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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 |
|
|
S |
|
British
|
American
|
| sack (dismiss an employee) |
fire
[colloq.] |
| saddle (on bicycle) |
seat |
| sales assistant |
sales clerk |
| saloon
bar |
bar
in a public
house better furnished and
slightly more expensive than the adjoining public
bar |
| saloon car |
sedan |
| sanitary towel |
sanitary napkin |
| scales
(weighing implement) |
scale |
| scarper
[slang] |
beat it,
split [both slang], run away |
| school report |
report card |
| scourer |
scouring pad |
| scrap
paper (bit of used paper for writing notes on) |
scratch
paper |
| screw
(n.) [prisoner slang] |
prison
guard |
| scribbling
block/pad |
scratch
pad |
| scrub round
[colloq.] |
avoid, circumvent |
| scrubber
[slang] |
sexually promiscuous woman;
prostitute |
| scrubbing-brush |
scrub brush |
| scrum
[colloq.] |
undisciplined or disorderly crowd |
| scrumple |
crumple, wrinkle |
| scrumpy
[colloq.] |
a rough cider made in the west of England |
| scrunchy |
decorative fabric-covered elastic band used for fastening
the hair |
| seafront,
front |
promenade |
| seaside resort |
beach resort |
| season ticket |
commuter pass |
| secateurs |
pair of hand-held pruning clippers |
| 2nd Lieutenant (British Army
& Royal Marines) |
2nd Lieutenant > Chief Warrant
Officer
(U.S. Army & U.S. Marine Corps) |
| second floor
(UK) |
third floor
(U.S.) |
| second
name |
last
name, family name |
| secondary
school |
high school |
| Sellotape™, sticky tape |
Scotch tape™ |
| semibreve (in music) |
whole note |
| semi-detached house |
duplex
(house), two-family house |
| semiquaver (in music) |
sixteenth note |
| semitone |
half-tone, half-step |
| semolina
(pudding) |
cream
of wheat |
| send down
('The thief was sent down for five years.') |
jail; suspend or expel from university |
| senior
citizen |
senior,
retiree |
| senior
nursing officer |
person in charge of nursing in a
British hospital |
| Sergeant (British Army) |
1st Sergeant > Master Sergeant
> Specialist 8
> Sergeant First Class > Specialist 7
> Staff Sergeant >
Specialist 6
> Sergeant >
Specialist 5 (U.S. Army) |
| Sergeant (Royal Air Force) |
Staff Sergeant (U.S. Air Force) |
| Sergeant (Royal Marines) |
First Sergeant > Master
Sergeant > Gunnery Sergeant > Staff Sergeant > Sergeant (U.S.
Marine Corps) |
| service
flats |
apartment
hotel |
| service station |
gas station, garage (on regular road);
service area (on freeway) |
| serviette |
(table) napkin |
| set square |
triangle |
| shag
[slang] |
have sex |
| shagged out
[slang] |
tired out, exhausted |
| shandy |
drink of beer and lemonade |
| Shanks's pony |
relying on your own two feet to get around |
| share
(in a company) |
stock |
| shareholder |
stockholder,
shareholder |
| shareholders'
funds |
shareholders'
(or shareowners') equity |
| shaving-foam |
shaving cream |
| sheath |
condom, rubber [slang] |
| shelve (put on a back
burner) |
table |
| shepherd's pie |
ground meat topped with mashed potato |
| shirty
[colloq.] |
irritated, annoyed,
peckish |
| shoe polish |
shoeshine |
| shoelace |
shoestring |
| shoot (n.) |
hunting party or expedition |
| shooting (sport) |
small-game hunting |
| shooting brake (estate car) |
station wagon |
| shop |
store |
| shop
assistant |
sales
clerk |
| shop floor,
the (in a
factory, etc.) |
non-management workers & their working area |
| shopkeeper |
store owner |
shopwalker
(person in large store who directs
customers and supervises sales staff) |
floor
walker |
| shopper |
shopping
cart |
| shopper
[slang] |
informer |
| shopping
centre |
shopping mall |
| shopping
precinct |
traffic-free
shopping area in town or city |
| shortsighted |
nearsighted |
| shower
[slang] |
group of undesirable people,
riff-raff |
| shufti
[colloq.] (as in 'I took a quick shufti at it.') |
look,
glimpse |
| sideboard (item of furniture) |
buffet |
| sideboard (hair on side of man's
face) |
sideburn,
side-whiskers |
| siding |
railroad siding |
| sieve |
strainer |
| signal box (alongside railway) |
signal tower |
| silencer (on motor vehicle) |
muffler |
| silly billy |
foolish person |
silver
top (silver-coloured foil cap on pint bottle
of milk; see also gold
top) |
standard
milk of the kind delivered to British homes |
| single
(ticket) |
one-way ticket |
| sister (in hospital) |
senior female nurse in charge of ward |
| sitting
room |
living
room |
| skint
[colloq.,
from 'skinned'] |
broke |
| skip
(container for large-scale refuse disposal) |
Dumpster™ |
| skipping-rope |
jump rope |
| skirt
[slang] (as in 'She's a nice bit of skirt!' ) |
women seen as objects of sexual desire |
| skirting board |
baseboard,
mopboard |
| skive
[colloq.] |
play
hooky; shirk or evade one's duties,
especially by avoiding being seen by others who are hard at work |
| skiver
[colloq.] |
shirker;
truant; one who is absent from work or school without permission |
| skivvy
[derog. colloq.] |
female domestic servant |
| slag
[slang] |
prostitute or promiscuous woman |
| slanging match |
prolonged exchange of insults |
| slap-up
[colloq.] (as in 'Jack ate a slap-up meal') |
excellent, lavish |
| slash
(n.) [slang] |
pee
[colloq.], act of urinating |
| slate
(v.) |
scold; criticize severely |
| sledge |
sled |
| sleeper (on
railway line) |
railroad tie |
| sleeping
carriage |
sleeping
car, sleeper |
| slip-road (on motorway) |
on ramp, exit ramp (on freeway) |
| slosh
[slang] |
hit especially heavily |
| slowcoach
[colloq.] |
slow, lazy or dimwitted person |
| smallholding |
agricultural holding smaller than small farm |
| smalls
[colloq.] |
underwear |
| smarmy
[colloq.] |
overly flattering or obsequious |
| smasher [colloq.] |
peach, lulu
[slang], great-looking girl |
| smashing [colloq.] |
excellent, wonderful, beautiful, etc. |
| smooch [colloq.] |
as
in AmE, to kiss and hold someone affectionately;
in BrE, also means to dance slowly close together |
| snack |
nosh |
| snakes
and ladders (children's board game) |
chutes
and ladders |
| snap |
card game during which you shout 'Snap!' |
| snog
[slang] |
kiss and caress amorously, neck,
smooch |
| snout
[slang] |
nose; informer; tobacco or cigarette |
| snuff it
[slang] |
kick
the bucket [slang], pass away, die |
| sodding
[slang] |
blasted |
| Sod off!
[slang] |
Beat
it! Get lost! Go to hell! |
| sofa |
couch |
| soft drink (effervescent type) |
soda |
| solicitor |
attorney, general lawyer |
| sonny
Jim [colloq.] (condescending form of address) |
bud,
buddy |
| soppy [colloq.] |
silly; foolishly sentimental |
| sorbet |
sherbet ice cream |
| spanner |
wrench |
| spanner in the works,
a |
obstacle, impediment |
| special delivery |
express mail |
| speciality |
specialty |
| spectacles (glasses) |
eyeglasses |
spend a penny
(one penny was once the cost
of using a public convenience) |
go to the bathroom or restroom |
| spiffing [19th
century slang] |
swell
[colloq.], splendid, excellent, handsome |
| spirit-level |
level |
| spirits
(distilled alcohol) |
liquor |
| sponge bag |
toilet kit |
| sponge bath |
blanket bath |
| sponge finger (long
soft sweet cake) |
ladyfinger |
| sponge pudding |
steamed or baked sponge dessert |
| sponge sandwich |
layer cake |
| sports centre |
health
club, fitness club |
| spot on
[colloq.] (as in 'his assessment was spot on') |
accurate,
precise, on target |
| spring
onion |
green
onion, scallion |
| sprog
[slang] |
baby or child |
| sprout |
Brussels sprout |
| spunk
[slang] |
come
(or cum) [slang], semen |
| Squadron Leader (Royal Air Force) |
Major (U.S. Air Force) |
| squash (drink) |
concentrated fruit drink to be diluted with
water |
| squire [colloq.]
(e.g. "What can I do for you, squire?") |
sir;
old fashioned, working man's way of addressing another man he thinks
might be his social superior |
| Staff Sergeant (British Army) |
Sergeant Major > Specialist 9
(U.S. Army) |
| stag night, stag party |
bachelor party |
| stall (in a market) |
stand |
| stalls (in a theatre) |
orchestra seats |
| stand
(in politics) (e.g. 'she stood for re-election') |
run
(as in 'he ran for public office') |
| standard
lamp |
floor
lamp |
| standing order
(banking) |
automatic
draft |
| starkers
[colloq.] |
stark naked |
| starter (first course of a meal) |
appetizer |
| state school
(providing free basic education to all) |
public
school |
| stick
(v.)
[colloq.] ('I couldn't stick it a day longer!') |
bear,
endure |
| stick insect |
walking stick |
| sticking plaster |
Band Aid |
| stickweed |
ragweed |
| sticky
end (as in 'he came to a sticky end') |
an
unpleasant or painful death |
| sticky
tape |
Scotch tape™ |
| sticky wicket |
awkward or difficult situation |
| stiffy
[slang] |
hard-on
[slang], erection |
| stocks
(goods available for delivery) |
inventories |
| stodgy (food) |
heavy, indigestible |
| stone
(fruit seed) (cf. pip) |
pit
(usually larger size) |
| stone
(unit of weight) |
14 pounds in weight (= 6.35kg) |
| stoned
(olives, etc.) |
pitted |
| stop clock |
timer |
| storey (floor in building) [pl.
storeys] |
story [pl. stories] |
| stream
[acad.] (as in 'Sue got into the A-stream') |
group of school children of similar age and ability
selected to be
taught at same level |
| streets ahead (of)
[colloq.] |
overwhelmingly superior (to) |
| strewth,
struth [colloq.] |
God's truth! (a mild oath) |
| stroppy [colloq.] |
bad-tempered and awkward to deal with |
| struck on
[colloq.] |
infatuated with |
| student |
in
Britain, first and foremost a university student |
| stupid |
dumb |
| Sub-Lieutenant (Royal Navy) |
Lieutenant Junior Grade (U.S.
Navy) |
| subway
(pedestrian walkway under
road) |
underpass |
| sultana |
golden
raisin |
| summer time |
daylight saving time |
| sunshine
(e.g. 'I wouldn't do that, sunshine!') |
buddy,
bud (a form of very informal address) |
| surgery [C] |
doctor's
or dentist's office |
| surgical spirit |
rubbing
alcohol |
| surname |
last name, family name |
| suspender
belt |
garter belt |
| suspenders
(to hold up women's
stockings) |
garters |
suss out
(as in 'he's gone to London
to suss out job opportunities') |
investigate or figure out a situation |
| swear blind
[colloq.] |
state categorically |
| swede (vegetable) |
rutabaga |
| sweet corn (or corn on the cob) |
corn |
| sweet
(n.) |
candy [C] & [U]; dessert |
| sweet Fanny Adams
[slang] |
nothing
at all, complete idleness |
| sweetshop |
candy
store |
| swimming trunks |
men's
bathing suit |
| Swiss roll |
jelly roll |
| swizz
[colloq.] |
swindle; an unfair or dishonest practice |
| swizzle
[colloq.] |
swindle |
| swot
(v.) |
cram |
| swot
(n.)
[colloq.] |
someone
who studies very hard, usually a child |
|
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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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