AMERICAN AND BRITISH ENGLISH DIFFERENCES
NGUYEN HOANG THUAN
CLASS: CQBT
I_ A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO AMERICAN AND BRITISH ENGLISH
LANGUAGE DIFFERENCES
There is an amazing variety of spelling, meaning, pronunciation, usage, and even
punctuation in the English language among the many people who speak it. The
two main forms of English are American English and British English. If you'd like
more information about this, check out this fantastic This is an essay about the
differences between American English and British English
* American English (AmE) is the form of English used in the United States.
* British English (BrE) is the form of English used in the United Kingdom and
the rest of the British Isles. It includes all English dialects used within the British
Isles.
II_ HISTORY OF BRITISH ENGLISH AND AMERICAN ENGLISH
By the third decade of the 19th century immigrants traveled to America in cotton
ships not available to people . Therefore, many diseases known as the ship fever
occurred in there.
Due to the fact that anyone could afford it, American's population begin to grow
and grow.Once in America, people from the same country used to congregate
and live altogether in certain cities.
Farming and industries were their occupation, however some of these
agricultural immigrants preferred to settle in cities as the Jewish in New York.
This city became the most cosmopolitan city by 1900, where eighty per cent of its
five million inhabitants were foreign born or their children.
When they were in New York they went to Castle Garden where facilities to all
the immigrants were given. Lower-class immigrants lived in the lower east side in
terrible conditions, rounded by social deprivation and corrupted police; these
factors made that one third of all immigrants returned to Europe.
Although immigrants group had their own theaters newspapers, schools,
clubs..... their had to learn English, in fact, local populace didn't preserve their
mother tongue, and nowadays none in those towns can say more than a few
words in his ancestors` tongue.
1. FRENCH INFLUENCE
When the English- speaking colonist were moving through the west, they met
French people, which by 1700 managed the strategic posts along the Mississippi
and the St. Lawrence, and also the shores of the Great Lakes where voyageurs,
the coureurs de bois and the habitants lived.
On the other hand, we find New Orleans, the most European American city which
was the center of the French influence. The Opera, theater, cuisine were brought
here, but there is another perspective of New Orleans, as a port city where
standard French alternated with a Creole French ( called Gumbo).
Lexical adoptions, borrowings, etymologies.
When we find French loans we see many lexical adoptions but they are known
not all over America but just in some regions. This happens with bidet, pirogue,
coulee and armoire; some words are no more used as bagasse, cordelle, bogue
which are recognized just along the Canadian border or in Cajun territory.
Changes in meanings, pronunciation and spellings
The changes of meaning are complex because many words have two meanings
(two borrowing meanings in one term): portage, dime, bayou; this last one means
in Texas and in the West “deep inlet which affords a channel for the water in
times of flood but remains dry or nearly so at other seasons”. Along the
Mississippi it means “an abandoned river course”.
Toponymy.
We find some French words used in the US as toponymics.
Bayou: In the southern US, a marshy outlet of a lake or river. Origin: mid 18th
century, from Louisiana French, from Choctaw bayuk.
Butte: An isolate hill with steep sides and a flat top (similar to but narrower than a
mesa).Origin: mid 19th century, from Old French but.
2. SPANISH INFLUENCE
The contact between America and the Spanish was very early, in fact, it began
before America was called America, but the Indies. Many American territories
belonged to Spain at first, as Texas and Jamaica.
Movements of all kinds took place in those times, being the migrations to the
area of the Gulf of Mexico one of the most important, where the “ Hacienda
culture” has been important until 1910.
Lexical adoptions, borrowings, etymologies
From a long time ago, American culture has welcomed Spanish loans.
During the exploitation of the West Indies and The Americas, in the 18th century,
tomato, barbecue, savannah, chocolate and sarsaparilla were adopted, and they
are nowadays equally common in Britain and America. But the Spanish itself has
also borrowed some Indian words like coyote, tequila and jerk.
Changes in meaning, pronunciation and spellings.
The most complex changes in meaning is the word “Creole” (criollo). In the
beginning it was used to name somebody born in Louisiana but of Spanish
ancestry. Later when this region was occupied by the French, the term named a
person born in there, but of French ancestry. By the time the Americans occupied
this area, criollo was used to name a dialect of French spoken there, and it also
name the ones who spoke it.
3. DUTCH INFLUENCE
The best harbor on the New World was Holland. Holland became a part of the
English colonial empire.
4. GERMAN INFLUENCE
The German element in the vocabulary of American English is the first. There
were three or four waves of
German inmigrations. In 1683 inmigrants from southwestern begun to settle in
Pensylvania. In 1775 from theRhenish palatinate developed a language of
various dialects with a mixture of English words and constructions. They are call
as Pennsylvania Dutch still spoken in some parts. In 1830 many German rural
comunities sprang up as a result of the movement, much of them were
metropolitan.
In Millwakee, Chicago, Cleveland, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Detroit, Buffalo and New
York were in groups to mantain
their language and cultural traditions.This traditions were their own schools,
strong church and fraternal organizations.
Germans were a large number of people non-English-speaking in the Unites
States.
The following list show the German influence in American language:
-Words related with food and drink: -Words related with social:beer soup beer
garden
delicatessen Christmas treehamburger pinochle larger beer -Words related with
educational: stollen semesterturner seminar fedtschrift
-Words related with miscellanious: bum fresh
The list gives us an idea of contact of German immigrants and English speaking
hosts.
The words reflect food terms and pleasant terms and the educational terms
reflect not so much German
migration to America.
Changes in spelling
The words rainworm, cookbook and back country are the translations of
Regenwurm, Kockbuch and
Hinterland respectively. Superman his origin was superheroes.
The words during World War II were omitted because were equally used in
England.
The words air force, armored division and secret police disappeared with
German military.
Frankfurter, wienerwurst, braunschweiger and thüringer are like hamburger
steak.
Terms of German origin:
"The pants are too tight", "I will have to leave out the seat" and "Throw your
father down the stairs his hat".
Lexical adoptions:
The American academy shares with England the use of words like Zeitgeist,
Vorlage and Festschrift.
German borrowings came into the 19th century and the words noodle, sauerkraut
have been used in England .
The words loafer poker and ouch came from Pennsylvania or derivative
settlements.
The German borrowings have being nouns but interjections like nix, ouvh and
phooery could have being
III_ Pronunciation
1. Stress
a/ French stress
For many loanwords from French where AmE has final-syllable stress, BrE
stresses an earlier syllable. Such words include:


BrE first-syllable stress: debut, décor, detail, détente, flambé, frappé,
garage, gateau,lamé, montageA2, parquet, pastel, pastille, pâté, précis,
sachet, salon, soupçon, vaccine; matinée, négligée, nonchalant,
nondescript; also some French names, including BernardB2, Calais,
Degas, Dijon, Dumas, Francoise, ManetA2, Maurice, Monet, Pauline,
Renault, René, Renoir, Rimbaud, Delacroix.
BrE second-syllable stress: attaché, consommé, décolleté, déclassé, De
Beauvoir, Debussy, démodé, denouement, distingué, Dubonnet, escargot,
fiancé(e), retroussé
A few French words have other stress differences:



AmE first-syllable, BrE last-syllable: address (postal), m(o)ustache;
cigaretteA2, limousineB2, magazineB2,
AmE first-syllable, BrE second-syllable: exposéB2, liaisonA2, macramé,
Renaissance
AmE second-syllable, BrE last-syllable: New Orleans
-ate and -atory
Most 2-syllable verbs ending -ate have first-syllable stress in AmE and secondsyllable stress in BrE. This includes castrate, dictateA2, donateA2, locateA2,
mandateB2, migrate, placate, prostrate, pulsate, rotate, serrateB2, spectate,
striated, translateA2, vacate, vibrate; in the case of cremate, narrate, placate, the
first vowel is in addition reduced to /ə/ in BrE. Examples where AmE and BrE
match include create, debate, equate, elate, negate, orate, relate with secondsyllable stress; and mandate and probate with first-syllable stress. Derived nouns
in -ator may retain the distinction, but those in -ation do not. Also, migratoryA2
and vibratory retain the distinction.
Most longer -ate verbs are pronounced the same in AmE and BrE, but a few
have first-syllable stress in BrE and second-syllable stress in AmE: elongate,
infiltrateA2, remonstrate, tergiversate. However, some derived adjectives ending atory have a difference, as stress shifting to -at- can occur in BrE. Among these
cases are regulatoryB2, celebratoryA2, participatoryB2, where AmE stresses the
same syllable as the corresponding -ate verb; and compensatory, where AmE
stresses the second syllable.
b/ Miscellaneous stress
The following table lists the differences of stress between the two languages.
BrEAmEwords with relevant syllable stressed in each dialect
1st 2nd communal, patina, subaltern, stalactite, stalagmite, transference
2nd 1st Augustine, Bushido, Ghanaian, , marshmallow, patronal, spread-eagle,
controversy, miscellany, predicative, submariner, ancillary, capillary,
catenary, corollary, fritillary, medullary
1st 3rd partisan, premature, opportune, carburet(t)or
3rd 1st margarine,
2nd 3rd advertisement
3rd 2nd oregano, obscurantist
c/ Affixes
-ary -ery -ory -bury, -berry, -mony
Where the syllable preceding -ary,-ery or -ory is stressed, both AmE and BrE
pronounce all these endings /əri(ː)/. Where the preceding syllable is unstressed,
however, AmE has a full vowel rather than schwa: /ɛri/ for -ary and -ery and /ɔri/
for -ory. BrE retains the reduced vowel /əriː/, or even elides it completely to /riː/.
(The elision is avoided in carefully enunciated speech, especially with endings rary,-rery,-rory.) So military is AmE /'mɪlɪtɛriː/ and BrE /'mɪlɪtəriː/ or /'mɪlɪtriː/.
-ile
Words ending in unstressed -ile derived from Latin adjectives ending -ilis are
mostly pronounced with a full vowel (/aɪl/) in BrE but a reduced vowel /ɪl/ or
syllabic /l/ in AmE (e.g. fertile rhymes with fur tile in BrE but with turtle in AmE).
This difference applies:

generally to agile, docile, facile, fertile, fissile, fragile, futile, infertile,
missile, nubile, octile, puerile, rutile, servile, stabile, sterile, tactile, tensile,
virile, volatile;



usually to ductile, hostile, (im)mobile (adjective), projectile, textile, utile,
versatile;
not usually to decile, domicile, infantile, juvenile, labile, mercantile,
pensile, reptile, senile;
not to crocodile, exile, gentile, percentile, reconcile; nor to compounds of
monosyllables (e.g. turnstile from stile).
Related endings -ility, -ilize, -iliary are pronounced the same in AmE as BrE. The
name Savile is pronounced with (/ɪl/) in both BrE and AmE. Mobile (sculpture),
camomile and febrile are sometimes pronounced with /il/ in AmE and /aɪl/) in BrE.
Imbecile has /aɪl/ or /iːl/ in BrE and often /ɪl/ in AmE.
-ine
The suffix -ine, when unstressed, is pronounced sometimes /aɪn/ (e.g. feline),
sometimes /i(ː)n/ (e.g. morphine) and sometimes /ɪn/ (e.g. medicine). Some
words have variable pronunciation within BrE, or within AmE, or between BrE
and AmE. Generally, AmE is more likely to favour /in/ or /ɪn/, and BrE to favour
/aɪn/: e.g. adamantineA2, carbine, crystallineA2, labyrinthine, philistine,
serpentineA2, turbineA2. However, sometimes AmE has /aɪn/ where BrE has /iːn/;
e.g. iodineB2, strychnineA2.
d/ Weak forms
Some function words have a weak form in AmE, with a reduced vowel used
when the word is unstressed, but always use the full vowel in RP. These include:
or [ɚ]; you [jə]; your [jɚ].
On the other hand, the titles Saint and Sir before a person's name have "weak
forms" in BrE but not AmE: before vowels, [snt] and [sər]; before consonants, [sn]
and [sə].
2. Mixed pronunciation differences
a. Single differences
Words with multiple points of difference of pronunciation are in the table after this
one.
BrE
/æ/
AmE
/a/
Words
annato, Bangladesh, Caracas, chianti
/i:/
/ɒ/
/ɑː/
/ɛ/
/æ/
/i:/
/oʊ/
/æ/
aesthete, anaesthetize,
Aeroflot, compost, homosexual, Interpol, Lod
(Excluding trap-bath split words) banana
/i/
/eɪ/
CecilA2,B2, crematoriumA2, cretin, depot
compatriot, patriot, patronise, phalanx, plait, repatriate,
Sabine,
dynasty, housewifery, idyll.
crescent, erase, Glasgow
pro rata, tomato, stratum
/ɪ/
/aɪ/
/z/
/s/
/eɪ/
/ɑː/
/əʊ/
/ɒ/
/ʌ/
/ɒ/
/ɒ/
/ʌ/
(sounded) (silent)
/ɚ/
/ɑː/
/aɪ/
/i/
/aɪ/
/iː/
/ə/
/ɒ/
/eɪ/
/iː/
phonetician, processor, progress
accomplice, accomplish, Lombardy
of, from, was, what
chthonic, herb (plant), Knossos, phthisic, salve, solder
Berkeley, Berkshire, clerk, Derby, Hertford.
either, neitherA2,B2, Pleiades. See also -ine.
albino
hexagon, octagon, paragon, pentagon, phenomenon.
eta, beta, quayA2, theta, zeta
/aɪ/
/ɛ/
/ɜːz/
/eɪ/
(silent)
/ɒ/
/ʃ/
/ə/
/ɪr/
/siː/
/ɪ/
/eɪ/
/us/
primer (schoolbook). See also -ine.
ate), mêlée, chaise longue
Betelgeuse, chanteuse, chartreuse, masseuse
/tiː/
/ʃ/
consortium
/uː/
/ju/
coupon, fuchsine, Houston
/uː/
/ʊ/
boulevard, snooker, woof (weaving)
/ɜː(r)/
/ʊr/
connoisseurA2, entrepreneur
/ɜː/
/ə/
/eɪ/
/juː/
/oʊ/
föhn, Möbius
/eɪ/
/i/
/w/
Draconian, hurricane
deity, Helene
jaguar, Nicaragua
/oː/
/o/
launch
/æ/
apricot, dahlia, digitalis, patent, comrade
(sounded) medicine. See also -ary -ery -ory -bury, -berry
/ə/
Amos, condom, Enoch
/ʒ/
Asia, Persia
/oʊ/
borough, thorough (see also -ory and -mony)
/ɚ/
chirrup, stirrup, sirup, squirrel
/ʃ/
cassia, Cassius, hessian
/ɔː(r)/
/ɚ/
record (noun), stridor
/ziː/
/æ/
/ɒ/
/ɑː/
/ʒ/
Frasier, Parisian, Malaysia
/ɒ/
/æ/
/ət/
twat
wrath
nougat
/ɑː/
/ɔ/
Utah
/ɑː/
/æ/
/aɪ/
/aʊ/
/ð/
/diː/
/dʒ/
/eɪ/
/eɪ/
/ə(r)/
/ə(r)/
/ɛ/
/ɛ/
/ə/
/ɜː(r)/
/əʊ/
/əʊ/
/əʊ/
/ɪ/
/iː/
/ɔr/
quark
/ɛ/
/eɪ/
/u/
/θ/
/dʒi/
femme fatale
Isaiah
nous
booth
cordiality
/gdʒ/
/ə/
/ət/
/ɑr/
/jɚ/
/ɑ/
/ə/
/æ/
/ɛr/
suggest
template
tourniquet
Madagascar
figure
envelope
Kentucky
trapeze
err
/ɒt/
/aʊ/
/u/
/i/
/ɪ/
Huguenot
Moscow
brooch
pi(t)ta
been
/iːʃ/
/ɪtʃ/
niche
/jɜː/
/ju/
milieu
/juː/
/u/
barracuda, puma
/ɔː/
/s/
/ʃ/
/t/
/ts/
/ʊ/
/ʊ/
/uː/
/æ/
falcon
/z/
/sk/
/θ/
/z/
/ɪ/
/ʌ/
/aʊ/
asthma
schedule
Anthony
piazzaA2
kümmel
brusque
routeA2
/uː/
/ʌ/
/z/
/ziː/
/oʊ/
cantaloup(e)
/oʊ/
/ʃ/
/ʃ/
covertA2,B2
Dionysius
transientA2, nausea
b. Multiple differences
The slashes normally used to enclose IPA phonemic transcriptions have been
omitted from the following table to improve legibility.
Spelling
barrage
BrE IPA
ˈbær.ɑːʒ
boehmite
(1) ˈbɜːmaɪt (1) ˈbeɪmaɪt
(2) ˈbəʊmaɪt (2) ˈboʊmaɪt
bouquet
'buːkeɪ
boyar
(1) ˈbɔɪ.ɑː
(2) bəʊˈjɑː
ˈbɔɪ
buoy
AmE IPA
(1) bəˈrɑʒ
(2) ˈbær.ɪdʒ
(1) boʊ:eɪ
(2) bu:eɪ
(1) boʊ:r
(2) bɔɪ.jɚ
ˈbu.i
Notes
The AmE pronunciations are for
distinct senses (1) "sustained
weapon-fire" vs (2) "dam, barrier"
(Compare garage below.)
The first pronunciations approximate
German [ø] (spelled <ö> or <oe>) ;
the second ones are anglicized.
The U.S. pronunciation would be
unrecognised in the UK. The British
pronunciation occurs in America,
more commonly for the verb than the
noun, still more in derivatives
buoyant, buoyancy.
(1) ˈkæd.ə(r) (1) ˈkæd.ri
(2) ˈkæd.rə
(2) ˈkɑd.ri
(3) ˈkæd.reɪ
(4) ˈkɑd.reɪ
canton
(1) kænˈtɑn
difference is only in military sense "to
kænˈtuːn
(2) kænˈtoʊn quarter soldiers"
dilettante
dɪləˈtænti
(1) ˈdɪləˌtɑnt BrE reflects the word's Italian origin;
(2) ˌdɪləˈtɑnt AmE approximates more to French.
enquiry/inquiry ɪŋˈkwaɪ.(ə)ri (1) ˈɪŋ.kwə.ri BrE uses two spellings and one
(2) ɪŋˈkwaɪ.(ə)ripronunciation. In AmE the word is
usually spelled inquiry.
febrile
(1) ˈfɛb.ril
The BrE pronunciation occurs in AmE
'fiːb.raɪl
(2) ˈfɛb.rəl
fracas
(1) 'freɪkəs
The BrE plural is French fracas
ˈfrækɑː
(2) ˈfrækəs
/ˈfrækɑːz/; the AmE plural is
anglicized fracases
cadre
(1) ˈgærɪdʒ
(2) ˈgærɑːʒ
(1) ˈglæsiə
(2) ˈgleɪsiə
(1) ʒælʊˈziː
(2) ˈʒælʊziː
ˈlæpsæŋ
suːʃɒŋ
ləˈsuː
gəˈrɑ(d)ʒ
lieutenant
(1) lɛfˈtɛnənt
(2) ləˈtɛnənt
luˈtɛnənt
lychee
ˌlaɪˈtʃiː
ˈlitʃi
Molière
oblique
ˈmɒl.i.ɛə
əbˈliːk
moʊlˈjɛr
əbˈlaɪk
penchant
pãˈʃã
ˈpɛntʃənt
penult
pɛˈnʌlt
premier
première
(1) ˈprɛmjə
(2) ˈprɛmɪə
ˈprɛmɪɛə
provost
ˈprɒvəst
quinine
ˈkwɪniːn
resource
respite
(1) rɪˈzɔːs
(2) rɪˈsɔːs
ˈrɛspaɪt
(1) ˈpinʌlt
(2) pɪˈnʌlt
(1) ˈprimɪr
(2) prɪmˈɪr
(1) prɪmˈɪr
(2) prɪmˈjɛr
(1) ˈproʊvoʊst The BrE pronunciation also occurs in
(2) ˈproʊvəst AmE
(1) ˈkwaɪnaɪn
(2) ˈkwɪnaɪn
ˈrisɔrs
reveille
slough
rɪˈvæliː
slaʊ
Tunisia
tjuːˈnɪziə
garage
glacier
jalousie
lapsang
souchong
lasso
untoward
vase
The AmE reflects French stress
difference.
ˈgleɪʃɚ
ˈdʒæləsi
ˌlɑpsɑŋ ˈsuʃɑŋ
ˈlæsoʊ
(1) ˈrɛspət
(2) rɪˈspaɪt
ˈrɛvəli
slu
The BrE pronunciation is common in
AmE
The 2nd British pronunciation is
restricted to the Royal Navy.
Standard Canadian pronunciation is
the same as the British.
Spelling litchi has pronunciation
/ˈlɪtʃi(ː)/
AmE is as BrE except in military
sense "advance at an angle"
The AmE pronunciation is anglicized;
the BrE is French.
sense "bog"; in metaphorical sense
"gloom", the BrE pronunciation is
common in AmE. Homograph "cast
off skin" is /slʌf/ everywhere.
(1) tuˈniʒə
(2) tuˈniʃə
[1]
ˌʌn.tʊˈwɔːd (1) ʌnˈtɔrd
(2) ˌʌn.təˈwɔrd
(1) veɪs
The BrE pronunciation also occurs in
vɑːz
z (the letter)
zɛd
(2) veɪz
ziː
AmE
The spelling of this letter as a word
corresponds to the pronunciation
IV_ GRAMMAR
1_Singular and plural for nouns
In BrE, singular nouns that describe multiple people are often treated a plural,
particularly where one is concerned with the people constituting the team, rather
than with the team as an entity. The singular form is usually used in American.
For example, British "the team are worried"; American "the team is worried".
Americans may use the plural form when the individual membership is clear, for
example, "the team take their seats" (not "the team takes its seat(s)"), although it
is often rephrased to avoid the singular/plural decision, as in "the team members
take their seats". The difference occurs for all collective nouns, both general
terms such as team and company and proper nouns (for example, where a place
name is used to refer to a sports team). Proper nouns which are plural in form
take a plural verb in both AmE and BrE. Examples:
* BrE: "The Clash are a well-known band." AmE: "The Clash is a well-known
band." Both: "The Beatles are a well-known band."
* BrE: "Pittsburgh are the champions." AmE: "Pittsburgh is the champion." Both:
"The Steelers are the champions".Use of the singular verb is not wrong in such
instances in BrE. At least one authority (E. Gowers, The Complete Plain Words,
1986) indicates that either is acceptable (provided that usage is not mixed or
inconsistent within the same document), and that (as implied above) the choice
of verb form may be chosen according to whether the emphasis is on the body
as a whole or on the individual members (e.g. "A committee was appointed ...;
but "the committee were unable to agree ...").
2_ Tense uses:
BrE uses the present perfect tense to talk about an event in the recent past and
with the words already, just and yet. In American usage, these meanings can be
expressed with the present perfect (to express a fact) or the simple past (to imply
an expectation). This American style has become widespread only in the past 20
to 30 years; the "British" style is still in common use as well.
** "Have you done your homework yet?" / "Did you do your homework yet?"
** "I've just got home." / "I just got home."
** "I've already eaten." / "I already ate."(Recently the American use of just with
simple past has made inroads into BrE, most visibly in advertising slogans and
headlines such as "Cable broadband just got faster".)
* In BrE, have got or have can be used for possession and have got to and have
to can be used for the modal of necessity. The forms which include got are
usually used in informal contexts and the forms without got in more formal
contexts. In American speech the form without got is used more than in the UK.
American also informally uses got as a verb for these meanings, e.g. "I got two
cars," "I got to go"; but these are nonstandard and will be considered sloppy
usage by many American speakers.
3_Verb morphology
* The past tense and past participle of the verbs learn, spoil, spell (only in the
word-related sense), burn, dream, smell, spill, leap, and others, can be either
irregular (learnt, spoilt, etc.) or regular (learned, spoiled, etc.). BrE allow both
irregular and regular forms, but the irregular forms tend to be used more often by
the British (especially by speakers using Received Pronunciation), and in some
cases (learnt, smelt, leapt) there is still a strong tendency to use them; in other
cases (e.g. dreamed), in current British usage, the regular form is more common.
Lit as the past tense of light is more common than lighted in the UK; the
regular form enjoys more use in the U.S., although is somewhat less
common than lit. By contrast, fit as the past tense of fit is much more used
in American than BrE, which generally favours fitted.
* The past participle gotten is rarely used in modern BrE . Interestingly,
AmE, but not BrE, has forgot as a less common alternative to forgotten for
the past participle of forget.
* The past participle proven is frequently used in AmE, although some
speakers avoid it, and it remains proved in BrE (except in adjectival use;
and usage is different in Scots law).
* Verbs with irregular preterites in some variants of colloquial AmE also
have a separate past participle, e.g., "to buy": past tense bought spawns
boughten. Such formations are highly irregular from speaker to speaker,
or even within idiolects. This phenomenon is found chiefly in the northern
U.S., and other areas where immigrants of German descent are
predominant, and may have developed as a result of German influence.[1]
Even in areas where the feature predominates, however, it has not gained
widespread acceptance as "standard" usage.
time adverbs with past simple/present perfect
Past-time adverbs, such as just, ever, already and yet are often used with the
past simple in American English, whereas in British English they would
normally be used with the present perfect. Compare the following:
 Did you phone her yet?
 Have you phoned her yet?


Did you eat already?
Have you already eaten?


Garry? You missed him. He just left.
Garry? You've missed him. He's just left.


Did you ever go to Canada?
Have you ever been to Canada?
Do you have...? / Have you got...?
In all varieties of English, the 'do' forms of have are used to express habit or
repetition:
 Do you always have fruit and cereal for breakfast?
 Do you sometimes have a shower in the morning when you wake up?
In American English, the 'do' forms of have are commonly used when referring
to particular situations. In British English, we often prefer have with got in
these contexts. Compare the following:
 Do you have time to finish this report before you leave?
 Have you got time to finish this report before you leave?


Do you have a problem with this?
Have you got a problem with this?
In American English, got and do forms are often mixed. In British English,
they would not be:
 We've got a new car! ~ You do?
 We've got a new car! ~ You have?
regular and irregular past tenses and past participles
The following verbs are regular in American English, but are often irregular
with -t rather than -ed in British English:
burn
dream
learn
smell
spill
spoil
 The kitchen smelled of roast chicken. Dinner was ready.
 The kitchen smelt of roast chicken, Dinner was ready.
 I have learned that it is better to be safe than sorry.
 I have learnt that it is better to be safe than sorry.
 He had spoiled his paper by spilling his coffee on it.
 He had spoilt his paper by spilling his coffee on it.
The following verbs are regular in British English, but irregular in American
English:
dive
fit
wet


All her clothes fit into the suitcase.
All her clothes fitted into the suitcase.


She wet her long blond hair before pushing it under her bathing cap.
She wetted her long hair before pushing it under her bathing cap.


Then she dove into the pool with all her clothes on.
Then she dived into the pool with all her clothes on.
Can / could with verbs of perception
In British English, we normally use can or could with verbs of perception such
as see, hear, taste, feel, smell, when American English will often use these
verbs independently of can or could. Compare the following:
 When I went into the garden, I could smell the cherry wood burning on the
camp fire.
 When I went into the garden, I smelled the cherry wood burning on the
camp fire.


I could hear Caroline approaching through the long grass.
I heard Caroline approaching through the long grass.
going to / gonna
In talking about plans and intentions, going to is often replaced by gonna in
informal speech, especially in American English. Compare the following:
 We'll see you at the game. You're gonna play, right?
 We'll see you at the game. You're going to play, aren't you?
4_Presence or absence of syntactic elements
* Where a statement of intention involves two separate activities, it is acceptable
for speakers of AmE to use to go plus bare infinitive. Speakers of BrE would
instead use to go and plus bare infinitive: thus where a speaker of AmE might
say "I'll go take a bath", BrE speakers would say "I'll go and have a bath". (Both
can also use the form to go to instead to suggest that the action may fail, as in
"He went to take/have a bath, but the bath was full of children.") Similarly, to
come plus bare infinitive is acceptable to speakers of AmE, where speakers of
BrE would instead use to come and plus bare infinitive: thus where a speaker of
AmE might say "come see what I bought," BrE speakers would say, "come and
see what I've bought" (notice the present perfect tense: a common British
preference).
* Use of prepositions before days denoted by a single word. Where British people
would say "She resigned on Thursday", Americans often say "She resigned
Thursday", but both forms are common in American usage. Occasionally, the
preposition is also absent when referring to months: "I'll be here December"
(although this usage is generally limited to colloquial speech).
* In the UK, from is used with single dates and times more often than in the
United States. Where British speakers and writers may say "the new museum will
be open from Tuesday," Americans most likely say "the new museum will be
open starting Tuesday." (This difference does not apply to phrases of the pattern
from A to B, which are used in both BrE and AmE.) A variation or alternative of
this is the mostly American "the play opens Tuesday" and the mostly British "the
play opens on Tuesday".
* AmE uses intransitively the verb meet followed by with to mean "to have a
meeting with", as for business purposes ("Yesterday we met with the CEO"), and
reserves transitive meet for the meanings "to be introduced to" ("I want you to
meet the CEO, she's such a fine lady"), "to come together with (someone,
somewhere)" ("Meet the CEO at the train station"), and "to have a casual
encounter with" ("Meet me in the morning"). BrE uses transitive meet also to
mean "to have a meeting with"; the construction meet with, which actually dates
back to Middle English, appears to be coming back into use in Britain, despite
some commentators who preferred to avoid confusion with meet with meaning
"receive, undergo" ("the proposal was met with disapproval"). The construction
meet up with (as in "to meet up with someone"), which originated in the U.S., has
long been standard in both dialects.
* The verb agree is used transitively in BrE (as in "agree a contract") while in
AmE one would "agree to a contract" or "agree on a contract".
* The verb visit is often used intransitively in AmE, with possibly the additional
meaning of "to have a conversation" (as in "to visit with a friend," a construction
that often sounds strange to British, and many American, ears). This usage is not
very common on the East Coast of the U.S.
* In BrE, the indirect object of the verb write usually requires the preposition to,
e.g. "I'll write to my MP" or "I'll write to her" (although it is not required in some
situations, for example when an indirect object pronoun comes before a direct
object noun, e.g. "I'll write her a letter"). In AmE, write can be used ditransitively,
e.g. "I'll write my congressman" or "I'll write him".
* Some verbs that are intransitive in BrE are transitive in AmE; for example,
British: "The workers protested against the decision." American: "The workers
protested the decision." British: "To cater for a banquet." American: "To cater a
banquet." British: "To claim for benefits." American (and also British): "To claim
benefits."
* The verb prevent can be found in two different constructions: "prevent someone
from doing something"; "prevent someone doing something." The latter is well
established in BrE, but not in AmE.
* Some verbs can take either a to-infinitive construction or a gerund construction;
for example, to start/begin/omit to do something/doing something. AmE uses the
gerund more often than BrE.
* A few 'institutional' nouns take no definite article when a certain role is implied:
for example, at sea (as a sailor), in prison (as a convict), and at/in college (for
students). Among this group, BrE has in hospital (as a patient) and at university
(as a student), where AmE requires in the hospital and at the university. (When
the implied roles of patient or student do not apply, the definite article is used in
both dialects.) Likewise, BrE has in future and American has in the future.
* In BrE numbered highways usually take the definite article (for example "the
M25", "the A14") while in America they usually do not ("I-495", "Route 66").
Southern California is an exception, where "the 5" or "the 405" are the standard.
A similar pattern is followed for named roads, but in America there are local
variations and older American highways tend to follow the British pattern ("the
Boston Post Road").
* AmE distinguishes in back of [behind] from in the back of; the former is
unknown in the UK and liable to misinterpretation as the latter. Both however
distinguish in front of from in the front of.
* The use of the function word out as a preposition to denote an outward
movement, as in "out the door" and "out the window", is standard in AmE, but not
quite in British writing, where out of is generally the preferred choice, although
the "American" usage, usually considered regional or dialectal by British
dictionaries, is gaining ground in UK speech.
5_Different prepositions in certain contexts
* In the United States, the word through can mean "up to and including" as in
Monday through Friday. In the UK Monday to Friday, or Monday to Friday
inclusive is used instead; Monday through to Friday is also sometimes used. (In
some parts of Northern England the term while can be used in the same way, as
in Monday while Friday, whereas in Northern Ireland Monday till Friday would be
more natural.)
* British athletes play in a team; American athletes play on a team.
* The word heat meaning "oestrus" is used with on in the UK and with in in the
U.S.
* The intransitive verb affiliate can take either with or to in BrE, but only with in
AmE.
6_Miscellaneous grammatical differences
* In AmE, some prescriptionists feel that which should not be used as an
antecedent in restrictive relative clauses. "That is the defining, or restrictive
pronoun, which the nondefining, or nonrestrictive." This distinction was endorsed
by Fowler, but the use of which as a restrictive pronoun is common in great
literature produced on both sides of the Atlantic.
* In names of American rivers, the word river usually comes after the name (for
example, Colorado River), whereas for British rivers it comes before (as in River
Thames). One exception present in BrE is the Fleet River, which is rarely called
the River Fleet by Londoners outside of official documentation. An exception in
the U.S. is the River Raisin in Michigan named by the French. This convention is
mixed, however, in some Commonwealth nations, where both arrangements are
often seen.
7. Word derivation and compounds
Directional suffix -ward(s): British forwards, towards, rightwards, etc.;
American forward, toward, rightward. In both dialects, distribution varies
somewhat: afterwards, towards, and backwards are not unusual in
America; while in Britain forward is common, and standard in phrasal
verbs like look forward to. The forms with -s may be used as adverbs (or
preposition towards), but rarely as adjectives: in Britain as in America one
says "an upward motion". The Oxford English Dictionary in 1897
suggested a semantic distinction for adverbs, with -wards having a more
definite directional sense than -ward; subsequent authorities such as
Fowler have disputed this contention.
* In BrE, agentive -er suffix is commonly attached to football (also cricket;
often netball; occasionally basketball). AmE usually uses football player.
Where the sport's name is usable as a verb, the suffixation is standard in
both dialects: for example, golfer, bowler (in Ten-pin bowling and in Lawn
Bowls), and shooter.
8. Lexis
Most of the differences are connected to concepts originating from the nineteenth
century to the mid twentieth century, where new words were coined
independently; almost the entire vocabularies of the car/automobile and
railway/railroad are different between the UK and America, for example. Other
sources of difference are slang or vulgar terms, where frequent new coinage
occurs, and idiomatic phrases, including phrasal verbs. The differences most
likely to create confusion are those where the same word or phrase is used for
two different concepts. Regional variations even within the U.S. or the UK can
create the same problems.
VII_General trends
While the use of American expressions in the UK is often noted, movement in the
opposite direction is less common. But such words as book (meaning "to
reserve"), queue (a waiting line), and roundabout (otherwise called a traffic circle
or rotary) are clearly current in AmE, although often regarded as British. Some
other "Briticisms", such as go missing (as an alternative to disappear), bespoke
(for custom-made or made-to-order), or run-up "period preceding an event" are
increasingly used in AmE, and a few (for instance, early on) are now completely
standard.
9. Words mainly used in British English
Speakers of AmE are likely to be aware of some BrE terms, such as lorry, biscuit,
chap, loo, and shag although they would not generally use them.
List of British words not widely used in the United States


Asterisks (*) denote words and meanings having not occasional currency
in American, but notable for their relatively greater frequency in British
speech and writing.
British English spelling is consistently used throughout the article, except
when explicitly referencing American terms.
A
accountancy
calculating and tracking financial matters (US: accounting).
In the UK accounting is the school subject, but accountancy is the
professional qualification.
action man
generically, an action figure[citation needed] (e.g. "a Star Wars action man").
Not to be confused with Action Man, the UK's counterpart to G.I. Joe.
advert
advertisement (US and UK also: ad, commercial (on TV)).
B
balls-up
(vulgar) error, mistake, SNAFU. See also cock-up.
banger
(1) a sausage (from the tendency of sausages to burst during frying); (2) a
firework; (3) an old car (allusion to their tendency to back-fire).
bristols
(vulgar, rhyming slang) breasts; from football team Bristol City = titty
bugger
(vulgar) a spontaneous expression of alarm or frustration, e.g. 'Oh bugger,
I've just missed the last bus home'
buggered
(vulgar, literally a synonym for 'sodomised') worn out; broken; thwarted,
undermined, in a predicament, e.g. 'If we miss the last bus home, we're
buggered' (US: screwed)
bugger all
little or nothing at all; "I asked for a pay rise and they gave me bugger all";
"I know bugger all about plants"; damn it all. US: zip, jack or (offensive)
jack shit.
building society
an institution that provides mortgage loans and other financial services
(US equivalent: savings and loan association)
burgle *
(originally colloquial, back-formation from burglar) to commit burglary (in
the US, burglarize is overwhelmingly preferred, although burgle is
occasionally found).
butty
a sandwich (esp. chip butty, bacon butty).
C
cafetière
device for making coffee (US: French press)
cagoule
type of lightweight hooded waterproof clothing (US: windbreaker)
call box, phone box
public phone (US and UK also: payphone)
call minder
(rare) telephone message recorder (US and UK also: answering machine;
voicemail machine)
cats eye
reflector used to mark lane divisions and edges of roads, also written
cat's-eye, genericised from the trademark Catseye (US: raised pavement
marker; Botts' dots are similar)
central heating boiler
(US: furnace)
central reservation
physical barrier (usually made from armco) dividing oncoming
carriageways (only on dual-carriageways or motorways) (US: median
strip)
cotton bud
wad of cotton wool fixed to a small stick, used for cleaning (US: cotton
swab, Q-Tip)
cotton wool
Spun cotton, used for cleaning wounds or make-up (US: Absorbent cotton,
cotton ball)
council house/flat , also council housing or estate
public housing. (US: projects)
D
dodgy *
unsound, unstable, and unreliable
dogsbody *
someone who carries out menial tasks; a drudge
the dog's bollocks
(vulgar) something excellent or top quality, the "bee's knees" (the
business), the "cat's whiskers". Nowadays is becoming "mutt's nuts".
dole *
(informal) welfare, specifically unemployment benefit. Sometimes used in
the US, esp. older generation
dosh *
(slang) money (US: dough) "how much dosh you got on ya?"
doss
(from docile) to be lazy, "I've been dossing all day", also can mean to
truant, "dossing off" (similar to bunking off). Additionally it can informally
take the form of a noun (i.e. "that lesson was a doss"). Also "dosser", a
lazy person, or a tramp (US bum); "to doss down", to find a place to sleep,
to sleep on some substitute for a bed such as a sofa, the floor, or a park
bench; "doss-house", temporary accommodation for tramps or homeless
people, cheap dilapidated rented accommodation with low standards of
cleanliness (US: flophouse)
double first
an undergraduate degree where the candidate has gained First-Class
Honours in two separate subjects, or alternatively in the same subject in
subsequent examinations (see British undergraduate degree
classification)
double parked *
(slang) having two drinks in your hand at once (US: double fisting). Could
also mean, or even originate, from the term 'double park'; which involves
parking a vehicle to the side of another parked vehicle, or being parked on
double yellow lines/being parked illegally.
draper
a dealer in drapery (i.e. clothing, textiles, etc.) (US: dry goods [DM])
draughts
the board game (US: checkers)
drawing pin *
pin with a large, flat head, used for fixing notices to noticeboards etc. (US:
thumbtack)
dress circle
the seats in the first balcony of a theatre (US: balcony or loge although
dress circle is used in a few very large opera houses that have many
levels of balconies)
drink driving
operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol (US: drunk
driving; DUI [Driving Under the Influence]; DWI [Driving While Intoxicated]
)
driving licence
document authorising the holder to drive a vehicle (US: driver's license,
driver license)
F
face flannel
a facecloth
faff
to dither, futz, diddle, “I spent the day faffing about in my room”. Also
related noun ("That's too much faff"). Mainly found in the North of England.
fag end
cigarette butt
fairing
a gift, particularly one given or bought at a fair (obsolete); type of cookie
(biscuit) made in Cornwall
fairy cake
a small sponge cake (US and UK also: cupcake)
fairy lights
Christmas lights
fancy (verb) *
to have a liking for someone or something I fancy her
feck *
(vulgar) mild expletive employed as an attenuated alternative to fuck
(including fecker, fecking, etc.) (originally Hiberno English and popularized
by the television series Father Ted).
fiddly *
requiring dexterity to operate ("the buttons on the tiny mobile phone were
too fiddly")
G
where (US aisle; gangway is a naval command to make a path for an
officer))
gaol
(US: jail)
gearbox
system of gears in a vehicle or other machinery (US transmission)
gear-lever / gearstick
handle for changing gears in a vehicle or other machinery (US gear shifter
or stick shifter)
gen
(informal) information, info (short for "intelligence") (US: intel)
get off with *
to engage in passionate kissing and fondling - does not usually imply
sexual intercourse. (US: make out)
ginger
red haired (now somewhat known in the United States due to its use in an
episode of the cartoon South Park).
H
hand brake *
Parking brake operated by a hand control, usually a lever (US: Emergency
brake. In the US, the traditional "hand brake" is more often to be found on
a bicycle or motorcycle as opposed to a car as in the UK.); handbrake
turn, a stunt where the handbrake is used to lock the rear wheels and the
resulting oversteer enables the car to be turned rapidly in a small space
(US related: J-turn, bootleg turn, U-turn.)
ha'penny
(pronounced "HAY-penny" or "HAYP-nee") half a penny; a coin of this
denomination belonging to the predecimal coinage which is no longer in
circulation. There was also a half penny in the decimal coinage introduced
in 1971 which was 1/200 of a pound, although this is also no longer in
circulation or legal tender.
hash sign
the symbol "#" (US: number sign, pound sign [DM])
headmaster, headmistress, headteacher *
the person in charge of an educational institution (US: principal [DM];
headmaster and the like are usually used for private schools)
Heath Robinson
(of a machine or contraption) absurdly complex (see Rube Goldberg
machine).
high street
primary business and shopping street (US: main street)
higgledy-piggledy *
in disarray
hire purchase
a credit system by which debts for purchased articles are paid in
installments (US: installment plan or layaway if the item is kept at the store
until the final payment is made)
hob
the hot surface on a stove (US: burner)
holidaymaker
person on holiday [DM] (US: vacationer)
hols
(informal) short for holidays [DM]
home and away
fixtures played at alternating venues (US: home and home). Also 'first and
second leg' (US series).
hoover
vacuum [cleaner], to vacuum (archaic in the US) (genericised trademark,
from The Hoover Company, the first main manufacturer of vacuum
cleaners)
hot up
to become more exciting or intimate (US: heating up). Also a word in
Rhyming slang which refers to theft, usually of the opportunist type (i.e.
shoplifting)
hundreds-and-thousands
coloured sugar sprinkles used for dessert decoration (US: sprinkles,nonpareils, jimmies)
I
ice lolly
frozen fruit juice on a stick; ice pop (US: Popsicle),
icing sugar
(US: powdered sugar)
industrial action
(see article; US: job action)
inverted commas
quotation marks (see also American and British English differences –
Punctuation)
invigilator
person who monitors an examination (US: proctor [DM])
ironmongery
ironware, hardware; hardware store
J
jacket potato
baked potato
jam sandwich
(slang) police car. So called as, in the past, most UK police vehicles were
white with a horizontal yellow-edged red fluorescent stripe along the entire
length of their sides, giving a certain resemblance to a white bread
sandwich with a coloured jam (jelly) filling. (US: black-and-white. In many
cities of the US, police cars are painted black at the hood and trunk and
white on the doors and roof.)
jammy (git)
(slang) lucky (person)
jemmy
To break into a lock (US: jimmy)
jerry
(slang) pejorative term for a German or Germans, (US: Kraut)
jimmy
(Rhyming slang) urinate, as in jimmy riddle - piddle
jitty
An alley way connecting two streets.
jobsworth
(slang) Originally a minor clerical/government worker who refuses to be
flexible in the application of rules to help clients or customers (as in "it will
cost me more than my job's worth to bend the rules"). Also used more
broadly to apply to anyone who uses their job description in a deliberately
obstructive way. (US: see DMV)
johnny
(slang) a condom (US: rubber)
John Thomas
(slang) To engage in sexual intercourse. Better known as slang for penis
or "dick" (US: cock, dick, or johnson) From the novel Lady Chatterley's
Lover
Joey
Term of abuse used of someone perceived to be foolish, stupid,
incompetent, clumsy, uncoordinated, ridiculous, idiotic. Originated with the
appearances of cerebral palsy sufferer Joey Deacon on children's TV
programme Blue Peter; still a popular insult among adults who saw the
programmes as children.[2]
jumble sale
(see article; US: rummage sale)
jumper
a pullover, sweater
jump leads
booster cables used to jump-start a car (US: jumper cables)
K
Karno's Army
a chaotic, ineffective team (usually: Fred Karno's Army) (related US:
Keystone Cops, Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight)
kappa-slappa
(derogatory slang) promiscuous lower-class female, similar to "kev" or
"chav" (from Kappa, a clothing brand supposedly worn by such women,
and slapper, a slovenly, sluttish woman)
kecks
(informal, also spelt keks) trousers or underpants
keep fit costume
exercise, dance or training suit
kerfuffle *
a disorderly outburst, disturbance or tumult, from Scottish origin
kev
(slang) Derivative of "Kevin", has become equivalent to "chav" - typically a
working class person that wears designer labels, fake gold, has to always
be "in", is most likely a troublemaker and most likely smokes. Its use to
describe the majority troublesome teenage subculture predates the use of
"chav"; the British comedian Harry Enfield based one of his characters on
this use.
khazi
(slang) lavatory (numerous alternative spellings are seen, such as karzy,
karsey, carzey etc.)
kip
(slang) sleep. (US: nap)
kitchen roll
paper towels
knackered
(slang) exhausted, originally 'sexually exhausted', perhaps derived from
knacker's yard
knacker's yard
premises where superannuated livestock are sent for rendering, etc. (glue
factory). Sometimes refers to the same for vehicles, a scrapyard (US:
junkyard)
knickers
girl's and women's underpants (US: panties)
L
ladybird
red and black flying insect (US: Ladybug)
launderette
self-service laundry (US: Laundromat )
loudhailer
megaphone (US: bullhorn)
M
mains power, the mains
230-250V (Typically denoted on domestic electricals as the rounded 240V
standard) AC electrical current, provided by the electricity grid to homes
and businesses; also attrib. ("mains cable") (US: variously called: line
power, grid power, AC power, household electricity, etc.)
manky
(slang) feeling ill, rough, out of sorts; filthy, dirty, rotten. (poss. from French
"manqué" - missed, wasted or faulty)
motorway
the largest class of road on the British road network, designed for fast,
high volume traffic, usually with three or more lanes in each direction. In
reference to a specific motorway may be abbreviated to M, as in M25 or
M1. (US: equivalent to an interstate, occasionally used; also freeway,
expressway, superhighway)
MOT, MOT test
(pronounced M-O-T) mandatory annual safety and roadworthiness test for
motor vehicles over 3 years old (from "Ministry of Transport", now
renamed "Department for Transport")
mouthing off
swearing a lot about something or someone. eg: "that guy was just
mouthing off about somthing"
move house, move flat, etc.
to move out of one's house or other residence into a new residence (US:
move, move out)
N
naff
(slang) lame, tacky, cheap, low quality (origin uncertain – numerous
suggestions include backslang for fan, an old term for a vagina), also gay
slang for a straight man (said to mean "Not Available For Fucking")
naff off
(dated slang) shove it, get lost, go away – a much less offensive
alternative to "fuck off" (originally obscure Polari slang, made popular by
prison sitcom Porridge and famously used by Princess Anne)
nark *
1. (v.) (informal) irritate
2. (n.) (slang) police informer (US: narc, derived from narcotics agent, but
often used in a general sense)
nonce
1. (slang) paedophile, pimp, child molester, idiot
2. the present time or occasion – now usually encountered only in the
compound nonce word, only used in literary circles, meaning an ad hoc
word coinage, and the somewhat old-fashioned phrase for the nonce,
meaning "for now". See also the Wiktionary definition.
number plate
vehicle registration plate (sometimes used in the US; also license plate or
license tag)
numpty
(possibly originally Scottish, now widespread) a stupid person
nutter
(informal) a crazy or insane person, often violent; also used as a more
light-hearted term of reproach ("Oi nutter!") (occasionally used in the US)
(US and UK also: nut, nutcase)
O
OAP
Old Age Pensioner (qv) (US: Senior Citizen)
off-licence
shop licensed to sell alcoholic beverages for consumption off the premises
(US equivalent: liquor store). Known in some parts of N England as
"selling-out shop".
off-the-peg
of clothes etc, ready-made rather than made to order (US: off-the-rack)
oi
coarse exclamation to gain attention, roughly equivalent to "hey" ("Oi,
you!" = "Hey you!")
the Old Bill
(slang) The police
old iron
a junky or dated vehicle(US: old beater)
one-off *
something that happens only once; limited to one occasion (as an
adjective, a shared synonym is one-shot; as a noun, it has no exact US
equivalent, perhaps "one shot deal")
P
package holiday
a holiday whose transport, accommodation, itinerary etc. is organised by a
travel company (US and UK less frequently: package tour). Cf holiday
[DM]
paki
(offensive) Pakistani; loosely applied to anyone from South Asia, or of
perceived South Asian origin
panda car
(informal) police car. Small police car used for transport, as opposed to a
patrol or area car (analogous to US: black-and-white) Derives from a
period in the 1970s when UK police cars resembled those of their US
counterparts, only with blue replacing black.
paper round
(the job of making) a regular series of newspaper deliveries (US: paper
route)
paracetamol
a common and widely available drug for the treatment of headaches, fever
and other minor aches and pains (US: acetaminophen, Tylenol)
parkie
(informal) park-keeper
parky
(informal) cold, usually used in reference to the weather
(Cornish) pasty
hard pastry case filled with meat and vegetables served as a main course,
particularly in Cornwall and in the north of England
pear-shaped
usually in the phrase "to go pear-shaped", meaning to go drastically or
dramatically wrong (possibly from the idea of a ball deflating). cf tits-up
pelican crossing
pedestrian crossing with traffic lights operated by pedestrians (formed by
analogy with "panda crossing" etc. Could also be from Pedestrian LightControlled;)
people mover or people carrier
a minivan or other passenger van
pernickety
fastidious, precise or over-precise (US: persnickety)
petrol
refined mixture of hydrocarbons, used esp. to fuel motor vehicles (short for
petroleum spirit, or from French essence de pétrole) (US: gasoline, gas).
Also variously known as motor spirit (old-fashioned), motor gasoline,
mogas, aviation gasoline and avgas (the last two being a slightly heavier
type designed for light aircraft)
petrol-head, petrolhead
someone with a strong interest in cars (especially high performance cars)
and motor racing (US: gearhead or motorhead).
pikey
a pejorative slang term, used originally to refer to Irish travellers. Now
refers to anyone whose lifestyle is characterised by itinerancy, theft, illicit
land occupancy with destruction of amenities, and disregard for authority,
without reference to ethnic or national origin.
pillar box
box in the street for receiving outgoing mail, in Britain traditionally in the
form of a free-standing red pillar; also called postbox or, less commonly,
letter box (US: mailbox)
See also Pillar box (film): an aspect ratio named for a supposed
resemblance to the dimensions of the slot found on a pillar box.
pillar-box red
the traditional bright red colour of a British pillar box (US: fire engine red or
candy apple red)
pillock
(slang, very mildly derogatory) foolish person, used esp. in northern
England but also common elsewhere. Derived from the Northern English
term pillicock, a dialect term for penis, although the connection is rarely
made in general use.
pisshead
(vulgar) someone who regularly gets heavily drunk (cf. BrE meaning of
pissed).
pissing it down [with rain]
(slang, mildly vulgar) raining very hard (sometimes "pissing down" is used
in the US, as in "It's pissing down out there.") Also "pissing it down the
drain" or "pissing it away" * meaning to waste something.
plait *
braid, as in hair
pleb
(derogatory) person of lower class *, from plebs; similar to townie. Also
commonly used to mean idiot.
pleck
also: guitar-pleck; plectrum (US: guitar pick)
plimsoll
a type of shoe with a canvas upper and rubber sole, formerly the typical
gym shoe used in schools (US: sneaker or Tennis shoe)
plod
policeman - from PC Plod in Enid Blyton's Noddy books.
plonk
a disparaging term for cheap wine, especially cheap red wine, is now
widely known in the UK and also to a lesser extent in the USA. Derives
from French vin blanc and came into English use on the western front in
World War I.
plonker
(very mildly derogatory) fool *. Used esp. in the south-east of England,
although not unknown elsewhere. Derived from a slang term for penis,
and sometimes used in this fashion, e.g. "Are you pulling my plonker?" (to
express disbelief)
ponce
(n.) (slang) someone with overly affected airs and graces; an effeminate
posturing man; a pimp. Originates from Maltese slang. (related US:
poncey)
(v.) (slang) to act like a pimp; to cadge, to borrow with little or no intention
of returning, often openly so ("Can I ponce a ciggie off you, mate?")
ponce about/around
(v.) (slang) to act like a fop, to wander about aimlessly without achieving
anything
ponce off
(v.) (slang) to mooch, to hit up, to leave in a pompous manner
pong
(n.) (slang) a strong unpleasant smell; (v.) to give off a strong unpleasant
smell; (adj.) pongy
poof, poofter
(derogatory) a male homosexual (US equivalent: fag, faggot)
poof, poove
A small drum-shaped soft furnishing used as a foot rest (related US:
hassock, Ottoman)
porky(ies)
slang for a lie or lying, from rhyming slang "pork pies" = "lies"
postage and packing, P&P
charge for said services (US: shipping and handling, S&H; the word
postage is, however, used in both dialects)
postal order
a money order designed to be sent through the post, issued by the UK
Post Office (US: money order, or postal money order if the context is
ambiguous)
postbox, post box
box in the street for receiving outgoing mail (US: mailbox; drop box); see
also letter box, pillar box
postcode
alphanumeric code used to identify an address, part of a UK-wide
scheme. (US equivalent: ZIP Code)
poste restante
service whereby mail is retained at a post office for collection by the
recipient (from the Latin) (US: general delivery)
postie
(informal) postman
poxy
(slang) something that is unsatisfactory or in generally bad condition.
pram, perambulator
wheeled conveyance for babies (US: baby-carriage) Similarly, a "pramface" sometimes refers to a very young or young-looking mum (US: "baby-
face" meaning a young-looking person in general, not necessarily a
mother.)
prat *
(slang) an incompetent or ineffectual person, a fool, an idiot
press-up
a conditioning exercise in which one lies prone and then pushes oneself
up by the arms (US: push-up)
provisional licence, provisional driving licence
a licence for a learner driver, who has not yet passed a driving test (US:
learner's permit)
pud
(informal) short for "pudding", which may mean dessert or occasionally a
savoury item such as Yorkshire pudding or black pudding; a fool (informal
term usually used good-naturedly between family members). pulling his
pud, means male masturbation.
pukka
(informal) legitimate, the real thing, of good quality (usually Southeastern
England term, recently more widely popularised by Jamie Oliver, but
dating back to the 19th century). From Hindi.
punch-up
a fistfight
punkah-wallah
a usually South Asian servant whose role is to operate a manual fan.
From Urdu pankhaa, fan, and -wallah, -man
punnet
small basket for fruit, usually strawberries
pushbike
(informal) bicycle (pre-dates modern safety bicycle q.v. velocipede)
pushchair
forward-facing baby carriage (US: stroller)
Q
quango
quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisation. A semi-public
(supposedly non-governmental) advisory or administrative body funded by
the taxpayer, often having most of its members appointed by the
government, and carrying out government policy.
quaver
a musical note with the duration of one half-count in a time signature of
4/4 (US: eighth note). Also compound nouns semiquaver (US: sixteenth
note), demisemiquaver (US: thirty-second note), hemidemisemiquaver
(US: sixty-fourth note); see note value).
quid
(informal) the pound sterling monetary unit; remains quid in plural form
("Can I borrow ten quid?") (similar to US buck, meaning dollar)
quids in
(informal) a financially positive end to a transaction or venture "After all
that, we'll be quids in!" (US: money ahead)
quieten
used in the phrase "quieten down" (US: quiet down)
quiff
forelock (initially Hiberno-English); a hairstyle (from the 1950s onward).
quim
(vulgar slang) female genitalia, the vagina
R
randy
(informal) having sexual desire, lustful, horny (now more common in the
US because of the Austin Powers franchise)
ranker
an enlisted soldier or airman or (more rarely) a commissioned officer who
has been promoted from enlisted status ("the ranks")
rashers *
cuts of bacon
rat-arsed
(slang) extremely drunk
recce
(informal) reconnoître, reconnaissance (pronounced recky) (US: recon)
Register Office, Registry Office
official office where births, marriages and deaths are recorded; usu. refers
to local Register Office (in each town or locality). General Register Office
is the relevant government department. In England and Wales until 2001,
almost all civil (non-church) marriages took place in the local Register
Office; different laws apply in Scotland and N. Ireland.
road-works
upgrade or repairs of roads (US: construction; roadwork [singular])
rodgering
(vulgar) to engage in a sexual act, or suggest it. eg: "I'd give her a good
rodgering!"
ropey
(informal) chancy; of poor quality; uncertain (see dodgy). Can also mean
unwell when used in the form to feel ropey
row *
a fight or argument (rhymes with cow)
reverse charge call
a telephone call for which the recipient pays (US and UK also: collect call);
also v. to reverse [the] charge[s] *, to make such a call (dated in US,
used in the 1934 American film It Happened One Night – US usually: to
call collect)
rota
a roll call or roster of names, or round or rotation of duties
(the) rozzers
(rare slang) Police ("Quick, the rozzers!") – possibly from Robert Peel,
who also gave his name to two other slang terms for the police: peelers
(archaic) and bobbies (becoming old-fashioned).
rucksack *
a backpack.
rumpy pumpy
(informal) Sexual intercourse, used slightly jokingly.
S
salad-dodger
(informal) an overweight person
sarky
(informal) sarcastic (abbrev.) "why are you being so sarky?"
sarnie, sarny, sannie
(informal) sandwich (abbrev.)
scrubber
a lower class, (usually young) woman of low morals
scrumpy
cloudy cider, often high in alcoholic content
scrumping
action of stealing apples from an orchard; also v. to scrump
self-raising flour
self-rising flour
secateurs
gardening tool for pruning plants (US:garden shears, pruners or clippers)
secondment
(/sɪˈkɒndmənt/) the assignment of a person from his or her regular
organisation to temporary assignment elsewhere. From v. second
(/sɪˈkɒnd/)
Sellotape
from Cellophane, transparent adhesive tape (genericised trademark) (US:
Scotch tape)
semibreve
a musical note with the duration of four counts in a time signature of 4/4
(US: whole note; see Note value)
serviette
(from French) table napkin [DM]. Regarded as a non-U word, but widely
used by non-U people.
shag *
(verb, vulgar, usually transitive) the act of sexual intercourse (Introduced
to the US via the Austin Powers franchise.)
shandy
a drink consisting of lager or beer mixed with lemonade usually, but not
always, in near equal parts.
shite
(vulgar) variant of shit, often seen as more jocular. rhymes with 'kite'.
sixes and sevens
crazy, muddled (usually in the phrase "at sixes and sevens"). From the
London Livery Company order of precedence, in which position 6 is
claimed by both the Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors and the
Worshipful Company of Skinners.
skew-whiff / skew-whift
skewed, uneven, not straight
skint
(informal) out of money
skive [off]
(informal) to sneak off, avoid work; to play truant (U.S.-"Play Hookey")
slag *
similar to 'slut', a woman of loose morals and low standards; sometimes
implying the woman is of an undesirable age or has become aged by her
lifestyle. Occasionally used to refer to a male, though does not then have
sexual connotations.
slag off *
to badmouth; speak badly of someone, usually behind their back
slaphead
(informal) bald man (pronounced slap-headed or slap-'ed)
slapper
(vulgar) similar to slut but milder. Implies drunken, flirtatious behaviour as
opposed to frequent sexual conquests
sleeping partner
a partner in business, often an investor, who is not visibly involved in
running the enterprise (US: silent partner)
sleeping policeman
mound built into a road to slow down vehicles (UK also: hump [DM]; US &
UK also: speed bump)
slippy
(slang) smooth, wet, with no friction or traction to grip something (US:
slippery)
slowcoach
(slang) a slow person (US: slowpoke)
slummy
(slang) loose change
smalls
underclothing, underwear, particularly underpants
smart dress
formal attire
smeghead
(slang) idiot; a general term of abuse (for discussion of origin, see smeg
(vulgarism)). Popularised by its use in the sitcom Red Dwarf.
snog
(slang) a 'french kiss' or to kiss with tongues
soap dodger
one who is thought to lack personal hygiene
sod off
(vulgar, moderately offensive) go away; get lost
spacker, spacky, spazmo
(vulgar, offensive to many) idiot, general term of abuse: from "Spastic",
referring in England almost exclusively (when not used as an insult) to a
person suffering from cerebral palsy. (variant forms spaz/spastic, are used
in American English) See also Joey.
Spanish archer
give someone the "elbow",[clarification needed] which means to sack or fire them
spawny
lucky
spiffing
(informal) very good (old-fashioned, or consciously used as old-fashioned,
associated stereotypically with upper-class people) (US: spiffy)
spiv
an unemployed person who lives by their wits; someone who shirks work
or responsibility; a slacker, a dealer in black market goods (during World
War II). The term wide boy is also often used in the same sense
spliff *
(slang) a hand-rolled cigarette containing a mixture of marijuana and
tobacco, also 'a joint.' (Also used in US, j or blunt more widely used)
spod
An early 1980s derogatory expression for someone who performed well at
school, did their homework and wore the correct uniform. Somewhat
equivalent to US: 'geek'. This has, since the late 1980s, changed to mean
someone who spends too much time in internet chat rooms and
discussion forums. Also verb: to spod.
spot on *
exactly (US: right on)
squaddie
(informal) a non-commissioned soldier (US: grunt)
squidgy
(informal) soft and soggy (US: squishy)
squiffy
(informal) intoxicated (popularly but probably erroneously said to be from
British Prime Minister (Herbert)Asquith, a noted imbiber). The word can
also be synonymous with skew-whiff.
squintie, squint
crooked; cf on the skunt
squiz
(rare) look, most often used in the form to have a squiz at...
sticky-backed plastic
large sheet of thin, soft, coloured plastic that is sticky on one side; see
Blue Peter (US similar: contact paper)
stockist
a seller (as a retailer) that stocks merchandise of a particular type, usually
a specified brand or model
stone
14 pounds in weight, usually used to describe body weight ("He lost two
stone!")
straight away
immediately (sometimes used in the US; also right away)
strop
(informal) bad mood or temper
stroppy, to have a strop on
(informal) recalcitrant, in a bad mood or temper
suck it and see
to undertake a course of action without knowing its full consequences (US:
take your chances)
suss [out] *
(informal) to figure out (from suspicion)
suspender belt
a ladies' undergarment to hold up stockings (US: garter belt)
swot
1. v. to study for an exam (US cram)
2. n. (derogatory) aloof and unpopular schoolchild or student who studies
to excess
sweet FA
(slang) nothing (from "Sweet Fanny Adams", alternative: "Sweet Fuck
All"), "I know sweet FA about cars!" (US: jack shit)
swimming costume
swimsuit or bathing suit; also cozzy for short.
T
ta
(informal) thank you; TA also standing for "thanks awfully"
takeaway
food outlet where you can order food to go (or be delivered) (not usually
applied to fast food chains). Usage: "we had a takeaway for dinner", "we
went to the local takeaway". [DM]; (US: takeout)
take the piss (vulgar) * / take the mickey
(slang) to make fun of somebody; to act in a non-serious manner about
something important (also: take the pee). Can also mean to transgress
beyond what are perceived as acceptable bounds, or to treat with
perceived contempt - "the increases in car tax are taking the piss", "the
new boss is really taking the piss with this mandatory car-sharing
scheme".
takings *
receipts of money
tannoy
loudspeaker (a proprietary brand name), PA system
tapping up
in professional team sport, attempting to persuade a player contracted to
one team to transfer to another team without the knowledge or permission
of the player's current team (US: "tampering")
telerecording
a recording of a live television broadcast made directly from a cathode ray
tube onto motion picture film. The equivalent US term is kinescope.
telly
(informal) television
tenner
ten pound note
Territorial
a member of the Territorial Army (US: Army Reserve)
[throw one's] toys out of the pram
In response to someone being angry/irate ("Stop throwing your toys out
the pram".)
Tiger nuts
(vulgar slang) small remnants of toilet paper that cling to body hair after
bowel movement clean-up (originates from small chocolate covered
caramel candy of the same name). (Commonly "tigers") (US:
dingleberries).
tinned
canned as in "tinned soup" or "a tin of tuna"
Tipp-Ex
white tape or liquid used to make corrections of ink on paper (US: WiteOut)
throw a wobbly
(informal) to lose one's temper, throw a tantrum
thruppennies
(rhyming slang) breasts/tits (from thrupenny bits, obsolete British coin)
titfer
(rhyming slang) hat (from tit-for-tat)
[go] tits up
(mildly vulgar) to suddenly go wrong (literally, to fall over. US: go belly up).
cf pear-shaped (appears in the US mainly as military jargon, sometimes
sanitized to "tango uniform")
toad-in-the-hole*
batter-baked sausages, sausages baked in Yorkshire Pudding
toff
(slang) member of the upper classes
toffee apple
a sugar-glazed apple on a stick eaten esp. on Guy Fawkes Night and
Hallowe'en (US: caramel apple or candy apple)
toffee-nosed
anti-social in a pretentious way, stuck up
tonk
(informal) to hit hard, sometimes used in cricket to describe a substantial
boundary shot: "he tonked it for six". In Southern England can also mean
muscular. (US: ripped or buff).
tonker
penis.
tony *
expensive or luxurious.
tosser *
(slang) a no-good waster (US: jerk). Largely equivalent to "wanker" but
less offensive; has the same literal meaning, ie. one who masturbates
("tosses off").
tosspot
(colloquial, archaic) a drunkard; also used in the sense of "tosser".
totty
(informal, offensive to some) sexually alluring woman or women (more
recently, also applied to males). Originally a term for a prostitute in the late
1800s.
training shoes, trainers
athletic shoes. (US: sneakers).
training suit
clothes worn while practising for an athletic event (US: track suit or sweat
suit)
tuppence
two pence, also infantile euphemism for vagina. cf twopenn'orth
tuppenny-ha'penny
cheap, substandard
turf accountant
bookmaker for horse races (US: bookie)
turn-indicator
direction-indicator light on a vehicle (US: turn signal)
turn-ups
an arrangement at the bottom of trouser-legs whereby a deep hem is
made, and the material is doubled-back to provide a trough around the
external portion of the bottom of the leg. (US: cuffs)
twee *
excessively cute, quaint, or 'precious'
twonk *
idiot. Probably a portmanteau construction of twat and plonker. Used by
Timothy Spall in an episode of Red Dwarf.
twopenn'orth, tuppenn'orth, tup'en'oth
one's opinion (tuppenn'orth is literally "two pennies worth" or "two pence
worth", depending on usage); (US equivalent: two cents' worth, two cents).
cf tuppence
U
uni
short for university, used much like US college
up himself
(informal) someone who is stand-offish, stuck-up, snobby. "He's a bit up
himself." Euphemistic variation of up his own arse.
up sticks
(US: pull up stakes)
V
verger (virger in some churches)
someone who carries the verge or other emblem of authority before a
scholastic, legal, or religious dignitary in a procession; someone who
takes care of the interior of a church and acts as an attendant during
ceremonies.
verruca
a wart which occurs on one's foot. (US: plantar wart)
vegetable marrow
a gourd-like fruit (treated as a vegetable) (US: squash)
W
WAG
wives and girlfriends, common in headlines referring to the spouse of a
male athlete
wage packet
weekly employee payment (usually in cash) (US: paycheck)
wally
(informal) buffoon, fool; milder form of idiot. Now considered an oldfashioned word. See muppet.
wanker
(offensive) literally, a masturbator; used as a general insult or term of
abuse
WC
toilet (short for Water Closet). (US: bathroom [DM], US old-fashioned
washroom). See also loo.
washing up liquid
dish washing, "the dishes": "it's your turn to do the washing up"; hence
washing up liquid: dish washing detergent (US: dish soap, dishwashing
liquid)
way out
exit. Used primarily on signs
Wellington boots, wellies
waterproof rubber boots, named after the Duke of Wellington. (more
common in the US now)
welly
(informal) effort (e.g.: "Give it some welly" to mean "put a bit of effort into
an attempt to do something"; US: elbow grease); also the singular of
"wellies", for Wellington boots
welly
(slang) condom; stems from "Wellington boots" which are also known as
"rubbers"
whilst *
while (US and UK); 'whilst' is in common use in Yorkshire (UK) where
'while' is used colloquially to mean 'until'; (archaic in US)
whinge
(informal) complain, whine, especially repeated complaining about minor
things (e.g. "Stop whingeing" meaning "stop complaining"); a different
word from whine, originated in Scottish and Northern English in the 12th
century. Hence whinger (derogatory), someone who complains a lot. As in
"My wife Kerry is always whingeing about the state we leave the house
in".
white pudding
oat and fat sausage often eaten at breakfast, common in Ireland and
Scotland
witter
(informal) to continue to talk trivially about a subject long after the
audience's interest has gone. "He wittered on."
wibble
(informal) to talk at length aimlessly
wide boy
see spiv, above
wing mirrors
the external mirrors on a vehicle – though no longer normally attached to
the 'wings' (US: fenders) but to the doors (US: sideview mirrors, side
mirrors)
winkle *
(slang) another childish term for a penis (US: winkie)
wobbler, wobbly (to have or to throw)
(informal) tantrum
wog
(offensive, term of abuse) member of an ethnic minority. The word is
roughly comparable to nigger in US English.
wonky *
(informal) wrong, awry, not straight or stable; shaky, feeble (usually
applied to furniture)
Y
Y-fronts
men's briefs with an inverted-Y-shaped frontal flap; originally a trademark
(US: jockey shorts/briefs; US slang: tighty whities)
yob
lout, young troublemaker (thought to be from boy spelt backwards)
yomp
to move on foot across rough terrain carrying heavy amounts of
equipment and supplies without mechanised support (Royal Marines slang
popularised by the Falklands war, army equivalent is to tab). Also used
informally for any walk across rough ground.
Z
zed
last letter of the alphabet, usually called "zee" in United States
Zimmer frame
walker
Words mainly used in American English
Speakers of BrE are likely to be aware of some AmE terms, such as sidewalk,
gas, cookie, elevator although they would not generally use them. They will be
able to guess approximately what is meant by some others, such as cotton
candy. However, use of some other American words such as semi (articulated
lorry), stroller (pushchair) or kitty-corner (diagonally opposite) risks rendering a
sentence incomprehensible to most British people.
Note that, largely through the influence of Hollywood, the chance of a given
Americanism being understood by a British person is significantly greater than in
the reverse case. However, Americans who watch britcoms and other imported
BBC programs and British news re-broadcasts on American public television
(PBS) are more likely to be familiar with British usages than those who do not.
List of American words not widely used in the United Kingdom
3_This is a list of American words not widely used in the United Kingdom.


Asterisks (*) denote words and meanings having appreciable (that is, not
occasional) currency in British English, but nonetheless distinctive of
American English for their relatively greater frequency in American speech
and writing. Americanisms are increasingly common in British English, and
many that were not widely used some decades ago, are now so (e.g.
regular in the sense of "regular coffee").
American spelling is consistently used throughout the article, except when
explicitly referencing British terms.
0-9
101
(pronounced "one-oh-one") label for introductory college courses ("English
101"), figuratively denoting something intended for beginners ("real estate
101")
401(k)
(pronounced "four-oh-one K";) an employer-sponsored retirement plan in
the United States.
201K
(colloquial, pronounced "two-oh-one K";) What happened to one's 401K
after it lost half its value in the 2008 stock market crash ("My 401K is now
a 201K.")
411
(pronounced "four-one-one"; colloquial) information about something (from
4-1-1, directory assistance number) (UK: 118xxx or 192)
5-0
(pronounced "five-oh", often "the five-oh"; colloquial) the police (from
Hawaii Five-O, an American television series)
86
( pronounced " eighty six" ; colloquial ) to abandon or reject something. eg
" Lets eighty six the whole thing ".Similar to " Deep Six "
A
AC
air conditioning (UK: air con)
acclimate
(verb) (UK usually: acclimatise)
acetaminophen (or Tylenol)
(UK: paracetamol)
addicting
(UK and US: addictive)
affirmative action
providing opportunities in education or work based on (e.g.) race or
gender (UK: positive discrimination)
airplane
fixed-wing aircraft. Alteration of UK aeroplane, probably influenced by
aircraft
aluminum
(UK: aluminium)
AMBER alert[1]
see article
amtrac
Landing Vehicle Tracked, military vehicle used in World War II (not to be
confused with Amtrak, the passenger railroad corporation)
arroyo
a usually dry creek.
arugula, rugola
the herb also known as rocket or garden rocket. Borrowed from southern
Italian dialect in the early 1960s ("Ask Italian greengrocers for arugula,
rucola or ruccoli; ask other markets for rouquette, rocket salad or, simply,
rocket." — The New York Times, May 24, 1960, in OED).
B
baby carriage
pushable vehicle for transporting babies, also called stroller, buggy or
regionally baby coach (UK: perambulator (old-fashioned or formal), pram,
or, for the type that an older baby sits rather than lies in, pushchair)
bachelorette
a usually young unmarried woman; not quite the same as "spinster", which
implies a stereotype of an older unmarried woman
backhoe
a piece of excavating equipment (UK usually digger, mechanical digger,
excavator, or JCB, genericized trademark)
ballpark
a baseball stadium; a range of approximation or accuracy ("in the
ballpark"; "a ballpark figure") *
Band-Aid *
(trademark) bandage for minor wounds, (UK: Elastoplast (trademark),
plaster [DM]); also, a makeshift solution
bangs
front part of the hair cut to hang over the forehead (UK: a fringe)
barf
to vomit (slang) (throw up)[citation needed]
barrette
hair slide
baseboard
skirting board
bayou
(from Louisiana French) an often marshy slow-moving minor watercourse,
usually located in a low-lying area (as in the Mississippi River delta region
of the southern United States)
bedroom community
a commuter town or suburb (UK: dormitory town [DM])
Bear claw
A kind of sweet pastry served mainly on the West Coast of the United
States.
bell pepper
a mild (not spicy) red or green pepper or capsicum in Australian English
and Indian English
blacktop
a road surface [DM] composed of asphalt concrete; also a verb ("to
blacktop a parking lot") (UK: compare tarmac)
blinders
(on a horse) (UK: blinkers)
blood sausage
black pudding
boardwalk
a walkway usually made of planking, typically along a beach (as that of
Atlantic City)
bobby pin
hair grip, Kirby grip
booger
(slang) a piece of nasal mucus (UK: bogey)
bookmobile
a large vehicle housing a mobile lending library (UK: mobile library)
boombox
a large portable stereo, syn. with ghettoblaster, which is also American in
origin but is common in the UK.
boondocks
(also the boonies) rough country; a very rural location or town;
backwoods; the "sticks". Sometimes refers to rough, poor neighborhoods
in a city. From Tagalog.
boondoggle
slang term for a scheme that wastes time and money; also scoubidou, a
knotting and plaiting craft
Botts' dot
see raised pavement marker (UK & US: cat's eye)
bra
from brother (alternative to 'bro'; see bro)
breadbox
a box for keeping bread (UK: usually bread bin)
bro
from brother; informal for a brother, or a friend or pal (UK: bruv,)
broil
to cook food with high heat with the heat applied directly to the food from
above (UK: grill) [DM]. Apparently first used by Chaucer.
brownstone
a type of residential building found in New York and other large cities
buddy, bud
a friend; also used as a term of address (UK similar: mate)
bullhorn
a megaphone
burglarize
to carry out a burglary (UK: burgle; burgle is very rare in US, and
burglarize virtually nonexistent in UK)
busboy
junior restaurant worker assisting waiting staff, table clearer, water pourer
etc. (UK: busser; runner)
busyness
hustle and bustle
butte
an isolated hill with steep sides and a small flat top
C
caboose
a train car attached usually to the rear mainly for the crew's use (UK:
guard's van' or brake van'); also (colloquial) the buttocks
Canadian bacon
Ham, usually pressed and sliced back bacon.
candy apple*, candied apple
toffee apple
canola
a trademarked variety of rapeseed
careen
(of a vehicle) to travel fast and out of control, usually swerving or cornering
(UK: career)
carhop
someone serving food at a drive-in, often on rollerskates
catercorner
(or catercornered, catacorner, kitty-corner, catty-corner, etc.) (adverb)
diagonally, diagonally opposite ("The house looks catercorner to mine").
Cater Corner is the original form (from the French ‘quatre’ and English
'corner' = four + corner), but the forms kitty corner and catty corner (folk
etymology) are usual in speech, the former especially in the North and the
latter in the Midland and South. Sometimes (dialectal, regional) also
kitty/catty wampus/wumpus (unclearly derived), which can also mean
"awry".
catsup
alternative spelling of ketchup that rarely sees use in the UK.
cell phone
(short for cellular telephone) a portable telephone; UK: mobile phone,
often abbreviated to mobile
central air
central air conditioning
ChapStick *
(trademark, sometimes used generically) a lip balm - trademark Sypsyl is
common (UK: Lip Salve)
checkers
a popular board game (UK: draughts)
charge account
in a store or shop (UK: credit account)
checking account
the type of bank account used for drawing checks; distinguished from
savings account. (UK: current account or cheque account)
cilantro
coriander leaf, while in the US, coriander refers only to the seed.
cookout
informal meal cooked and eaten outdoors, a cross between a picnic and a
barbecue or a cooking competition taking place outdoors
co-ed, coed
female student at a coeducational college (e.g. "He saw the party as an
opportunity to meet co-eds."); any group of people with members from
both genders (e.g. "My soccer team is co-ed.")
cooties
fictional disease, a term used by children (UK: lurgy); also a term for lice
costume party
party where costumes are worn (UK: fancy-dress party)
cotton candy
spun sugar often sold at fairs (UK: candy floss)
counterclockwise
(UK: anti-clockwise)
coveralls
a one-piece outer protective garment (UK: overall, boiler suit)
critter
(informal) a creature; an animal (as a horse in the South or a bull in the
North); often used jocularly (as in "congresscritter", a congressperson);
sometimes a term of endearment
crapshoot
risky and uncertain venture; from craps, a dice game
D
diaper
An absorbent undergarment (UK: nappy)
dime
a 10-cent coin. Derived from the Latin word for ten decem. A variant on
Disme, the original spelling. Five-and-dime, dime store, a store selling
cheap merchandise; a dime a dozen, so abundant as to be worth little; on
a dime, (slang) ten dollars, in a small space ("turn on a dime") or
immediately ("stop on a dime"); nickel-and-dime, originally an adjective
meaning "involving small amounts of money" and then "insignificant", also
a verb meaning "to rip-off via many seemingly insignificant charges". (The
nickel [DM] is the 5-cent coin.) In Britain, the old sixpence, a small coin
worth the equivalent of 2.5p, was formerly used in similar expressions
before decimal currency was introduced in the early 1970s.
direct deposit
a method of payment by bank transfer, similar to European giro, almost
exclusively used for deposits of pay checks or government benefits
dishrag
a cloth for washing dishes (UK and US: dishcloth)
dish towel
a towel for drying dishes (UK: tea towel)
divided highway
a road with a highway median (UK: dual carriageway)
docent
a university lecturer; also a volunteer guide in a museum or similar
institution
doohickey
word used for an unknown item (a thingamajig or just a thingy) (UK:
wotsit)
douche
device for rinsing the vagina; also douchebag is used as an insult
downspout
pipe for carrying rainwater from a gutter to the ground (UK & US:
drainpipe)
downtown
(noun, adv., adj.) (in, to, toward, or related to) either the lower section or
the business center of a city or town—compare (UK city centre) uptown,
see article for New York City usage; (noun) in basketball, far from the
basket (as outside the three-point line)—used of a shot; (adj., adv., noun)
a euphemism to describe oral sex, the act of performing oral sex, or to
refer to genitalia
driver license, driver's license
(UK: driving licence)
drugstore
a pharmacy, or a store selling candy, magazines, etc. along with
medicines (UK approx.: chemist or "corner shop" [DM])
druthers
preference of one thing over another derived from a contraction of "I would
rather" or "I'd rather" (e.g. "if I had my druthers, I'd...")
drywall
gypsum board, plasterboard, or any process that builds interior walls
without the use of water (UK: plasterboard)
dude
A male or a farm hand at a horse ranch. Americans often use this as the
combined equivalent of the British usage of "mate" and "bloke", or, even
closer, as the equivalent of Caribbean "man/mon". Dude has become
more common in the UK because of television, movies, etc.
Dumpster
(trademark: might be becoming genericized) large trash receptacle (UK
approx.: skip [DM]); to dumpster-dive, to rummage through a Dumpster
dweeb
a boring, studious or socially inept person (a nerd, a geek or a "drip" an
old-fashioned mild pejorative for someone exceptionally eccentric or
lacking in social skills)
E
eggplant
the plant Solanum melongena (UK: aubergine); "eggplant" is common in
the Commonwealth outside the United Kingdom.
Elevator
(UK: Lift)
Emergency brake
brake in motor vehicle operated by a lever used to keep it stationary. (UK:
handbrake)
eminent domain
the power of the government to take private property for public use (similar
to UK compulsory purchase)
English muffin
(UK: "muffin", "hot muffin") (for more, see article)
envision
to envisage
eraser
(UK: rubber)
expiration
As in expiration date (UK: expiry)
expressway
A type of multi-lane divided highway (UK dual carriageway)
exurb
The ring of prosperous rural communities beyond the suburbs, see
Commuter town
F
fanny pack
pouch-like bag that ties or snaps around the wearer's waist (UK: bum
bag). See also fanny in [DM].
faucet
water outlet (UK and US: tap [DM])
feedlot *
animal feeding operation used for finishing livestock, notably beef cattle,
prior to slaughter
flack
a publicist or press agent; sometimes also an alternate spelling of flak
"negative commentary", which is used in the UK. Although flack "press
agent" was first recorded just one year after flak "Flugabwehrkanone", the
two are likely unrelated.
flashlight
portable battery-powered electric lamp (UK: torch)
flatware
knives, spoons, and forks (as opposed to holloware); (UK usually cutlery
[DM], although flatware is used in the UK antiques trade as a specialist
word)
freeway
(see article) (UK motorway)
French press
Device for making coffee (UK: cafetière)
freshman *
a first-year student in college or high school (also fresher in UK)
(French) fries
pieces of potato that have been deep-fried. Originates from Belgian style
of cooking potatoes (UK chips eg fish and chips or pie and chips)
frosting
A confection applied to cakes (US and UK: "icing")
G
garbage
(UK: rubbish)
gasoline
(esp. in the past also spelled gasolene; abbreviated gas) (UK: petrol)
gee-whiz
as an interjection, a euphemism for "Jesus"; as an adjective, denotes
something characterized by or meant to cause excitement or sensation
("gee-whiz technology"; "a gee-whiz attitude")
general delivery
(UK: poste restante)
green thumb
(UK: green fingers)
grifter *
a con artist, transient swindler, or professional gambler (UK: con man);
also grift can mean an act of thievery or trickery
gotten
Archaic in most of the UK except Yorkshire where it is widely used.
grits
A maize (sweetcorn) porridge common in the southern U.S. and unknown
in the UK
grunt
Slang for infantryman : (UK: squaddie)
H
half bath
a bathroom [DM] that lacks a shower or bathtub (i.e., a bathroom which
lacks a place to actually bathe.) Equivalent to a British W.C. or Cloakroom
heavy cream
double cream (UK)
hickey
a bruise on one's skin resulting from kissing or sucking; (UK: love bite)
highball
(see article)
HVAC
Heating + Ventilating (or Ventilation) + Air Conditioning (used in technical
circles in the UK)
I
intimate apparel
lingerie; used mainly in advertisements.
J
K
kitty-corner
see catercorner
L
ladybug
a red, black-spotted beetle (UK: ladybird)
M
mortician
(UK & US: undertaker, funeral director)
N
narc
law enforcement narcotics agent; but 'to narc on' someone is to inform on
them to an authority figure, used also as a noun labeling a person who
does such (UK: Grass) (This term is also used in New Zealand)
New York minute
(colloquial) quickly. (Popularized by comedian David Letterman as "the
time it takes a tourist who's visiting New York to leave their hotel and get
mugged.")
nightstand
encompassed by bedside table
normalcy
normality. Used, although not coined, by Warren G. Harding ("a return to
normalcy")
O
obligated
(UK: "obliged")
P
pacifier
(UK: dummy [DM], comforter [DM])
pantyhose
(UK: tights, a term used for similar non-sheer garments in the U.S.;
"pantyhose" refers only to sheer or semi-sheer nylon-based tights)
paper route
a regular series of newspaper deliveries (UK: paper round)
parking garage
multi-storey car park
R
rad
different or interesting, exceptional; synonym for cool
S
Saran wrap
(Saran is a trademark) plastic wrap (UK: cling film)
sawbuck
sawhorse; also a ten dollar bill
scads
great amounts of something
scallion *
also used in Ireland; also known as spring onion in Great Britain and the
US
soda fountain
(see article)
sweatpants
(UK: track bottoms)
T
teleprompter
(see article) (UK: compare autocue)
thru
Through. An abbreviation mostly used in the fast food industry, as in Drive
Thru. Also used in traffic signs ("Thru Traffic Keep Left", i.e. traffic that is
continuing through an interchange rather than exiting should keep to the
left) and occasionally road names ("New York State Thruway") and
sometimes in newspaper headlines. Generally not considered acceptable
spelling in other contexts.
thumbtack
short nail or pin with a large, rounded metal head (UK: drawing pin)
U
undershirt
an upper undergarment with no collar, and with short or no sleeves, worn
next to the skin under a shirt (UK: singlet, vest [DM], semmit in Scotland
and Northern Ireland)
upscale
relating to goods targeted at high-income consumers; upmarket
V
vacation
an individual's earned time off from work: usually 1 to 4 weeks (UK:
holiday)
vacationer
someone taking a vacation [DM] (UK: holidaymaker)
vacay
informal shortening of vacation (comparable to UK hols)
variety meats
offal
varmint or varmit
(from vermin) pest which raids farms, rather than infesting them
W
washcloth
(UK: flannel, UK often & US less frequently facecloth; US less frequently
also washrag)
Y
Yinz, yunz, you'uns
(Western Pennsylvania, especially Pittsburgh) plural you; derived from you
ones
Z
zinger
a witty, often caustic remark; something supposed to cause surprise or
shock
ZIP code
(for Zone Improvement Plan) the postal code used by the United States
Postal Service composed of 5 digits as in 90210, sometimes a suffix of 4
digits after a hyphen is used. (UK equivalent: postcode or post code or
rarely postal code)
zipper *
(UK usually zip [DM])
zucchini
the plant Cucurbita pepo, also zucchini squash. (UK: courgette)
4_Words with differing meanings
Word
accommodation
accumulator
ace
British English Meanings common to
meanings
British and American
English
housing
something supplied
rechargeable
battery
good, excellent
American
English
meanings
a local public
conveyance,
one that accumulates
a one in a suit of playing (v.) to perform
cards
outstandingly *;
appropriate (v.), to take (money) to take and assign
to dispense
appropriation (n.) to oneself
(money), to budget
B
Word
balmy
(adj.)
British English Meanings common to British
meanings
and American English
insane
pleasantly warm
American English
meanings
banger a sausage, as in a type of firework
(n.)
"bangers and
mash"
bang(s)
small explosions or reports;
(v.) have sexual intercourse with
(vulgar slang) ( eg. "bang some
chick" or "he's banging her")
bog (n.) toilet (slightly
wetland
vulgar slang)
bogey
dried nasal
mucus
the score of one over par in golf
a particularly clubfriendly beat or song
locks of hair on
forehead (UK: fringe)
A plot of farmland
used to grow
cranberries
an unidentified
aircraft, often
assumed to be that of
an enemy
alternate spelling of "Bogie"
(nickname of Humphrey Bogart)
boiler
(n.)
1.an old fowl
1. device (usu. oil or gas-fired) for A car (1930s slang)
best cooked by heating water for central heating
boiling;
or hot water *, "central heating
boiler" (US furnace);
2. (derogatory) an ugly
woman (usually in the
phrase "old boiler")
vessel in which steam is generated
C
Word
callbox
(n.)
call for
(v.)
can (n.)
British English
meanings
Meanings common American English
to British and
meanings
American English
telephone booth (UK also
roadside emergency
telephone box)
telephone
to require or advocate to predict or anticipate
("The forecast calls for
rain")
small metal container can (v.): to fire
someone from a job
(UK: sack)
can (n.): bathroom (slang), jail (UK:
gaol)
campsite area or park for people to
(n.)
camp in (US:
campground)
canfield a patience (solitaire) card
(n.)
game (US: Klondike)
spot for a particular
person or group to
camp, often within a
campground (UK: pitch)
a patience (solitaire)
card game (UK:
Demon)
car (n.)
railway vehicle, only in
combination
caravan towed recreational
vehicle containing
accommodation
chips
Long cuts of deep fried
(food)
potato, usu. thick cut
resembling American
steak fries
chippie, carpenter (slang);
chippy
fish-and-chip shop
(slang) (Scot, Ire:
chipper)
motorcar (n.) (UK,
q.v.)/automobile
overland trading
convoy
nonpowered unit in a
railroad or railway train
French fries, in (orig. thin slices of fried
UK) phrase fish and potato*(UK: crisps)
chips
loose woman (dated
slang);
the N. American bird
Chipping Sparrow
D
Word
British
English
meanings
daddy longlegs, crane fly
daddy-long-legs
davenport
a type of
writing table *
Meanings common to British American English
and American English
meanings
daddy long-legs spider
Opiliones
[both prob. from the names of a type of couch,
their resp. manufacturers; both often convertible
old-fashioned]
into a bed
E
Word British English meanings
Meanings common to American English
British and American
meanings
English
faculty
division of a university,
academic staff of a
dealing with a specific
school, college or
group of disciplines (e.g. university
faculty of arts)
fag cigarette (slang) *
(v.) to tire, exhaust ("the male homosexual
(in England; obs.) young
fagged whale abated his (short for faggot)
public schoolboy who acted speed" – H. Melville) (obs. (insulting slang) *
as a servant for older pupils usage in US)
drudgery, chore ("it is such a
fag – I come back tired to
death" – J. Austen)
faggot kind of meatball (see faggot Male homosexual
(food)), bundle of sticks, usu. (insulting slang) (see
for use as firewood (oldfaggot (slang)).
fashioned; often spelled
fall
fagot).
to become pregnant. (Either descend or tumble
autumn
as in 'I fell pregnant' or as in become sick, come down
'She fell for a baby.');
with an illness ("he fell ill")
(uncommon in US)
prove attractive ("fall for
someone", "fall in love")
G
Word
gagging
gallon
gangbanger
garage
(see also
pronunciation
differences)
garden (n.)
garnish
gooseberry
British English
meanings
Meanings
American English
common to
meanings
British and
American
English
(especially as in
choking
gagging for it)
fighting the urge
desperate, especially to vomit ("that
for sex
was so
disgusting, I was
gagging")
4.54609 litres (about
3.78541 litres (about
6/5 of US gallon)
5/6 of UK gallon)
group rapist
gang member
fuel filling station, e.g. place where
(parking garage)
"a Texaco garage"
vehicles are
building serving as a
(also petrol station, US: repaired
public parking facility
gas station)
building attached (UK: multistorey car
a genre of music
to or in the
park or just multistorey)
grounds of a
residence for
storing a car
area around a
area within a yard
residential structure
(land) for growing
(US: yard)
plants or vegetables
(UK: vegetable garden,
vegetable patch)
(n. (v.)) (to add) (v.) to take (as a
decorative or
debtor's wages) by
savory touches to legal authority
(food or drink)
(v.)to furnish
supernumerary third
a green hairy
person preventing a
summer fruit
couple from courting (Ribes hirtellum in
(US: third wheel)
the USA),
government
(Ribes grossularia
in Europe)
the cabinet or
the act or office of the collective agency
executive branch (US: governing
through which
the administration)
government is
the political party
exercised (UK: the
supporting the cabinet
state)
in parliament
all such individual
agencies (UK: the
public sector)
H
Word
British English
meanings
haberdasher a dealer in small items
and accessories, as for
sewing; hence
haberdashery (US:
notions)
half
half pint of beer, cider or
lager
halfway
a place where victims of
house
child abuse, orphans or
teenage runaways can
stay, a shelter
Meanings
American English
common to British meanings
and American
English
a dealer in men's
apparel and
accessories; hence
haberdashery
fifty percent/0.5
times.
drug rehabilitation
or sex offender
centre
I
Word
British English
meanings
Meanings common
to British and
American English
icebox
cabinet containing ice
for food refrigeration
ice pick
ice axe, a tool with a
pointed end used by
rock- and mountainclimbers for splitting
ice
immediately (conj., informal) as (adv.) directly; in no
soon as ("I await your time
call immediately you
get this message")
American English
meanings
refrigerator
small awl-like tool for
breaking ice into small
pieces for drinks
Indian corn
indicator
inspector
(police)
IRA
direction-indicator
light on a vehicle
(US: turn signal)
lowest supervisory
rank above sergeant
(rough US equivalent:
lieutenant)
Irish Republican
Army [listed here to
reflect common
usage]
Zea mays (historical
or technical; usually,
UK maize or
sweetcorn, US corn,
q.v.)
one that indicates
A particular variety of
maize/corn, with
multicolored kernels,
used for decorations
senior rank in some
police departments
(rough UK equivalent:
superintendent)
Individual Retirement
Account
J
Word British English
meanings
Meanings common to
American English
British and American
meanings
English
jab
an injection with a
(informal) to stab, thrust,
hypodermic needle, as or penetrate. biting
in the case of an
remark, sarcasm.
inoculation (US: shot)
jam a preserve made from traffic hold-up
certain kinds of fruit
fruits boiled in sugar
preserve, especially the
difficult situation
and set with pectin
kinds with pieces of fruit
(US: jelly), especially
left in: strawberry jam
including the seeds of
the fruit
jelly a fruit flavoured
a preserve made from the a preserve made from
dessert set with gelatin liquid of fruits boiled in
fruits boiled in sugar and
(US: Jell-O
sugar and set with pectin, set with pectin (UK:
(trademark), gelatin
without pieces of fruit
jam), especially
dessert (generic))
(e.g.'redcurrant jelly')
including the seeds of
the fruit
Jesse (often as Big Jesse,
A male name (uncommon
derogatory insult for a in the UK).
man) Non-macho,
A shortening of the female
effeminate, sometimes name Jessica.
gay.
jock a Scotsman or a
slang term for an athlete
Scottish Terrier
slang term for the
(Scottie) (slang)
undergarment called an
a private soldier (slang)
athletic supporter or
(UK: squaddie)
jockstrap
joint piece of meat for
connection between two (slang) hand-rolled
carving *
objects or bones
cigarette containing only
(slang) hand-rolled
an establishment,
cannabis
cigarette containing
especially a disreputable (slang) prison ("in the
cannabis and tobacco one ("a gin joint"; "let's
joint")
case the joint") (slang,
orig. US)
jolly very (informal) (as in happy; jovial
jolly good)
jug
any container with a
(jugs) breasts (slang)
large container with a
handle and a mouth or
narrow mouth and
spout for liquid (US:
handle for liquids (similar
pitcher)
to UK pitcher)
jumpera knitted upper body jump shot in basketball
pinafore dress
garment (US: sweater) Non-permanent electrical jump suit
connection, especially on
a PCB
just
(When used at the end fair, equitable, merely,
of a sentence, as in: "I simply, exactly, barely
survived, but only just") (when used before word it
barely
modifies)
K
Word
keen
British English Meanings common to
meanings
British and American
English
eager or intent
on, example: he
is keen to get to
work on time.
keeper a curator or a
goalkeeper
one that keeps (as a
gamekeeper or a
warden)
American English meanings
desirable or just right,
example: "peachy keen" –
"That's a pretty keen outfit
you're wearing." (slang going
out of common usage)
a type of play in American
football ("Quarterback keeper")
something of significance ("that's a keeper"). Can
be used in many contexts. Often used in sports
fishing to refer to a fish not released.
kit
kitty
clothing, esp. a any of various sets of
sports uniform
equipment or tools
(e.g. football kit) a set of parts to be
assembled, e.g. into a
scale model
affectionate term for a
housecat
a group of person or objects
("the whole kit and (ca)
boodle/billing")
piggy bank
vagina (vulgar slang) ("Singin'
collective source of funds (esp. for a
group of people)
klaxon (slang) a fool,
idiot
kleenex
'hey diddle diddle' with your
kitty in the middle" -Aerosmith, Walk this Way)
Trademark (somewhat
generic) for a
mechanical alarm or
horn used in
submarines and early
automobile models
specific brand of
any disposable paper
disposable paper
handkerchief (from tradename,
handkerchief (Kleenex) example of a Genericized
trademark)
knickerbocker
knickers women's
underwear (US:
panties) or men's
underwear (US:
briefs)
knob
The penis, or
a rounded door handle
specifically the
fool, idiot, dim-witted person
glans (slang,
vulgar) ("polishing
the knob")
knock
to tip over something to rob (esp. a store, slang)
over
("He knocked over a gas
to cause an object to fall over.
station.")
knock to practise before to prepare quickly
to impregnate*(slang,
up
tennis
("Knock us up
sometimes vulgar)
to awaken or
something to eat" —
summon by
L.M. Alcott)
knocking
L
Word
ladder
lavatory
British English Meanings
American English meanings
meanings
common to British
and American
English
a run (vertical a vertical or inclined
split) in the
set of rungs or
fabric of tights steps.
toilet
closet in passenger washbasin, place for washing
vehicles (e.g.
trains) containing a
toilet and
washbasin/sink.
lay by (v.),
lay-by (n.)
(n.) roadside
(v.) to lay aside
parking or rest to stow
area for drivers
(n.) a last cultivating in the
growing of a crop
(v.) to cultivate (a crop) for the
last time
life vest, personal flotation
device (UK: lifebelt or lifejacket)
life preserver a type of
weapon for selfdefence (US:
blackjack)
lush (slang; attractive (usu. luxuriant
an alcoholic *especially female
of a person) used by women
in reference to
men - principally
West Country)
Word
British English Meanings
American English meanings
meanings
common to British
and American
English
mac
abbr. of raincoat a brand of Apple
(Slang; proper n.) A term of
(Mackintosh)
Inc. computers;
informal address used with
abbreviation of
male strangers; generally
Macintosh.
implies more unfriendliness or
disapproval than the more
neutral 'pal' or 'buddy': "Get
your car out of my way, Mac!"
Stereotypically used by
working-class New Yorkers
such as cab drivers. UK
generally 'mate'. Cf. 'Jack.'
Mackintosh, raincoat
Macintosh, a brand
Macintosh, (Mackintosh,
of Apple Inc.
or McIntosh often shortened computers (often
to mac)
shortened to Mac)
(wrongly) McIntosh
Red, a type of
apple
mad
eccentric *
insane
enraged *
very, or a large amount of
something (slang, as in "he has
mad skills")
mail
(used in Royal (n.) the postal
(v.) send a letter (UK: post or
Mail, the name system of a nation send); noun originated mail
of the British
letters, packages, carrier & mailman (UK:
postal system; etc. sent by post; aspostman), mailbox (UK:
cf. postal)
delivered to
postbox; letter box), mail slot,
(Scot.) a
individual, orig. US, mail drop, etc.
payment (tax, UK often post
mailbox
rent, etc.)
(Scot.) a
travelling bag or
pack
mail box
(n. & v.) e-mail, (n.)
armour, as in
"chainmail"
a file for storing
an item of street furniture
electronic mail (or serving as a receptacle for
related computing outgoing mail (UK: post box;
or voicemail usage) letter box; pillar box); a
receptacle for incoming paper
mail (UK: letter box)
N
Word
British English
meanings
Meanings common to American English
British and American meanings
English
napkin
nappy (q.v.), diaper
piece of material used to (oftenest, sanitary
(dated, not well
protect garments from napkin) absorbent
known)
spilled food or to remove piece of material worn
food residues from
by a woman while
around the mouth
menstruating *(UK
[formerly esp. US;
usu. sanitary towel)
alternative UK term
serviette is obsolescent]
nappy
folded cloth or other
twisted or kinked,
absorbent material
considered insulting
drawn up between the
when applied to hair,
legs and fastened
esp. that of persons
around the waist, usu.
of African descent
worn by infants to
(also called napped)
counter incontinence
(US: diaper)
nasty
unsightly, disgusting
(do the nasty) (slang)
have sex
natter
Idle, pleasant chatter
(natter on) Constant,
(US: small talk,
annoying chatter
chitchat)
nervy
nervous, fidgety *
bold, presumptuous
nick
prison or police station small cut
(slang)
(computer jarg.)
to steal (slang)
nickname
to arrest (slang)
nickel
the metallic element (Ni) 5 cent coin (also
'nickle')
five dollars (slang)
nonplussed
bewildered, unsure how unfazed (incorrect
nonce
nor
notion
to respond
usage)
the present moment
a word used only once
a single-use token in a
cryptographic protocol
neither ("'She didn't
and not, or (not) ("neither
come.' 'Nor did he.'") sad nor happy"; "he
(Scotland & Ireland) never eats, nor does he
than ("someone better ever feel hungry")
nor me")
concept, conception,
(pl.) small items and
inclination
accessories, esp. for
sewing (UK:
haberdashery, q.v.);
hence notion store,
notion counter, etc.
a sex offender; in
particular, a child
molestor (slang)
O
Word
British English
meanings
optician
(dispensing optician)
professional who
dispenses lenses and
spectacles
(ophthalmic optician)
professional who tests
eyes and prescribes
lenses (US: optometrist)
optometrist
Meanings
American English
common to
meanings
British and
American English
professional who
dispenses lenses and
spectacles
ophthalmic
optician
ouster
a person who ousts
outside
lane
the part of the road
nearest the vehicles
going in the opposite
direction, used
especially by faster
vehicles (US: inside
in the U.S., optometrist
and ophthalmologist are
separate, opticians are the
same as UK dispensing
opticians
the act of forcing the
removal of someone from
a position of influence or
power
(in both cases the the part of the road
term applies to the nearest the edge, used
rightmost lane in especially by slowerthe direction
moving vehicles (UK:
concerned)
inside lane)
lane)
overall (n.) loose-fitting protective
outer garment (US:
coverall)
(in pl.) sturdy protective
bib trousers; dungarees
R
Word British English
meanings
rabbit (v.) (slang) to talk at
length, usually about
trivial things; usually to
'rabbit on'
railroad tramway (obsolete)
Meanings common
to British and
American English
(n.) the animal
rabbit, a lagomorph
American English
meanings
(rabbit ears) (slang) TV
antenna (usage becoming
obsolete)
(v.) to coerce
the general term for the
to convict with undue system of mass transit
haste or with
using trains running on
insufficient evidence rails: see usage of the
terms railroad and railway
(v.) to work on the railroad
to transport by railroad
see also at underground
railway the general term for the
tramway
system of mass transit
using trains running on
rails: see usage of the
terms railroad and
railway
raisin (UK usage excludes
a large dark grape, any dried grape
currants and sultanas) dried
ramblerone that rambles (as a a type of rose
a style of house, usu. a
hiker), see Ramblers
one who talks
ranch-style house
excessively, often
(see also Rambler
without making
(automobile), Nash
cohesive points (to Rambler)
ramble on)
randy a slang term meaning
a male or female given
sexually aroused
name or nickname deriving
(American horny)
from the names Randall,
Randolph, or Miranda
S
Word
British English
meanings
Meanings
American English meanings
common to
British and
American
English
saloon closed car having two or officers' dining bar, especially in the
(usu.) four doors, a front room on a
American Old West
and rear seat and a
merchant ship
bar that serves only spirits and no food
separate boot/trunk (US:
a room in a house used for receiving guests; a
salon
sedan)
(saloon bar) posh bar
within a pub or hotel
passengers' lounge on a
liner or luxury train (US
approx.: parlor car)
scalp (v.)
to cut the scalp to resell (as tickets) at higher
off; to take
prices (UK: tout)
something away
to trade (as stocks) for quick profits
(n.) trophy, spoils of
victory (informal)
shatteredexhausted
sherbet a fizzy powdered
confectionery
sheriff chief royal peace officer
of a county, now (as high
sheriff) largely only a
ceremonial role (England
and Wales)
local judge, in full sheriffdepute or sheriffsubstitute (Scotland)
broken into
many small
pieces.
devastated
emotionally
a type of frozen dessert (also
spelled sherbert)
elected chief legal officer of a
county, usu. also in charge of
the county's law enforcement
service; elsewhere any
member of a county (vs. state
or local) police
T
Word
British English
meanings
tab
a cigarette
Meanings
American English
common to British meanings
and American
English
a small projection, a formal account for
flap, etc.
services at a restaurant
an informal credit or bar
account, usu. at a
bar ("Put it on my
tab")
The tab key, &#09;
terrace
row of identical or
a type of veranda or (regional) parking (q.v.)
mirror-image houses walkway or area
sharing side walls
close to a building
terrier
member of the
one of various
Territorial Army
smallish breeds of
(slang).
dog
theatre (UK & (or operating theatre) a place where stage cinema ("movie/motion
US), theater hospital room for
plays are
picture theater")
(US)
surgical operations performed
(US: operating room) a principle region of
conflict in a war
through (time) For a period of time,
Up to, until. The shop is
during.
open through lunch
means it closes at lunch
time
tick
the symbol ✓ (US: blood-sucking
arachnid (see tick)
check mark)
sound of an
a moment ("just a
analogue clock
tick")
credit ("on tick")
tick off
to admonish
to annoy
tie
tights
tip
tit
a game between two an article of clothing
teams e.g.
worn around the
Manchester won the neck
tie against London a game result in
which neither
player/team wins
(also draw)
nylons, usu. sheer,
skin-tight, often opaque,
which also cover the
trousers (UK: leggings)
groin (US: pantyhose
or one-piece trousers
if sheer)
and top (UK: unitard),
such as worn by
gymnasts
(n.) a place where (n.) pointed or
(tip one's hand, from
rubbish is disposed narrow end
Poker) to disclose one's
(US: dump (also
advice
intentions or opinions
UK), landfill)
voluntary gratuity
(v.) to pour
paid
various species of woman's breast
small bird of the
(vulgar slang)
genus Parus (US:
chickadee, titmouse)
idiot (slang)
toasted (v)
lightly cooked on
both sides (eg of a
slice of bread)
toilet
room containing a
apparatus for
toilet (US:restroom) excretion
tom
prostitute
unneutered male
cat
torch
handheld device that flaming club used
emits light (US:
as a light source
flashlight)
tosser
idiot *(literally,
one that tosses
someone who
masturbates, a
derogatory term
similar to wanker)
tough (interj.)
I don't care
tout
tower,
tower block
townhouse,
town house
township
track
somewhat drunk
(related toast) in trouble
(v.) commit an act of
arson. (n.) an arsonist.
not a hoarder; someone
who gets rid of things ie
"are you a keeper or
tosser?"
that's unfortunate (short
for "tough luck")
(v.) to promote,
recommend ("the movie
was touted as a
masterpiece")
(v.) to resell tickets at (v.) to importune,
higher prices (US: solicit, or canvass
scalp)
to get and sell
information on
racehorses
a fortified keep, too man-made
power line transmission
small to be named a structure, taller than structure
"castle”
it is wide (see
control tower,
watchtower, water
tower)
historically,
a house in town (as one of two or more
residence of a peer opposed to one in single-family houses of
or member of the
the country)
uniform design and
aristocracy in the
joined by common
capital or major city
sidewalls
in the past, a
an approx. 36-squaresubdivision used to
mile (93 km2) division of
administer a large
land comprising 36
parish
sections
(Scotland) a very
a unit of local
small agricultural
government, see civil
community
township
a trail
used in railway stations
a footprint
awareness
tradesperson a person who sells
goods in a store
trainer
(as with following
number) to denote the
place where a train
arrives at and departs
a skilled manual worker
in a particular field; a
journeyman
a padded sport shoe one who trains
(US similar: sneaker)
tramp
homeless person loose or promiscuous
who moves
woman; prostitute *
(tramps) from town
to town (US also:
hobo)
transit
act or instance of means of public
passing
transportation
transport
the system or the
the act of
business of
transporting
transporting goods oran emotion
("transports of
delight")
transportation
the act of
the system or the
transporting
business of transporting
penal transportation goods or passengers or
the vehicles used in
such a system *
trapezium
a quadrilateral with
a quadrilateral with no
one pair of parallel
parallel sides
sides
trapezoid
(obsolete) a
in anatomy, the
a quadrilateral with one
[dubious – discuss]
quadrilateral with no trapezoid bone and pair of parallel sides *
parallel sides
trapezoid ligament
trick
(n.) an action
(n.) what a prostitute
intended to deceive does for a client
an effective way of (adj.) unstable (of a joint
doing something
of the body) *
trillion
(traditionally) million million million (1012)
million million (1018) (traditional UK:
(US & modern UK: billion, now rare)
quintillion)
trim (n.)
good condition
woodwork, frameworks
etc. in a house
triplex
composed of three a 3-storey apartment or
parts, as a type of 3-apartment dwelling
cardboard, a
cinema, etc.
trolley
troop
trooper
truck
trunk
tube
turnout
twat
twister
tyke
cart or wheeled
a mechanism that electrically powered by
stand used for
rolls along a
means of a trolley
conveying something suspended rail or
track
to carry (the flag or a group of persons,
colors) in a
particularly in a
ceremonial way
military or scouting
before troops
context.
cavalry horse
state police officer
troopship
railway vehicle for
any of various
motor vehicle for
carrying goods
vehicles for carrying carrying heavy cargo
primary road (trunk the human torso
storage compartment of
road)
the main stem of a a car
(trunk call) longtree
distance telephone
call (dated)
the London
a cylindrical
television
subterranean railway structure or device
system
strike, walkout
number of people a place along a highway
taking part in an
for slower cars to pull
event ("voter
over
turnout")
a railroad switch or
point
equipment
output
someone who is
vulva (vulgar)
a jerk; someone acting
being stupid
(pronounced /ˈtwɒt/) inappropriately; an ass
(q.v.)
something that
a tornado
twists
someone from
term of endearment a young animal
Yorkshire (informal, for a child, like "little
sometimes
rascal"
disparaging)
U
Word
British English
meanings
undergroundsubterranean railway
system
Meanings
common to
British and
American English
subterranean
illicit
American English
meanings
the network of
clandestine routes by
a subterranean
space or channel
us
objective case of I (i.e.
alternative to "me")
(informal), esp. in the
North of England ("lend
us a tenner")
which slaves were
helped to escape to
free states and Canada
objective case of
we ("he saw us")
V
Word
British English
meanings
vacation (UK also: vac)
valve
Meanings common to
British and American
English
period between university
terms
American English
meanings
(n.) time off from
work or school
recreational trip
away from home
Vacuum tube, as in
pre-1960 electronics
a device to control the flow
of liquids or gases
vanity
pride in one's appearance a sink-unit in a
bathroom
vest
garment, usu.
sleeveless garment
sleeveless, worn under
worn over a shirt
a shirt
vet
(n.) veterinarian
war veteran or a
(v.) to appraise or verify for person
accuracy or validity
veterinary(n.) veterinarian
(a.) pertaining to the
medical science of caring of
animals
visit (v.)
(trans.) to go and see (a
(intrans.) to pay a
person or place)
visit, stay as a guest
W
Word
waffle
wagon
British English
meanings
Meanings common American English
to British and
meanings
American English
(v.) to speak to no
A type of pancake with (v.) to equivocate,
purpose; ramble
a pattern of square
waver, speak
dents in it, made in a evasively
waffle iron.
railway vehicle for
4-wheeled orig.
small wheeled food
transporting goods (US: animal-drawn vehicle service table
freight car)
(v.) "walk out with", to be (v.) to leave a meeting featuring outdoor
romantically involved
in protest
access
with (archaic)
walking stick
(n.) a stick to aid with (n.) a type of insect
walking
(UK : Stick Insect)
warden
any of various
gener., one in charge official in charge of
of something
a prison
wash up
to wash the dishes; to
to wash one's
clean after eating food,
hands and face; to
hence washing-up liquid
clean before eating
(US dish soap)
food
watershed a ridge of hills (which
(fig.) a turning point
a drainage
"sheds water")
basin/water
catchment area
(shift from orig.
sense) *
well
really (colloquial, used adverb of good
for emphasis) ("that was healthy, in good form
well funny")
pit sunk to obtain
water or oil
wicked
(interjection) used for
(adj.) evil; fierce;
very
something very good, roguish; vile
astounding or interesting
("Wicked!")*
wifebeater, (slang) the beer Stella (wife beater) one who a sleeveless shirt
wife-beater Artois
beats up his wife
wing
panel of a car that
apparatus used to
(vehicles)
encloses the wheel area create lift in
(US: fender)
aeronautics
a type of
wing
air force officer rank (US
a duty title for an air
commander equivalent: lieutenant
force officer
colonel)
wingnut
(n.) derogatory term for (n.) a nut with
(n.) (mild) a crazy or
a person with prominent, projections
strange person
sticking out, ears
wink
(n.) "winker", slang term (n. & v.) the closing of
for a turn indicator (US: one eye
see blinker)
wrangle (v.)
to bicker or quarrel
(esp. West) to herd
angrily and noisily
horses
wreck (n.)
shipwreck
a usu. major road,
that which remains of rail, or air accident
something wrecked
or collision
someone
walk out,
walkout
wrench
a sudden pull or twist a tool used for
emotional distress
tightening nuts and
bolts
X
WordBritish English
meanings
xerox
Meanings common to British
and American English
the Xerox Corporation
American English
meanings
(n.) A photocopied
document *
(v.) To photocopy *
Y
Word
British English
meanings
yankee, (sometimes
yank
disparaging, esp.
when shortened to
yank)
yard
Meanings common to
British and American
English
someone from the U.S.
American English
meanings
(n.)1. A patriot from the
American Revolution; 2. a
New Englander; in the
South, someone from the
Northern US
a courtyard
enclosed area of land
an enclosed space used for surrounding a dwelling,
a particular activity (as a usu. comprising lawn and
railway service area, a
play area
lumberyard or timber yard,
a junkyard, etc.)
a unit of length
Z
WordBritish English
meanings
z
(pronounced /ˈzɛd/)
Meanings common
to British and
American English
the last letter of the
alphabet
zebra (zebra crossing) a
an African equine
type of pedestrian
mammal
crossing
(pronounced /ˈzɛbrə/)
*
American English meanings
(pronounced /ˈziː/)
a nap ("to catch some z's")
zero or no ("I have z cash right
now.")
a referee (as in American
football) (from their striped
uniforms)
(pronounced /ˈziːbrə/)
police car (slang)
zip
(short for zip
a sharp, hissing
fastener) a fastening sound
device (US: zipper) impetus
file format for
compressed files
("archive.zip")
zero (often in scores, similar to
the UK's nil)
(often all cap.) the ZIP code
(from Zone Improvement Plan),
the postal code used by the
USPS
VII. The choice of word
* In Britain the word whilst is used almost substituted with while, and whilst is the
more common . Whilst is often used in instruction , legal documents, etc. To
Americans the word whilst, in any context, seems very pretentious . The words
amidst (as opposed to amid), and to a lesser extent amongst (as opposed to
among) are also rarer in AmE. ("In the midst" is a standard idiom in both).
* In the UK generally the term fall meaning "autumn" is common .
*In the UK, the term period for a full stop is now rare, even when used as a
phrase, such as "Don't do that. Period."
*Some words are more commonly used by the British than by Americans. An
example is the use of shall as opposed to will .Shan't is no longer used by
Americans (rarely replaced by won't or not going to), . American grammar also
tends to ignore some traditional distinctions between should and would .
* Fitted is used in both countries as an adjective ("fitted sheets" are the same
size as the mattress) and as the past tense of fit ("to suffer epilepsy", for
example, "Leavitt fitted" in The Andromeda Strain); however fit and fitting do not
denote epileptic seizure in ordinary British use (though that usage is common
within medical circles), as the same effect is achieved by to have a fit or to throw
a fit.
Numbers
When saying or writing out numbers, the British will insert an "and" before the
tens and units, as in "one hundred and sixty-two" and "two thousand and three",
whereas Americans will typically drop the "and" as in "two thousand three";
however, "two thousand and three" is also common. The same rule applies when
saying numbers in their thousands or millions: "four hundred and thirteen
thousand" would be said by a British speaker, whereas the simpler "four hundred
thirteen thousand" by an American speaker; "four hundred and thirteen
thousand" is incorrect according to American mathematical conventions.
Selected lexical differences
Levels of buildings
There are also variations in floor numbering between the U.S. and UK. In most
countries, including the UK, the "first floor" is one above the entrance level while
the entrance level is the "ground floor"; whereas normal American usage labels
the entrance level as the "first floor" and does not use "ground floor." Some
American buildings have a "ground floor" or another name for the entrance level,
usually as part of a plan to cater to cosmopolitan persons. =Idioms
A number of English idioms that have essentially the same meaning show lexical
differences between the British and the American version; for instance:
BrE
not touch something with a bargepole
AmE
not touch something with
a ten-foot pole
sweep under the carpet
sweep under the rug
touch wood
knock on wood
see the wood for the trees
see the forest for the
trees
throw a spanner
throw a (monkey) wrench
tuppence worth (also two pennies' worth, two two cents' worth
pence worth or two pennyworth)
skeleton in the cupboard
skeleton in the closet
a home from home
a home away from home
blow one's trumpet
blow (or toot) one's horn
In some cases the "American" variant is also used in BrE.
Education
In the UK, a student is said to study a subject (or, at Oxford or Cambridge, to
read a subject), while in the U.S., a student either studies the subject or majors in
it (except at a few Ivy League schools, such as Princeton University, Brown
University, and Harvard University, where one "concentrates" in it). Unlike most
of the world where university students pursue a single field of study, United
States universities often require a variety of courses. To major refers only to the
student's principal course of study, while to study may refer to any class being
taken.
Transport/Transportation
Americans refer to transportation, while British people refer to transport.
Differences in terminology are especially obvious in the context of roads. The
British term dual carriageway, in American parlance, would be a divided highway.
Central reservation on a motorway in the UK would be a median on a freeway,
expressway, highway, or parkway in the U.S. The one-way lanes that make it
possible to enter and leave such roads at an intermediate point without disrupting
the flow of traffic are generally known as slip roads in the UK, but U.S. civil
engineers call them ramps, and further distinguish between on-ramps (for
entering) or off-ramps (for leaving). When American engineers speak of slip
roads, or slip ramps, they are referring to on-ramps and off-ramps that have been
rearranged (through use of a grade separation) to minimize weaving on a
freeway segment between two interchanges that are too close together. These
terms are almost never used by the general public in the U.S.
Greetings
When Christmas is explicitly mentioned in a greeting, the universal phrasing in
North America is Merry Christmas. In Britain and Ireland, Happy Christmas is
common, although Merry Christmas is often used. It is worth noting however, that
Americans quite often say "Happy Holidays" when referring to the entire
Christmas season (Christmas, New Year's Day, and the days around them).
"Happy" is also nearly always used with other holidays, such as Hanukkah and
Kwanzaa.
VIII. Writing
Spelling
Some words shared by all English speakers are spelled one way by Americans
(and at times Canadians and Australians) but are spelt differently in some (or, at
times, most) other English speaking countries.
Punctuation
* Full stops/Periods in abbreviations: Americans tend to write "Mr.", "Mrs.",
"St.", "Dr." etc., while British will usually, but not always, write "Mr", "Mrs", "St",
"Dr", etc., following the rule that a full stop is used only when the last letter of the
abbreviation is not the last letter of the complete word. However, many British
writers would tend to write other abbreviations without a full stop, such as "Prof",
"etc", "eg", and so on (so recommended by some Oxford dictionaries).
* Quoting: Americans start with double quotation marks (") and use single
quotation marks (') for quotations within quotations. In general this is also true of
BrE, but can be the opposite when used in book publishing, for example. In
journals and newspapers, quotation mark double/single use depends on the
individual publication's house style.
* Contents of quotations: Americans are taught to put commas and periods
inside quotation marks, whereas British people will put the punctuation inside if it
belongs to the quote and outside otherwise. This means that direct speech
retains punctuation inside the quotation marks in BrE also, with a full stop
changing into a comma if followed by explanatory text.
* Letter-writing: American students in some areas have been taught to write a
colon after the greeting in business letters ("Dear Sir:") while British people
usually write a comma ("Dear Sir,") or make use of the so-called open
punctuation ("Dear Sir"). However, this practice is not consistent throughout the
United States, and it would be regarded as a highly formal usage by most
Americans.
_END OF THE ESSAY_
THUA THAY BAI NAY EM TIM TAI LIEU TU CAC TRANG :
http://www.woodlandsjunior.kent.sch.uk/CUSTOMS/questions/americanbritish/index.html
http://workings.com/LIA_His.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_words_having_different_meanings_in_Americ
an_and_British_English
http://languagestudy.suite101.com/article.cfm/american_english_or_british_engli
sh
http://englishplus.com/grammar/00000193.htm
http://ezinearticles.com/?American-and-BritishEnglishhttp://englishplus.com/grammar/00000193.htm:-Differences-inGrammar&id=642477
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