What would be the right term for windscreen washer fluid that e.g. gas station's personnel would use? C.f. traffic turn indicator would be called blinker. So I'm looking for an informal name used by common people.
asked Dec 31, 2015 at 15:18
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4In the US it is "windshield washer fluid." Just "washer fluid" would almost certainly suffice. One jocular name is "bug juice."– MaxWCommented Dec 31, 2015 at 16:30
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@MaxW Is there anything shorter, a single word or so? If I say where's the fluid or where's the washer - would a clerk understand without noticing anything strange?– Konrad VilterstenCommented Dec 31, 2015 at 16:34
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5No single word that I can think of at the moment. There are all sorts of fluids in a car - for example brake fluid. In the US a "washer" typically means a clothes washer.– MaxWCommented Dec 31, 2015 at 16:39
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3@maxw I'd say a "washer" typically means a metal ring that you put around a bolt before putting on the nut. But that's the problem with asking for a single word meaning X with no context.– JayCommented Dec 31, 2015 at 19:11
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2 Answers
I have done most of my driving in California and Washington. I refer to the liquid in question as either "windshield wiper fluid" or "wiper fluid". So the informal name (that I am familiar with) is "wiper fluid".
For windscreen washer fluid, the shortest might be washer fluid or, to remove any ambiguity, windshield washer fluid.
I'm assuming since you're asking about gas stations and not a petrol station and your use of windscreen, that your question is AmE related and not BrE related.
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No geographic preference on this one. In fact, I haven't realized that there were different names for those. I've learned English through Terminator and Die Hard, so I tend to use American terminology, often forgetting the different flavours and colours of English, hehe. Commented Dec 31, 2015 at 17:02
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I have a jug of the stuff in my basement. I just checked the label and it says "windshield washer fluid".– JayCommented Dec 31, 2015 at 19:20
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I've heard the term "windscreen", but everyone I know says "windshield". Maybe this is a regionalism. I live in the Eastern US.– JayCommented Dec 31, 2015 at 19:21
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1@Jay I think "windshield" is the common American term and "windscreen" is BrE. I've only ever heard the latter on Top Gear.– EraCommented Dec 31, 2015 at 19:44
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@Era you are correct, a jug of the stuff is often kept in the boot (trunk) and the reservior gets refilled under the bonnet (hood). TG not the same without Clarkson or Hamster– PeterCommented Dec 31, 2015 at 23:33