Tricky Words in this week‘s OVI

Steelworks: is this word singular or plural? Do we say “The steelworks is ...” or “The steelworks are ...”? The word work is usually uncountable when it means práca in the sense of robota, as in “I'm looking for some work”, or in the saying “Work is ennobling”. The word work is countable when it means dielo, so you can own a work of art or several works of art. But steelworks doesn't mean oceľové diela, but továreň na výrobu ocele, so it means a single factory where steel is made, and so I think we should say “The steelworks is ...”. Slavish (otrocké) translation from Slovak is tricky (zradné) as usual, because although Slovak dictionaries focus on the singular (oceliareň, and železiareň too), everybody round here uses the plural železiarne or oceliarne.

Andy’s Wordshop

Sleds and toboggans. For English speakers these two words are associated with traveling over snow in winter. I don't think anybody would understand the expression "water toboggan", so at an aquapark you'd better talk about the water slides. A sled (you can say a sledge /sledž/ too) has two runners (sklznice) which enable the sled to move quickly over the snow in a straight line, and the flat part on top allows one or two people to sit on it. The very big sled drawn by reindeer as used by Santa Claus is a sleigh /slej/. A toboggan is a flat board with a raised front edge and a handle, usually made of plastic these days, which normally just one person can sit on and skim almost uncontrollably down a snow-covered slope. The Slovak colloquial name for this, pekáč, literally means a baking-tray.