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Strange Glossary - American vs English Meanings
A two-way glossary of words in daily use on both sides of the Atlantic.
The words have been selected because of the confusion they can cause on one or other side of the Atlantic. Primarily it is for the visitor to Britain or America, but it is also for the Englishman who heard about denatured alcohol & thought it was alcohol with water added, and for the wife of an American airman based in Suffolk who combed the local shops for a jelly roll.
l'll put the American word first in Bold type and below it l'll put the English word .
A
account
bill/account
adhesive tape
sticking plaster
aisle
gangway
B
baby bed/crib
cot/crib
baby carriage/baby buggy
pram (perambulator)
back-up lights
reversing lights
baggage room
left luggage office
balcony (theater)
gallery
barette
hairslide
baseboard
skirting board
bathe (v.)
bath
bathrobe
dressing gown
bathtub
bath
bell pepper
green pepper
bill
bank note
billfold
wallet
billion = thousand million
bilion = million million
bobbie pin
hair grip/kirby grip
bomb (disaster)
bomb (success)
booth (telephone)
kiosk (telephone/cigarettes)
broil
grill
buffet
sideboard
bureau
chest of drawers
business suit
lounge suit
C
call/phone
ring up/phone
call collect
reverse charges
can
tin
candy
sweets/chocolate
candy store
sweet shop/confectioner
caravan
convoy
carnival
funfair
change purse
purse
charged (goods bought)
put down/entered
check (restaurant)
bill
checkers
draughts
check room
cloakroom
chicory
endive
chips (potato)
crisps
closet
cupboard
closet (hanging clothes)
wardrobe
clothes pin
clothes peg
collar button
collar stud
comforter
duvet/eiderdown
concert master
leader
conductor
railway guard
connect (telephone)
put through
cookie
sweet biscuit
cotton candy
candy floss
cracker
unsweetened biscuit
crazy bone
funny bone
cuffs (pants)
D
dead-end
cul-de-sac
delivery truck
van
detour
diversion
divided highway
dual carriageway
downtown
city centre
dungarees
jeans
E
eggplant
aubergine
elevator
lift
eyeball
visually position
F
fall
autumn
fender
wing/mudguard
freeway/super highway
motorway
freight truck
goods truck
French fries
chips
G
garbage/trash
rubbish
gas
petrol
gas station
petrol station
gear shift
gear lever
H
hamburger bun
bap
homely - ugly
homely - pleasant
hood (car)
bonnet
P
pacifier
dummy
pantie hose
tights
pantry
larder
parka
anorak
parking lot
car park
pavement
road
penitentiary
prison
period
full-stop
pitcher
jug
popsicle
iced lolly
precinct
district
principal
headmaster/mistress
pull-off
lay-by
pullman/sleeper
sleeping car
Submitted by John Hutchinson
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