Yield versus Give way (2025)

Pedro y La Torre

Senior Member

Île-de-France

English - Ireland

  • Sep 2, 2009
  • #1

Hello,

In Ireland we have signs saying "YIELD" if a driver is supposed to yield the right of way to others on a road or roundabout.

Having recently been in Northern Ireland (which, unlike us, is part of the UK) it struck me as rather curious that the signs there do not say "Yield" but instead, "Give Way".

Is there any reason for this difference, and which, if either, is used in your country?

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  • sdgraham

    Senior Member

    Oregon, USA

    USA English

    • Sep 2, 2009
    • #2

    As is well-known, we are divided by a common language.

    Here in the U.S., the signs say "yield."

    (We don't expect to give way to BE usage)

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    X

    xjm

    Senior Member

    WI, USA

    English - USA

    • Sep 2, 2009
    • #3

    To me, "give way" means more to for something to break or collapse, like, "The ceiling of the building gave way under the snow"--a negative thing! The closest expression we might use for traffic would be "make way"--like "Make way for emergency vehicles."

    B

    b1947420

    Senior Member

    Lincoln, England

    British English

    • Sep 2, 2009
    • #4

    xjm said:

    To me, "give way" means more to for something to break or collapse, like, "The ceiling of the building gave way under the snow"--a negative thing! The closest expression we might use for traffic would be "make way"--like "Make way for emergency vehicles."

    Yes it can mean what you say, but in the context of traffic in BE we say "give way" meaning "grant the right of way" or "yield the right of way" in this sense both "yield" and "give way" mean the same thing (in traffic terms).

    Pedro y La Torre

    Senior Member

    Île-de-France

    English - Ireland

    • Sep 2, 2009
    • #5

    The meaning was immediately clear to me even if I was left wondering where all the Yield signs had gone Yield versus Give way (4) I'm almost sure give way can mean yield in AE too, as in "give way to the oncoming vehicle" but I believe that yield, in both AE and Irish English, would be far and away the more widespread term in this instance.

    ewie

    Senior Member

    Manchester 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇬🇧

    English English

    • Sep 2, 2009
    • #6

    I was aware that Give way in some other languages Yield versus Give way (6)D) was Yield, Pedro.
    It always sounds as odd to me as Give way does to you ~ like a horde of Vikings are going to emerge from the undergrowth brandishing swords and yelling Yield, turnip-chewing scum! or words to that effect.

    Pedro y La Torre

    Senior Member

    Île-de-France

    English - Ireland

    • Sep 2, 2009
    • #7

    Interesting Ewie. Give way doesn't sound odd to me per se, Yield just sounds more "natural". It seems that more often than not, Irish and American English will tend to agree where British English diverges.

    G

    Gwan

    Senior Member

    Indre et Loire, France

    New Zealand, English

    • Sep 2, 2009
    • #8

    We also have 'give way' signs. And of course to me they seem far more natural and sensible than 'yield' signs Yield versus Give way (8)

    If you want stupidity, when they're painted on the road (as with any signs painted on the road) they do it in reverse i.e. WAY GIVE, because you're meant to read them separately as you come to them, even though they're almost inevitably one right above the other. Sigh. I won't ask if this is generalised or localised idiocy, in order to avoid calling down the wrath of the moderators... Yield versus Give way (9)

    panjandrum

    Senior Member

    Belfast, Ireland

    English-Ireland (top end)

    • Sep 2, 2009
    • #9

    "Yield" Yield versus Give way (11)

    What is it asking me to do?

    The road signs are familiar, of course. They are only a few miles away.

    But "yield"?

    For me, it conjures up images of an Arthurian knight in full armour standing with a foot, and a sword-point, on the throat of his fallen opponent.

    natkretep

    Moderato con anima (English Only)

    Singapore

    English (Singapore/UK), basic Chinese

    • Sep 3, 2009
    • #10

    'Give way' is of course what you see in road signs many parts of the British Commonwealth - we see it here (Singapore), in Hong Kong, in Australia and New Zealand, so 'yield' looks strange in the same way that 'give way' looks strange to Pedro and Americans. It finds its way into ordinary language too, so a traffic police pamphlet says things like 'Please give way to buses exiting bus bays', 'Give way to oncoming traffic', and such like.

    Gwan: if the triangles are painted onto roads, the words are omitted here (as they are in the UK and HK as I remember them) - why bother including them in the limited space?

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    I

    Imber Ranae

    Senior Member

    English - USA

    • Sep 3, 2009
    • #11

    The signs always read "yield" in the U.S., but "give way to oncoming traffic" sounds natural to me as well.

    G

    Gwan

    Senior Member

    Indre et Loire, France

    New Zealand, English

    • Sep 3, 2009
    • #12

    natkretep said:

    Gwan: if the triangles are painted onto roads, the words are omitted here (as they are in the UK and HK as I remember them) - why bother including them in the limited space?

    Definitely off-topic (!) but - they don't paint the triangles on, just the words

    A

    a little edgy

    Senior Member

    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

    English

    • Sep 3, 2009
    • #13

    The signs always read "yield" in the U.S., but "give way to oncoming traffic" sounds natural to me as well.

    Sure, the signs say "yield," but we all know they really mean "accelerate rapidly to beat the other driver." Yield versus Give way (13)

    F

    Forero

    Senior Member

    Maumelle, Arkansas, USA

    USA English

    • Sep 3, 2009
    • #14

    When I was young, all the equilateral triangular signs said "Yield Right of Way", and they were yellow. Now, where I live, they are white with a red triangle near the outside edge and only say "Yield", or nothing at all.

    Yes, all our "Give Way" signs say "Yield", and our "Way Out" signs say "Exit", and instead of "Mind Your Step", our escalators and busses say "Watch Your Step".

    What seems more natural is no doubt conditioned by what we see more often, and the alternative invariably takes on a different, usually odd nuance (Give Way = Collapse, Way Out = Far Out, Mind Your Step = Dance in Time to the Music).

    C

    Cagey

    post mod (English Only / Latin)

    California

    English - US

    • Sep 3, 2009
    • #15

    I like the way the Y in Yield looks like an diagram of two cars converging on one spot, where someone will have to Yield.

    As a verb, it gives me the image of two very polite gentleman in evening clothes at a door, bowing to each other and saying:

    I yield to you, sir.

    No, sir, I yield to you.

    and neither of them going through the door.

    I guess the Arthurian knights didn't get this far.

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