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Even in Australia which, last I checked, is not in the US, uses up and down to refer to north and south. That seems fairly independent or state as well. For exa

Even in Australia which, last I checked, is not in the US, uses up and down to refer to north and south. That seems fairly independent or state as well. For example ins Perth you go "up to Geraldton" and in Sydney you go "up to Brisbane", and "down to Melbourne". The whole out and over thing seems more regional to me. In Australia "out" is generally just "far from here" and "over"... well that isn't a thing, at least in the dialects that I'm used to. :-)

fian 9y ago
It is not uncommon in Australia to say you are going over to a friend's house. In Perth people often would say they are "going over" to Melbourne or Sydney. There is also the reverse "coming over" "Out" is used generally such as in "heading out" where often no destination is specified. Also we sometimes use "outback" meaning anywhere not in a city or suburban area.
- xya3453 9y ago
  Out west (the outback) is used on the east coast, but unlikely linked to the the cardinality.
taneq 9y ago
Perth here, we tend to use 'up north' / 'down south', and 'over' for east. 'Out' just means 'away from home' and could be to the corner shops or the next city. One thing that always amuses my Eastern States friends is our tendency to refer to the entire other half of the country as "over east". Sydney? Melbourne? I dunno, it was somewhere over east anyway. Edit: I had 'over' for both east and west, but there's nothing but ocean to the west of here so we don't have much occasion to talk about things being to the west of us... apart from Rottnest Island, which is still 'over' because you get there by boat or plane.
jdswain 9y ago
In New Zealand 'up' often means north, and 'down' south, but it also, depending on where you are, refers to altitude. I'm currently at 550m elevation, and I'd go down to the coast even though the place I'd probably go to is very slightly north of here. The area I'm in is often referred to as the 'High Country' so that probably explains the up and down idea. I'd still go 'up' to Auckland because it's north, even though it's at sea level.
shirro 9y ago
I am in Australia and I use up and down for north and south and I agree they are nearly universal. I don't relate over and out to cardinal directions but I do use them in speech. I use over to refer to towns on the other side of the river from here. You also go over to people's houses. I guess I use out but it has no direction associated with it. It is more related to remoteness from things. You go out to a farm and in to town. Over the river. Down to the city then back up to home.

fian 9y ago

It is not uncommon in Australia to say you are going over to a friend's house. In Perth people often would say they are "going over" to Melbourne or Sydney. There is also the reverse "coming over" "Out" is used generally such as in "heading out" where often no destination is specified. Also we sometimes use "outback" meaning anywhere not in a city or suburban area.

xya3453 9y ago
Out west (the outback) is used on the east coast, but unlikely linked to the the cardinality.

taneq 9y ago

Perth here, we tend to use 'up north' / 'down south', and 'over' for east. 'Out' just means 'away from home' and could be to the corner shops or the next city. One thing that always amuses my Eastern States friends is our tendency to refer to the entire other half of the country as "over east". Sydney? Melbourne? I dunno, it was somewhere over east anyway. Edit: I had 'over' for both east and west, but there's nothing but ocean to the west of here so we don't have much occasion to talk about things being to the west of us... apart from Rottnest Island, which is still 'over' because you get there by boat or plane.

jdswain 9y ago

In New Zealand 'up' often means north, and 'down' south, but it also, depending on where you are, refers to altitude. I'm currently at 550m elevation, and I'd go down to the coast even though the place I'd probably go to is very slightly north of here. The area I'm in is often referred to as the 'High Country' so that probably explains the up and down idea. I'd still go 'up' to Auckland because it's north, even though it's at sea level.

shirro 9y ago

I am in Australia and I use up and down for north and south and I agree they are nearly universal. I don't relate over and out to cardinal directions but I do use them in speech. I use over to refer to towns on the other side of the river from here. You also go over to people's houses. I guess I use out but it has no direction associated with it. It is more related to remoteness from things. You go out to a farm and in to town. Over the river. Down to the city then back up to home.