American and British words and expressions

tansy · Feb 27, 2017

Darkhorse said:
Actually, many newer intersections in the U.S. have incorporated the "walking person" picture, and traffic signs without words (symbols only) have become much more common over the years.

Lots more of non-English speakers now.

That makes sense, I mean especially with the non-English speakers. I live d abroad (in Europe) for a while and whilst I could speak enough French and German for general purposes, it was still good that street signs were pretty much self-explanatory, apart from one where I got fined for parking in the wrong place. I didn't realise that the little sign with some numbers on it meant you could only park that side of the road for half the month and the other side for the other half of the month. I mean, there was no 'P' for 'parking' or anything. I went to the local police station to pay the fine (luckily it wasn't a lot), and said I couldn't understand what I'd done wrong, but he didn't bother to explain!

But my husband asked some people at his place of work and they explained it fortunately.

country woman · Feb 27, 2017

I have to go to the loo

rebornfree · Feb 27, 2017

country woman said:
I have to go to the loo

If I say "I've just been to the john" are we speaking each other's languages now!

Something our American friends need to know if they drive in the UK (apart from doing so on the left!) is that you cannot turn left against a red light, unless there is a filter telling you to do so. I seem to remember that in the USA you could turn right when the light showed red. Is that correct?

MWood · Feb 27, 2017

In Louisiana you can not turn onto or off of a state or federal highway (road) when the traffic light is red.

Darkhorse · Feb 27, 2017

rebornfree said:
I seem to remember that in the USA you could turn right when the light showed red. Is that correct?

It is correct in some states, but not in others. State driving laws are much more similar now then when I was a kid, but there are still differences...

tansy · Feb 28, 2017

country woman said:
I have to go to the loo

That often happens to me when I' drinking too much coffee whilst sitting at the computer! LOL

tansy · Feb 28, 2017

Darkhorse said:
It is correct in some states, but not in others. State driving laws are much more similar now then when I was a kid, but there are still differences...

Scary it is...I went to visit my sister who was living in BC at the time, and I just couldn'y believe it. When the lights said it was OK for pedestrians to go, at the same time it was OK for traffic turning right in to the road to go as well!. This was a very busy wide junction (I assume that' swhat you call 'intersection' over there?) Anyhow, I went to go but luckily my sister was with me and pulled me back. When we lived in Luxembourg years ago, there were similar junctions there.
It's OK if you know about it, but not when you don't.

tansy · Mar 1, 2017

American: 'Hood'. British: 'Bonnet'...talking about cars here - which is odd really, because normally bonnets go on people's heads LOL

Oh, I think you also say 'trunk' of the car where we say 'boot', which is also odd because a boot normally goes on your foot

tansy · Mar 1, 2017

Don't Americans call the 'exhaust' a 'muffler'?

Chesterton · Mar 1, 2017

tansy said:
Don't Americans call the 'exhaust' a 'muffler'?

Yes. We refer to the "exhaust system" but that final component of the system we call a muffler. A muffler is also a thick scarf you wear around your neck in winter. Not to be confused with a "silencer" which is an illegal attachment to the barrel of a gun.

You refer to the "subway" as the "tube"?

tansy · Mar 1, 2017

Chesterton said:
Yes. We refer to the "exhaust system" but that final component of the system we call a muffler. A muffler is also a thick scarf you wear around your neck in winter. Not to be confused with a "silencer" which is an illegal attachment to the barrel of a gun.

You refer to the "subway" as the "tube"?

If you mean for a railway, yes. But we also have pedestrian subways which are footpaths which go under a road. Otherwise we call them underground railways...not to mention the Channel Tunnel LOL

rebornfree · Mar 1, 2017

MWood said:
In Louisiana you can not turn onto or off of a state or federal highway (road) when the traffic light is red.

Darkhorse said:
It is correct in some states, but not in others. State driving laws are much more similar now then when I was a kid, but there are still differences...

Thank you gentlemen. We were in CA or NY. My father had a cousin in each and I cannot remember who told us - it was 1972!

rebornfree · Mar 1, 2017

Cookies - biscuits
Candies - sweets

Darkhorse · Mar 1, 2017

tansy said:
Oh, I think you also say 'trunk' of the car where we say 'boot', which is also odd because a boot normally goes on your foot

The American use of the word "trunk" comes from the early cars of the 1930s and before, which had an actual trunk (like a steamer trunk) attached to the rear of the car.

tansy · Mar 2, 2017

Darkhorse said:
The American use of the word "trunk" comes from the early cars of the 1930s and before, which had an actual trunk (like a steamer trunk) attached to the rear of the car.

Of course, yes! I should have thought of that. Duh!

. Still doesn't explain why Brits call it a 'boot' though LOL

joyshirley · Mar 3, 2017

Here in New Zealand, we use a lot of British expressions. But we do our own thing too...

boot for trunk
bonnet or hood - either word works here
footpath for pavement/sidewalk
tarseal for tarmac etc
biscuits for cookies
lollies for sweets/candy
jelly for jello (I think that's what Americans say...)
jam for jelly (I think that's what Americans say...)
lieutenant pronounced leftenant
aluminium for aluminum
all the words spelled with our instead of just or, such as colour or flavour
jandals for flip flops
motorway for highway
hot chips for French fries
gumboots for wellingtons/rain boots

joyshirley · Mar 3, 2017

Fascinating subject.

I've always been interested in language usage and the differences to be found among English-speaking people.

joyshirley · Mar 3, 2017

Chesterton said:
Yes. We refer to the "exhaust system" but that final component of the system we call a muffler. A muffler is also a thick scarf you wear around your neck in winter. Not to be confused with a "silencer" which is an illegal attachment to the barrel of a gun.

Muffler was used all the time when I was a kid, but now people seem to use the word exhaust most of the time. Mechanics still say muffler, though...

joyshirley · Mar 3, 2017

rebornfree said:
I'm a Brit who's visited the US a couple of times and I've noticed "line" instead of "queue", "john" instead of "loo" and "elevator" instead of "lift".

We use the same words as you ones there, Sue...

joyshirley · Mar 3, 2017

[QUOTE="Chesterton, post: 70916267, member: 225709].

Y'all say "petrol" for "gasoline" don't you?

[/QUOTE]

Over here it's a bit of both, Chesterton. Some people, like me, say petrol most times and others, like my father, usually say gas.

By the way, I don't think I have ever heard anyone here say y'all, the way you ones do. We say you ones or you lot or youse. I know, youse is cringeworthy but very common and all of us have said it on occasion, even the most well-spoken NZers, I reckon).

American and British words and expressions

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