http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_115a.html
Anybody with any tea-making self-respect simply calls it a kettle, and nothing else. So there.
“Teakettle” is normal USAian. Bare “kettle” conjures up images of open-hearth cooking.
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Criticising Cecil for being a smartarse is rather like criticising the Sun for producing light.
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It was the guy at Johns Hopkins who got it wrong, after all - they referred to it as “teapot” in a context that shows they obviously meant the tea kettle. Cecil’s reference to tea kettle just helps to drive home the difference, for those who are obviously using inaccurate terminology.
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What John W. Kennedy said.
When I get a good cup of tea made by a USAian, I’ll accept everything else said. 
Any questions?