Did nobody mention the "waistcoat" - "vest" thing?

on phrasebooks - most bookshops of any size will probably have an English-American (and English-Australian!) phrasebook for a pound or two in their cheapos-by-the-cashdesk pile. In London you may well find some (purported) guides to rhyming slang as well: purported because many of the examples quoted are a bit fanciful - most people may never use it and those who do may only use the odd word or two. It seems to be more common as a source of puns for advertising slogans than in everyday conversation.

try www.htm.co.uk/lancashire.htm<BR>for some hilarious northern words

i don't think this brit/yank vocab difference has been covered yet: thread/yarn are called cotton/wool respectively in britain. i'm not sure what brits do when the yarn is made of cotton, call it cotton wool, i reckon. which reminds me of another parting of the ways. the brits use 'reckon' as in "i reckon so" whilst yanks more commonly say "i guess so". in the states 'reckon' tends to sound a bit 'hickish' or countrified. and then there is that 'states' thing. i've seen made mention that canadians call the states 'the states'. lets not forget that is what yanks call the states. we (people from the states) don't use 'america' with quite the frequency the brits do.<BR><BR>i've had a lot of friends from the various parts of the british isles and as a result some britspeak has crept into my speech. i overuse the word 'brilliant' (without the sarcastic 'just' preceding it) when i want to say something positive about something and i suppose 'wanker' overpopulates my mutterances at the other end of the spectrum (often when i'm behind the wheel). one word i find very useful is chuffed (noted by someone earlier). i enjoy saying 'chuffed' as well of course as being chuffed. i don't think i know any american word that quite covers chuffiness so well. <BR><BR>finally a question: any synonyms for yank? the aussies have pommy git for said folk and canadians have quite taken to canuk but all in all a pretty paltry collection seeing as english speakers everywhere can go on and on and on with colorful, not-so-friendly jargon for fellow earthlings of other speaks. any input?

browsing around and came across this old thread - didnt see any reference to my favourite "keep your pecker up" as a very respectable way of saying keep your spirits up

Also browsing for UK info and had a great time reading this thread. I've been to the UK twice plus employed two English nannies, so consider myself fairly knowledgeable. My absolute favourite example of Britspeak is a road construction sign I saw in southern England. Apparently they refer to construction as "erection" (as in, to erect a building), and this firm was owned by a man named Mr. Spook, hence: "Spook Erections" We're still laughing about that 16 years later!<BR>Something useful I learned, that was alluded to much earlier in this thread: When travelling in the UK, always know not only the town you're trying to reach, but also the names of the towns along the way, because the direction signs don't say north/south/east/west, they say Inverness/Brighton/Ipswich/Bristol, and they might not point as far as you're going.<BR>Also: My English nannies didn't say "You're welcome" when I said "Thanks," and thought it hilarious that I did. I think they said "That's all right," but I don't quite remember. (Come to think of it, I was just in the Midwest, and when I said "Thanks," they said "Uh-huh.")<BR>On the point about what Canadians call underwear: We call it underwear (briefs or shorts for men, panties for women). I've never heard or read of a Canadian calling it "skivvies," although I think I saw that usage in an American book a long time ago. Depending on where in Canada you're from, the schoolyard term is gotchies or gitch.

What about French letter, John Thomas and the many other euphemisms for naughty bits.

really enjoyed this tread. 'Whilst' on one of our travels from the UK to the USA, I tried ordering Kentucky fried chicken (also widely available in the uk by the way!) and kept getting 'pardon me ma'am' over and over as the poor lad couldnt understand my southern english accent. I had to repeat my request (after numerous failed attempts in my own tongue) with a request using an american accent which I still feel embarrassed about (it was probably a poor attempt) but the poor man understood me fully and I got my chicken.... <BR><BR>Americans usually think I am from Australia (?similar accent - I dont think so) but maybe the southern english and australian vowel sounds are similar)<BR><BR>And to clear up a few things above which remain unanswered:<BR>1. Pukker and Tukker - pukker meaning great, brilliant, excellent and tukker meaning food which originates in aussie I believe. Used mainly by Londoners and essex folk but a bit 'naf' (cheesy)<BR><BR>2. words that some people have said are used by US are also used by UK folk, eg. we do say angry as well as insane and unkind as well as stingy etc. <BR><BR>3. Smalls - the word used for underwear is generally only used by elderly people trying to be polite/euphomistic.. some of the words that have been mentioned would be considered very old fashioned and out of date and you would probably be laughed at by anyone under the age of 55! Also a lot of the slang mentioned are very regional, eg, we do not say mithering down south (complaining).. but I would say we are probably more americanised in the way we speak. what do others think?<BR><BR>4. wool that is cotton is not called cottonwool (the fluffy white stuff) but cotton yarn.<BR><BR>5. Wanker is a pretty bad swear word! (ranks about just under the use of the f word) be careful in whose company you use it! ;O) <BR><BR>6. keeping your pecker up - pecker also means a male appendage in uk so the phrase is usually meant 'tongue in cheek' or used in a cheeky manner!<BR><BR>7. same for 'erection' - when a monument has been 'erected' it causes a lot of sniggers amongst kids!<BR><BR>Hope this clears up a few points!<BR><BR>6.

I don't think anyone's mentioned this yet . . . what about removalist (UK) vs. mover (US)?<BR><BR>I live in Shanghai, where there are a lot of British people (and British removal/moving companies or those trying to market to the British).<BR><BR>I always find it somewhat ominous to see a sign posted that says: "Removalist - 555-5555". Sounds like a hit man to me.<BR><BR>And when I receive a fax from a company with a big headline on it: "Removal Notice", I'm faintly embarrassed for the company - poor guys have been removed.

Andrea, I've never heard of that being used in the UK! Removals company yesbut never removalist.

Here's a good one from a guide book intended for Americans.<BR><BR>"Should you be driving and see a sign that reads 'Refuse Tip' this does not mean that you should no longer accept gratuities for services rendered - it means you're approaching a Garbage Dump".

im english and in 37 years of my life have never ever heard of a 'removalist'....

Oops! My mistake. Did a quick search on Google & very quickly discovered that "removalist" is Australian.<BR><BR>Also on Google I found the answer to my other "removal" questions - I'd always wondered if the word was also used as a verb - and if so, whether or not it was reflexive. I wondered if one would say: "Oh, I can't come on Saturday, I'm removing (myself?) across town"? :)

I'd say 'I'm moving'...or if the person on the other end seemed rather dim 'I'm moving house'

One of my favorite phrases is "Are you winding me up?" which in the US might be "Are you pulling my leg".<BR><BR>Surprised no one has mentioned dustbin vs. trash can or torch vs. flashlight.

What is a biro/byro? Some sort of ink pen maybe?

<BR><BR>Mary<BR><BR>A biro is a ball-point pen, invented by Laszlo Biro.

Just don't use the word Fanny in the UK. It is very rude.

Has anybody mentioned that UK cars have a boot and a bonnet, US cars have a trunk and a hood.

The past two posts are just repeating things that have already been covered - if you're not going to read all the posts, fine, but at least search for the term first!

what does fanny mean in Brit?

Fun post! I think I read it all, and no one mentioned one of my favorites: "whinging" (soft g). So much more than just "whining."<BR><BR>Does anyone know the derivation of "moggie" or "mog" for cat? One of my friends thought it was from "mongrel".

ok then, here goes.... 'fanny' in the uk is a fairly rude word for female genitalia, about as rude as calling breasts 'tits'! Sorry if this seems a little bit rude to discuss, but I am only answering the question above! so, dont call a bum bag a 'fanny pouch' here in the uk as it could cause a little offence or a lot of laughter!<BR>I think the brits enjoy the differences in language, its very cute. We know quite a few americanisms as we are used to listening to them on movies (films) and tv shows from the US.

I would Skip this if you have no particular interest..with regard to the above question on 'moggie'as applied to a pet cat, I did a little search for you (as I didnt know its origin - even though I do volunteer work for the Cats Protection and own 5 cats!) this is what I found: <BR><BR>'Moggie refers to a feline of undistinguished type and manners, the cat equivalent of a mongrel dog, but in general usage the former is just a pet name for any domesticated cat. It seems to be from Maggie, the affectionate short form of Margaret. In the eighteenth century, this was applied as a name for a cow or calf. In the nineteenth century it could refer to an untidily dressed woman or slattern. It was only in the twentieth century that it became a pet name for a cat. How or why the sense shifted in this way is not understood. Eric Partridge, in his Dictionary of Historical Slang implies that the cat sense may be Cockney rhyming slang, but I can find no evidence for that origin.' <BR>

How come you park your automobile on the driveway and drive on the parkway?

Derek... never heard of a parkway!!!?? what is that? we drive on the road, dual carriageway, or motorway!

On a recent visit to Peterborough in England the dual carriagway roads where all called "parkways" and each had a name like "Perkins Parkway".

Be careful using the word ginger beer. It is cockney ryhme for queer (eg a homosexual)

born and lived in uk all my life (37 years) and never come across this before. Was it just the name of the road? for example, 'Brielle Way'? We don't call our roads Parkways, (unless Peterborough local council have a good sense of humour) The M25 is like a Car Park (Parking Lot).. traffic just don't move! ;O)

No, they called the road system that runs in a circle around Peterborough "The parkway" perhaps it was just a local thing. They also called the road downtown "Boulevard"

maybe they are twinned with a town in the US as I would guess that 'Boulevard' is of US origin

Deniseb, I think any French person would tell you that you were indeed guessing....

Many of my husband's friends are ex-British military. Their pet phrases include: "we're in sh*t state" (self explanatory) and "everything's gone pear shaped but no drama" (things look pretty bad, but we're not going to get upset). And they never throw anything away, they "bin it."

I'd guess that the Parkway mentioned earlier probably comes from the fact that the road originally ran beside a park, or some such like.

Anna,<BR><BR>I'm from the South and I'd bet anything it was indeed corn bread. The few times I've had it, I've saved it for dessert bc it is so sweet and cake-like.<BR><BR>

There's a Parkway in Bury St Edmunds too actually. Boulevard is of US origin??!?! Please....!

surprised nobody has mentioned this one: when in London, don't say "thank you" or "thanks", but "cheers".<BR>don't know if it's a general UK thing, and I think it's mainly used by youngsters.<BR>this thread is indeed hilarious. never realised there were so many differences between UK and US english. we non-english speakers just mix it all, and have created our own euro-english.

We were in London recently and I purchased an American-English, English-American dictionary at (I believe) the British Library for 2 pounds.<BR><BR>Published by Abson Books of London. eMail: [email protected]<BR><BR>Very interesting little booklet.<BR><BR>

ok, don't get your 'knickers in a twist' over the boulevard origin! JEEZ<BR>(by the way, I have seen US folk say this as 'panties in a bunch!!) HOW CUTE is that!!