American Words

Okay, but just 'cause it drove me nuts.

A truck is not called a 'lorry' here.
The place where the engine sits is under the hood.
The big box built in to the back of the car is the trunk, not the boot.
The place you rent to live in is your apartment, not a flat.
The big box you ride upstairs in is an elevator, not a lift.

And drive on the right hand side of the road, for Pete's sake.

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Nothing to add, but enjoying the thread so far. and "Aubegine"???? I'd never have known what that was if it wasn't spelled out. The others mostly still make sense in American English.

 

Could someone explain what 'biscuit' means in the USA? Over here I reckon it's what you would call a cookie.

 

Or, a nice lady bottom. "Mmmm buscuit"

 

No that would be a cookie.

this explains it pretty ok.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biscuit

 

just try going up to someone and asking

...."do you know where i can bum some fags round here mate??"

...roughly translated ..."where can i purchase some cigarettes ??"

 

I still dont understand why americans call stuff "neat".

I mean when I think neat I think tidy and ordered

 

the same way as neat is sweet is cool is hip is happening is da bomb..is..... i think the americans are trying to increase their vocabulary.

 

American football



Yours

 

In England, your girlfriend is not your "girl", "bitch" or "ho", she's your bird!

 

If you used the word "counterpane" an American would have no clue what you're talking about. Here it's a bedspread or quilt.

 

Fixed it for you

 

In the U.S.,

A holiday is called a vacation,
A tap is called a faucet.
The pavement is called a sidewalk
A drugstore is called a pharmacy
drugstores sell not just medicine, but many everyday houshold items.

 

Potato crisps in the UK are potato chips here.
Chips there are French Fries here.

Trying to recall others from my four years in the UK.

 

Check your history. If by "we", you mean inhabitants of the British Isles, you're a bit wrong.

Mike

 

While reading a book by a British writer, I noticed the term "anyroad" used.
In the USA, we would use the term "anyway", "in any case" or "anyhow".

In the USA we would only use the term "cheers", as a abbreviated toast,
before drinking an alcoholic beverage.