# 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:** 54
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2025, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/1061 "2025-02-01T04:33:00Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I wonder if this is just a matter of my memory being odd, but I could swear we said “to prom” interchangeably with “to the prom” back in the early-to-mid-90s. You probably did use both; that could well be when it began to change. “My time” was years before that, and I’m vague on when I started to notice. That probably didn’t happen until some years later when I was participating in online forums and, later, social media. It seems that this is another one of those changes that simply happen, like the passive construct “to be graduated” from a school rather than simply “to graduate”. My 1960 encyclopedia still uses the passive construction, but I think it was obsolescent even by then. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2025, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/1062 "2025-02-01T04:49:15Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > The search doesn’t take into account context for what is being talked about, just those literal sequence of characters in the database.) I’d love to know what “going to prom” meant in 1840. We barely had high schools then, although other kinds of secondary schools did exist. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2025, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/1063 "2025-02-01T05:10:32Z")
Back then, you didn’t go to prom, you went to Cotillion, but only if you were wealthy. ---
**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:** [February 1, 2025, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/1064 "2025-02-01T06:22:33Z")
As a Brit, I’d call that a jumper. Anything like that that’s knitted, or has the appearance of being so (i.e. chunky), would be a jumper, but if it had finer stitching, say if you were going to wear it whilst playing sport, running etc, I’d call it a sweatshirt. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2025, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/1065 "2025-02-01T09:52:09Z")
> [@Zyada](#): > > Does anyone even know the origin of the term? Arabic _jubbah_ meaning a type of Arab robe. Cognate with French _jupe_ ‘skirt’ and “_la giubba_” in the aria from _Pagliacci_. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2025, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/1066 "2025-02-01T10:45:06Z")
You might hear both in different parts of the UK, but it’s a bit old-fashioned. Remember that "Heartbeat is set in 1960s.Yorkshire, which still has a distinctive dialect. If they had kept true to the dialect that would have been used in a rural Yorkshire community then, subtitles would have been needed, even for other parts of the UK. ---
**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:** [February 1, 2025, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/1067 "2025-02-01T11:57:07Z")
Not a poloneck? ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2025, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/1068 "2025-02-01T12:01:33Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > Exactly this. The Welsh word for “fortnight,” “pythefnos,” too, is literally “fifteen nights.” And that makes sixteen days holiday in total, if you come back after the fifteenth night. This trip is getting longer and longer. ---
**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:** [February 1, 2025, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/1069 "2025-02-01T12:30:23Z")
I’d call it a poloneck. Old bad joke : what do you get if you cross a sheep with a kangaroo ? A wooly jumper. ---
**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:** [February 1, 2025, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/1070 "2025-02-01T16:11:28Z")
“Ta ra” is common in Wales, in both Welsh and English. I have only encountered “ta ta” in reading. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2025, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/1071 "2025-02-01T20:09:17Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Not a poloneck? Not in my personal vernacular. I can’t speak for everyone in my part of the world, some people make very fine distinctions. These garments each have a different name based on their collar shape, their knitting technique, or which animal the wool is sourced from. It gets complicated. ---
**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:** [February 1, 2025, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/1072 "2025-02-01T20:11:54Z")
> [@Zyada](#): > > A jumper in american fashion, it’s this That used, in BrE, to be called a gymslip, but I suspect that’s disappeared because it made too handy a shortcut for tabloid journalists to write patronisingly about teenage girls and conjure up images of St Trinian’s. As for '“tara/tata”, the latter has largely gone, I think. It certainly existed in a catchphrase of a popular 1940s radio comedy show - “TTFN” (Ta-ta for now), which my mother went on using for years after that. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2025, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/1073 "2025-02-01T22:23:40Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > “TTFN” (Ta-ta for now) Which lived on as Tigger’s catchphrase in the Disney “Winnie the Pooh” movies. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2025, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/1074 "2025-02-01T22:56:41Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I’ve noticed on Heartbeat that Gina uses “ta ra” sometimes as if to say goodbye. Is that common in England or is that a northern thing? Does anyone say “ta ta” as you might (rarely) hear in the US? We just re-watched _Billy Liar_ a few days ago, and we had to put on closed captions for some parts (especially for the racist granny). But one scene had a character say “ta-ra” as a farewell, and the captions said “tomorrow.” So, is “ta-ra” short for tomorrow, or were the captions having one of their confusions? ---
**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:** [February 1, 2025, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/1075 "2025-02-01T23:08:38Z")
I have noticed that a lot of British shows get captioned in North America, and that the captioners / auto-captioning software often make ludicrously incorrect guesses. “Ta ra” isn’t used for “tomorrow.” ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2025, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/1076 "2025-02-01T23:28:55Z")
Thanks. Yes, sometimes the captions are pretty ridiculous, but I thought that ta-ra being derived from tomorrow wasn’t completely crazy. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2025, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/1077 "2025-02-01T23:41:42Z")
When I hear “jumper” as a clothing item, I think of the _Moone Boy_ theme song. (I can’t really remember hearing it before that.) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/WZgYNI8OGDo/maxresdefault.jpg "moone boy") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZgYNI8OGDo) (Which turns out to be part of [an apparently well-known song](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jxmZZBJQAKM).) ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2025, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/1078 "2025-02-01T23:59:13Z")
I loved that show! I’ve known about English jumpers since I was a kid, since I read a lot of English books and watched English movies/TV shows. ---
**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:** [February 2, 2025, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/1079 "2025-02-02T06:59:58Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > [an apparently well-known song](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jxmZZBJQAKM).) In Britain we have/had the rhythmic motif known as “Oompah, oompah, stick it up your jumper” ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2025, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/1080 "2025-02-02T13:40:56Z")
…heard in “I Am the Walrus” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941.md?page=53) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941.md?page=55)