You say - I say

Pacion

Pacion

New Member
The differences between UK English and American English can be amusing. Anyone care to help compile a list? :wink: Some of the stuff is absolute and others are "interchangible" but the first option is most common, which I have indicated by using an asterix (*) :lol:

(The American English, is what I think/gather rather than what I absolutely know, so any "corrections" would be appreciated :wink: )

American English - UK English
sidewalk - pavement
car truck - boot
pants - trousers
cell phone - mobile phone
apartment - flat*
zuccini - courgette
soccer - football*
panty hose - tights (or stockings if they are holdups/require suspenders)
cologne - aftershave* (for the men)
ATM - Cashpoint machine
taxi - cab*
 
Pacion said:
car truck - boot
Click to expand...
I think you meant:
car trunk - boot

Which also suggests...

car hood - bonnet

And then tehirs

trash - rubish (slosely related to: trash can - rubbish bin)
 
truck -- lorry
dinner -- high tea
(There are a bunch more. I used to be a UK TV-show addict. I'm swamped today, so I'll think about this and post more later. )
 
US = UK

lunch = dinner
breakfast = brekky/brekkers
pal/buddy = mate, china (but china is antiquated by now)
knat = arse
sex = shag
mom = mum
dude = bloke
dumb = daft
candy = sweet
fries = chips
chips = crisps
elevator = lift

oh and there's pronunciation... in the US i can never figure out if someone's saying 'can' or 'can't', cos Brit pronunciation for 'can't' is "cahhnt"...which some people mistook for something .. less G-rated than i intended :wink:
 
USA - UK

Subway - Underground
Picky - Demanding
George Bush - Tony Blair :wink: :wink:

And then there are also differences in spelling example:
color - colour (British/Canadian English)
favorite - favourite (British/Canadian English)
center - centre
realize - realise
 
The most amusing one...a friend of mine, an exchange student from Cambridge finishing her masters in architecture was interning at the firm on the floor below my office in Pensacola, FL.

She walked up to one of her male coworkers (in an almost entirely male office) and asked him, "Excuse me, but do you have a rubber?"

The poor guy balked and turned red and then my friend got extremely embarassed when she discovered that an "eraser" is what she should have asked for.

You see...in England... Rubber = Eraser
 
another exchange student story.

My classmate took an exchange student friend of his to dinner and the waiter come to take their orders and says "Hello I'm Randy and I'll be your server tonight..."

the exchange student turned red and doubled over in suppressed laughter, she was shocked that people would name a child such a way.

Same classmate same exchange student where staying over at someone elses house and at the end of the night she asked him "Will you knock me up tomorrow at ten?" He says yes and after she leaves explains to the hostess what she actually meant.

:lol:
 
windbreaker = someone who had beans & cabbage the night before
petrol = gasoline
 
MapleLeaf Salsero said:
pygmalion said:
truck -- lorry
High tea -- dinner
Click to expand...

I knew the first one but what is "High tea" , supper????
Click to expand...

In the UK, tea, or high tea, is a fairly substantial meal. In the US, tea is a thin liquid in a cup.

UK biscuits= US cookies
 
I forgot.

US TV = UK telly
UK lads (not sure there is a US equivalent, maybe guys?)
US or = UK our (i.e. UK colour = US color)

Then there's the whole pluralisation (zation US) thing. In the UK, an entity that is implied to have multiple members is considered plural. In the US, it's considered a singular entity, no matter how many members there are.
Example:
UK "The class have danced ..."
US "The class has danced ..."
 
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