" but that is not a meaning that would normally come to mind.

By the way, many jokes are based on exactly this sort of ambiguity. The comedian will say that someone said X, and it's obvious what the intended meaning is, and then he says that another person replied Y, indicating that he had interpreted the word differently. If it's done well it can be funny.

If I was at a car dealership looking to buy a used car and the salesman said, "If you want this car, we can give you new rubber at no extra charge", I'd surely understand him to mean that they'd put new tires on the car, not that they'd give me a condom. If I was listening to a lecture on prostitution and the speaker said, "Some prostitutes insist that their client use a rubber to protect themselves from STDs", I would surely understand him to mean a condom and not an eraser. Etc.

If you want to avoid ambiguity, avoid words that have double meanings, or add enough words to clarify. Like say, "a rubber eraser" instead of just, "a rubber". Of course, given the large number of words that are used as euphemisms for sex, avoiding this sort of double meaning can be difficult. I think in most cases, people would know what you meant, though they might snicker at the double meaning.

Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .