Like many, we are keen observers of odd English all over the world, sometimes (especially in Asia) where it is used decoratively. But we tend not to make fun of it out loud, not least because our Japanese, Thai, Korean etc. are not up to the comparison. That said, we do often marvel at the difficulties we get into in England, where, at least theoretically, we do speak the language (see our post on Duolingo for when we don’t). Herewith, what we have learned about the differences between UK and US English.
Oh the Mistakes We’ve Made: Clothes
- US ‘pants’ are UK ‘underpants’ which are also known as ‘knickers’ which in the US denotes short trousers, cropped below the knee (=breeches? in the UK). Laurel once asked a head of College where to get her pants hemmed, to much general amusement.
- US ‘suspenders’ are UK ‘garters’. The things that hold your trousers up are known as ‘braces’ in the UK which are the things that hold your teeth up in the US.
- A US ‘jumper’ (maybe?) is a UK ‘pinafore’ while a UK ‘jumper’ is a US ‘sweater’, not to be confused with a ‘sweatshirt’.
- US ‘boob tube’ (slightly archaic) = television; in the UK it is a tube top.
- A ‘fanny pack’ in the US is a ‘bumbag’ in the UK. Each of these is vaguely obscene in the other culture. Which is only one of the many reasons to eschew wearing them.
Food
- Arugula = rocket
- Eggplant = aubergine
- Zucchini = courgettes (also yellow squash/yellow courgettes)
- Scallions = spring onions
- We don’t know what a ‘saddle’ of beef or lamb is, but it tastes very good. A loin?
- A ‘dummy’ in the UK is what the US calls a pacifier.
- Nobody in the UK finds ‘spotted dick’ in the least bit funny, so just stop your giggles right now.
Technology
- Boots and bonnets pertain to cars in the UK more often than to people.
- ‘Wheelie bins’ are simply big trash cans, the kind you put out for collection (which you place in ‘bin bags’). The UK vice of ‘fly tipping’ is also less fun than it sounds; it’s just putting trash (=rubbish) where it doesn’t belong, i.e., littering.
- US ‘truck’ is UK ‘lorry’; US eighteen-wheeler is UK ‘juggernaut’.
- It’s a ‘toilet’ in the UK (slightly informal in English) but nonetheless one uses ‘loo paper’. (‘Loo’ is also perfectly standard but always makes us feel naughty. Talking of which, UK ‘bog standard’ = US ‘basic’.
- ‘Rubber’ in the UK = ‘eraser’ in the US. But rubber boots are Wellies.
- US ‘wrench’ = UK ‘spanner’ as when you throw one into the works.
Other
- ‘Estate’ in the US is fancy, meaning either a dead person’s belongings or a posh home; in the UK it is a (low-income) housing project.
- That night where the friends of the bride get together and demean themselves in public is a ‘hen night’ in the UK and a ‘bachelorette party’ in the US.
- ‘Homely’ in the UK is not an insult but rather = homey; in the US it means ugly.
- UK noughts and crosses =US tic-tac-toe.
- For reasons best known to it/themselves, ‘maths’ is plural in the UK and singular in the US.
- ‘Scheme’ is not pejorative; you don’t need to be wary of an ‘insurance scheme’ or – seen in Dublin once – a ‘summer discount scheme’.
It’s confusing enough to send us right to the off-license (=liquor store) or have us eating ‘plain’ (=dark) chocolate. We can’t wait to get to a country where they don’t speak any English at all, so we can communicate better!
Send us your favourite examples…
Do I now have a boobless tube?
Will find a native informant and report back!