# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/61 "2018-09-11T17:37:07Z")
> [@chaika](#): > > Sorry, I can’t seem to stop. > > Brit: fortnight > US: two weeks > > Result: British win > Reason: having a single word for any measure of time is useful, and fortnight has a lovely crisp sound to it. Also useful for reporting how many furlongs you’ve traveled. ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/62 "2018-09-11T18:07:47Z")
> [@chaika](#): > > For me, “cheese macaroni” would make sense if one wanted to dispense with the conjunction. Then it would be analogous to cheese pizza or cheese sandwich or whatever. But we would never say pizza cheese or sandwich cheese, so macaroni cheese just sounds odd. I get your reasoning; but – as told of in my previous post – probably because of long acquaintance, “macaroni cheese” just feels to me, totally right for the dish concerned. > [@](#): > > But where do we all stand on the Canadian Kraft Dinner? 😃 I have never before this moment, heard of this thing. Am I fortunate? ---
**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, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/63 "2018-09-11T18:07:50Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > Also useful for reporting how many furlongs you’ve traveled. And how many hogsheads of petrol your lorry used in doing so. ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/64 "2018-09-11T18:21:34Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > When I was a wee lad a dummy was often given the full name of dummy-tit, which is nicely descriptive I think. At the age of 70, I at last understand why this item is called a “dummy” (an “imitation” something) – had always before, just taken it that “it’s called a dummy because – well – that’s what it’s called”. (I prefer the UK word to the US one here: “pacifier” strikes me as a rather absurdly pedant / professorial word for an object which is very much to do with the basics.) > [@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. Again – long-time “failing to get it” (though I worked this one out earlier than “why is a baby’s dummy so named?”). “Stag party / hen party” long baffled me – creatures not even in the same biological class (mammals vis-a-vis birds), for heaven’s sake. At last I discovered by chance, that old-time poultry-keepers – maybe even some present-day ones – called a male bird in full sexual working order, a “stag”: chicken, turkey, or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/65 "2018-09-11T18:27:45Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Brit: flat > US: apartment > > Result: Brit win for brevity > [@pulykamell](#): > > 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. It has been observed since way back, that US words rather often tend to be long and orotund, compared to their UK equivalents (apartment / flat, elevator / lift, faucet / tap, etc.). Nearly a hundred years ago, G.K. Chesterton wrote a medium-length comic poem on this theme. ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/66 "2018-09-11T18:32:09Z")
One of my own: the rather colloquial word meaning “fussy and over-particular, about trivial things”– US: persnickety UK: pernickety The following on my part, is utterly without logic or sense; and a ridiculous distinction to make over a single letter – however, I find the British version splendidly expressive; but the American one, babyish and cringe-making. Absurd, I know… ---
**Author:** ![Map\_Ylow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/map_ylow/32/85_2.png) [@Map\_Ylow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Map_Ylow)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/67 "2018-09-11T19:16:06Z")
On the topic of lorries and trucks - are we allowed to bring in Australian terms? Don’t much care, am doing it anyway! Aus: Ute US: Pickup truck Clearly Australia wins because ute is so much more fun to say. ---
**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, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/68 "2018-09-11T19:20:42Z")
> [@Map\_Ylow](#): > > Clearly Australia wins because ute is so much more fun to say. I’m pretty sure Australia wins on _everything_ if that reasoning’s allowed. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/69 "2018-09-11T19:21:22Z")
> [@RobDog](#): > > UK: trousers > US: pants > > UK win. Because it sounds better when verbified. Compare: > > “I gave him £5 to buy me some crumpets, but he trousered it” > > With “… pantsed…” It also permits such eloquent pseudo-bowdlerizations as “trouser sausage”. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/70 "2018-09-11T19:24:32Z")
> [@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. And I’m from the U.K., and I’d say overalls, although I understand boiler suit. ---
**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, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/71 "2018-09-11T19:47:56Z")
UK: Railway US: Railroad Let me see: Railway = wedged standing into some godawful commuter train; Railroad = the howl of that mournful whistle lost in the sultry night. Now\* that’s\* a US win. 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, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/72 "2018-09-11T19:53:13Z")
Slight tangent, if British-Canadian is allowed… CAN: Project (“PrOH-ject”) US: Project (“Prah-ject”) Result: Point for Canada and the Crown, as it makes it easy to identify the Canadian on the project team. ---
**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:** [September 11, 2018, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/73 "2018-09-11T19:54:09Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > 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 only need to remember ‘Forward March’ - and the other change is easy to figure out. ‘Spring forward, Fall back’ still parses if you misremember it as “fall forward, spring back”. It’s like the “30 days hath…” rhyme - not really useful unless you remember the thing it’s supposed to help with already. ---
**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, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/74 "2018-09-11T20:24:34Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > ‘Spring forward, Fall back’ still parses if you misremember it as “fall forward, spring back”. It’s like the “30 days hath…” rhyme - not really useful unless you remember the thing it’s supposed to help with already. But “falling forward” isn’t really a thing as much as “falling back”. I mean, people use it occasionally when talking about physically falling, but the phrase “falling back” is used a lot more IMO. ---
**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, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/75 "2018-09-11T21:32:16Z")
> [@Map\_Ylow](#): > > On the topic of lorries and trucks - are we allowed to bring in Australian terms? Don’t much care, am doing it anyway! > > Aus: Ute > US: Pickup truck > > Clearly Australia wins because ute is so much more fun to say. In New York, a ute is a young person. ---
**Author:** ![Map\_Ylow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/map_ylow/32/85_2.png) [@Map\_Ylow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Map_Ylow)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/76 "2018-09-11T21:54:20Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > I’m pretty sure Australia wins on _everything_ if that reasoning’s allowed. You are not wrong. > [@Chefguy](#): > > In New York, a ute is a young person. Wonder where precisely that one came from. I kind of like it. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/77 "2018-09-11T22:02:34Z")
UK: corporation dustbin US: garbage truck Clearly a US win. I have to admit I heard the UK one only in Scotland where I overheard someone telling the “What has four wheels and flies?” joke and that was the answer. There is at least one dialect in the US in which “pavement” has the UK meaning of sidewalk, illogical as it may be. I can still hear my mother saying (it would have been 75 years ago), “Stay on the sidewalk” (and don’t go out into the street). I think Mac 'n cheese is a fine name. And “spring forward” is no longer accurate since we do it before the vernal equinox. But we ought to abandon the whole thing. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/78 "2018-09-11T22:08:29Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > UK: corporation dustbin > US: garbage truck A garbage truck is a dust **cart**. A garbage can is a dustbin. ---
**Author:** ![ticker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@ticker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ticker)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/79 "2018-09-11T22:09:38Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > UK: corporation dustbin > US: garbage truck A corporation dustbin is a dumpster, not a truck. The term you are looking for is dustcart. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/80 "2018-09-11T22:12:48Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > In New York, a ute is a young person. a what? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123.md?page=5)