The water we drink comes from a faucet, apparently
Remember when I asked you to vote on whether the thing that water comes out of is a spigot or a faucet?
Well, faucet won! But that might be in part because of how I worded the question; I asked if the thing AT THE SINK where the water comes out was a spigot or a faucet.
Several responders said that was what made the difference for them, including Joe, who writes: “I had to vote for faucet because you said ‘at the sink.’ For some reason I call the ‘water dispenser’ at a sink a faucet and outside a spigot.”
Hubby (Chris) says, “Yes, Joe. That’s what I think, too. Inside ones are called faucets and outside ones, like the one the hose is attached to, are spigots.”
Mike says, “I agree with Joe and Chris. Maybe it’s a male thing.”
No, it’s not, because Lorie agrees and makes an important point. “I agree, inside faucet, outside spigot,” she writes, “And it is pronouced – spicket.” Yes, definitely. In fact, I venture some people who read the poll might have thought I spelled it wrong!
My father-in-law, Pappy John, loves puns. He says, “In the house at the sink, it is a faucet because I have to hit it a few times to force it to work. The outdoor one is a spigot. It has in inside shutoff valve. And, I have to hit that valve to force it to loosen up so I can shut off the spigot. So, I guess they both are force its.” Oh, har-de-har!
Mark in Austria writes, “I have to agree with the posts, faucet inside, spikket (dialect) outside. But when you are inside is it a sink or zink? More food for thought? Remembering my grandmother and great-grandmother (who was mennonite and lived to 102), is it a zink or basin? Hmm … now that was Pa. Dutch. Just a thought.”
My brother in Arizona, David, weighed in via Facebook. He has to go and be all practical. “How ’bout a ‘tap’,” he wrote.
Other Facebook commenters, though, fell in line with our discussion here. Linda H. agrees with “faucet in the house, spigot outside.”
OK, that’s all fine, but do any of you have a reason why? And do you think these things have a different appearance; for instance, the top-turning old thing below, you’d probably say was a spigot, right, while something with two knobs for hot and cold is more of a faucet?
Photo by flickr user stockerre
