# The Great British English vs US English Playoff **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 10, 2018, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123 "2018-09-10T20:45:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![SirRay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@SirRay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirRay)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/201 "2018-09-14T13:26:57Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > On classic haircuts for guys of a Certain Class: > > UK: The [Quiff](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quiff). > US: The [Mullet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mullet_(haircut)). > > The UK wins for better haircut but loses for haircut name Er… Quiff - quiff includes plenty of hair at the front of the top of the head, receding into shorter hair at the back with a trimmed back and sides. Mullet - a hairstyle that is short at the front and sides, and long in the back. Isn’t a quiff more or less an anti-mullet? ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/202 "2018-09-14T13:35:30Z")
Can’t resist mentioning: establishments for general hair-cutting and coiffure – both for ladies and gents – seem extremely prone to the use of terrible puns for naming themselves. Some of these are so awful, that you’ve got to like them – e.g. the gentlemen’s hairdressing establishment with the name “Alias Quiff and Combs”. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/203 "2018-09-14T16:23:33Z")
> [@SirRay](#): > > Isn’t a quiff more or less an anti-mullet? I was clear they were different haircuts. But comparable in terms having the same stereotypical cultural significance. E.g., UK: “Heard about the idiot with the quiff that got run in for …” US: “Heard about the idiot with a mullet that got nailed for …” ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/204 "2018-09-14T16:44:22Z")
I have my doubts, because “quiff” sounds oddly close to an American word that means to pass gas. In the US, I think the closest word we have for that hairstyle is “pompadour”. ---
**Author:** ![blob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blob/32/489_2.png) [@blob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blob)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/205 "2018-09-14T23:11:13Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > I was clear they were different haircuts. But comparable in terms having the same stereotypical cultural significance. Not really. “respectable” people still choose either and it’s not a UK/US thing, you can have a mullet anywhere (unfortunately, worst hairstyle ever :D) ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2018, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/206 "2018-09-15T10:49:13Z")
UK: liquorice US: licorice US wins this one by a mile. “Liquorice” is ridiculous. UK: semibreve, minim, crotchet, quaver, semiquaver US: whole note, half note, quarter note, eighth note, sixteenth note Split decision: The US system on the whole is a clear winner for being _intelligible_. On the other hand, Americans need to learn to say “crotchet,” because _crotchet_ is too cool a word to ever go unused. UK: -ise US: -ize US wins, because the z goes back to the original Greek and is unambiguous as to pronunciation. À propos of that: UK: zed US: zee Zed wins. No contest. How can anyone not prefer to say “zed”? UK: naff US: (no equivalent) UK wins this by forfeit, but would have won anyway because “naff” just captures the concept perfectly in a neat syllable. The nearest US equivalent may be “subpar,” but “naff” is simply the right word with the apt tone of dismissiveness. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2018, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/207 "2018-09-15T11:02:18Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > UK flat/block of flats > US apartment/apartment building > > A draw. If a third-party aside is allowed here, the best word for this is Malay: _rumah pangsa_. _Rumah_ means ‘house’ and _pangsa_ denotes the carpels or compartments inside a durian where the seeds and flesh are contained. ---
**Author:** ![CelticKnot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/celticknot/32/3392_2.png) [@CelticKnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CelticKnot)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2018, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/208 "2018-09-15T14:03:40Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > …Or one-hundred-ten. I mean, it’s obviously one hundred _and_ ten, right? “And” in numerical terms is to indicate there’s a fraction with the whole number: One and a half, Seven and five-tenths. One hundred and ten…what’s the denominator? > [@wolfpup](#): > > That one’s easy. The thing in front of your face that keeps the wind out when you’re driving is the windshield. A windscreen is the framed thing in the back of convertible sports cars which is actually like a window screen and whose purpose is to reduce wind turbulence in the passenger area. > > You may never have heard this distinction before because I just made it up, but I declare it to be so. This time the US wins. If any Brits want to argue, remember that I agree with you on fish and chips, but I’ll side with the Americans if you piss me off. A screen has holes in it. Air is allowed through, but bugs and large particulates aren’t. I don’t want a windscreen when I am driving at 75 mph, thanks. > [@Acsenray](#): > > I know of no such distinction in American English between freeway and highway. Both terms imply controlled access. > > Generally it seems to be regional. Some places prefer highway, some prefer freeway. There are many businesses and even residences around here that have highway addresses, such as (Number) Highway 64, (city, state, zip). There’s no limited access here, but many of the roads are named Highway #. There are both state highways and US highways. Limited access roads are freeways or interstates. When I first read the post containing heat/heater, my first thought was baseball: “Come on, Ricky. Give him the heater.” My offering: UK: Aerated water US: soda/tonic/carbonated water I lean toward the US here, because the first time I heard aerated, I had no idea what the waitress was talking about. I can’t stand the stuff no matter what you call it, so maybe my opinion doesn’t matter. ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2018, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/209 "2018-09-15T15:29:07Z")
> [@CelticKnot](#): > > My offering: > UK: Aerated water > US: soda/tonic/carbonated water > I lean toward the US here, because the first time I heard aerated, I had no idea what the waitress was talking about. I can’t stand the stuff no matter what you call it, so maybe my opinion doesn’t matter. Can’t in all honesty say I’ve ever heard “aerated water” used in the UK. Any time I’ve been in a restaurant here I’ve only ever been asked “still, or sparkling?” What part of the UK were you in where you heard" aerated"? ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2018, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/210 "2018-09-15T15:46:08Z")
> [@CelticKnot](#): > > My offering: > UK: Aerated water > US: soda/tonic/carbonated water > I lean toward the US here, because the first time I heard aerated, I had no idea what the waitress was talking about. I can’t stand the stuff no matter what you call it, so maybe my opinion doesn’t matter. I’ve never heard “aerated water” used in the UK. The choice is invariably “still, or sparkling”. Edit: beaten by my esteemed canine compatriot ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2018, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/211 "2018-09-15T16:02:13Z")
I’ve heard ‘soda’ or ‘sparkling’ here (UK), never ‘aerated’. I may start using that at the pub I work in though, just to sound pretentious. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2018, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/212 "2018-09-15T17:29:45Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I know of no such distinction in American English between freeway and highway. Both terms imply controlled access. There are many numbered highways that have cross traffic. Highway 116 in California is one example. California Highway 1 has cross traffic in many places, including Santa Cruz and Mill Valley. U.S. Highway 1 (AKA Route 1) on the east coast has cross traffic just about everywhere. U.S. Highway 20, which goes all the way across the country, has cross traffic in many places. In American usage, a highway is a main road, usually a long, cross-country road. All freeways are highways, but not all highways are freeways. In some parts of the country, a freeway is toll-free, while a turnpike has tolls. “Expressway” is another word for a limited-access highway, but this word seems to be regional. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2018, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/213 "2018-09-15T17:32:51Z")
UK: Car park US: Parking lot “Car park” sounds like a place where cars go to frolic. US wins. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2018, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/214 "2018-09-15T18:04:47Z")
Another car one: UK: wing US: fender Winner: US. A car does not fly. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2018, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/215 "2018-09-15T18:20:46Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > There are many numbered highways that have cross traffic. Highway 116 in California is one example. California Highway 1 has cross traffic in many places, including Santa Cruz and Mill Valley. U.S. Highway 1 (AKA Route 1) on the east coast has cross traffic just about everywhere. U.S. Highway 20, which goes all the way across the country, has cross traffic in many places. > > In American usage, a highway is a main road, usually a long, cross-country road. All freeways are highways, but not all highways are freeways. In some parts of the country, a freeway is toll-free, while a turnpike has tolls. “Expressway” is another word for a limited-access highway, but this word seems to be regional. I know you folks keep saying this but I’ve been American my whole life and I’ve never been in a conversation in which someone used “the highway” or “a highway” to mean anything but a controlled-access road. Numbered roads that are not controlled access—I’ve only heard them calle, r.g., “Route 60,” never “Highway 50.” ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2018, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/216 "2018-09-15T19:32:59Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I know you folks keep saying this but I’ve been American my whole life and I’ve never been in a conversation in which someone used “the highway” or “a highway” to mean anything but a controlled-access road. That is truly odd. Never heard The B-52’s _Love Shack_? " I’m headin’ down the Atlanta Highway." In the region a lot of main roads are “X highway” where X is the next city down the road. In the case of the song, the highway mentioned is shown [here](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Atlanta+Hwy,+Athens,+GA/@33.9473589,-83.5224422,713m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x88f6730b912479df:0x7785d749b74eb64c!8m2!3d33.9405507!4d-83.4736142?hl=en). Runs from their base in Athens to Atlanta. It’s not even a major road between them like 316/I-85, US 29 or US 78. The first is a freeway for only part of the distance. The second isn’t (known as “Lawrenceville Highway” for part of it). The third only has a short stretch of freeway. The Wikipedia article on [the GA segment](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_78_in_Georgia#Gwinnett_County_to_Athens) is notable for the multiple uses of the word highway to describe it. And that’s not even getting into all the famous highways like [US 66](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_66). * * * I want to have a playoff for negative slang word for a rich person: UK: nob (short for “noble”) US: ??? The UK loses points for the homonym “knob” which has a variety of uses in their idiom but let’s just cite “idiot” as an example and not mention the other thing. OTOH, I don’t recall a US equivalent and it might lose by default. They also have “toff” for a pretentious upperclass (or wannabe) person. But “nob” is more common on the British shows I watch. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2018, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/217 "2018-09-15T19:51:21Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > And that’s not even getting into all the famous highways like [US 66](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_66). To be fair to **Ascenray** , that highway is most commonly referred to as Route 66, about which there was a TV show half a century plus back, and a song that advises you to “_get your kicks on Route 66_” On the other hand, Bob Dylan has a song, _Highway 61_, which refers to a road that almost entirely does not resemble a freeway. > [@](#): > > I want to have a playoff for negative slang word for a rich person: > > UK: nob (short for “noble”) > US: ??? > > The UK loses points for the homonym “knob” which has a variety of uses in their idiom but let’s just cite “idiot” as an example and not mention the other thing. OTOH, I don’t recall a US equivalent and it might lose by default. > > They also have “toff” for a pretentious upperclass (or wannabe) person. But “nob” is more common on the British shows I watch. I am familiar with a US term “suit”, which is kind of close, in being derisive, but suits are primarily executroids who have minimal grasp of real life and how there actions affect real people (cf., “MBA”). “Deb” kind of works, but that is gender-specific. The Brits have another word, “boffin”, which is also difficult to find a US equivalent for. “Nerd” or “geek”, perhaps, but neither of those quite fit. I am not fond of “boffin”, but I think the Brits win this one by default. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2018, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/218 "2018-09-15T20:10:55Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > The Brits have another word, “boffin”, which is also difficult to find a US equivalent for. “Nerd” or “geek”, perhaps, but neither of those quite fit. I am not fond of “boffin”, but I think the Brits win this one by default. Boffin just means scientist. It’s one of those words that only really exists as tabloid speak “Top Boffins Probe…” etc ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2018, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/219 "2018-09-15T21:13:32Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I know you folks keep saying this but I’ve been American my whole life and I’ve never been in a conversation in which someone used “the highway” or “a highway” to mean anything but a controlled-access road. > > Numbered roads that are not controlled access—I’ve only heard them calle, r.g., “Route 60,” never “Highway 50.” Naming a road in the form of “City Highway” is common as sand on a beach in Georgia. For instance, the Burger King address in Fitzgerald, Georgia is “278 Ocilla Hwy, Fitzgerald, GA 31750.” That stretch of pavement is also known as U.S. route 319 and 129, but the post office sees it as the Ocilla Highway. People who live along that road would tell you likewise. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2018, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/220 "2018-09-15T21:25:00Z")
UK: fizzy drinks US: pop Point to US. “Pop” is short and snappy, a word with a sound that cuts through ambient noise in a crowded joint when ordering, where “fizzy drinks” would be almost inaudible. Fizzy drinks could mean beer and champagne, but pop is just pop. Signs on merchandise: UK: Nice to look at / Lovely to hold / Once broken, / consider sold. US: You break it, you bought it. A tossup. To be nice or snappy? Each choice has its merits. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123.md?page=12)