# 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:** 59
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/1161 "2025-02-10T23:10:40Z")
Here’s the basic chart from [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Phonetic_Alphabet): [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8f/IPA_chart_2020.svg/1581px-IPA_chart_2020.svg.png) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8f/IPA_chart_2020.svg/1581px-IPA_chart_2020.svg.png) Note that the alternative to using the symbols is a precise description of the sound. For example, the vowel in the American pronunciation of “dog” is an unrounded open back vowel (if you’re in the cot-caught merger) and a rounded, open-mid back vowel (if you’re not), while Received Pronunciation British uses a rounded open back vowel. Or, you can simply use IPA: /dɑɡ/, /dɔɡ/, and /dɒɡ/, respectively. > **[dog - Wiktionary, the free dictionary](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dog)** ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/1162 "2025-02-10T23:40:06Z")
There used to be a one-stop-shop website that showed IPA symbols for both British (probably RP) and American (“newscaster speak”) English … and that had listening samples. I believe a link to it was even posted to this board a time or three 20+ years ago. For now, these three links cover about the same ground, if less conveniently. The first two links go through the (very) general sounds of British English and American English. IPA symbols are given and you can click the symbols to hear the sounds. The third link is a fifteen-minute video where an accent coach walks viewers through both British English and American English IPA charts, pronouncing the sounds as she goes. None of this digs deeply into regional dialects and such, but perusing these links can get an interested person started in using IPA symbols to aid discussion about English pronunciation. > **[Interactive IPA Chart](https://www.britishaccentacademy.com/interactive-ipa-chart/)** > > Interactive IPA Chart for British English. Click on the phonemes and allophones of British English, listen and repeat! You can also visualise the mouth positions of each speech sound. > **[American IPA chart with sounds and examples](https://americanipachart.com/)** > > An American IPA chart with sounds and examples. All the sounds of American English (General American): consonants, simple vowels and diphthongs. Interactive infographic + audio + PDF; easy to remember. > **[British vs. American Phonemic Chart](https://billie-english.com/2024/01/28/british-vs-american-phonemic-chart/)** > > The video compares the British and American English sound charts developed by Adrian Underhill. Both charts share 24 consonant sounds but differ in the vowel sections. The American chart has fewer … ---
**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 11, 2025, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/1163 "2025-02-11T01:39:18Z")
Thank you, Bordelond! This is a great help! ---
**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:** [February 14, 2025, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/1164 "2025-02-14T02:11:11Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > Only when it comes to English phonology do Dopers start to believe, in the words of Asimov, that “my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.” It’s aggressive ignorance. I think it’s closer to “excuse my ignorance - I’ll defer to your knowledge.” ---
**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:** [April 8, 2025, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/1165 "2025-04-08T19:30:15Z")
I just came across the word “Picayune” in the [Do you have an inner voice?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-an-inner-voice/1011680) thread (OP). I had to look it up, and not for the first time - AFAIK it’s completely absent in British English. I think “Piffling” is a near equivalent in British English, but there’s a certain dismissiveness about that word that I’m not sure that picayune connotes. j ---
**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:** [April 8, 2025, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/1166 "2025-04-08T20:09:54Z")
“picayune” has a dismissive connotation for me. “Piffling,” to me, is the “insignificant, not worth the bother” kind of dismissive, while “picayune” is the same plus an element of disdain, as well. Disclaimer: I don’t think I’ve ever used “picayune,” and rarely “piffling.” ---
**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:** [April 8, 2025, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/1167 "2025-04-08T20:31:29Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > “Piffling,” to me, is the “insignificant, not worth the bother” kind of dismissive, while “picayune” is the same plus an element of disdain, as well. I didn’t realize that. Thanks! j ---
**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:** [April 9, 2025, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/1168 "2025-04-09T07:08:21Z")
The picayune was an old Spanish coin, worth half a real, or one-sixteenth of a dollar - in other words, worth very little. An equivalent British term would perhaps be “tuppence” or “halfpenny” (I’m not sure about the exchange rate). ---
**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:** [April 9, 2025, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/1169 "2025-04-09T07:19:47Z")
Maybe ‘trifling’ - I don’t suppose the equivalent idiom needs to be monetary. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2025, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/1170 "2025-04-09T08:21:48Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Maybe ‘trifling’ - I don’t suppose the equivalent idiom needs to be monetary Though we do have “tupenny ha’penny”, which is a rough equivalent ---
**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:** [April 9, 2025, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/1171 "2025-04-09T08:38:25Z")
I recall my [British] mother mentioning “_farthings_” (quarter pennies). Heck, you’d need a wheelbarrows’ full of those just to feel poor. Talk about a trifling amount! ---
**Author:** ![Chad\_Sudan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chad_sudan/32/4509_2.png) [@Chad\_Sudan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chad_Sudan)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2025, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/1172 "2025-04-09T09:29:50Z")
Until this week, I’d never heard of a “shell suit.” I guessed maybe it was like an unstructured jacket. No, it is a brightly colored polyester track suit. According to the _Daily Mail_, a 2012 poll found that the shell suit was considered “the worst fashion item of the past 50 years.” > **[Shellsuits, past and present](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/gallery/2009/aug/25/shellsuits-past-present)** > > Shellsuits are back - but did they ever really go away? We take a look back at the shiny tracksuit through the ages ---
**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:** [April 9, 2025, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/1173 "2025-04-09T10:29:49Z")
Farthings were still in use in the 1950s, but they wouldn’t buy very much even then. There were some sweets that were four for a penny, but that’s it as far as I recall. Of course, just like tiny fractions of a Dollar are used for pricing things like fuel, some things might have included farthings in their price (Nineteen shillings, eleven-pence and three farthings - 19/11¾ - a farthing short of a Pound) ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2025, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/1174 "2025-04-09T11:42:28Z")
Quarter farthings (1/16 of a penny) were minted from 1839 to 1853. Also minted around the same time were half farthings and one-third farthings. ---
**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:** [April 9, 2025, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/1175 "2025-04-09T12:03:11Z")
A more common US version would probably be “two bit” ? We don’t use specific monetary values here, the closest equivalent might be _cheapo_. > [@WotNot](#): > > Though we do have “tupenny ha’penny”, which is a rough equivalent or that, although that’s less common these days. ---
**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:** [April 9, 2025, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/1176 "2025-04-09T13:36:15Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > An equivalent British term would perhaps be “tuppence” or “halfpenny” (I’m not sure about the exchange rate). To get a sense of triviality and disdain, an older generation (i.e.,me) would actually use “tuppeny-ha’penny”. More up-to-date folk might say “Poundland” (i e, cheap knock-off version) ---
**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:** [April 9, 2025, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/1177 "2025-04-09T13:40:04Z")
> [@pjd](#): > > A more common US version would probably be “two bit” ? > We don’t use specific monetary values here, the closest equivalent > might be _cheapo_. Do people still say “penny-ante”? ---
**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:** [April 9, 2025, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/1178 "2025-04-09T16:41:22Z")
Not here (i’m from the UK). I was guessing about the two bit thing ! ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2025, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/1179 "2025-04-09T16:42:54Z")
Yeah, barely. There’s also “penny candy,” but that isn’t been an actual thing since I was a kid. What’s the British version of our “dime store” meaning cheap, and “nickel and dime” meaning to charge extra for every little thing? ---
**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:** [April 9, 2025, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/1180 "2025-04-09T16:51:03Z")
Good guess, @pjd. Yeah, two-bit means cheap and chintzy (another word that’s drifted over the years). I’ve used picayune, but not a lot. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941.md?page=58) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941.md?page=60)