English for Today by Ganiu Abisoye Bamgbose (Dr GAB)
CATACHRESIS
I used a teller for the transaction (Nigerian).
I used a paying-in slip for the transaction (British).
I used a deposit slip for the transaction (American).
While many Nigerians refer to paying-in slips as tellers, a teller is someone who works in a bank and who customers pay money to or get money from:
I think this bank needs more tellers (standard).
We had a gist for almost an hour (Nigerian).
We had a chat for almost an hour (standard).
We had chitchat for almost an hour (standard).
Although gist is used to mean chat in Nigerian English, the gist of a speech, conversation, or piece of writing is its general meaning:
I didn’t get the *gist* of his long talk (standard).
GAB
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