And then there's 'knock up'.

Do Brits and Yanks pronounce the word "pedantic" the same?

No, the yanks don't pronounce the T

well, the yanks never did care much for tea anyway, did they?

I always get a kick out of England's Spastics shops - handicapped

the word Spastic in American parlance is very derogatory and not usually applied to handicapped folk but general folk who act like spastics - "you spastic"

Spastic has precisely the same connotations in England, hence the charity has changed its name to Scope.

In our local surburban Berkshire park, nobody says fetch. Either the dogs are completely manic about chasing and retrieving and zoom off to grab the item long before their owner has a chance to say anything or they have absolutely no interest in fetching whatsoever and nothing their owners say or do will inspire them to do more than give the object in question a cursory sniff, followed by a look back that clearly says, if you want this stupid thing so badly, come get it yourself.

I haven't read every post on this thread, so forgive me if this has been said/asked.

I was told that the pronounciation of "leftenant" was a throwback to when "u" and "v" were the same letter and hence used to be spelled "lievtenant". At some point, the spelling of the word changed or permanently set to use "u", but the pronounciation stayed the same.

Does anyone know if there's any truth to that?

Seems so - that's what several folks above say anyway.

<<
pants = trousers
>>

I was in London visiting a friend (origianlly Canadian) this year and went shopping. She bought a pair of "trousers". At the counter the following conversation took place:

Me: That's a nice pair of pants.
Friend: They're trousers
Me: I'm Canadian, they're pants.
Friend: Trousers.
Me: Whatever, you know what I'm referring to
Sales Clerk: If trousers are pants, what do you call pants in Canada?
Me: [confused look to friend]
Friend: Panties

So, now I will refer to "pants" as "trousers" whilst in England.

Pants also means pathetic in English.

That's total pants.

Anyway, if what we call a caravan, you call a trailer, what do you call what we call a trailer?

I have a suspicion you don't have word for it.

Flanneruk:

Regarding this "Unprovoked agression of Britain in 1812"

The provocation was the fact that Britain had impressed many of our sailors into the British Navy....

and anger at British military support for American Indians defending their tribal lands from encroaching American settlers.

We might have a word, but without knowing what you referring to... Describe what your trailer is.

For caravan, does that only refer to something that is pulled, or does it also refer to an RV (recreational vehicle)?

Other terms I've heard:

Winnebago: A case of the brand name being the object name (similar to Kleenex/facial tissue) It's not used so much now, but was popular when I was young.

Camper: Often a prefix to "van" or a suffix to "truck", so you have a camper-van or a truck-camper.

5th Wheel: big RV trailer that requires a special mount installed in the bed of a pick-up truck to be pulled.

Pop-Up or Tent Trailer: Small trailer that is pulled on a regular trailer hitch and has soft sides that fold down/into the hard top/bottom for storage/transport.

A caravan is a tin box with beds etc towed behind a car.

A trailer is just an open box on wheels towed behind the vehicle. No soft sides.

What you call a trailer, we also call a trailer. Most are open, but some have tops. If you attach it to a trailer hitch and pull it behind a vehicle, it's a trailer.

What you call a trailer, we also call a trailer. Most are open, but some have tops. If you attach it to a trailer hitch and pull it behind a vehicle, it's a trailer.

And what you call a caravan, we call a trailer for same reasons above.

<anger at British military support for American Indians defending their tribal lands from encroaching American settlers>

too bad they didn't stop their colony Canada from doing the same to their Native Americans (Indians of course being perjorative).

<<
too bad they didn't stop their colony Canada from doing the same to their Native Americans (Indians of course being perjorative).
>>

I think current PC term in Canada is First Nations People.

>I think current PC term in Canada is First Nations People.<

What if it is discovered that there were people there before them, would they become Second Nations People?

<<
What if it is discovered that there were people there before them, would they become Second Nations People?
>>

LOL I dunno...

However, I actually prefer that term to "Native xxx". I consider myself a native Canadian as this is where I was born and do not consider any other country as my place of origin.