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DIFFERENCES BETWEEN AMERICAN
AND BRITISH WORDS
PART 2
I am indebted to Dr. Beren S. Ewen for providing a
lot more words which are different in the U.K. and America - the comments in green are my own.
| BRITISH |
AMERICAN |
| Ground Floor |
First Floor Contributed by Chris Johnson |
| Autumn |
Fall |
| dummy* * Nik Shearer
advises this is known as a "dummy tit" in Scotland and Newfoundland |
pacifier |
| underground |
subway |
| angry |
mad |
| tights |
pantyhose
In the US, tights and
pantyhose are different things: pantyhose are sheer, whereas tights
are thicker.
Alex
|
| taxi |
cab |
| mad |
crazy |
| dustbin |
garbage can |
| single ticket |
one-way ticket |
| shop |
store |
| ill |
sick |
| timetable |
schedule All the above contributed by Elma Pavlikova |
| ring (telephone) |
call |
| biscuit |
cookie Sent in by Thomas Highden - thanks |
| jumper |
sweater |
| nappy |
diaper |
| caravan |
trailer or motor home |
| chemist |
pharmacist |
| Elastoplast |
bandaid |
| estate agent |
realtor |
| jacket potato |
baked potato |
| jam |
jelly |
| jelly |
jello |
| lead |
leash |
| mac or mackintosh |
raincoat |
| marrow |
squash |
| peckish |
hungry |
| football |
soccer |
| no true counterpart |
football |
| garden |
yard
A garden is
specifically the part with a lot of plants, whereas a yard could be
just grass.
Alex
|
| postal cost/post code |
zip code |
| power point/plug/socket |
electrical outlet/outlet |
| pram (short for perambulator) |
baby carriage |
| pub (short for Public House) |
bar
A pub serves food,
whereas a bar might or might not. (I would say a pub is a type of
bar in US English.)
Alex
|
| to be made redundant |
laid off, lose your job |
| sacked/ get your P45 |
get fired, get a pink slip or become unemployed |
| refectory (not used much these
days - canteen is usually used especially in workplace) |
cafeteria |
| rucksack |
backpack |
| Sellotape |
scotch tape |
| sideboards (this has really come
about due our poor pronunciation as a "sideboard" is a piece of furniture
usually found in the dining room of a house) |
sideburns |
| sleeping policeman (I say
nothing!) |
speed bump |
| smalls |
underwear |
| snooker |
billiards or more commonly pool (I
am not sure I agree with this one as in the U.K. these are three entirely different games.
Pool and billiards
are also different games in the US: in pool you try to get the balls
into holes, whereas in billiards there are no holes. I've never
heard of snooker in the US.
Alex
|
| solicitor |
lawyer/attorney William
Hitch advises that general public tend to call them lawyers but they call themselves
attorneys.
(here again I am not sure about this one and in the
U.K. solicitiors, lawyers and barristers have different roles) |
| sultanas |
raisins (in the U.K. we have
sultanas, raisins and currants) |
| A surgery |
doctors office |
| sitting in a tailback |
stuck in a traffic jam. A tailback is a position
in a US football team (Now that could cause a raised eyebrow!) |
| tap |
faucet |
| tin |
can |
| torch |
flashlight |
| articulated lorry |
tractor trailer |
| trainers |
sneakers |
| treacle |
molasses |
| vest |
undershirt |
| waistcoat |
vest |
| lounge |
living room |
| banger |
fatter, thicker version of a sausage In the UK we also use the term "old banger" when
talking about a clapped out car. |
| bap |
hamburger bun |
| candyfloss |
cotton candy |
| clingfilm |
plastic wrap
We also say
"Saran wrap" as well as "plastic wrap."
Alex
|
| pork scratchings |
pork rinds |
| porridge |
oatmeal |
| tomato sauce/ketchup |
catsup or ketchup |
| white sauce |
gravy (in the U.K. gravy is
usually brown as it originated from meat juices whilst cooking). |
FOR MORE OF THE SAME - Part 1,
Part 3 and Part 4 and here
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