# What do these Britishisms mean? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 29, 2009, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-britishisms-mean/515623 "2009-10-29T16:32:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-britishisms-mean/515623/41 "2009-10-30T11:57:55Z")
Ginger people have hair the colour of [Ginger nuts](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginger_nut). And nut is British slang for head. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-britishisms-mean/515623/42 "2009-10-30T12:05:34Z")
You also get ginger cats. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-britishisms-mean/515623/43 "2009-10-30T13:55:49Z")
Getting back to the original question, the correct name for what Americans call a “vest” is “waistcoat”. However, the yanks have succeeded in muddying those particular waters so much that people who really should know better also call waistcoats “vests” now too. But not _this_ particular waistcoat-wearer. On the other hand, what the Brits call a “vest” is called a “singlet” around these parts. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-britishisms-mean/515623/44 "2009-10-30T14:27:20Z")
For many years I thought the line “her powder all over my vest” from _Walking My Baby Back Home_ implied that the guy had taken his shirt off. It was only later that I came to realize that not only was he fully dressed, but he was wearing a waistcoat! ---
**Author:** ![MichaelQReilly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@MichaelQReilly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelQReilly)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-britishisms-mean/515623/45 "2009-10-30T14:50:34Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > And so what do the Brits call those things on your teeth that Yanks call “braces”? Oh man, the jokes practically write themselves. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-britishisms-mean/515623/46 "2009-10-30T15:06:33Z")
In the U.S., a convention has arisen to refer to suspenders that clip on as _suspenders_ but ones that button on as _braces_, which is a useful distinction, though I suspect it’s valued more for implying that braces are extra more classier. But do the British actually make such a distinction? ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-britishisms-mean/515623/47 "2009-10-30T15:15:30Z")
> [@Johnny\_Angel](#): > > In the U.S., a convention has arisen to refer to suspenders that clip on as _suspenders_ but ones that button on as _braces_, which is a useful distinction, though I suspect it’s valued more for implying that braces are extra more classier. But do the British actually make such a distinction? No, although I guess you could add ‘button’ or ‘clip on’ to ‘braces’ to hammer home the point. Suspenders will only ever be the things that hold stockings up. And are therefore infinitely sexier. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-britishisms-mean/515623/48 "2009-10-30T15:35:44Z")
In a bar, when Brit has an orange, wtf is that? ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-britishisms-mean/515623/49 "2009-10-30T15:42:05Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > In a bar, when Brit has an orange, wtf is that? It just means an orange drink, something like this:- [Britvic 55](http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/tesco-price-comparison/Soft_Drinks/Britvic_55_Sparkling_Orange_55_Juice_4x275ml.html) ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-britishisms-mean/515623/50 "2009-10-30T15:45:06Z")
Back in the 60s or 70s, it would be orange [squash](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squash_%28drink%29) : pukey : ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-britishisms-mean/515623/51 "2009-10-30T15:51:45Z")
^Gracias! Never seen it offered in a bar in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-britishisms-mean/515623/52 "2009-10-30T16:02:47Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > ^Gracias! Never seen it offered in a bar in the US. Don’t you have Fanta or Miranda? They are almost the same as that Britvic drink. ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-britishisms-mean/515623/53 "2009-10-30T16:16:43Z")
We do have Fanta, but an orange soda (or pop, or soda-pop) over here is usually either Orange Crush, Sunkist, or… generic. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-britishisms-mean/515623/54 "2009-10-30T16:28:31Z")
While coke/pepsi, sprite, mountain dew, might all be offered in a bar in the US, I’ve never seen orange. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-britishisms-mean/515623/55 "2009-10-30T16:45:21Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > While coke/pepsi, sprite, mountain dew, might all be offered in a bar in the US, I’ve never seen orange. You could probably get an orange Nehi in a Texas [icehouse](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5522825). Or a [Big Red](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Red_(drink)). If you’re lucky, they’ll have[Dublin Dr Pepper](http://www.houstonpress.com/2008-06-05/news/boot-legging-dr-pepper/). But we’re getting into a whole other subset of the English language here… ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-britishisms-mean/515623/56 "2009-10-30T17:33:45Z")
Is Moxie orange-flavored, or just in an orange can? > **[Moxie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moxie)** > > Moxie is a brand of carbonated beverage that is among the first mass-produced soft drinks in the United States. It was created around 1876 by Augustin Thompson as a patent medicine called "Moxie Nerve Food" and was produced in Lowell, Massachusetts. The sweet soda is similar to root beer, with a bitter aftertaste. It is flavored with gentian root extract, an extremely bitter substance commonly used in herbal medicine. > Moxie was designated the official soft drink of Maine on May 10, 2005. It ... ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-britishisms-mean/515623/57 "2009-10-30T17:47:41Z")
It’s in an orange can, and battery-acid flavored. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-britishisms-mean/515623/58 "2009-10-30T18:30:29Z")
Just to be clear, Britvic 55 isn’t really a soda like Fanta or 7Up. It doesn’t have any added sugar, or anything, its just orange juice and sparkling water. In a British pub, “orange” might also mean a mixer-size bottle of pure orange juice (also made by Britvic or, depending on the pub, Schweppes). ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-britishisms-mean/515623/59 "2009-10-30T18:41:45Z")
> [@WotNot](#): > > Just to be clear, Britvic 55 isn’t really a soda like Fanta or 7Up. It doesn’t have any added sugar, or anything, its just orange juice and sparkling water. Sounds like Orangina. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-britishisms-mean/515623/60 "2009-10-30T18:43:46Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Is Moxie orange-flavored, or just in an orange can? > > [Moxie - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moxie) It’s a cola like Pepsi or Coke, and I can’t speak fairly about the tasted because I feel **all** colas taste like battery acid as **ElvisL1ves** claims Moxie does. But do they have Moxie in England, Jolly Old as well as England, New? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-britishisms-mean/515623.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-these-britishisms-mean/515623.md?page=4)