English-to-English Dictionary

Would you like a biscuit?  Or would you prefer a cookie? Well, they are the same. Those of us in America call it a cookie. The British call it a biscuit.

In addition to the our that appears in British English when we just use or (flavour/flavor, honour/honor, etc.) and the slight differences in punctuation and pronunciation, many words mean one thing in British English and another in American English.  Here is a beginner’s dictionary for English to English:

• While we say counterclockwise in America, the British say anticlockwise.
• Our birds are flying animals, but in Britain bird is colloquial for women.
• Blinkers are flaps on a race horse’s face to restrict vision in England, but indicators on cars in America.
• We say swamp; they say bog.
• A bonnet on the other side of the Atlantic is what we call the hood of a car.
• Candy floss isn’t very good for your teeth, as Americans call it cotton candy. We don’t use it after brushing.
• You wouldn’t want to be buried in a casket in English; it is a jewelry box there!
• If you order chips in England you will get french fries. 
• If you go to the chemist in England, you can pick up a prescription, for it is a drugstore.
• Car park?  We Americans call it a parking lot. 
• Give that baby a dummy because we know it as a pacifier.
• Wipe up after that baby with a flannel, known to us as a washcloth.
• If you live on the first floor, in American you will be on the ground floor, but in England you will be on the floor above the ground floor.
• You might be disappointed if you order flapjacks in English and instead of pancakes you get a flat oatmeal snack.
• You rent a flat over there, but an apartment over here. 
• If you trim your fringe over there, you trim your bangs over here. 
• We come to a full stop at a stop sign (well, some of us do), but they come to a full stop at the end of a sentence.
• That geezer might be an old man over here, but he is a tough guy or gang member over in England.
• British football is American soccer.
• That hair slide is called a barrette over here.
• You might not want to talk about the big hoo-ha  because while it means an argument in British English, it is female genitalia to us.
• Would you like hundreds and thousands on your ice cream? Or would you prefer sprinkles? They are the same.
• A jumper to us is more like a dress; to the British it is a pullover sweater.
• If the lift is out of order, the elevator isn’t working.
• Our highway or freeway is their motorway.
• They call it a mobile phone. We call it a cell phone.
• Change that baby’s nappy — in other words, diaper.
• Would you like to play naughts and crosses? Oh, you mean tic-tac-toe!
• Now that you have changed the nappy, baby is ready to take a walk in the pushchair, otherwise known as a stroller.
• If you are peckish, you are slightly hungry in England, but irritable or angry over here.
• Whether you call it petrol or gas, it is expensive these days.
• If you tell someone to put on their pants, the British might put on underwear, while an American will put on trousers.
• They say rubber; we say pencil eraser.
• Shag: Remember those carpets from the 70s? Well in England you can shag (colloquial for sex) on a shag.
• No solicitors: To the British that would mean no lawyers.
• In England sneakers are called trainers. Do they actually train you?
• We wear pantyhose, but the British wear tights. To us tights are usually thicker and colored rather than sheer.
• If you have a big wardrobe, you have a large collection of clothing; In England you have a place to put the clothes into, because it is a closet.
• In America a vest goes over your shirt. In England a vest is an undershirt.

That should get you started!

If you are one of my readers from “over there,” just reverse everything! LOL