Turning things on and off

Sometimes the most everyday objects are the ones we don't know the name for. Today we'll look at things for turning (or switching) things on and off.

For the lights in your house, you'll probably have a light switch. (This poster is from World War II, encouraging people to save electricity.)

Your cooker [AmEng] probably has knobs for turning the gas (or electricity) on and off.

I don't know where this button is from, but I like the old brass.

Machines that end in -er

vs.

A very common mistake for students learning British English is to confuse the words "cook" and "cooker". (In American English, a cooker is called a stove, removing the problem!) This isn't so surprising, as many job titles end in -er or -or, for example, driver, actor, waiter. Please remember, though, that the person is called a cook in this case.

However, there are lots of machines we use everyday at home or in the office, and whose names end in -er. Examples include:

computer
photocopier
printer
hair dryer/drier
washer and dryer/drier (for clothes)
dishwasher
mixer
blender
vacuum cleaner
toaster