If I'm talking to an English speaker from outside of the US, is there any confusion if I say "soccer"?

For example, when I was in college a friend asked for a "torch". I was confused for quite some time, because I didn't know it was another word for "flashlight". Does the same thing happen with the word "soccer"? Should I clarify by saying, "...or football"?

Thank you!

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[–] 4 points 2 years ago (7 children)

Wait...I think you're saying that Brits call candy sweets...maybe...

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago* (6 children)

    Definitely Brits, but not just Brits - Sweets is the preferred term in much of the English speaking world, with Candy being very distinctly associated with the US.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago (5 children)

    Interesting. I've used candy to refer to non-chocolate sweets. Sweets refers to sweet candy, and chocolate.

    On that note, for a long time, I'd thought "candy bar" was called as such because they tend to not contain any actual chocolate.

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago*

    How people refer between different types of sweets varies even within Britain, nevermind other countries... but at least in my experience chocolate sweets get referred to as chocolates, and non-chocolate sweets as just sweets (though I have heard the terms sugar sweets and confectioneries thrown about for those too)

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago (3 children)
  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago (2 children)