# American vs. British English: brainstorm **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 24, 2003, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-vs-british-english-brainstorm/183985 "2003-06-24T09:55:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Fionn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fionn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fionn)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-vs-british-english-brainstorm/183985/41 "2003-06-24T14:11:17Z")
A couple of things I’ve noticed: British: She’s round at a friend’s house. American: She’s over at a friend’s house. B: They must do. A: They probably do. The usage of the word “jumper” in a novel confused me to no end until I learned it meant “sweater.” ---
**Author:** ![Space\_Vampire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Space\_Vampire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Space_Vampire)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-vs-british-english-brainstorm/183985/42 "2003-06-24T14:17:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Davebear \* > \*\*That’s due to ‘Murkin iggerance. People think the Robin part is a title, meaning Robbing (robbin’), as opposed to his first name. \*\* Are you kidding me? Please don’t tell non-Americans that, they’re likely to believe it. ---
**Author:** ![Gotterfunken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/58956e/32.png) [@Gotterfunken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gotterfunken)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-vs-british-english-brainstorm/183985/43 "2003-06-24T14:45:53Z")
a few of my favorites: American/British sweater=jumper pacifier=dummy trash/garbage can=dust/rubbish bin cigarette=fag bathroom=toilet (Americans restrict the term “toilet” to the device itself, and do not use it for the room in general) ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-vs-british-english-brainstorm/183985/44 "2003-06-24T14:47:04Z")
Well I don’t believe it **Space Vampire**. He’s called Robin all the way through the story, so it’s obviously his name. There seems to be some confusion about bumpers. On a British car they _are_ the horizontal protectors near street level at the front and back of the vehicle. **kferr** has indicated that in the US “fender” equates to the British “wing”, not bumper. Is that correct? I believe fender used to refer to a [protective metal surround](http://www.dapsites.com/clients/rockingham/guard.htm) laid on the floor in front of an open fire in Britain. > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by CCYMan_ > Here’s my question. It seems that the term “UK” would be at least somewhat politically charged, but from what I can tell, it isn’t. Do you use “Britain” and UK interchangeably? Careful speakers don’t use those terms interchangeably, but not everybody is a careful speaker. You will hear people saying Britain when they mean UK and vice versa, but it’s just a sloppy innacuracy rather than something politically significant – if you’re talking about British/Irish politics, anyone who doesn’t like “the UK” won’t feel any better about “Britain”. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-vs-british-english-brainstorm/183985/45 "2003-06-24T14:48:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Angua \* > \*\*No it hasn’t. We still call a million million a billion 😛 \*\* Maybe _you_ do, but the UK media (including the Times and the Financial Times) are using it to mean a thousand million. So there. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-vs-british-english-brainstorm/183985/46 "2003-06-24T14:57:20Z")
Everything’s bigger in Birmingham. ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-vs-british-english-brainstorm/183985/47 "2003-06-24T15:20:02Z")
**jr8** , damn! I know, its silly. 😛 **Everton** , yup, including our traffic jams 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-vs-british-english-brainstorm/183985/48 "2003-06-24T15:27:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dwc1970 \* > \*\*One of the first ones I thought of was “telly”, British for “television.” > \*\* I don’t think that really counts. Everyone knows that it is called the television and a lot of people call it that. “Telly” is a bit of informal slang. ---
**Author:** ![Space\_Vampire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Space\_Vampire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Space_Vampire)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-vs-british-english-brainstorm/183985/49 "2003-06-24T15:33:25Z")
Oh, do Brits say “TV games?” ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-vs-british-english-brainstorm/183985/50 "2003-06-24T15:42:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Space Vampire \* > \*\*Oh, do Brits say “TV games?” \*\* Not really. Videogames? Computer/PC games is sometime sheard to refer to videogames, but this usage (IMHO) is dyign out somewhat so you have have a more strict videogames on consoles, computer games on PCs. ---
**Author:** ![elfje](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19b73/32.png) [@elfje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfje)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-vs-british-english-brainstorm/183985/51 "2003-06-24T15:48:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mhendo \* > \*\*It’s just a bicycle. > > I grew up in Australia, and recently when i used the term “push bike” (to distinguish it from a motor bike) my American girlfriend asked me what the hell i was talking about, and quite correctly pointed out that you don’t push it, you ride on it. > > B] you push it with your legs. I think that’s where the term comes from. Besides, the first bicycles used to be push-bikes. Literally. You had the frame, the seat, but no pedals. You were supposed to run your feet along the ground as you were sitting on the seat. here’s a link with pics: [http://www.pedalinghistory.com/PHhistory.html](http://www.pedalinghistory.com/PHhistory.html) it was called a **walking machine** so there you go. push bike/pedal bike. All the same to me 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Space\_Vampire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Space\_Vampire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Space_Vampire)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-vs-british-english-brainstorm/183985/52 "2003-06-24T15:51:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by amanset \* > \*\*Not really. Videogames? Computer/PC games is sometime sheard to refer to videogames, but this usage (IMHO) is dyign out somewhat so you have have a more strict videogames on consoles, computer games on PCs. \*\* I will wait for a Brit to confirm, but I will tenatively put “TV games” on the list of Hong Kong English to be discouraged. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-vs-british-english-brainstorm/183985/53 "2003-06-24T15:55:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Space Vampire \* > \*\*I will wait for a Brit to confirm, but I will tenatively put “TV games” on the list of Hong Kong English to be discouraged. \*\* I am a Brit. ---
**Author:** ![Space\_Vampire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Space\_Vampire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Space_Vampire)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-vs-british-english-brainstorm/183985/54 "2003-06-24T16:15:09Z")
Oh. You and your pesky location. How about “subway,” does this mean a tunnel for pedestrian traffic to you? ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-vs-british-english-brainstorm/183985/55 "2003-06-24T16:20:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Space Vampire \* > \*\* > How about “subway,” does this mean a tunnel for pedestrian traffic to you? \*\* Yes. We understand what it might mean to other people but don’t use that meaning ourselves. At least I think so. Actually, what do they call the undergrounds in Newcastle and Glasgow? Anyone know? ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-vs-british-english-brainstorm/183985/56 "2003-06-24T16:24:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Space Vampire \* > \*\*Oh. You and your pesky location. > > How about “subway,” does this mean a tunnel for pedestrian traffic to you? \*\* _Sometimes._ It very much depends on context and location. Round here, they tend to be called “underpasses”, but I have been to towns where they are known (and signposted) as “subways”. If I heard and American use the term, though, I would probably assume he was talking about an underground railway. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-vs-british-english-brainstorm/183985/57 "2003-06-24T16:25:20Z")
In Newcastle we call the underground railway “The Metro” ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-vs-british-english-brainstorm/183985/58 "2003-06-24T17:05:51Z")
**Fancy dress party** In the US, this will usually indicate formal attire: tuxedo/dinner jackets or gowns (as appropriate to one’s gender). In the UK, this is a costume party. It is important to make sure you know which type you’re going to. I suppose that if you turn up to the UK version in a tuxedo, you could fake it by doing James Bond imitations all evening. In the reverse situation, however, you might have some difficulty explaining why you wore a bunny costume to a formal affair. ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-vs-british-english-brainstorm/183985/59 "2003-06-24T17:12:26Z")
I wonder what they call soft-soled general sports shoes in Hong Kong? The standard term in the UK is trainers (abbrev. for training shoes) but I believe sneakers is slipping in here too. Nobody seems to have mentioned these yet either: **British/American** : anorak/parka – anorak is also UK slang for a nerd badger (or mither, pron. m-eye-there)/hassle, verb biscuit/cookie spanner/wrench tap/faucet or spigot? Swiss roll/jelly roll off licence/liquor store paraffin/kerosene side/English (in billiards, pool etc.) BTW, chippy is also a slang term for a carpenter in the UK. Fag is slang for cigarette, but ciggie and tab are just as common. I believe the Subway is a nickname for the underground railway in Glasgow, as is the Clockwork Orange. [This site](http://chem.csustan.edu/jtb/Funnies/DICTIONARY/Eng-to-USA.htm) lists lots more examples. ---
**Author:** ![Bruce\_Daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Bruce\_Daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bruce_Daddy)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-vs-british-english-brainstorm/183985/60 "2003-06-24T17:13:07Z")
Here’s one from the _Getaway_ (the PS2 game). Whenever you bump another car the person yells out “Come back, I need your details!” If that happened over here I’d ask, “Details about what?” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-vs-british-english-brainstorm/183985.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-vs-british-english-brainstorm/183985.md?page=4)