American expat in Australia sparks heated debate over ‘confusing’ discovery: ‘I feel so stupid’

An American expat living in Australia has detailed her confusion after realizing she may have been wrong about a common jargon all these years.

Tara, who moved from Texas to NSW’s Central Coast in 2020 to live with her Australian husband, said she had always thought women used the term “doll” as a sweet greeting.

It wasn’t until the 34-year-old Googled ‘affectionate terms in Australia’ that she discovered women actually called each other “honey,” not “doll.”

‘I made a post about how much I loved Australian women using the word ‘doll’. So I randomly googled terms of endearment… The top term was ‘babe’ and I was like… Wait a minute,” she said.

‘The accents are sometimes confusing.’

The scientist, who works in a medical laboratory, shared a funny story video on social media after making the discovery.

“I just found out something about Australia and I feel so stupid,” she said.

‘So I’ve been living in Australia for four years now and the whole time I’ve lived here I thought all women called each other ‘doll’.

American expat Tara has detailed her confusion after realizing she may have been wrong about a common Aussie slang all these years

“I find out it’s ‘honey,’ but it sounds like ‘doll.’ They call each other ‘honey’, short for ‘honey’.

“It’s so cute, I swear I loved it when women called me that, but the whole time I thought they called me ‘doll’.”

Despite her confusion, thousands of people have weighed in with their opinions, with many Aussies saying they often switch between using the terms ‘doll’ and ‘babe’, so she’s not wrong.

“Aussie here and it’s probably a combination of both depending on the age of the person saying it. I use both, but mostly “darling”. My grandma uses ‘pop,'” someone said.

“If she’s a little person, I call her ‘doll’, but the big people usually get ‘honey’ in the sense of ‘oh, you’re a sweetheart.’ Aussies love to shorten everything,” another shared.

‘Some say ‘doll’, some say ‘honey’. especially in the northern states you hear ‘darling’ as ‘dahl’ – those vowels are flattened,” one person added.

While one woman explained that ‘honey’ is now an outdated term in Australia.

‘Australian here, no one says ‘darling’ except the occasional old lady. It could actually be a ‘pop’, which is much more common,” one person said.

The 34-year-old has lived in Australia for more than four years after moving from Texas

Tara jokingly responded to the Australians’ answers about switching between the two terms: “Omg, I feel like I wouldn’t be able to hear the difference.”

She added: “So hard to make out for my American ears, but I’ll listen more carefully next time.

‘I learn something new every day.’

Many American expats living in Australia agreed with Tara.

“It took me two years to realize it, so you’re not alone,” one person said.

‘OMG! I’m a Texan living in Australia for two years now and I was thinking the same thing,” another added.

Meanwhile, some Australians pointed out that they avoid the term “honey” as it can come across as off-putting depending on the context and tone in which it is said.

‘A lot of Australian women hate being called ‘honey’ because it can be condescending… Like when I’m walking past McDonald’s and they mess up my order and the female manager says, ‘Honey, it’s the right order ‘. “The way my eye twitches,” someone said, laughing.

Another said: ‘I don’t like it when strange men say it to me. It’s a term of endearment from a woman, but it certainly feels patronizing coming from a man.”

Drawing on her own experiences from the US, Tara responded, “We feel the same way when we are called ‘sweetheart’ in the United States.”