I apparently really like to use trucks (both pickup and the bigger types) as comparison points for satellite stuff.
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I once tried to describe the piece of SpaceX Crew Dragon Trunk debris that was first discovered as being "about the shape and size of a semi-truck hood" for a BBC podcast, and all the very British people interviewing me were like... "Excuse me, a what?" To which I responded "Uhhhh is that a lorry?" and then they later cut in me saying "lorry" in a different tone of voice with my initial description, which I don't think even makes sense... Pretty funny if you know that whole story though.
@sundogplanets Yeah, Lorry is absolutely the right term in British English.
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Ok this poll is way more interesting than I expected. I knew there were a lot of names for these large vehicles but I had NO IDEA how many terms.
B double? Artic?! Prime mover?
And so many opinions on "sem-ee" vs "sem-eye"
Turns out that language is COMPLICATED, my friends.
@sundogplanets I think the poll complicates things because it doesn't specify which English. It's skewing towards results that wouldn't work with the BBC.
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I apparently really like to use trucks (both pickup and the bigger types) as comparison points for satellite stuff. And all the local terminology variations for trucks are silly.
Which of the following would you recognize as a term to describe a large vehicle that has a detachable front part that drives and which can pull a large trailer (or 2 or 3)
'18 wheeler truck' is good to describe the size.
A semi truck typically refers to the tractor unit without a trailer attached (semi=half), while a tractor-trailer represents the combination of both the tractor and the trailer.
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@spacelizard @sundogplanets I was going to mention the bonnet thing but glad to come hear and learn this additional fact.
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@sundogplanets Is Artic a brand name of them, maybe? "Mack Truck" is a company name that my mother used to use as a generic name for them.
@Ashmire @sundogplanets I'm guessing this is short for 'articulated lorry', but I've personally never heard them called just 'artic's.
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I apparently really like to use trucks (both pickup and the bigger types) as comparison points for satellite stuff. And all the local terminology variations for trucks are silly.
Which of the following would you recognize as a term to describe a large vehicle that has a detachable front part that drives and which can pull a large trailer (or 2 or 3)
@sundogplanets I'm from NZ and kinda wanted to call it a freight hauler, to distinguish it from truck/lorry that could be a non-separable unit. But I'm not sure that's a standard term here.
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Ok this poll is way more interesting than I expected. I knew there were a lot of names for these large vehicles but I had NO IDEA how many terms.
B double? Artic?! Prime mover?
And so many opinions on "sem-ee" vs "sem-eye"
Turns out that language is COMPLICATED, my friends.
@sundogplanets some of them are called turnpike doubles
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@paperposts @sundogplanets If I understand things correctly, the British call the big tractor+trailer combinations an 'artic', short for articulated.
@roadskater @paperposts @sundogplanets Most of us call those lorries or articulated lorries. literally never heard anyone call them 'artics' before this thread.
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Ok this poll is way more interesting than I expected. I knew there were a lot of names for these large vehicles but I had NO IDEA how many terms.
B double? Artic?! Prime mover?
And so many opinions on "sem-ee" vs "sem-eye"
Turns out that language is COMPLICATED, my friends.
@sundogplanets also b trains
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I apparently really like to use trucks (both pickup and the bigger types) as comparison points for satellite stuff. And all the local terminology variations for trucks are silly.
Which of the following would you recognize as a term to describe a large vehicle that has a detachable front part that drives and which can pull a large trailer (or 2 or 3)
@sundogplanets we tend to call them a Semi Trailer in Australia but there are regional and size related terms too.
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@teadrinker Also eye-sound
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I apparently really like to use trucks (both pickup and the bigger types) as comparison points for satellite stuff. And all the local terminology variations for trucks are silly.
Which of the following would you recognize as a term to describe a large vehicle that has a detachable front part that drives and which can pull a large trailer (or 2 or 3)
@sundogplanets
I'm in Canada so it's a tractor trailer, with 2 trailers it's a tandem tractor trailer rig ( sometimes just a tandem rig). I don't think 3 trailers is a thing here.
I recognize semi used for this as a very america thing.
For me growing up Semi ( pronounced sem-eye) was a term for an American, especially an American trucker, but NOT for his truck. -
@teadrinker Also eye-sound
@teadrinker Although the ee-sound wouldn’t be as weird as it would be for semi-truck
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I once tried to describe the piece of SpaceX Crew Dragon Trunk debris that was first discovered as being "about the shape and size of a semi-truck hood" for a BBC podcast, and all the very British people interviewing me were like... "Excuse me, a what?" To which I responded "Uhhhh is that a lorry?" and then they later cut in me saying "lorry" in a different tone of voice with my initial description, which I don't think even makes sense... Pretty funny if you know that whole story though.
@sundogplanets as big as a lorry's bonnet?
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@sundogplanets Articulated lorry.
@rupert @sundogplanets Articulated lorry. That's the one I know/use too.
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I apparently really like to use trucks (both pickup and the bigger types) as comparison points for satellite stuff. And all the local terminology variations for trucks are silly.
Which of the following would you recognize as a term to describe a large vehicle that has a detachable front part that drives and which can pull a large trailer (or 2 or 3)
tractor-trailer rig or semi (as in semitrailer truck, because the kingpin is forward of the rear axle)
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I apparently really like to use trucks (both pickup and the bigger types) as comparison points for satellite stuff. And all the local terminology variations for trucks are silly.
Which of the following would you recognize as a term to describe a large vehicle that has a detachable front part that drives and which can pull a large trailer (or 2 or 3)
@sundogplanets We have a lot of LKW here in Germany. But the more common size would be fridge.
But the european fridges are if half size an the american.
An common running gag is: How much is this in soccer fields?
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@Ashmire @sundogplanets I'm guessing this is short for 'articulated lorry', but I've personally never heard them called just 'artic's.
@rubyjones @Ashmire @sundogplanets yes artic is short for articulated lorry. Less commonly used mow than simply lorry or truck.
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@spacelizard @smsm1 @sundogplanets The semi has nothing to do with the truck. It refers to the semi-trailer, which lacks the front axel of a full trailer. Those semi-trailers are then pulled by tractor trucks, which are trucks designed to haul trailered loads. Connect a tractor truck to a semi-trailer, and you’ve got a tractor trailer. It allows you to cleanly describe either component separately or both together.
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I apparently really like to use trucks (both pickup and the bigger types) as comparison points for satellite stuff. And all the local terminology variations for trucks are silly.
Which of the following would you recognize as a term to describe a large vehicle that has a detachable front part that drives and which can pull a large trailer (or 2 or 3)
@sundogplanets We usually call them big rigs in my neck of the woods. But I recognize a lot of other words for them.
When I just hear 'truck' I think of a personal vehicle like a Dodge Ram or a Ford F series.
