Andréa, Canis Lanonbinary

regional

they were 'cuddly toys' or 'teddy bears' (as a generic term, not just for bear-shaped ones) over here in the UK until 'plushie' came over from the US, at a timing I associate with beanie babies, I think?

Also CT and grew up with 'stuffed animals'. I feel like plushie started coming up for me around the mid-2000s when I was more in the con scene and every stall had little chibi dolls of every anime character, and I didn't hear stuffy until the mid-2010s, mainly from new parents.

Yeah, I swear the first time I saw the word “plushie” was in a fetish context on the FA forums, so it still slightly weirds me out when people just casually use the term for all stuffed animals lol

Same in the SW USA. I always had "stuffed animals" as a kid and everyone around me called them that. I didn't hear the word "plushie" until well into the 2010s, when I first started hearing it from Bronies online, and it seems to have taken over rapidly from there

may be misremembering but. when i think about it i feel like i've had the opposite experience, hearing them called plush animals (not in english either) or just whatever they're made to look like, or toy/doll. and kinda associate "stuffed animal" with taxidermy

I blame Gaiaonline for teaching me that word.

soda pop coke/traffic circle roundabout rotary type regionality, i had to guess

if not, that's part of how it entered neurodivergent culture sooooo

Growing up in new jersey I had used/heard the term "plush" about a 50/50 split with "stuffed animals"