# Britishisms **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 24, 2004, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462 "2004-12-24T09:51:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2004, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/21 "2004-12-24T19:22:30Z")
[Marge Simpson] “Remember, an elevator is called a ‘lift,’ a mile is called a ‘kilometer,’ and botulism is called ‘steak and kidney pie.’” [/Marge Simpson] ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2004, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/22 "2004-12-24T19:29:32Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > Right away, I’ll point out that I’ll happily wear sweaters, my friend. 😛 Is a jumper a particular kind of sweater, like a pullover? ---
**Author:** ![Daithi\_Lacha](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daithi_lacha/32/5430_2.png) [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2004, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/23 "2004-12-24T19:31:41Z")
> [@kferr](#): > > Here’s a sentence with quite different meanings on either side of the pond: > > “Girls these days wear their pants so low that you can see their fannies”. Hence, Americans say “fanny-pack,” whilst the Anglo-Irish version is “bum-bag.” Being a stranger in a strange land once, I saw a young girl fall on her keister on wet grass. “Whoa! Down goes Orla on her fanny!” Her brother almost killed me! :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2004, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/24 "2004-12-24T20:21:34Z")
US: Spotted Dick = An unpleasant affliction UK: Spotted Dick = A pleasant confection ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2004, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/25 "2004-12-24T20:32:44Z")
you brits suffer from schizophrenia over your Mothers, so let me explain it : 1. A mommy is who kisses you at bedtime 2. A mummy is a wrapped up corpse. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2004, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/26 "2004-12-24T21:07:07Z")
My grandfather (on dad’s side) was from England, and my dad regularly kept in touch with the English relatives and tried, I think, to embrace his English heritage and pass it on to his kids. A few of these English terms were used by our family. (My dad always pronounced “herb” with the H, for instance.) My friends have told me that a few of my turns of phrase are uniquely British and they attribute that to my (somewhat tenuous, at this point) English heritage. I’m not totally convinced, but then, it might be true and I just don’t see it. ---
**Author:** ![primer\_dimer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@primer\_dimer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/primer_dimer)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2004, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/27 "2004-12-24T21:20:59Z")
Regarding \*\* Rayne Man’s\*\* post, I’ve inferred from watching “World’s Wildest Police Videos” that in the US, ‘pavement’ refers to any surfaced road (as opposed to eg. a dirt track). Is that the case? Do Americans ever use ‘Tarmac’ to refer to the road surface itself? pd ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2004, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/28 "2004-12-24T21:23:33Z")
UK \> US knackered \> really tired gobsmacked \> surprised wheeliebin \> trash can on wheels ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2004, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/29 "2004-12-24T21:26:47Z")
> [@primer\_dimer](#): > > Regarding \*\* Rayne Man’s\*\* post, I’ve inferred from watching “World’s Wildest Police Videos” that in the US, ‘pavement’ refers to any surfaced road (as opposed to eg. a dirt track). Is that the case? Do Americans ever use ‘Tarmac’ to refer to the road surface itself? > > pd Tarmac is usually reserved for airport runways. ---
**Author:** ![ColonelDax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@ColonelDax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColonelDax)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2004, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/30 "2004-12-24T23:48:04Z")
IIRC, in \*Murder on the Orient Express \* the character played by Lauren Bacall slips up and shows that she has an American background by saying “I can always call my lawyer long distance” instead of “I can always place a trunk call to my solicitor,” something noted by Albert Finney’s Hercule Poirot. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2004, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/31 "2004-12-25T00:04:25Z")
> [@primer\_dimer](#): > > Regarding \*\* Rayne Man’s\*\* post, I’ve inferred from watching “World’s Wildest Police Videos” that in the US, ‘pavement’ refers to any surfaced road (as opposed to eg. a dirt track). Is that the case? Do Americans ever use ‘Tarmac’ to refer to the road surface itself? Never heard that one. How about “concrete” or “asphalt” or (perhaps incorrect, but used anyway) “cement”? In the U.S., “pavement” = paved surface. I think what Brits call the “pavement,” Americans call the “sidewalk”? And Americans park their cars in a parking lot. The British use “car parks,” which to an American like me sounds like a park for cars. After all, city parks, amusement parks, water parks, and national parks are all particular kinds of parks—why wouldn’t a “car park” be one too? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2004, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/32 "2004-12-25T01:29:37Z")
The Default meaning of ‘Park’ here is what you (seem to) call a city park; there are also industrial/business ‘parks’ (AKA industrial/business/trading estates) ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2004, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/33 "2004-12-25T01:50:08Z")
Boobtasticismallyised I am for missing the birth of this thread. ---
**Author:** ![owlstretchingtime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/958977/32.png) [@owlstretchingtime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/owlstretchingtime)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2004, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/34 "2004-12-25T11:54:05Z")
Faggots - a tasty foodstuff in gravy. Duff - not very good/broken ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2004, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/35 "2004-12-25T15:47:17Z")
> [@Thudlow Boink](#): > > Never heard that one. How about “concrete” or “asphalt” or (perhaps incorrect, but used anyway) “cement”? > > In the U.S., “pavement” = paved surface. I think what Brits call the “pavement,” Americans call the “sidewalk”? > > And Americans park their cars in a parking lot. The British use “car parks,” which to an American like me sounds like a park for cars. After all, city parks, amusement parks, water parks, and national parks are all particular kinds of parks—why wouldn’t a “car park” be one too? Per my Webster’s Random House Unabridged… “6. A space where vehicles, esp. automobiles. may be assembled or stationed.” Yesterday 05:26 PM Mr. Blue Sky Quote: Originally Posted by primer\_dimer Regarding Rayne Man’s post, I’ve inferred from watching “World’s Wildest Police Videos” that in the US, ‘pavement’ refers to any surfaced road (as opposed to eg. a dirt track). Is that the case? Do Americans ever use ‘Tarmac’ to refer to the road surface itself? pd Tarmac is usually reserved for airport runways." And sometimes the broad asphalt area used for marching new recruits at US military training centers-also more often called “grinders”, which term is lso used, among others, for submarine (!) sandwiches (gyros, etc.) “Bloody” by Brits as a common adjectival invective vs. (in some circles) “f\*\*\*ing” in US. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2004, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/36 "2004-12-25T16:49:14Z")
I’ve never known “fanny” to mean anything but ass (arse). I don’t understand. What are you saying it means in the US? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2004, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/37 "2004-12-25T16:59:05Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > I’ve never known “fanny” to mean anything but ass (arse). I don’t understand. What are you saying it means in the US? Fanny means ass in the US, but I think it’s a reference to the female genitalia in the UK. ---
**Author:** ![Tuco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tuco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuco)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2004, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/38 "2004-12-25T18:26:34Z")
> [@Thudlow Boink](#): > > My brother works in a coffee shop, and he was telling me about a British co-worker of his who asks customers “Do you want this for here or to take away?” What’s wrong with that? No seriously, I’m off to San Francisco tomorrow morning and I don’t want to look stupid! > [@betenoir](#): > > rutabaga \> > zucchini\> > arugula\> Are those really words? ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2004, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/39 "2004-12-25T18:28:22Z")
> [@Tuco](#): > > What’s wrong with that? No seriously, I’m off to San Francisco tomorrow morning and I don’t want to look stupid! > > Are those really words? We generally refer to it as either “take-out” or “to go”. Take away is rarely heard over here. And yes, those are really words 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2004, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/40 "2004-12-25T19:27:42Z")
A couple more , Multi-story car park = GB Parking garage = US Skip = GB Dumpster = US [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462.md?page=3)