# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/41 "2018-09-11T13:31:09Z")
Brit: flat US: apartment Result: Brit win for brevity Brit: lorry US: truck Result: truck wins. What the hell is a ‘lorry’, anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/42 "2018-09-11T13:37:22Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Brit: flat > US: apartment > > Result: Brit win for brevity I can never shake myself of the subtle implication that a “flat” should be one story with no stairs. So a “walk up flat” and a “two story flat” sound like oxymorons. ---
**Author:** ![chaika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chaika/32/405_2.png) [@chaika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaika)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/43 "2018-09-11T14:14:47Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Mr.Dibble, I grew up in the US (Northeast), and say “overalls.” I’ve barely heard of “coveralls,” and I’ve lived all over the US, but I haven’t been in many situations where the word would be used, since moving out of the northeast. Usually in the US, overalls and coveralls refer to completely different garments. Overalls, sometimes called “bib overalls” (UK: dungarees) are the stereotypical farmer’s outfit, with shoulder straps, worn over a shirt. Coveralls are one-piece garments with sleeves, often worn by mechanics and the like. Would you use the term overalls to describe both garments? I am not challenging your usage, just interested. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/44 "2018-09-11T14:19:26Z")
> [@chaika](#): > > Usually in the US, overalls and coveralls refer to completely different garments. Overalls, sometimes called “bib overalls” (UK: dungarees) are the stereotypical farmer’s outfit, with shoulder straps, worn over a shirt. Coveralls are one-piece garments with sleeves, often worn by mechanics and the like. My first instinct would be to call it a “jumpsuit” even though that also means other things. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/45 "2018-09-11T14:45:31Z")
UK: Autumn US: Fall Result: tied at the end of regulation, so we play overtime (ahem!) on the adjectival form. UK win because, whatever the US adjective may be, it is not better than Autumnal. j ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/46 "2018-09-11T14:56:47Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Brit: ground floor > US: 1st floor > Result: Brit win, because it’s unambiguous when you’re talking to a mixed audience Including lots of people whose first language isn’t English. Any languages or dialects which refer to the ground floor as the first floor are just wrong. ---
**Author:** ![senoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@senoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/senoy)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/47 "2018-09-11T15:10:42Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > UK: Autumn > US: Fall > > Result: tied at the end of regulation, so we play overtime (ahem!) on the adjectival form. UK win because, whatever the US adjective may be, it is not better than Autumnal. > > j It’s autumn in the US as well. It just depends upon the usage and dialect of the person with whom you are speaking. > [@MrDibble](#): > > UK:Tap > US: Faucet > Win: UK - short and sweet. And even the US uses tap for the important liquids. It’s tap in the US as well although it’s dialectual. Faucet is much rarer where I’m from than tap. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/48 "2018-09-11T15:19:08Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Brit: biscuit > US: cookie > > Americans win this one if only because a biscuit in British can also be an American cracker (a word that may also be used in the US as a sort of ethnic slur) – there is that whole British “pudding” mess that is best avoided entirely I remember the first time I heard Douglas Adam’s story about the guy at the train station stealing his biscuits, I was extremely confused. ---
**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 11, 2018, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/49 "2018-09-11T15:42:44Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Boot was already mentioned in post number 2. Yeah, but it was wrong 😉 US: Entrée UK: Main course Result, narrow win for the UK. ‘Main course’ is clunky and just ‘main’ is little better, but entrée is confusing, being used in most of the rest of the world to refer to the first course, or first after the soup if they’re really being fancy. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/50 "2018-09-11T15:49:05Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Brit: flat > US: apartment > > Result: Brit win for brevity Yeah, “flat” is one of those words that still ends up creeping into my vocabulary from time-to-time while speaking US English because it’s so darn snappy. (I spent a good number of years in mixed US/UK speakers company, and that word became instinctual to me that I have to correct myself occasionally when speaking US English, which is what I speak pretty much always now.) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/51 "2018-09-11T16:35:25Z")
UK: Chemist US: Drugstore Result: Chemist sounds science-like; Drugstore sounds like you’re passing money under the door for your fix. So UK. (Besides, “Boots the Chemist” is the best store name ever-IMHO). ---
**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 11, 2018, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/52 "2018-09-11T16:44:38Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > UK: Autumn > US: Fall > > Result: tied at the end of regulation, so we play overtime (ahem!) on the adjectival form. UK win because, whatever the US adjective may be, it is not better than Autumnal. > > j In the US, the adjective is — “fall”. I call that a US win. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/53 "2018-09-11T17:05:26Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > In the US, the adjective is — “fall”. I call that a US win. What’s the weather like today? UK: very autumnal US: very fall Really? Besides, have a word with Senoy. You guys say Autumn anyway. 😉 j ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/54 "2018-09-11T17:11:48Z")
UK: Saloon US: Sedan Result: US win. A saloon is the same as a pub, not a car. UK: Coupe (spoken “Coo-pay”) US: Sports car Result: I am going with a UK win here. Coupe sounds better, and even American muscle cars are not cars driven in motor sports. ---
**Author:** ![senoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@senoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/senoy)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/55 "2018-09-11T17:21:22Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > UK: Coupe (spoken “Coo-pay”) > US: Sports car > > Result: I am going with a UK win here. Coupe sounds better, and even American muscle cars are not cars driven in motor sports. If they call a sports car a coupe, then what do they call a coupe? And ‘sports car’ is because it’s a car driven for sport(meaning pleasure or entertainment) as opposed to a car driven for pragmatic reasons. As for autumn and fall, US wins just because we have both. Sometimes fall works and sometimes autumn. You get to pick your poison. So you can have ‘I can’t wait for fall to get here.’ or you can go with ‘Nothing beats a crisp, autumn morning.’ If you want to write a poem, fall sounds crass. If you want to talk about a football Saturday, autumn becomes pretentious. So you get to play with them both. US for the win! ---
**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 11, 2018, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/56 "2018-09-11T17:22:14Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > What’s the weather like today? > > UK: very autumnal > US: very fall > > Really? > > Besides, have a word with Senoy. You guys say Autumn anyway. 😉 > > j We typically say “autumn” when we are being poetic or technical. “Fall” is much more common – in fact, ISTR hearing “fall equinox”, even from educated people. The US is slightly larger than the UK, to the extent “autumnal weather” is not meaningful, from Montpelier to Monterrey. I think it is more common here to use less broad terms. ---
**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 11, 2018, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/57 "2018-09-11T17:23:27Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > But “Hen party/night” isn’t just used Oop Norf and beyond… > It’s sexist when you compare it to the male equivalent - women are hens, men are stags. The women I know took to calling them vixen parties, instead. That’s women in the UK, mind you. I know, moved Dahn Sahf over 10 years back; in fact, I live in Cornwall now, about as far from Oop Norf as you can get without getting yer feet wet. Still not heard ‘hen’ in a negative way in anything but old books. It beats ‘Doe night’. ‘Vixen party’ has not caught on, I’ve never heard of it. It seems an odd choice; ‘vixen’ has more negative baggage than ‘hen’ in my view, vixens in popular culture are tricksy, vicious and generally unpleasant to be around\* and the word is straight up used as an insult. It sounds like they’d go out hunting hen parties. So, maybe appropriate for many hen parties, in my experience working as a bouncer. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/58 "2018-09-11T17:28:11Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Mr.Dibble, I grew up in the US (Northeast), and say “overalls.” Do you use it for dungarees/bib overalls? Or also for the all-in-one sleeved garment ? ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/59 "2018-09-11T17:34:03Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > It sounds like they’d go out hunting hen parties. I think that was the intended implication. We are talking mostly Goths and art school types here, not the kind of people who particularly cared what popular culture said. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/60 "2018-09-11T17:34:08Z")
Since we in the uncivilized parts of the globe sill use Daylight Savings, it would be hard to remember when to set the clocks back. “Spring forward, Autumn back” makes no sense. I always knew the equinoxes as Vernal and Autumnal. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123.md?page=4)