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British-American
Glossary
Smoothing transatlantic
communication |
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Index
of Briticisms |
A
B C D E
F G H
I J
K L M N
O P Q
R S T
U V W
X Y Z
| American-British |
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C |
|
British
|
American
|
| café
(small restaurant) |
diner |
| cakehole
[slang] (as in 'Shut your cakehole!') |
trap
[slang], mouth |
| calico
(plain white cotton cloth) |
muslin |
| call
box |
(tele)phone
booth |
| Calor
gas |
make
of bottled gas |
| camiknickers
(camisole + knickers) |
teddy
(one-piece undergarment for a woman) |
| campsite,
camping site |
campground |
| camper
van, camper |
motorhome |
| canoodle
[slang] |
cuddle,
hold each other lovingly (of a couple in love) |
| candyfloss |
cotton
candy |
| car
manufacturer |
auto
maker |
| car
park |
parking
lot |
| caravan |
trailer,
mobile home |
| caravan
site |
trailer
park |
| caravanning |
trailer
camping |
| card
index |
card
file |
| carer |
caregiver |
| caretaker |
janitor |
carrier
bag (strong paper or plastic bag for carrying
goods home from shop or supermarket) |
shopping
bag |
| carsy
[slang] |
john
[slang], lavatory, esp. outhouse |
| cash
dispenser/machine |
automated
teller machine (ATM) |
| cash
on delivery (COD) |
collect
on delivery (COD) |
| cashier |
checker
(supermarket); teller (bank) |
| cashpoint |
automated
teller machine (ATM) |
| casket |
small
box for cremated ashes; small ornamental box or chest for jewelry,
letters, or other valuables |
| caster
sugar / castor sugar |
finely
granulated white sugar |
| casualty
(department/ward) |
emergency
room (hospital) |
| catapult
(type used for shooting small stones) |
slingshot |
| Catseye |
type
of reflector built into road surface |
cattle
grid (grid over a ditch to allow vehicles
but not sheep or cattle to pass) |
Texas
gate (vehicle pass) |
| caught
short [colloq.] |
in
urgent need of a visit to the lavatory |
| cement
mixer (lorry) |
cement
truck |
| central
reservation (on motorway/dual carriageway) |
median
strip (on freeway/divided highway) |
| chairman
(of a company) |
president |
| chap |
guy,
fellow |
| char
[slang.] |
tea |
| char,
charwoman [both colloq.] |
cleaning
lady |
| chat
up |
talk
to a girl flirtatiously |
| chav
[slang.] |
stereotypical
white anti-social or delinquent juvenile |
| check
pattern |
checked
pattern |
| Cheerio!
[colloq.] |
Bye! |
| Cheers!
[colloq.] |
Thanks! |
| cheese
biscuit (unsweetened biscuit) |
cracker |
| chemist
(person licensed to sell & prepare medicines) |
pharmacist,
druggist |
| chemist('s)
(shop) |
pharmacy,
drug store |
| cheque |
check |
| chest
of drawers (see also tallboy) |
bureau,
dresser |
| chesterfield |
sofa
with arms and back of the same height
and which is curved outward at the top |
| Chief
Constable |
Police
chief in an English county or other region |
| Chief
Technician (Royal Air Force) |
Technical
Sergeant (U.S. Air Force) |
| chinwag
[slang] |
talk,
chat, gossip |
| chipolata |
small
thin sausage |
| chippie
/ chippy [colloq.] |
fish
and chips shop |
| chips
(of potato) |
fries,
French
fries |
| chop
[colloq.] (as in 'he was given the chop') |
dismissal |
| chopped
fish used as bait |
chum |
| Christmas
box |
Christmas
gratuity to milkman, dustman, etc. |
| chuck
it in [colloq.] |
quit,
give up |
| chuffed |
delighted |
| chum |
pal,
especially school friend |
| cinch
[colloq.] (very easy task) |
snap,
breeze [both colloq.] |
| cinema |
movie
theater |
| circle
(the upper-floor seats in a theatre) |
first
balcony, mezzanine |
| City,
the |
London's
financial district (see also Wall
Street) |
| city
area (esp. for policing or local election purposes) |
precinct |
| city
centre |
downtown |
| civvy
street
[colloq.] (as in 'be back on civvy street') |
normal
civilian life away from the military |
| clamp
stand (in chemistry lab) |
ring
stand |
| clanger
[n.] [slang] (as in 'to drop a clanger') |
clinker
[colloq.], mistake or blunder |
| clapped
out [slang] |
worn
out (esp. of machines) |
| cleg |
horsefly |
| clever
dick, clever clogs [colloq.] |
person
who annoys others by never hesitating
to show how smart they are |
| clingfilm |
plastic
wrap |
| clinker
[n.] [slang] |
something
excellent or outstanding |
| clippie
[colloq.] |
female
fare collector on city bus |
| cloakroom
(in hotel, restaurant or theatre) |
checkroom |
| cloakroom
[as euphemism] |
restroom,
lavatory (esp. in public building) |
| cloakroom
attendant |
coat
check girl, hat check girl |
| clobber
[slang] |
gear
[colloq.], belongings one has with one; clothing |
| close
[n.] |
cul-de-sac,
blind alley, dead-end road |
| clot
[colloq.] |
silly,
foolish person |
| cloth-ears
[colloq.] |
person
who hasn't heard or understood something said to them, probably through
inattention |
| clothes
(esp. when sold in a shop) |
apparel |
| clothes
peg |
clothes
pin |
| coach |
bus
(of the more comfortable, long-distance type) |
| cobblers
[from rhyming slang: cobbler's awls = balls] |
baloney,
claptrap [both colloq.], nonsense |
| cock
(adult male chicken) |
rooster |
| cock
something up [slang] |
bungle
something, do something badly or clumsily |
| cock-up
[slang] |
bungle,
mess-up, fuck-up [slang], complete disorder or confused state of affairs
caused by incompetence |
| codswallop
[slang] |
baloney
(or boloney) [slang], nonsense |
| coffin |
casket
[euph.] |
| cold
table |
a
selection of cold food dishes |
| collar
(of meat) |
piece
of meat rolled up and tied |
| collar
stiffener |
collar
stay |
| college |
fee-paying
high-school; institution giving specialized training after the U.K.
basic school-leaving age of 16 |
| Colour
Sergeant (Royal Marines) |
Sergeant
Major > Master Gunnery Sergeant
(U.S. Marine Corps) |
| combine
harvester |
combine |
| comforter
(baby's dummy) |
pacifier |
| commercial
traveller |
traveling
salesman |
| common
or garden [colloq.] |
ordinary,
everyday |
| conductor
(on city bus, etc.) |
fare
collector |
| conker
(the hard core of a horse chestnut) |
buckeye |
| conscription
(compulsory military service) |
draft, the |
| consultant
(medical) |
senior
specialist doctor who places and is responsible for patients in a
hospital |
| container
(for large-scale refuse disposal) |
Dumpster™ |
| continental
quilt |
comforter |
| convenience
[euph.] |
public
lavatory or restroom |
| conveyancing
[legal] |
transfer
of property ownership |
| cooker |
kitchen
stove
with oven and grill |
| cookery
book |
cookbook |
| copper
[slang] |
cop
[slang], police officer |
Cor!
[slang] (interjection expressing admiration,
disbelief, wonder or surprise) |
Wow!
Gee!
Gee whiz! |
| Cor
blimey! [slang; corruption of 'God blind me!'] |
Good
grief! Good God! |
| core
time (in a British flexitime
system) |
central
part of working day when all staff members are expected to be
present |
| corker
[slang] |
something
or someone outstandingly good |
| corking
(adj.) [slang] |
remarkably
large or splendid |
| corn |
any
cereal except rice; maize |
| cornet |
ice-cream
cone |
| cornflour |
cornstarch |
| corn
on the cob (or sweetcorn) |
corn |
| Corporal
(British Army) |
Corporal
> Specialist 4 (U.S. Army) |
| Corporal
(Royal Air Force) |
Airman
1st Class (U.S. Air Force) |
| corporation
(of city, town or borough) |
municipal
authorities, municipal government |
| cot |
baby's
bed or crib with high sides |
| cotton
(on a reel) |
thread
(on a spool) |
| cotton
on to (v.) [colloq.] |
begin to
figure out or become wise to something |
| cotton
reel |
spool
of thread |
| cotton
wool |
cotton,
cotton balls, cotton batting |
| counterfoil |
part
of a check, ticket, etc. retained by the issuer as a transaction record |
| courgette
(vegetable) |
zucchini |
| courier |
messenger |
| court
shoes |
pumps |
| cover
(insurance) |
coverage |
| cover
note [legal] |
temporary
certificate of insurance coverage |
| covering
letter (to accompany a curriculum vitae/CV) |
cover
letter (to accompany a resume) |
| cracker
[slang] |
highly
attractive female |
| cracking
[slang] (as in 'we had a cracking good time') |
outstanding(ly) |
| crash
barrier |
guardrail |
| crayfish |
crawfish |
| cream
bun |
bun
filled or topped with cream |
| cream
cracker |
crisp, unsweetened cracker for cheese;
soda cracker |
| cream
tea |
traditional
afternoon
tea with scones, jam and cream |
| crèche |
day
nursery for pre-school kids |
| creditors
(in accounting) |
accounts
payable, payables |
| creek |
small
bay |
| Crikey!
(euphemism for 'Christ!' when you're surprised) |
Gosh!
(which is a similar euphemism for 'God!') |
| crisps |
chips,
potato chips |
| crossroads |
intersection |
| crotchet
(in music) |
quarter
note |
| Crumbs!
(expression of worry or surprise) |
Gosh!
Wow! |
| crumpet
[slang] ('She's a nice bit of crumpet!' ) |
women
seen as objects of sexual desire |
| crush
bar |
bar
serving drinks to theater audiences during intermission |
| crush
barrier |
barricade
erected for crowd control |
| cupboard |
cabinet,
closet ('cupboard' less common in the U.S.) |
| cuppa
[colloq.] (as in 'I could do with a cuppa!' |
a
cup of tea |
| current
account |
checking
account |
| currently,
now |
presently |
| curriculum
vitae (or CV) |
résumé,
resume |
| curtains
(of thicker cloth) |
drapes
(generally plural only) |
| custom
(as in 'we appreciate your custom') |
business
patronage |
| cutlery
(eating utensils) |
silverware,
flatware |
| cycling |
bicycling |
| cyclist |
bicyclist |
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A
B C D E
F G H
I J
K L M N
O P Q
R S T
U V W
X Y Z
| American-British |
|
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