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- Accumulator (automotive) =
battery, car battery
- Alsatian (dog) = German
shepherd
- Articulated lorry =
tractor-trailer (truck), a "semi"
- Ass = donkey; U.S. ass = G.B.
"arse," i.e. one's backside (in addition to normal
"donkey")
- Athletics (an ... meet) = track
and field
- Backlog = log-jam, pile-up (of
business orders, for example). U.S. backlog = comfortable
reserve of orders -- difference between the two is in
opposite interpretation or connotation of same basic
situation.
- Bank holiday =
holiday
- Bap = bun, hamburger bun,
hamburger roll
- Mrs. Beeton = Fanny Farmer
(standard cooking, household reference
book)
- Bespoke = custom-tailored,
tailor-made
- Big Dipper = roller coaster (at a
"Fun-Fair" = "Amusement Park"
- Bilberry =
blueberry
- "Bird" = "chick"
- Biro = Papermate (ball-point pen
trade name which equals "generic" name)
- Biscuit = cookie (U.S. "biscuit"
is a baked bread, "bap," "scone"
- Blancmange = vanilla
pudding
- Block, block of flats = apartment
building (U.S. term "block" [city block] unknown
as such in British English, though usually
understandable.
- "Bomb" (theater terminology) = a
"hit," a great success. U.S. "bomb" = G.B. failure,
critical disaster, i.e. the two are exact opposites in
sentences like "The play was a bomb!"
- Boiler suit =
overalls
- Bonnet (automotive) = hood (of a
car...)
- Boot (automotive) = trunk (of a
car...)
- Bottom drawer = hope
chest
- Bowler (hat) = derby (special
connotations & different pronunc.)
- Braces = suspenders; U.S.
suspenders = G.B. garters, stocking
fasteners
- Brambleberry =
blackberry
- Bottom of the street = end of the
street
- Box (TV) = Tube (both slang,
colloquial terms)
- Bull = "mickey mouse" (unnecessary
military drill); U.S. bull = G.B. cock
- Bum = ass, rectum; U.S. bum = G.B.
tramp, derelict
- Bun in the oven = pregnant, eating
for two
- Call box = (tele)phone
booth
- Camp bed = cot; U.S. cot = G.B.
baby bed
- Car park = parking
lot
- Caretaker (for a building) =
janitor (not same as "vahtimestari")
- Carriage (railway) = railroad car,
subway car
- Carrier bag = shopping
bag
- Caucus = permanent group in a
political party; U.S. caucus = G.B. ad hoc planning
meeting of a group in a political party
- Central reservation = median strip
(between halves of a divided highway)
- Charge sheet = police
record
- Chemist (drugstore) =
druggist
- Chips = french fries; U.S. chips
often = dried buffalo, cow dung (other cases, i.e. poker
chips, wood chips, the same)
- Chucker-out = bouncer (doorman or
"enforcer" in a bar/restaurant
- "In the City" = "on Wall Street"
(in main financial district)
- City editor = financial editor;
U.S. city editor = G.B. "community news
editor"
- Cloakroom = toilet; U.S. cloakroom
= clothes closet, garment storage area
- Coach = intercity
bus
- Combinations = union suit
(colloquial for long underwear)
- Comforter = scarf; U.S. comforter
= heavy quilt, blanket
- Compére = Master of
ceremonies, M.C. (of TV game show, etc.)
- Constable = (police)
officer
- "To cop" = "to get" something
unpleasant, i.e. "to cop a 15-pound fine." U.S. "to cop"
= to plead guilty to a lesser charge in order to avoid
prosecution & probable conviction on a more serious
charge ("to cop a plea" =
"plea-bargaining")
- Corn = all grain crops; U.S. corn
= G.B. "maize" only.
- Costermonger = pushcart
seller
- (Sent to) Coventry =
ostracized
- Crisps = potato
chips
- Cupboard = closet; U.S. closet =
G.B. w.c., or toilet
- Davenport = antique folding
writing desk; U.S. davenport = large sofa, often which
folds out into a bed at night.
- Deposit account = savings
account
- Dinner jacket = tuxedo ("black
tie" formal dress)
- Dormitory = bedroom; U.S.
dormitory = G.B. residence hall
- Dresser = kitchen sideboard; U.S.
dresser = bedroom drawers, vanity
- "Duck" = "goose egg" (a zero on
the scoreboard of a sports match)
- Dumb = mute; U.S. dumb usually
means "stupid" rather than "mute," which is a secondary
meaning in U.S. usage.
- Dustbin = garbage can, ashcan
(exterior waste-disposal unit)
- Dynamo (automotive) = generator
(within automobile engine)
- Earth wire = ground wire (in
electricity, electronics)
- Elastic band = rubber
band
- To Enjoin = to compel, to legally
force; U.S. enjoin = to legally forbid -- i.e. same term
in same general contextual usage has precisely the
opposite meaning
- Ex-serviceman = veteran; U.S.
veteran = G.B. old ex-serviceman; (U.S. term has
no special age connotation, only that the person have had
prior military experience sometime)
- Fag = (a) cigarette; (b)
public-school underclass "servant"; U.S. fag = low-slang
term for male homosexual.
- Fanny = vagina (vulgar usage);
U.S. fanny = light euphemism for "backside," either male
or female.
- First floor = second floor, etc.
(Britain walks in ground floor, goes up 1 set of stairs
to first floor; U.S. ground floor and first floor are the
same.
- Fish slice = pancake turner,
spatula (kitchen tool); U.S. spatula = G.B. tongue
depressor (medical instrument)
- Fitted carpet = wall-to-wall
carpeting
- Flan = pie, fruit
pie
- Flannel = washcloth; U.S. flannel
= heavy warm cotton fabric; "flannels" would be long
underwear made from such heavy warm
fabric.
- Flat = apartment; U.S. flat =
tenement flat = poor-standard slum
apartment.
- Flick knife = switch-blade knife,
a switchblade
- Flyover = overpass (as in a bridge
over a road); U.S. flyover = airplane passing over a
certain place, as in military parade "flyovers"; verb is
"to overfly."
- Form (school) = grade [i.e.
first form = first grade in school]
- Garden = yard; U.S. garden =
vegetable garden, fljower garden, i.e. area of special
cultivation. U.S. yard = G.B. paved area (lorry
yards)
- Goods (car, train) = freight; U.S.
goods = supplies, commercial stock
- Grind = sexual intercourse; U.S.
grind = slang for "hard (routine) work."
- Haberdasher = notions seller; U.S.
haberdasher = men's clothing seller
- To Hack = to (deliberately) kick;
U.S. to hack = to chop, cut viciously.
- High street = Main
street
- To Hire = to rent (in most cases);
U.S. to hire = to employ Hire-purchase = (the
"never-never") = installment plan
- Hoarding = billboard (large
advertising sign alongside road)
- Hold up = traffic jam; U.S. holdup
= robbery at gunpoint.
- Homely = home-loving, domestic,
pleasant; U.S. homely = plain- looking (female),
therefore often "left" at home.
- To Hoover = to vacuum (carpets,
etc.) "Hoover" in the U.S. is a brand name only, never
used as a verb.
- Inland = internal, domestic
(Inland Revenue = Internal Revenue)
- Inverted commas = quotation marks
(GB = 'xx'; USA = "xx")
- Inquiry agent = private
detective
- Jelly = Jello (deriving from brand
name Jell-O, gelatin dessert)
- "On the job" = having sexual
intercourse; U.s. "on the job" = while working, learning,
i.e. "on the job training."
- Joint = pot roast; U.S. "joint" =
marijuana cigarette
- Juggernaut lorry = a very large
truck, an overlong truck, a "double semi"
truck
- Jumble sale = rummage
sale
- Jumper = light pullover (sweater);
U.S. jumber = type of knee- length woman's dress worn
over blouse or sweater
- Kirby grips = bobby pins (to
fasten long hair ...)
- A Knock-up = (tennis) to warm up,
to volley a few, to practice-volley
- To Knock up = to awaken, call
early in the morning; U.S. "to knock up" is colloquial
for "to impregnate"
- Lacquer = hairspray; U.S. lacquer
= wood varnish, shellac (high-gloss), i.e. protective
decorative wood coating
- Ladder = (in women's stockings" =
a runner, a run
- Lay-by = (beside a road) = a
pull-off, a rest area.
- Left-luggage office = check room,
baggage check (room)
- Level crossing = railroad
crossing.
- Lift = elevator
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- Lip balm =
chapstick
- Logic-chopping = splitting hairs,
hair-splitting
- Long jump (in athletics) = broad
jump (in track and field)
- Lorry = truck
- Loud-hailer = bullhorn, amplified
megaphone
- Lucky dip = grab bag (children's
party game or activity ...)
- Lumber room = spare room, storage
room (in a home)
- Mackintosh = raincoat, overcoat,
trenchcoat
- Mains = ordinary built-in home
electrical network (no special word as equivalent in
U.S.)
- Market garden = truck
farm
- Marrow (vegetable) = squash,
gourd
- Mason = stoneworker; U.S. mason
can be stone- or brickworker
- Marriage lines = marriage
certificate
- Mean = stingy, tight with money;
U.S. "mean" normally means nasty, spiteful, ill-meaning
in action toward another
- Mess kit = formal military dress
for ceremonial dining; U.S. mess kit = army or boy scout
utensils for cooking or eating a meal on the
trail.
- Minced meat = hamburger meat,
ground beef; U.S. mincemeat = sweet, spicy ground
meat/fruit/nut combination used for making pies,
especially around Thanksgiving/Christmas
- Mineral water = any carbonated
soft drink; U.S. mineral water = bottled natural water
(containing normal minerals) from spring or health spa,
Perrier water, etc.
- Mistress = teacher in girls'
school; U.S. mistress = lover
(extramarital)
- Mob = gang, group (neutral); U.S.
mob = angry crowd; "the mob" = Mafia
- Motorist, motoring = driver,
driving
- Music Hall = vaudeville (generic
entertainment type/place name)
- Nappy = diaper (for infants not
toilet-trained)
- A Neat drink = a straight drink,
i.e. "give me a straight whiskey" = whiskey without water
or other additives
- Nervy = nervous, jumpy; U.S. nervy
= bold, impertinent, i.e. nearly the opposite of the
British usage
- Night club = private membership
club; U.S. nightclubs are public (commercial)
entertainment places
- Number plate = license plate (on
automobiles)
- Off-license = liquor
store
- Old boy (girl) = alumni, alumnus,
alumna [of a school]
- Pantechnicon = moving
van
- Panda car = police patrol car,
police cruiser
- Patience (card game) =
Solitaire
- Pecker (keep your pecker up) =
keep your chin up; U.S. pecker = penis
- Pram (peramulator) = baby
carriage, baby buggy, stroller, walker
- Petrol = gasoline, gas (to go in
automobiles, airplane, etc.)
- Pie = meat pie; U.S. pie is always
a fruit or fruit-derived pie, unless "a meat pie" is
specifically indicated
- Pillar-box = mailbox, post office
box, letter box, letter drop
- Pissed (he was really...) = drunk;
U.S. "pissed = angry, upset
- Pitch (soccer) = field (football)
[GB "football" = US "soccer"]
- Plimsolls = sneakers, tennis
shoes, gym shoes
- Point = electric outlet, railroad
switch (depending on context)
- Polka dots = chocolate chips (food
product for baking)
- Prawn = shrimp
- Prom, prom concert = music
concerts where most of the audience is standing; U.S.
prom = dance, semi-formal, especially at end of year in
high schools, colleges
- Rates = local, municipal property
taxes
- Redundant = laid off (from a job);
U.S. redundant = superfluous (no connotation of
connection with jobs at all)
- Return ticket = round-trip
ticket
- Ringway = circular road (around a
city), bypass
- Rise = raise in
salary
- To Roger = to "screw," have sex
with; to exploit, take advantage of, to
use
- Roll neck (pullover) = turtleneck
(sweater).
- Roundabout = traffic
circle
- Rubber = eraser; U.S. rubber =
condom, prophylactic device
- Saloon = "sedan" car (automobile);
US saloon = western-style bar
- Saloon bar = one section of an
English pub
- Sanitary towel = sanitary napkin,
feminine hygienic item
- A good screw = a good salary; U.S.
"good screw" equals good "fuck" or good sexual
experience
- To Screw = to cajole, persuade,
extract money from; U.S. "to screw" = to have sex with,
fornicate
- Season ticket = commuter (train,
bus) ticket; U.S. season ticket is card or ticket of paid
admission to all home games in one season of a particular
sports team
- To Second to = to temporarily loan
staff to another job or unit
- Sellotape = Scotch tape (both
brand names now used as "generics"
- "Semi" = duplex, duplex house;
U.S. "semi" = tractor-trailer truck rig
- Seminary = Roman Catholic seminary
only; U.S. Seminary can be ANY religion, i.e. Lutheran,
Methodist seminaries
- Sherbet = powdered, fruit-flavored
candy; U.S. sherbet = G.B. sorbet (pronounced
"soorbay")
- Shorthand-typist =
stenographer
- To shy = to throw something (he
shied a rock at the stray dog...)
- Sideboards = sideburns (in a
hairstyle)
- Single = one-way ticket; U.S.
"single" in context would mean "only one" as opposed to
"several" tickets
- To Snog = to neck (i.e. kissing,
hugging, etc., esp teenagers)
- Spinster = any unmarried woman;
U.S. spinster is always OLD unmarried
woman
- Standard lamp = floor lamp (as
opposed to table or wall lamp)
- S.T.D. (subscriber trunk dialling)
= direct distance dialling [on the telephone, as
opposed to dialling through operator]
- Steps = ladder; U.S. "steps"
always would mean staircase, built- in stairway or
staircase
- To stream (pupils in a school) =
to track (streaming = tracking)
- Stroke (punctuation) = diagonal,
slash
- To Stuff = to fornicate, have sex
with; U.S. "I'm stuffed..." = to be comfortably,
pleasantly full of food, satiated
- Sub-editor = copy reader or
rewrite person, in journalism
- Subs = dues, as in union dues,
etc.
- Subway = underground walking
passage, underpass, pedestrian tunnel; U.S. subway = G.B.
"underground," i.e. underground railway system for public
transportation
- Superannuation scheme = retirement
pension plan
- Supply teacher = substitute
teacher
- Supertax = surtax
- Surgery = a doctor's office,
office hours, reception time; U.S. "surgery" refers to
"surgeon" operating on a patient
- Suspenders = garters, for socks or
stockings only; U.S. suspenders = G.B. braces, for
holding up trousers
- Sweet = dessert, or piece of
candy
- Sweetshop = candy
store
- To Table (parliamentary procedure,
conference terminology) = to put on agenda for immediate
handling; U.S. "to table" = to put aside
[indefinitely], to delay further
handling
- Tannoy = public address (p.a.)
amplification system
- Teat = baby bottle nipple; US teat
= GB nipple = breast nipple
- Terrace house = row house, garden
apartment, town house
- Are you Through? (telephone) = are
you connected; U.S. "are you through"? = are you
finished, completed, with your call
- To tick = to check, place check
mark beside
- Tights = hose, panty hoseh,
nylons, nylon stockings; U.S. tights = leotards,
skin-tight exercise suit, knit stocking
pants
- Tinkle = telephone call [give
me a tinkle sometime]; U.S. "tinkle" = children's
talk for "to urinate"
- Tip = garbage dump; U.S. tip =
hint, advice, clue
- Torch = flashlight; U.S. torch =
burning, flaming light or weapon
- Touchline = sideline (in sports,
such as on soccer pitch, etc.)
- Tower block = high-rise apartment
building
- Trade union = labor union (but
usually organized by "trades" in England, by "industry"
in the U.S. -- US "Auto Workers' Union" would be
represented by different "trades" in GB)
- Tram = streetcar, trolley
car
- Transport cafe = truck stop
(roadside cafeteria, restaurant, popular with truck
[lorry] drivers
- Traveller = travelling
salesman
- Treacle = molasses
- Trousers = pants; U.S. pants =
G.B. underwear shorts
- Trunk call = long-distance call
(on a telephone)
- Turn it up (colloquial) = stop it,
cut it out! U.S. "turn it up" = increase the
volume
- Undercarrige = landing gear
(aircraft)
- Underdone = rare (extent to which
you wish your meat cooked)
- Underground= subway (cf
"subway")
- Vest = undershirt; U.S. Vest =
G.B. waistcoat
- Windscreen (automotive) =
windshield
- Wing (automotive) = fender, bumper
(pre-70s designs...)
- White spirit = turpentine, paint
thinner; U.S. "white lightning" (spirits) = potent
home-distilled backwoods alcohol!
- Wholemeal = whole-wheat (bread,
flour, etc.)
- Yankee/Yank = any American in
general, U.S. Yankee = Northeast erner ONLY, i.e.
specific regional, historical definition
- Zebra crossing = crosswalk,
pedestrian crossing (Ped Xing)
- "Zed" = "Zee" (pronunciation of
last letter in alphabet)
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