American English and British English

[FrancisB]

Whilst watching the numerous American shows on TV, I came across a number of differences between American and British English. For example:

They say 'restroom' or 'wasroom' whereas we call it a 'bathroom.' Also, they call a room with just a toilet and a sink a 'bathroom' even though there is no actual bath.

- They say 'drugs' instead of 'medication.' In Britain 'drugs' is used to describe an illegal substance.

- When they say 'football' they're referring to 'American football.' They call our football 'soccer.'

-For them, 'chips' means potatoe chips i.e. crisps.

Apparently, when people from this country go to America, they're greeted with: 'Can't you guys speak English?'

Can anyone think of any other examples?

[pingping]

i was in a creperie in florida many years ago and ordered an apple crepe for dessert. the waitress said (and i kid you not) " so you want an apple crap?" my response was "no an apple crepp" (phonetically), she replied "an apple creep?"

honestly!! if you're going to work in a french eaterie - pronounce things properly!

[sense4all]

My most recent anomaly was in a New York deli. I saw baguettes and ciabatta in the sarnie cabinet, so when the charmer behind the till barked 'What bread!" I asked for french, took order number and sat down. It arrived on ciabatta ? A baguette was Italian bread - who knew?

One of the Mums at school wanted to reupholster some antique chairs she bought while living here. She rang shop and suppliers all over asking if they stocked Burlap. No ...no ...no came the reply. We called into the first local store and asked for a demo. of different layering techniques to discover burlap is hessian here? You live and learn!

[FrancisB]

I've just thought of two others:

-they call a 'caretaker' a 'janitor'

-they refer to 'petrol' as 'gas.'

[saxy_jag]

They call the pavement the sidewalk, and the road, the roadway.

They call a pier, a boardwalk.

They call a porch, a stoop.

They have dumpsters, we have wheelie bins.

They have commission stores, we have charity shops.

They say 'did you do something' instead of 'have you done something' and 'would of' instead of 'would have'.

When they're online, they say/type 'alota' instead of 'a lotta' or 'a lot of'.

They also differentiate between tights and pantyhose. I have no idea what the difference or British equivalent is, even though my family have worked on the hosiery trade for generations. Please enlighten me.

[saxy_jag]

Pingping, remindsm of the 'old-English tea shop' I found in a Michigan town (they call it a city, but it's smaller than the City of London, I reckon).

Anyway, my aunt (she lives there) and I found this shop 'Bodacious Babes' - I kid you not - that was offering cream teas, so I decided to treat her. Pot of tea, scone, with cream (and that's another thing, they call scones, biscuits and biscuits, cookies).

There was a choice of teas - Earl Gray, some blends I'd never heard of and something called 'English Breakfast Tea'. We thought we'd play safe and opt for the latter which, the owner told me, 'is what your Queen drinks'. Yeah, sure.

Then came the question of what flavour scone. I was expecting fruit, cheese or plain, as you would. Nope! Raspberry or blueberry?

What jam would I like? Strawberry, maybe, or blackcurrant. Even the infamous blueberry? No such luck. "We have apricot, or we have lemon curd," the lady said.

When it came, I was pleased to discover that at least the clotted cream was actually clotted cream. However, would someone please tell the Americans that English scones are actually what they call biscuits, and not those ridiculous scone-ring things that you cut portions from.

[Stu in USA]

I'm a Brit living in the USA, first time in this section!! Anyway a few points: To answer saxy-jag's earlier Q about tights. The Americans never say tights, ie "a ladder in me tights" would make no sense to a yank, they would say "a run in my 'hose" Also noticed recently they always say "right away" instead of "straight away". Period for full stop and be careful if you offer to "knock someone up in the morning" as they'll either be very shocked or possibly very chuffed(another word never heard over here)

[pingping]

i was always fascinated when reading American books as to what 'grits' might be as they sounded quite disgusting for a breakfast dish. when in vegas recently i discovered that they were a semolina or tapioca style pudding. weird breakfast choice!

[Stu in USA]

Grits aren't that different to porridge by the way.

[saxy_jag]

Stu, that's what I always thought, re the tights/pantyhose thing, but I did see packets of both whilst I was over there, and Meg Cabot's characters sometimes talk about both in her books (and I am not so sad that I was going to unpack a pair in the middle of the 'store' just to find out).

What do Americans call what we call stockings? And socks? And those knee-high socks that look like tights under your trousers, which sometimes get called 'popsox' in the UK?

[Firth]

They call car boots "trunks," bumpers "fenders" & estate cars "station wagons". Don't know what they call a fender.
They say "snuck" instead of sneaked & "dove" instead of dived.
They say "Happy Holidays" instead of Merry Christmas & call their Grannies "Gramma."

[saxy_jag]

They say "it fit" instead of "it fitted".

But they do have Peppermint Patties and Twinkies, neither of which you get over here, and both of which I received a supply of from my aunt this morning.

Mmmm!!!! :-) See ya later folks (runs off into a corner with aforesaid supplies).

[SteveD]

Here is an extensive reference list:

http://www.hps.com/~tpg/ukdict/index.php?file= ukdict-1

[Stu in USA]

Stockings and socks are the same on both sides of the Atlantic.

[simsfreq]

This website provides a funny guide:

http://www.effingpot.com/