# 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:** 9
**Author:** ![spikebrennan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@spikebrennan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spikebrennan)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/161 "2024-10-18T19:20:03Z")
Which type of moocher was Minnie the Moocher? ---
**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, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/162 "2024-10-18T19:21:40Z")
> [@veryfrank](#): > > > [@griffin1977](#): > > > > That’s something that catches me out a lot as I have kids in American “public school”, but if I say that to my siblings in England it means the most elite private schools, so I need to say “state school” instead > > Can someone from Over There confirm if this has started to change? I feel like I’ve heard some Brits start to use those terms more sensibly. “Private school” is becoming more prevalent, although “Public school” is still in common usage. State schools are still called state schools, no one calls them public schools. > [@iamatractorboy](#): > > I’d always assumed a geezer was just a bloke. But geezer isn’t as commonly used as bloke across the country and tends to be used by Londoners. Diamond Geezer (nice bloke, eg me) and Dodgy Geezer (more criminally minded bloke) are also both common terms here. > [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](#): > > Marrow also means the inside of bones in Britain. But usually referred to as “bone marrow”. ---
**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, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/163 "2024-10-18T19:23:05Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > Here in the US “marrow” is the edible center of beef bones. In England it is what I would call a zucchini. Weeellll… I’d say the equivalent of zucchini is a courgette. A marrow would be much bigger (perhaps [comically so](https://youtu.be/lyTPEVv-hNE?feature=shared), can’t abide them myself). And marrowbones aren’t unknown here, though in these days of takeaway and supermarket ready meals - not common. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/164 "2024-10-18T19:23:49Z")
> [@spikebrennan](#): > > “I’m so pissed, I could murder a fag.” Thread winner 🤣. As a neutral observer from the Continent, I find this thread fascinating, amusing and an excellent opportunity to broaden my vocabulary in both variants of English, the language I love so much. ---
**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, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/165 "2024-10-18T19:29:53Z")
> [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](#): > > No, “jelly” means 2 different things - for probably most British people it means the gelatin containing dessert that PatrickLondon was talking about. It can also however mean the stuff contained in a jar, basically a jam without any solids, that you’re talking about, which is thickened with pectin. No, I’m not talking about British Jelly (which is a gelatin product). You seemed to be using Jelly as fruit juice thickened with gelatin as opposed to jam, thickened with pectin. My point is that American “jelly” is thickened with pectin, not gelatin. British Jelly isn’t fruit juice thickened with gelatin, either. If it’s like America Jello, it’s gelatin with added flavors (most likely artificial), but not fruit juice. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/166 "2024-10-18T19:34:55Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Notably absent from UK ‘pudding’ terminology is the milk custard confection known in the USA as ‘pudding’ (where indeed, it may be the only meaning of ‘pudding’). Except for rice pudding which seems to be much the same here as you described. Possibly bread pudding which is bread cooked in milk or cream to a pudding-like consistency (and sweetened with honey or sugar). And my wife makes a kind of pudding by soaking slices of panetone in eggnog overnight and baking it in the morning. ---
**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, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/167 "2024-10-18T19:36:48Z")
My line manager is originally from Hong Kong, and is now based in London. In our department’s Teams session, he asked what a “Redneck Peckerwood” was. He said he had just bought a vintage motorcycle jacket that had those words on the back. We couldn’t really answer what a “Peckerwood” was, but it turn out there’s more than one definition for “redneck.” To us 'Mericans, it’s somebody who works outside in a shirt and their head and arms get sunburned. It also means somebody who’s low cultured, continually drunk, and has little regard for safety. Even though redneck implies somebody’s from the South, there’s plenty of northern and Californian rednecks too. One other member of our team is originally from South Africa and also lives in London. He said South Africans would call European tourists rednecks because they had pale skin that burned easily while at the beach. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/168 "2024-10-18T19:41:34Z")
> [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](#): > > No, “jelly” means 2 different things - for probably most British people it means the gelatin containing dessert that PatrickLondon was talking about. It can also however mean the stuff contained in a jar, basically a jam without any solids, that you’re talking about, which is thickened with pectin. Yeah you’re a few posts too late here. First I mentioned jelly/Jell-o gelatin desserts, and in the same post I said that in the US “jelly” is basically jam - but different than jam because jam has whole fruit and jelly is just juice. I didn’t mention any setting agents. Then **PatrickLondon** said jam in the UK is also made with crushed fruits, and set with gelatin. Then **CalMecham** said no, jam and jelly fruit spreads are set with pectin, on both sides of the pond. Now you’re coming in talking about UK jelly again. But we’ve already established that we know that UK jelly = gelatin = US Jell-o, and that jam is a fruit spread, and US jelly is also a fruit spread. So…it’s all covered now. ---
**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 18, 2024, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/169 "2024-10-18T19:43:51Z")
Sorry, I didn’t look closely enough at the context, you were right. However it is true that “jelly” means 2 things in Britain - it means 1) the equivalent of “Jello” and 2) a type of fruit preserve that it strained to remove the solids and thickened with pectin. ---
**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, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/170 "2024-10-18T19:46:33Z")
I would still call no2 jam but maybe I’m weird! ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/171 "2024-10-18T19:51:45Z")
> [@spikebrennan](#): > > Which type of moocher was Minnie the Moocher? She was a red hot hoochie coocher. ---
**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 18, 2024, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/172 "2024-10-18T19:52:44Z")
No, in Britain, jam and no 2 jelly are different things. I should know as my mum made both - raspberry or strawberry jam with the bits of fruit included, and for example bramble or blackcurrant jelly which involved setting up a large cloth strainer. They all end up in the same types of jars. Such jellies might be spread on bread, or they might be used as condiments such as this [redcurrant jelly](https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/redcurrant_jelly_26005). ---
**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, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/173 "2024-10-18T19:52:47Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > So…it’s all covered now. … and dripping and sticky. But yummy too. 😉 ---
**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, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/174 "2024-10-18T20:00:49Z")
Ah, I know what you mean now, from that link. I’d forgotten about stuff like that. I was thinking of [jam like this](https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/282337775) ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/175 "2024-10-18T20:03:55Z")
> [@OttoDaFe](#): > > A biscuit is roughly equivalent to a US cookie. It’s a dough that’s been worked, chilled, cut up and baked. The rule of thumb I’ve heard is that if it (“it” being the confection that Americans would call a cookie) is sold in a box, like Oreos, it’s a biscuit. If it’s fresh from the oven, like at Mom’s house or a specialty baker or what have you, it’s a cookie. The food product that Americans call a biscuit, a la biscuits & gravy, would be the equivalent to a scone over there. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/176 "2024-10-18T20:03:59Z")
One thing that I’ve found interesting is the subtle difference in meaning of the word **brilliant**. In the US it has two specific meanings: 1. Very bright, as in “a brilliant light” 2. Very smart, as in “a brilliant idea” In the UK it has a much more general meaning of “very good” ---
**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:** [October 18, 2024, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/177 "2024-10-18T20:51:57Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > So how has nobody yet had the courage to say “cunt” ? > > Brits > use it as a mild, slightly impolite word. Not true. It has less impact these days than it used to, but it’s still not a word that you will commonly hear. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/178 "2024-10-18T20:53:15Z")
The term “sorted” had me confused for a while. In the UK, it appears to mean done, completed, settled, finished, or no longer of concern. The US word isn’t used like that, but means organized or arranged. You might sort a pile of something, separating the pile into smaller piles or individual things. Another note… Some decades ago, I worked for Alesis Studio Electronics, and helped design their electronic drum machine, one of the first of the type. If a user exceeded the memory size of the unit, he received an error message, “Bummer, dude – out of memory”. Hip-colloquial, to be sure, but nothing more. Then we received a message from a customer in the UK who was highly offended. To him, a bummer is someone who fucks you in the bum (ass), i.e., a homosexual (at least to him). He complained that he was being accused of being gay just because he ran out of memory. We changed the error message. ---
**Author:** ![Oswald\_Bastable](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oswald_bastable/32/214_2.png) [@Oswald\_Bastable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oswald_Bastable)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/179 "2024-10-18T20:54:05Z")
> [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](#): > > This term is obsolete - I’m approaching my mid-50s and not one person in my acquaintance has ever said it. I would say more old fashioned, somewhat archaic, rather than obsolete. I’m in a similar age group to you and I’d understand it and am sure you still see it in print occasionally and even in conversation (in its most common usage of ‘a slap-up meal’), although it may be being used in a rather arch way. It’s got that feel of the 1920’s about it, along with the bees knees and the cat’s pyjamas (though not the dog’s bollocks). OB ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/180 "2024-10-18T20:56:19Z")
> [@iamatractorboy](#): > > I would still call no2 jam but maybe I’m weird! I would not like Number 2 jam. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941.md?page=10)