Friday, November 16, 2018

English vs. English


"England and America are two countries divided by a common language."- George Bernard Shaw, 1856 - 1950 -
United States
United Kingdom
Notes
Baby Things
cribcot

diaper
nappy

nursing
breast feeding

pacifier
dummy

prenatal classes
antenatal classes

rocking a baby
nursing a baby

stroller
push chair/pram

Body Parts
bangs (hair)
fringe

brush your teeth
clean your pegs

butt/ booty
bum

legs
pins

Clothing
dress
frock

fanny pack
bum bag

garters
suspenders
ladies' lingerie
off the rack
off the peg

pajamas
pyjamas (spelling)

panties (underwear)
lollies, spankies

pants
trousers

panty hose
tights

run (in a stocking)
ladder

suspenders
braces

sweater
jumper

tennis shoes/sneakers
trainers

underpants
pants

undershirt
vest

Driving/Walking/Transportation
billboards
hoardings

blinker
indicator

disembark, to get off
to alight

driver's side
off side

drunk driving
drink driving

exit
way out

flat
puncture

gas
petrol

gas station
garage

headlights
headlamps

hood
bonnet

passenger side
near side

pedestrian crossing
zebra crossing

rent (a car)
hire (a car)

round trip ticket
return ticket

RV
caravan

speed bump
sleeping policeman

subway
underground

traffic circle, rotary
roundabout

train station
railway station

truck
lorry

trunk
boot

underpass
subway

windshield
windscreen

yield (on a sign)
give way

Expressions/Sayings
An expression of general annoyance
Oh! Bollocks!

Bye!
Cheerio!

come in
go through

Dear
Chuck, love, pet, hinny, hen, my lover
Regional differences
different from
different to

Don't bump your head!
Mind your head!

Don't like/care for
Not fussed

extremely
dead slow
e.g., dead slow; dead sexy; dead good at ...
figure it out
suss it out

get along
get on

Give it up; you're wasting your time
Leave it out.

goodbye
Tara-Welsh

hit on
chat up

How are you?
You ok?

I could care less
I couldn't care less

I don't care
I don't mind

I don't have (something)
I haven't got (something)

I have (something)
I've got (something)

I'll knock on your door in the morning.
I'll knock you up in the morning.

I'm pleased that X happened
I'm happy that X happened

I'm stuffed! (after a meal)
I'm stuffed (sexually satisfied)

in the hospital
in hospital

It's hot today.
It's close today.

It's not kosher (it's not genuine).
It's not cricket.

mail a letter
post a letter

Most everything
Nearly everything

No problem
Not to worry

Oops!
Whoops!

right away
straight away

speechless
gobsmacked

the line's busy
the line's engaged

to deflate somebody
to take the piss

to get sick (catch a cold, virus, etc.)
to get sick (vomit)

to stand in line
to queue

to take the "scenic" route
going round the back doubles

turn the gas off
turn the gas out

uh-huh
oh right

was supposed to do x
was meant to do x

what's up with ...
what about ...

with respect to ...
in respect of ...

work it out
sort it out

Yikes!
Crikey!

You're splitting hairs
It's academic

Miscellaneous slang:
do the "wild" thing (polite ST version)
shag

friggin' (polite ST version)
bloody

pissed
angry

Food/Drink/Smoke
(potato) chips
crisps

7-up or Sprite
lemonade

a cup of tea
a spot of tea

arugula
rocket

baked potato
jacket potato

beer
lager

biscuits
scones

breakfast
fry up
not necessarily breakfast, but a selection of foods all fried
broil
grill

candy
sweets

cheap wine
plonk

cigarette
fag

cookies
biscuits

corn meal
use polenta

cornstarch
cornflour

dessert
puddings

dinner
tea

drunk
pissed

drunk (adj.)
paralytic

eat
scoff

egg salad
egg mayonnaise

eggplant
aubergine

English muffin
simply a round, flat bread roll to be split in two, toasted, and eaten with butter

entrees
mains

french fries
chips

get drunk
get lushed

green pepper
capsicum

Lemonade
bitter lemon

molasses
treacle

muffin
fairy cake

napkin
serviette

popsicle
ice lolly

roast (noun)
joint (noun)

rutabaga
swede

salad dressing
salad cream

sausage
bangers

shrimp
prawns

soy
soya

spoonful of butter
knob of butter

sugar, brown
Demerara

sugar, granulated
caster sugar

sugar, powdered
icing sugar

sugar, superfine
caster sugar

take out (food)
to go

to go/carry out
to take away

zucchini
courgette

Furniture/Electronics
antenna
aerial

cell phone
mobile

sofa
settee

TV
telly

vacuum cleaner
hoover

Holidays
federal holiday
bank holiday

Merry Christmas!
Happy Christmas!

New Year's Day
New Year

Santa Claus
Father Christmas

Houses/Buildings
aluminum
aluminium

apartment
flat

bathroom/restroom
loo
loo is slang but is usually used
cot
camp bed

cow barn
byre

cul-de-sac
close (with a soft "s")

dirt (in yard)
earth (in garden)

do the dishes
washing up

dumpster
skip

elevator
lift

faucet
tap

garbage
rubbish

garbage can
dustbin

ground (an electrical wire)
earth

real estate
property

rent an apartment
let a flat

sidewalk
pavement

sod
turf

soil
earth

spackle
filler (or polyfilla)

stove/range
cooker

stovetop
hob

toilet
washroom

toilet paper
bog roll

townhouse
terraced house

yard
garden

yard work
gardening

Miscellaneous
afghan
rug

attitude
arrogance, pomposity, condescension, self-importance

auction
flog

awesome
ace

bachelorette party
Hen's night

bill
bank note

cheap (as in stingy)
mean

check
cheque

check off (a list)
tick off

checking account
current account

chilly, breezy (weather)
fresh

clothespins
clothes pegs

counter-clockwise
anti-clockwise

dish cloth/towel
tea towel

dish rag
dish cloth

doctor's office
surgery

eraser
rubber

exhibit
exhibition

expensive
dear

face cloth
flannel

field (sports)
pitch

fight
row

finished, resolved, complete, & done
done & dusted

flashlight
torch

get upset
get your knickers in a twist

gone bad
gone pear-shaped

grip, firm grasp
purchase

happy, pleased
chuffed

holiday (or federal holiday)
Bank holiday

leash (for dogs)
lead

luxurious (adj.)
posh

Main Street
High Street

manner, behavior, opinion, stance, position
attitude

mineral spirits
white spirits

money
slang terms:
quid - pound
a ton - £100 note
a monkey - £500 note

nap
kip

parakeet
budgie (budgerigar)

period
full stop

Queen Anne's Lace
wild parsley (or cow parsley)

remit
charter, responsibilities

rubber
condom

scotch tape
cellatape

shag
dancing

shoddy, quick fix
bodge

soccer
football

something that tries too hard to be adorable
twee

specialty
speciality

study
revise

stuff, gear, tools, supplies, etc.
kit

temp (worker)
seconded (accent on 2nd syllable)

terrific, excellent
brilliant

Thermos bottle
Thermos flask

Tic Tac Toe
Noughts & Crosses

tick off
make angry

tired
knackered

trash can
rubbish bin

two weeks
fortnight

umbrella
brolly

vacation
holiday

well
tidy

Z (zee)
zed

zero
ought

School
grammar school (elementary school)
private school

math
maths

private school
public school

school
university

tuition
fees

Sexual
heartbroken
gutted

horny
randy

kiss
snog

knock up
get pregnant

penis
pecker

sexual intercourse
shag

to be pregnant
in the pudding club

Stores
fruit market
green grocer

liquor store
Off License

pharmacy
chemist

store (a business)
shop

People
arguments, disagreements and generic "trouble"
argy bargy

bad temper
be in a strop
have/throw a wobbly
have a cob on
throw your toys out of the pram
go off on one
having the hump (about something)

bobby pin your bangs
Kirby-grip your fringe

bookmaker
turf accountant

bum
tramp, dosser

card shark
card sharp

cop
bobby

crazy
mad

dumb
stupid, idiot

eyeglasses
spectacles

fanny
bum

fired
sacked

friend
mate

girls/women
birds

homely: unattractive person
homely: cosy, friendly home

idiot
tosser

jerk
wanker

laid off
made redundant

lawyer
solicitor

mom, mommy
mum, mummy

muddled, confused
at 6s and 7s

Realtor
Estate Agent

school crossing guard
lollipop lady

shot (vaccination)
jab

slow poke
slow coach

snicker
snigger

stupid/crazy
daft

supplier
stockist

taking advantage of someone (or: taking something too far)
taking the piss

tramp
bum

tramp
slut, ho

Verbs
call
ring
call you tomorrow
like
fancy
I fancy tea and scones
whine
whinge
complain
Street Names
PatrickLondon: Something that's struck me - not so much vocabulary as speech habit. In the UK, we would give a street its full name, where at least some Americans seem to drop the "Street", "Avenue" or whatever. In London, and probably most other towns and cities too, there could be confusion between a district and a street or square("Victoria", "Bloomsbury"); and often, posh Georgian and Victorian developments would have their associated Lane or Mews for service access, so you could easily have in the same district a Square, Avenue, Street, Lane and Mews all with the same name. And developers often lacked imagination too.

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