A man from North Mexico told me clothespin is horquilla

Question

A man from North Mexico told me clothespin is horquilla, is this wrong?

In Spain, the word for clothespin is "pinza" - Mart46, Sep 1, 2010

Answer 1

No. Words are used differently in different areas. Words mean what people agree they mean. If the people you talk to say ''horquilla'' when they're pinning their clothes on the clothesline, then ''horquilla'' means clothespin in that area. Many English words mean different things in different areas in different contexts, too.

I couldn't agree more. - galsally, May 14, 2010

Answer 2

I agree with Kevin.

and even if something is grammatically wrong, should we care too much so long as what we say can be understood? (Excluding exam purposes of course.)

I remember Arriety in the Borrowers saying proudly - "if human bean is good enough for my family, it's good enough for me" when snooty Peagreen (Peregrine) tries to make her talk correctly.

I always loved that.

Just don't think that everybody is snooty that tries to get you to speak properly. Somebody has to keep the bar up high or we'll all degenerate back to grunting at each other. :~) - Jack-OBrien, May 14, 2010

Answer 3

Another illustration of different usage of words - it took me a while to work out what a "clothespin" was and I wondered if it was the spin cycle on an automatic washing machine - but no that´s "centrifugar" - having just looked at my machine. Ah ha - I´ve got it CLOTHESPEG which in Spain is called "Pinza de madera" or de plastico. My dictionary gives "pitchfork" for horquilla. Lot´s of variations!

Answer 4

Here in Mexico, clothespin is also "pinza" but as many words can be regional, I'm sure you can say horquilla there. When you come to Mexico or go to Spain, then you can use the other word.