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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[–] 113 points 2 years ago (27 children)

Not a native English speaker, but my hunch is, soccer will almost certainly be understood. Also it will identify you as American.

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  • [–] 42 points 2 years ago (23 children)
  • [–] 34 points 2 years ago (6 children)

    And Australia, at least when they're not trying to suck up to the British.

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

    And English... I've heard them use soccer as well on many occasions

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  • [–] 8 points 2 years ago

    If an Englishman uses 'soccer' he's almost certainly from the upper class.

    As “soccer” was played by the elite (such as the Oxford lad who is said to have coined “soccer”), it soon spread to the working classes, and became “football”.

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    [–] 82 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (31 children)

    English people understand the limitations Americans have to live under when it comes to language

    Edit: jesus you make little high brow joke and all the idiots gets butthurt.

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  • [–] 58 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (3 children)

    We had to call it soccer. We already had a sport called competitive diving.

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  • [–] 12 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

    When I get asked if I watch soccer as a hockey fan I have the same feelings. The Women's version of soccer is much tougher and I would rather watch that. They take a beating and get bloodied but keep playing unlike the men falling over including the coaches from being brushed by a piece of paper.

    This video does a good job capturing the differences between coaches: https://youtu.be/9HxzLEqI-qE?si=VPWHKI081v80eA3k

    This one does a great job highlighting the competition diving angle. I think artist *artistic diving might be more applicable though: https://youtu.be/_OXdfJgCmLc?si=7n-tIrOIsxznm49W

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  • [–] 47 points 2 years ago (12 children)

    You do realize the word Soccer for the actual game originated in England right?

    It just so happened that “Rugby football” got shortened to Rugby and this “Associa toon (Socker) football” got shortened to Football.

    Since since an American sport came around the same time called “Football” they kept the name “Soccer” for Association Football.

    Just letting you know a little back story.

    A small article about it can be found here. https://www.britannica.com/story/why-do-some-people-call-football-soccer And there are plenty more info out there about it.

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  • [–] 28 points 2 years ago (4 children)

    I’m going to call them soccer football and American football from now on

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  • [–] 5 points 2 years ago

    For a while, the governing body in the US was the United State Soccer Football Association, so you're good, and it's also some good trolling of the zealots on either side of the "debate."

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  • [–] 5 points 2 years ago

    I refer to Soccer the football played with your foot and then the American version as " Egg-ball" played with your hands.

    That said I'm also Canadian and for many years in our small "hand egg-ball" league we had 2 teams with very similar club names called the Rough Riders and the Roughriders so I shouldn't be throwing so many stones...

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

    It would require more research than I'm willing to do, but the only part of that article that set off my sports-history-nerd Spidey Sense was this:

    In full, it was known as gridiron football, but most people never bothered with the first word.

    I don't know that anyone actually involved in playing or codifying the game ever used "gridiron football" in anything like the same official way that Association football or Rugby football were used. It feels much more like outside observers trying to impose logical categories from afar, British exceptionalism at its finest. AFAIK, gridiron was always used as a nickname for the field, and the sport itself was only ever widely referred to as "football," American exceptionalism at its finest.

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

    Do English people know that they originated “soccer” as Oxford slang for “association football?” Nothing hits like the English ignorantly shitting on their colonies for adopting the stupid English practices forced upon them by the English at the time.

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

    English shitting on our colonies is our favourite past time. You should come along sometime.

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    [–] 26 points 2 years ago (4 children)

    No, we understand. In fact, if anything it's easier if you say soccer! If someone with an American accent says 'football' I normally assume they mean gridiron, so sayings soccer is actually a little clearer.

    Of course, in different parts of the world, 'football' might mean rugby (either union or league), Gaelic football or Aussie rules football. So, the potential for confusion is pretty wide!

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  • [–] 11 points 2 years ago* (1 child)

    This. 'Soccer' is well understood and unambiguous, though it might prompt certain assumptions depending on your audience. There are times and places you might prefer to say 'football' to mean 'Association football,' but if you just need to communicate simple factual information in two syllables, it's probably the best word for that.

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    [–] 15 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    In Australia we have Soccer, Aussie rules football (AFL), Rugby Union (Union) and Rugby league (Usually referred to as "League" or "NRL") all of them also known as "Football"

    I have a pretty deep burning hatred for people who insist on correcting people when they say Soccer. It honestly just makes you look like a twat "yOu mEaN wHaT tHe rEsT oF thE WoRld CalLs foOTbALl!?!" Like you fucking understood well enough to know this was your moment to open your cockholster and needlessly add that little tidbit like anyone else was confused.

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    [–] 15 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    It's ok, we know you guys are weird.

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  • [–] 16 points 2 years ago*

    The word Soccer is actually British - it's short for Association as in Association Football, although it's slang from Oxford University of all places, and is late Victorian.

    Irony is a surprising number of "Americanisms" turn out to be old British terms that died out in Britain but reached and continued in the US.

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  • [–] 14 points 2 years ago (11 children)

    Most won't be confused at all. They might be surprised but pretty simple logic would result in a fast realisation of what you actually mean. I am surprised though, that you, as an English speaking person couldn't figure out that a torch might refer to a flash light.

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    [–] 13 points 2 years ago (3 children)

    From now on I’m calling it Foot Football. That other game is Hand Football.

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    [–] 13 points 2 years ago

    I'm an American who lived in England for a couple of years. Due to American media the majority of everyone understood what I meant when I said things like soccer, trunk or hood of a car, fries, etc. Words with different meanings between the two could get confusing like biscuit, chips, or pissed.

    Since soccer doesn't have another meaning I never ran into someone who didn't know what I was talking about. However, when saying football in an American accent some thought I was referring to American Football by default.

    I can only remember one instant where someone did not know what I was talking about. That was when I asked someone at work where the dumpster was and I got a blank stare. I explained, the big metal thing outside for trash and they were like, "oh the skip"

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  • [–] 10 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (21 children)

    While it will absolutely out you as a US American, we will understand - same as when you say "Candy" and similar common Americanisms

    Edit: Also, while mostly used to refer to flashlights as you guys call them, torch can also refer to other non-lantern light-emitting instruments

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  • [–] 9 points 2 years ago (16 children)

    ... wtf else do you call candy?

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    [–] 9 points 2 years ago

    Everyone understands, most gringe.

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  • [–] 8 points 2 years ago

    As a non-native English speaker I fully understand what it means and will happily correct it to football for you :P

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

    It is just football all over the world, in contrast to American "football".

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    [–] 6 points 2 years ago

    Ah yes no worries, we even heard about them Soccer moms here in Europe.

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