# 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:** 20
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2024, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/381 "2024-10-22T00:35:53Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > Also, “China” refers to a friend, and is a shortened version of “Meet my friend. There’s nobody finer. You’d have to go all the way to China.” Actually, AIUI it’s rhyming slang, from china plate → mate. > [@SanVito](#): > > Do Australians actually say ‘g’day’? I wouldn’t go a week without saying it, mostly to locals as we pass in the street sidewalk footpath. > [@Tibby](#): > > Honestly, they should leave word-making to us Americans. We like our words like we like our coffee—short and strong! This from the nation that stuffed an utterly superfluous **e** into whisky? ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2024, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/382 "2024-10-22T00:44:11Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > This from the nation that stuffed an utterly superfluous **e** into whisky? If extra letters are a bother, drink rum. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2024, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/383 "2024-10-22T00:50:19Z")
Khyber = Khyber Pass = Ass—I assume that’s American because of the rhyme, but I don’t know. I haven’t encountered it in the wild since I was a kid last century. “Tea” as a regionalism for “supper” confused me at first (“what are you having for tea?”) ---
**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:** [October 22, 2024, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/384 "2024-10-22T01:51:28Z")
Americans have been having this issue for two or three decades wherein “literally” has become a contranym, meaning both “literally” and “figuratively”. I get the impression that this has not really infected British English. Do I get the wrong impression? ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2024, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/385 "2024-10-22T01:54:50Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > Khyber = Khyber Pass = Ass—I assume that’s American because of the rhyme, but I don’t know. Actually Pass rhymes perfectly with Arse in BritEnglsh. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2024, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/386 "2024-10-22T02:21:00Z")
Explanations of rhyming slang remind me of when Niles Crane, cast into a singles apartment, related how his name at the complex went from Niles to Coyote. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2024, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/387 "2024-10-22T02:51:47Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > Khyber = Khyber Pass = Ass—I assume that’s American because of the rhyme, but I don’t know. I haven’t encountered it in the wild since I was a kid last century. That’s not an American saying. I have never heard or read that once in my life. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2024, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/388 "2024-10-22T03:03:42Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > This from the nation that stuffed an utterly superfluous **e** into whisky? Whiskey with an E for men who are free [![](https://www.tastingtable.com/img/gallery/the-25-best-bourbon-brands-ranked/intro-1685025645.sm.webp) ](https://www.tastingtable.com/img/gallery/the-25-best-bourbon-brands-ranked/intro-1685025645.sm.webp) [![](https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/tc-irish-whiskey-1581456715.jpg?crop=1.00xw:1.00xh;0,0&resize=640:) ](https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/tc-irish-whiskey-1581456715.jpg?crop=1.00xw:1.00xh;0,0&resize=640:) ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2024, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/389 "2024-10-22T03:06:03Z")
I’ve heard the “Khyber” reference before, but only in the context of the film, “Carry On Up the Khyber.” It was one of those British “Carry On” films, this one set in British India during Victorian times. I saw it as the B-picture at a drive-in double-feature. My parents chuckled knowingly at the title; eight-year-old me didn’t know why, but the film was a funny comedy and I enjoyed it. Of course, now I know what amused my parents. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2024, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/390 "2024-10-22T03:28:58Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Not rhyming slang, but [Sweet Fanny Adams](https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/sweet-fanny-adams.html) is gruesomely charming, although if it has fallen out of use perhaps an indication that our world is now a better place I wonder if that’s where “Sweet Fancy Moses” originated. 🤔 One I like is ’ earwigging" for eavesdropping. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2024, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/391 "2024-10-22T04:08:06Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > > [@CalMeacham](#): > > > > No other letter ends in “-ed” > > No other letter ends in “-ch”, and some Brits disagree with Americans as to whether or not the name begins with an aspirated “h”. In fact, I have never seen the name of the letter spelt out (English in not like Greek in that respect). I have, as both “aitch” and “haitch”. ---
**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 22, 2024, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/392 "2024-10-22T04:40:20Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Americans have been having this issue for two or three decades wherein “literally” has become a contranym, meaning both “literally” and “figuratively”. I get the impression that this has not really infected British English. Do I get the wrong impression? The figurative use of “literally” can be **[traced back](https://www.thecut.com/2018/01/the-300-year-history-of-using-literally-figuratively.html)** to British writing 300 years ago. It is not, in any way, a new corruption. Whether or not you’re more or less likely to hear a current British speaker say it compared to an American, I don’t know, but in a historical sense, this usage has been around literally forever. ---
**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 22, 2024, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/393 "2024-10-22T05:20:03Z")
Oh it absolutely is used a lot, and it literally boils my piss (not really… but it is annoying). ---
**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 22, 2024, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/394 "2024-10-22T05:25:42Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > Khyber = Khyber Pass = Ass—I assume that’s American because of the rhyme British military - “pass” and “arse” rhyme in BrE, and the Khyber Pass/North West Frontier of India was a notoriously unpleasant posting. ---
**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:** [October 22, 2024, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/395 "2024-10-22T06:35:29Z")
This is correct. The term ‘river’ can apply to quite small bodies of flowing water, because the naming is historical rather than some technical specification. Creeks are tidal inlets that may resemble a river, but typically have no significant fresh water flow. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2024, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/396 "2024-10-22T06:52:09Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > Actually Pass rhymes perfectly with Arse in BritEnglsh. English English - it doesn’t rhyme in Scottish English. ---
**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:** [October 22, 2024, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/397 "2024-10-22T06:56:56Z")
> [@Paintcharge](#): > > Rhyming slang is stupid. Unless you know what the person has in mind there is no way to get it. This is true of slang in general. How do you divine the meaning of terms like rizz or GOAT or yeet, without just learning what they mean? ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2024, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/398 "2024-10-22T07:07:53Z")
When it comes to slang, I’m reminded of the language we use at the horse race track. Rarely profane, but if you don’t know what we’re talking about, you’d understand it as English, but not understandable English to anybody not in the know. Somewhat similarly, I spent two weeks with friends in Coventry, UK once. Of course, I met their friends, and at first, was puzzled by their greetings. “Hello, Spoons, are you all right?” It took me a while to understand that what they were saying was the equivalent of, “Hello, Spoons, how are you doing,” here in Canada. ---
**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 22, 2024, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/399 "2024-10-22T07:10:38Z")
To be fair it probably doesn’t rhyme anywhere north of Watford Gap. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2024, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/400 "2024-10-22T07:47:02Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Not rhyming slang, but [Sweet Fanny Adams](https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/sweet-fanny-adams.html) is gruesomely charming, although if it has fallen out of use perhaps an indication that our world is now a better place I remember when I was in high school, and our family was eating dinner. No idea how it came up, but I said, “At school today, So-and-so said, ‘XYZ’ about Bla-de-bla. Well I could tell that he knew SFA about Bla-de-bla.” I, of course, meant “Sweet Fuck All,” which in those words, would have been inappropriate in front of Mom. Innocently, Mom asked, “What does ‘SFA’ mean?” Dad, knowing exactly what I meant, saved me the embarrassment. “It means, ‘Sweet Fanny Adams,’ or in other words, nothing.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941.md?page=19) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941.md?page=21)