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
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
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…..
Nice post AG! I always had trouble asking for napkins. Over here they call them serviettes. I also love the word knackered, meaning tired.
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
Push Chair! Still call my grandchildren's strollers “pushchairs”, & of course “gripe water” but I think we have that here now
Buggy, Push-Chair, Pram. That one still confuses me.