One language, different meanings....
Those of you who were at ARSAG 2011 will recall a tale told by an OzAF Gp Capt. He'd been over in the UK and his hosts had held a barbi' in his honour. As he stood around shivering in shirt and pullover with the wind battering at the flames, his hostess remarked, whilst persuading a languid snorker to cook, "I suppose you have quite a few barbecues in Australia".
He replied that indeed they did..."Except that in Oz, we normally stand around in T-shirts and thongs", he added.
There was a somewhat astonished silence.....until he explained that 'thongs' are worn on the feet in Australia - we call them 'flip flops'.
A mental image of a group of stubby-clutching hairy-arsed Ozmates wearing footy singlets and the other type of thong is too awful to contemplate!