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American Girl in Chelsea

A chic guide for American women who have relocated to London, England.

For the American Newbies in London- Your British Glossary.

May 20, 2011 | 4 Comments

I met a lovely AG from Texas a couple of weeks ago who was really struggling with “British English.” She was especially confused when she was shopping and asked where she could pay for her items and someone told her to “get into the queue at the till.” 

So for all of AG’s who have had the same problem, I include a little glossary for you! 



Although it may seem that the U.S. and Britain share a common language, you will soon see that British English can be very different.  In addition to different spellings like honour, neighbour, behaviour, programme – there are new words and phrases to learn.  The following list is an example of some basic differences you might run into….
Bank holiday legal holiday                   
bathroom a room with the bath tub
bill  cheque                                                      
bin  garbage or trash can
biro  ball-point pen                                           
biscuit cracker; cookie (if sweet)                     
bloke a guy
brilliant  great, “cool”                          
casualty  emergency room                               
cello tape  Scotch tape
chat-up flirt with, come on to
cheeky  impertinent, rude                                 
cheers  thank you, goodbye                  
chemist  drugstore, pharmacy              
cheque  check (i.e. bank or traveller’s) 
chips  French fries                                           
circle  Theatre balcony                        
coach  longer-distance bus                                
constable  police officer                                  
cooker  stove                                                  
cotton wool  absorbent cotton              
crisps  potato chips                                          
dodgy  risky, doubtful                           
dinner could also be lunch
dinner jacket  tuxedo                          
dustbin  waste basket                          
duvet  comforter, quilt                          
fag  cigarette                                                    
first floor  floor above ground level (2nd floor)
fiver five pound note
flannel  wash cloth, face cloth              
flat  apartment                                     
football  soccer                                               
fortnight  two weeks                           
fringe  bangs (hair)
full stop  period (i.e. punctuation)
ground floor  ground level (1st floor)
high street  main street
holiday  vacation
ill  to feel unwell
inverted commas  quotation marks
jacket potato  baked potato
jam  jam, preserves or jelly
jelly  JELL-O, gelatine
jumper  sweater
kerb  curb
knickers  ladies’ underwear
lift  elevator
loo  toilet, bathroom
LV  luncheon voucher
newsagent  newspaper shop
naught  zero
note  bill
pants  underwear
pavement  side walk
petrol gas
phone box  telephone booth
pinch  steal, swipe
pissed drunk
plaster  bandage,  Band-Aid
porridge  cooked oatmeal
post-box  mail box       
postcode  zip code
prison  jail
queue  line, to line up
quid  pound (e.g. 4 quid=4 bucks)
return (ticket)  round-trip ticket
rubber  eraser
rubbish  garbage, trash
sick (be sick) nauseous, to vomit
single (ticket)  one way ticket
snog kiss
sort it out figure it out
Sorry? Pardon me? Excuse me?
stalls  orchestra seats
starter  appetizer
surgery doctor or dentist’s
sweets candy
to book  to reserve                                          
trainers tennis shoes
washing up doing the dishes
W/C water closet is often used on maps to denote the toilet/restroom
wind up annoy, frustrate. To play a practical joke on someone

Feel free to add any of your favorites….. 

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Filed Under: American-British English Glossary, British glossary for Americans, British slang, Practical Tid-Bits

Comments

  1. Erika says

    May 21, 2011 at 10:55 am

    Nice post AG! I always had trouble asking for napkins. Over here they call them serviettes. I also love the word knackered, meaning tired.

    Reply
  2. An American Girl in Chelsea says

    May 24, 2011 at 8:48 am

    Thanks Erika. Here are some others emailed to me by AG, Amy.

    Baby vocab
    Dummie -pasificier
    Nappy – diaper
    Possit- spit up
    Muslin-burp cloth
    Poppit- dolly
    Broodie- wanting a baby
    Whinge- whine complain

    Reply
  3. Anonymous says

    August 24, 2011 at 5:23 am

    Push Chair! Still call my grandchildren's strollers “pushchairs”, & of course “gripe water” but I think we have that here now

    Reply
  4. An American Girl in Chelsea says

    August 24, 2011 at 5:32 am

    Buggy, Push-Chair, Pram. That one still confuses me.

    Reply

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