# What Britishisms most baffle Americans? What Americanisms most baffle Brits? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 18, 2024, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941 "2024-10-18T08:53:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/21 "2024-10-18T11:41:54Z")
The currency is different, right? In Britain you can be quids in, or not the full shilling. You can take the King’s shilling. > [@chappachula](#): > > Yeah, and if you’re gonna carry a pack there, I do prefer the Britishim “bum bag”. Eh, just call it a banana bag. Or a sporran… ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/22 "2024-10-18T11:43:09Z")
How have you heard it ? I’m in the US and have never heard it used to mean anything other than a main course. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/23 "2024-10-18T11:55:57Z")
When some friends and I were in London about 20 years ago, we wanted to visit a museum, and had to take the train there. I asked where the subway was, not realizing the Brits called it “The Tube.” We wound up walking into a tunnel that ran under the street and reached a dead end. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/24 "2024-10-18T12:01:24Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > This is the Dope, we fight ignorance proudly and openly. > So how has nobody yet had the courage to say “cunt” ? > > Brits > use it as a mild, slightly impolite word. > I think they use it to describe any person, male or female, who is a bit irritating to talk to, maybe a bit obnoxious, or, at worst, acting stuck-up and condescending to you. I’m pretty sure “cunt” means “vagina” on both sides of the pond. ---
**Author:** ![teelabrown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teelabrown/32/8412_2.png) [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/25 "2024-10-18T12:07:01Z")
When watching British TV shows, I’d often have to bring up closed captions to read what it is they’re talking about. In this way, I discovered words and phrases new to me. The ones I remember off the top of my head: “His nibs”: the head honcho, the boss man “Lie-Low”: an inflatable mattress that you put on the floor for guests “Parky”: chilly weather ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/26 "2024-10-18T12:09:18Z")
The YouTube channel **["Words Unravelled with RobWords and Jess Zafarris "](https://www.youtube.com/@WordsUnravelled)**, hosted by two word nerds (Rob: British; Jess: American) who explain derivations of common English terms, is a fun place to dive into the quirky world of British vs. American language differences among other topics. Example: [The battle between British and American English](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6KlBd7TPFI) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/27 "2024-10-18T12:12:10Z")
As I’ve remarked before, I love the British terms _dustbin_ and _dustman_. They’re the perfect euphemisms for the American terms _garbage_ and _garbageman_. They’re even prettier than the American dressed-up terms _trash_ and _trashman_. It’s not dirty, slimy, smelly detritus you want to throw out – it’s nice, clean —DUST!-- It doesn’t have rotting vegetables or slimy old banana peels or paper towels filled with dog vomit in it, it’s just – DUST ! – Just sweep it up neatly and use the dustpan (we Americans at least stole that much) to empty it into the Bin Bag (we still use Garbage Bags, or at best Trash Bags) in the Dust Bin and wait for the nice Dustmen in their clean white vehicle to haul it all away. What do you call that vehicle? You can’t spoil it at this point by using the American term _Garbage Truck_. It is a _Dust Lorry_, or something like that? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/28 "2024-10-18T12:17:39Z")
In a similar vein, the word “lorry” conjures up (for me at least) something feminine and delicate. Lots of -y words are diminutives or juvenilizations and this one is no exception. The fact it’s a homophone for a common female name from my birth era certainly helps. Sorta the opposite of the reality: a big heavy dirty greasy machine with an inadequate muffler usually operated by course people with a course vocabulary. ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/29 "2024-10-18T12:18:05Z")
The garbage truck is a bin lorry or bin wagon. I came in here to mention Lost in the Pond. I’m the opposite of that guy, 32 years in the US and nearly 30 in the UK. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/30 "2024-10-18T12:31:20Z")
> [@Chad\_Sudan](#): > > …a character announced he was going to get some kip, and the meaning completely eluded me. I’ve learned of “kip” only recently, from Roger Daltrey’s memoir. I’ll also mention the British term “spanner”, which I learned years ago from a Rod Stewart album title (“A Spanner in the Works”). mmm ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/31 "2024-10-18T12:31:26Z")
Probably used to be called the dust cart. Someone mentioned the ‘c’ word above. Whilst it can be used ‘affectionately’ (I wouldn’t personally use it that way), it is definitely still used as an insult/in an aggressive way too in the UK. Addressing the OP, I would say that there will be far more Britishisms that baffle Americans than vice versa, simply because the average Brit is FAR more exposed to American culture than the other way round. I see it having an influence on our language and whilst I have no problem per se with American English, it is sad to see British words for things being replaced. An example off the top of my head is ‘dinner suit’, which seems to be almost universally referred to as a tuxedo now. People, and it particularly appears to be young’uns (I’m in my 40s so that’s anyone under 30 haha), do seem influenced by American film, TV and social media more and more. Someone else mentioned using captions/subtitles when watching British programmes. This amuses me (sorry not being snarky), because I’ve only ever struggled once when watching American TV and that was some very strong Baltimore accents when I first watched The Wire. I soon got used to them and didn’t need captions/subtitles. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/32 "2024-10-18T12:39:28Z")
Almost everything they say on _The Great British Bake Off_: “biscuit,” “traybake,” “trifle,” “fairycake” What the hell are they talking about? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/33 "2024-10-18T12:47:14Z")
> [@iamatractorboy](#): > > Someone else mentioned using captions/subtitles when watching British programmes. This amuses me (sorry not being snarky), As a kid 50+ years ago I had no trouble following e.g. Monty Python’s brand of English. Nowadays at 60-something with some hearing loss, the combo of speaking speed, accent, and more sound effects, laugh track, etc., I find almost any Brit TV almost entirely unintelligble without subtitles. UK-specific vocabulary isn’t the issue. Truth be told I struggle with American TV the same way; intelligibility seems to have fallen down a hole: too much noise, and the actors have odd pacing, talk over each other, and don’t speak clearly. Or so it seems to my muddled ears / brain. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/34 "2024-10-18T12:48:45Z")
> [@iamatractorboy](#): > > Probably used to be called the dust cart. It is still a dustcart. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/35 "2024-10-18T12:49:41Z")
There’s this old chestnut: [![](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSDDJCLnmjnEoICU5otv6wfYySPsMXA0mXdGQ&usqp=CAU) ](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSDDJCLnmjnEoICU5otv6wfYySPsMXA0mXdGQ&usqp=CAU) Not just a meme, that is literally what came to mind the first time I heard the term ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/36 "2024-10-18T12:51:49Z")
The way the Brits say “first floor” to mean “the level above ground floor” rather than “ground floor” messed me up on my first few trips over there. I’ve been a mild anglophile for much of my life, so most of them don’t faze me, and I probably slip a few into my vernacular here as well. ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/37 "2024-10-18T12:52:59Z")
Sorry that your hearing isn’t what it was, I have that to look forward to if it hasn’t already started! ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/38 "2024-10-18T13:11:43Z")
> [@veryfrank](#): > > The way the Brits say “first floor” to mean “the level above ground floor” rather than “ground floor” messed me up on my first few trips over there. For what it’s worth, this isn’t just the UK, it’s the practice everywhere in Europe. So it’s the Americans who are the weird one on this. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/39 "2024-10-18T13:13:48Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > Brits > use it as a mild, slightly impolite word. A generational thing. Younger men might use it so of another man, but for an older generation (i.e., me), it’s the ultimate forceful swear word. For a professional linguist’s take on this general topic: [https://separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com/?m=1](https://separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com/?m=1) ---
**Author:** ![Dogginit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogginit/32/16920_2.png) [@Dogginit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogginit)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/40 "2024-10-18T13:16:43Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Truth be told I struggle with American TV the same way; intelligibility seems to have fallen down a hole: too much noise, and the actors have odd pacing, talk over each other, and don’t speak clearly. Or so it seems to my muddled ears / brain. It ain’t just you. My wife loves to stream movies, and I’d love to have a good time watching them with her, but it just doesn’t work, for the aforementioned reasons. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941.md?page=3)