# 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:** 9
**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 13, 2018, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/161 "2018-09-13T09:06:12Z")
[quote=“Riemann, post:154, topic:821123”] …If you are made redundant it just means (literally, not euphemistically or dishonestly) that your role is _not needed_, and the company will no longer employ anyone to do your job… I get the odd feeling that nobody debating redundancy has ever been made redundant. Really? I have. Company got taken over, site got closed down, I was offered another job I didn’t want in a site far away, turned it down, and I was out. Another point that I haven’t seen addressed is that if you are made (UK) redundant, you are typically (depending on time of service etc) entitled to compensation - redundancy money. Trousered that, left on Friday, started a new job on the Monday. Thank you very much. j ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2018, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/162 "2018-09-13T10:46:30Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > What the hell is this weird dichotomy? First the Brits go and add unnecessary syllables to words that have no use for them, and then they just drop them (“Leicester”) because they are too much trouble to utter. Several points for the American language. I’m with you on the unnecessarily added syllables thing, but I think the dropping syllables thing is a wash. I’m all about simplifying pronunciation as long as it doesn’t become a shibboleth on the one side, or having people not understand you on the other. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2018, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/163 "2018-09-13T12:16:11Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Brit: speciality > US: specialty That’s not the only one like that: UK: jewellery US: jewelry ---
**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 13, 2018, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/164 "2018-09-13T12:21:17Z")
I think this one is outdated now: UK: Mobile. US: Cell phone. The UK version sounds truncated. A mobile what? US for a small win. I think both use “smartphone” a lot of the time now unless they are being terse in which case it’s just plain “phone”. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2018, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/165 "2018-09-13T12:25:53Z")
I prefer both to the German “Handy” which sounds vaguely obscene. ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2018, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/166 "2018-09-13T12:53:15Z")
Referring to a well-known annoying type of person – UK: know-all, or knowall US: know-it-all For me, the UK version wins, for brevity and punch. ---
**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 13, 2018, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/167 "2018-09-13T14:01:57Z")
This: > [@wolfpup](#): > > you claimed that you “have never encountered [the word ‘redundancy’] being used in this literal sense”, Has nothing to do with this: > [@](#): > > under s.139 of the Employment Rights Act, this is the _ **only** _ sense in which the word can legally be used. > [@](#): > > We shouldn’t stigmatize a useful word just because some have misused it. There are many other words that could be used. Evidence: The U.S. doesn’t use the word “redundancy.” There’s no reason to fight for the word. ---
**Author:** ![SirRay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@SirRay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirRay)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2018, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/168 "2018-09-13T14:07:27Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > A man mounts his wife from the left side > [@Map\_Ylow](#): > > I _beg_ your pardon. :eek: Reminds me, at least in terms of good old 1990s British Gentlemen magazines: UK - Suspenders/Suspender Belts (although I only recall suspenders being used) US - Garter Belts I’ll go with garter belts on this one. A bit more vague and far less strict usage, but I recall DIY/DIYer being more UKian v. USian’s Home Handyman/Weekend Handyman (OK, and Family Handyman - still miss the Roy Doty Wordless Workshop strips). I think the terms have bled over the pond enough now that both are in use, but maybe 20 years ago I recall that being the state of affairs. While DIY is shorter, I prefer home handyman. Also, in regards to Australian Utes, the images I see on the web seem to remind me of the old Ford Ranchero/Chevy El Caminos - hack an open air cargo bay out of the back of a station wagon (estate car) and off you go (vs. hacking a open air cargo bay out of the back of a crossover). Still look pretty cool. ---
**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 13, 2018, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/169 "2018-09-13T15:37:48Z")
There’s been a couple mentions of this one already, but it needs to be revisited. UK: Pants. US: Panties. Good grief. You have _got_ to go with “panties” here. “Pants” is so widely recognized as a type of trousers in so many places that allowing it to mean “panties” creates such oddities as “Your pants are showing.” and “Who wears the pants around here?” ---
**Author:** ![Brayne\_Ded](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Brayne\_Ded](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brayne_Ded)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2018, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/170 "2018-09-13T16:46:19Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > 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. A coupe is a car that is a saloon - sorry, sedan - with no rear headroom and no legroom for the poor sods in the back, and only two doors. For some reason people thing that sedans that look like an elephant sat on the rear half are more sexy than the familymobile they were derived from. Just another brainfart from the marketing department, no doubt. The UK also has sports cars, but not at all related to wussy little coupes. The UK version is a two seater with suspension hard enough to be able to read the maker’s name with your bum when you drive over a manhole cover - and probably leave half your exhaust system on it. Or sorry, I mean, your muffler. But in the UK, if you told somebody you had lost your muffler, they would just give you a scarf so that you don’t catch your death of cold. Sports cars are driven by full time mechanics, as that is what you will be to keep one running, and the glove compartment has a pair of woolly hats in it. The reason for the woolly hats quickly becomes obvious at above 30 mph. ---
**Author:** ![Brayne\_Ded](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Brayne\_Ded](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brayne_Ded)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2018, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/171 "2018-09-13T16:49:20Z")
> [@Sloe\_Moe](#): > > Brit: Philosopher’s Stone > US: Sorcerer’s Stone > > Result: US, probably by several hundred millions in the box office. > > Brit: tube > US: subway > > Result: British. So many things could come to your mind from the word. > > Brit: fighter jet > US: jet / fighter > > Result: British (removes confusion and the need for a catchy name like eagle or tomcat) > > Brit: lift > US: elevator > > Result: British. No contest. “It’s quicker by Oxo cube” sounds snappier than “It’s quicker by subway.” And I don’t think the Cockneys have come up with a rhyme for “subway” yet. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2018, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/172 "2018-09-13T20:08:38Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Brit: dual carriageway > US: freeway > > This has to go to the Americans, just because “freeway” is so much more concise (though, TBCF, if you hear “duel carriageway”, it does describe traffic on the interstates rather well) > > Brit: flat, walkup, bedsit > US: apartment > > Goes to the British, just for being more descriptive > > 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 Dual Carriageway sounds so much more posh though. “Let’s us proceed in our velocoped to the dual carriageway.” US: Lab-bro-tory British: La-bor-o-tory British Wins: A La-bor-o-tory sounds like a place where you practice Mad Science. ---
**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 13, 2018, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/173 "2018-09-13T20:12:57Z")
My understanding is that a “dual carriageway” is what we would call a “divided highway.” A “freeway” is the same thing as a “highway.” So it would be “motorway.” ---
**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 13, 2018, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/174 "2018-09-13T21:11:02Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > A “freeway” is the same thing as a “highway.” So it would be “motorway.” No, this is not correct. A freeway (or “expressway”, or, if it has tolls, “parkway” or ‘turnpike”) is a limited-access highway, meaning you can only get on it via ramps (what the Brits call “slip roads”). “Highway” may include long sections that have some crossing intersections. I was on many of those just recently – two-lane highways that require passing in the oncoming lanes and periodically go through downtown areas with controlled intersections; when a freeway goes through town, its traffic is isolated from regular street traffic with overpasses or sometimes tunnels. I am not sure exactly what “motorway” literally means: whether it is exclusively limited-access highways or the broader definition that includes high-speed roads that may be subject to cross-traffic and downtown interior traversal. ---
**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 13, 2018, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/175 "2018-09-13T21:19:09Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > No, this is not correct. A freeway (or “expressway”, or, if it has tolls, “parkway” or ‘turnpike”) is a limited-access highway, meaning you can only get on it via ramps (what the Brits call “slip roads”). “Highway” may include long sections that have some crossing intersections. 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. ---
**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 13, 2018, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/176 "2018-09-13T21:31:14Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > I am not sure exactly what “motorway” literally means: whether it is exclusively limited-access highways or the broader definition that includes high-speed roads that may be subject to cross-traffic and downtown interior traversal. It is precisely the former. Access is always via slip roads, no cross traffic, no pedestrians or bicycles permitted. So far as I can discern having lived in both countries, freeway and motorway are synonymous (noting as you mentioned the additional vocabulary in the U.S. for special types of limited access road). ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2018, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/177 "2018-09-13T21:40:08Z")
UK: thingamajig / oojamaflip US: doodad / doodah All good, solid woody words. No hint of tinniness in any, so good show all round. Well done chaps. Sadly though we have to pick a winner. So tonight’s prize goes to the words with the most letters. (singing) Ruuuule Britannia, Britannia blah blah blah ---
**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 13, 2018, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/178 "2018-09-13T21:43:20Z")
nm ---
**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 13, 2018, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/179 "2018-09-13T21:44:49Z")
> [@RobDog](#): > > (singing) Ruuuule Britannia, Britannia blah blah blah If we do this again, we should have a rule that Americans are only allowed to bring up instances where they think the British version is superior, and vice versa. (Vice versa meaning, of course, that Brits are only allowed to bring up instances where they think the American version is inferior.) ---
**Author:** ![SirRay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@SirRay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirRay)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2018, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123/180 "2018-09-13T22:09:01Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > It is precisely the former. Access is always via slip roads, no cross traffic, no pedestrians or bicycles permitted. So far as I can discern having lived in both countries, freeway and motorway are synonymous (noting as you mentioned the additional vocabulary in the U.S. for special types of limited access road). Nonsense, Motorways are dinky little back roads - cite: “Took five hours from London. Couldn’t find the freeway, had to take a little back street called the M5!” (Fawlty Towers - ‘Waldorf Salad’) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-british-english-vs-us-english-playoff/821123.md?page=10)