# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-vs-british-english-brainstorm/183985/61 "2003-06-24T17:43:32Z")
hoover = vacuum both as a noun and a verb. StG ---
**Author:** ![Planet\_of\_the\_Shapes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Planet\_of\_the\_Shapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Planet_of_the_Shapes)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-vs-british-english-brainstorm/183985/62 "2003-06-24T18:04:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bruce\_Daddy \* > \*\*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?” \*\* I think that is insurance details… ---
**Author:** ![Exgineer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Exgineer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exgineer)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-vs-british-english-brainstorm/183985/63 "2003-06-25T00:04:22Z")
I’m not sure if this fits here, but what the heck. What’s a “milk float?” It sounds to this Yankee like some sort of beverage, but I gather from context that it’s a type of vehicle. Would it be a milk truck like a big 18-wheel tanker, or a delivery van? Or maybe something else. ---
**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 25, 2003, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-vs-british-english-brainstorm/183985/64 "2003-06-25T00:11:05Z")
A milk float is a small open-backed vehicle, often electric-powered and sometimes three-wheeled, which is used for delivering milk to people’s doorsteps. The back part is for the milk bottles (and cream and yogurt and whatever). They don’t go very fast at all. If you’ve ever seen the “Speed 3” episode of _Father Ted_, Dougal is driving a milk float. And if you haven’t seen it, you’re missing out. ---
**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 25, 2003, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-vs-british-english-brainstorm/183985/65 "2003-06-25T00:13:35Z")
Just thought of a good comparison: a milk float is like a golf cart with a short flatbed area in the back. Definitely not for highway driving. ---
**Author:** ![krisolov](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/krisolov/32/3724_2.png) [@krisolov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/krisolov)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-vs-british-english-brainstorm/183985/66 "2003-06-25T01:09:23Z")
how about a football pitch vs. a soccer field? ---
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-vs-british-english-brainstorm/183985/67 "2003-06-25T03:43:24Z")
A _parka_ is worn in the Western Arctic of North America, while an _anorak_ is worn in the East. I suppose British (or UK ;)) explorers picked up the latter word in Greenland or Hudson’s Bay. And I’m surprised nodody has mentioned “I’ll knock you up in the morning.” ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-vs-british-english-brainstorm/183985/68 "2003-06-25T05:46:26Z")
We Americans don’t often use the words “bloody” or “bugger” to express contempt like our British friends do. I don’t think “bloke” (gentleman) has been mentioned yet, either. We rarely say that one here. ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-vs-british-english-brainstorm/183985/69 "2003-06-25T08:04:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by rjk \* > \*\*And I’m surprised nodody has mentioned “I’ll knock you up in the morning.” \*\* Nobody’s said that for about fifty years. Thanks for the info about parka/anorak. ---
**Author:** ![Davebear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@Davebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Davebear)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-vs-british-english-brainstorm/183985/70 "2003-06-25T11:29:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by everton \* > \*\*Nobody’s said that for about fifty years. Thanks for the info about parka/anorak. \*\* Don’t be _too_ grateful, yet. I’m in the east, and I’ve never heard anyone use the word anorak. Perhaps that’s a Canadian/American difference. I’ve seen it in catalogs, and in novels, but that’s it. They’re parkas, here, when we’re ambitious enough to name the style. Usually, they’re just coats. And, I’m sorry to say, I wasn’t kidding about _Robin_ Hood. Perhaps it was just me and my friends, but I was a teenager before I realized that Robin was his name, not his title. And, that was after years of watching movies and cartoons in which he was always called _Robin_ Hood. It could be my leaky memory at fault, but I believe the first time I ever heard it pronounced Robin _Hood_ was in the Kevin Costner/Alan Rickman movie _Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves_. That _may_ also have been the first time I ever saw him portrayed wearing a hood. Generally, he was portrayed wearing a “Robin Hood hat”, like [this.](https://advances64.advances.net/partypirates/bag_boy/cosmic_pic.cfm?item=980) I initially thought the “Hood” part of his name was his last name. When I found out, again as a teenager, that his actual last name was Locksley, I assumed the “Hood” came from hoodlum or “a gang of hoods”. ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-vs-british-english-brainstorm/183985/71 "2003-06-25T11:32:21Z")
Here’s a few more: American / British truck / lorry Camping trailer / caravan Bus (as in long haul Greyhound bus) / coach 4 lane divided highway / dual carriageway phone booth / phone box cell phone / mobile movie theater / cinema bun (as in hamburger) / bap dump (where you take your trash) / tip (where you take your rubbish) ---
**Author:** ![Exgineer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Exgineer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exgineer)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-vs-british-english-brainstorm/183985/72 "2003-06-25T11:39:35Z")
Thanks for the milk float explanation, **jr8**. We don’t have anything like that here. I’m sorry, **Davebear** , but I think it pretty much is just you and your friends. I don’t know anybody who was confused in the least by the Robin Hood thing. ---
**Author:** ![manwithaplan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@manwithaplan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manwithaplan)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-vs-british-english-brainstorm/183985/73 "2003-06-25T11:51:21Z")
“Hoodlum” is more or less uniquely American, as is “hood”. I’m having trouble coming up with an exact equivalent on this side of the pond - “criminal” is a bit formal and “wide boy” doesn’t really have the same connotations. “Bum” used in reference to a homeless person is also not in use over here. “Tramp” is probably the most common term. I often see “DUI” used on the Boards. The equivalent here would be “drink driving”. The terms “felony” and “misdemeanour” are also more often found in common use in the states as far as I can make out. Slang and sexual terms also differ greatly. “Giving head” is not really in use here - “blowjob” is much more common. To “make out” is “get off with” or “cop off with” or, for a uniquely Irish term, to “shift”. Americans “get wood”; Brits get “a stiffy” or are “on the horn”. The list is endless. ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-vs-british-english-brainstorm/183985/74 "2003-06-25T11:58:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Davebear \* > Don’t be _too_ grateful, yet. I’m in the east, and I’ve never heard anyone use the word anorak. Perhaps that’s a Canadian/American difference. I’ve seen it in catalogs, and in novels, but that’s it. They’re parkas, here, when we’re ambitious enough to name the style. Usually, they’re just coats. Curiouser and curiouser. My desk dictionary claims that the word itself is of Eskimo origin (are we not supposed to use that word?), but doesn’t give any other advice. Anyhow, I believe the slang use referring to a nerdy person with an intense interest in a peculiar hobby is much more common here than the garment name these days. > [@](#): > > And, I’m sorry to say, I wasn’t kidding about _Robin_ Hood. Perhaps it was just me and my friends, but I was a teenager before I realized that Robin was his name, not his title. And, that was after years of watching movies and cartoons in which he was always called _Robin_ Hood. It could be my leaky memory at fault, but I believe the first time I ever heard it pronounced Robin _Hood_ was in the Kevin Costner/Alan Rickman movie _Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves_. That _may_ also have been the first time I ever saw him portrayed wearing a hood. Generally, he was portrayed wearing a “Robin Hood hat”, like [this.](https://advances64.advances.net/partypirates/bag_boy/cosmic_pic.cfm?item=980) I initially thought the “Hood” part of his name was his last name. When I found out, again as a teenager, that his actual last name was Locksley, I assumed the “Hood” came from hoodlum or “a gang of hoods”. He’s a semi-legendary character so it’s difficult to find hard facts about who he was or what people really called him, but mentioning _Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves_ is amusing because they made so many obvious errors in that film that they might as well have called him Eliot Ness. > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by kferr_ > bun (as in hamburger) / bap That’s an odd one. Big burger chains have popularised the use of bun to such an extent that I’ve seen supermarkets selling them here under that name (especially if they’ve got sesame seeds on top). The traditional meaning of bun here is a sweetened bread roll containing raisins etc. and perhaps a sugar-glazed top (= sticky bun). Small bread items have numerous regional and local names, of which bap is only one. Where I grew up (Liverpool) they are called balm cakes, where I went to university (Sheffield) they are called bread cakes and there are lots more names for them. There’s also a place called Loxley near Sheffield and a local legend claims that that is where Robin Hood was from, not Nottingham. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-vs-british-english-brainstorm/183985/75 "2003-06-25T12:21:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by manwithaplan \* > **Americans "get wood"** Whilst we are talkign about wood, Brits say “Touch wood” when Americans would say “Knock on wood”. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-vs-british-english-brainstorm/183985/76 "2003-06-25T16:39:29Z")
On the subject of bread buns, I’ve called them that all my life, and I’m somewhat older than the widespread popularity of American burger chains. But then, I live in the North East of England. The names for baked products can be very local indeed, since until recently, they were always produced and sold locally. Also, the earliest references to Robin Hood that I’ve seen use Hood as a surname. The “of the hood” construction seems to have been a later invention, as is the connection with Loxley (and for that matter, Nottingham) – he was originally said to come from Barnsdale in Yorkshire. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-vs-british-english-brainstorm/183985/77 "2003-06-25T17:17:46Z")
goodness, i’ve found out that i speak and write a strange mix of uk and us english. if your house is burgled in the states they will dust for prints. if you are burgled in the uk they will polish for prints. i enjoy using the word whilst, i don’t think it is archaic. ---
**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 25, 2003, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-vs-british-english-brainstorm/183985/78 "2003-06-25T17:51:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Planet of the Shapes \* > \*\*I think that is insurance details… \*\* No, I get it. I just think it’s funny. ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-vs-british-english-brainstorm/183985/79 "2003-06-25T17:57:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by rocking chair \* > **if your house is burgled in the states they will dust for prints. if you are burgled in the uk they will polish for prints.** First I’ve heard of it, and a Google search drew a blank. Where did you hear that **rocking chair**? ---
**Author:** ![Davebear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@Davebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Davebear)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-vs-british-english-brainstorm/183985/80 "2003-06-25T18:18:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Exgineer \* > \*\*I’m sorry, **Davebear** , but I think it pretty much is just you and your friends. \*\* Could be. But, I should point out that I’ve never even been to Hollywood, and they all pronounced it _Robin_ Hood, until quite recently. So, that leaves us without _any_ explanation for the mispronunciation, again. What’s yours? > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by everton \* > **He’s a semi-legendary character so it’s difficult to find hard facts about who he was or what people really called him, but mentioning Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is amusing because they made so many obvious errors in that film that they might as well have called him Eliot Ness.** Wouldn’t _that_ be ironic! 😃 Particularly since you probably never would have heard of Elliot Ness, had it not been for the outrageously false movies and TV shows that have been made about _him_. But, who cares? It’s just entertainment. It would be nice if they could at least get the hero’s name right, but apparently there’s some disagreement as to what “right” actually is, in this case. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-vs-british-english-brainstorm/183985.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-vs-british-english-brainstorm/183985.md?page=5)