American-British Glossary | K
Smoothing transatlantic communication
| Index of Americanisms |
| 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 | British-American |
 American |
 British |
|---|---|
|
kennel (the place where you leave your dog to be cared for while you are away) |
kennels |
| kerosene | paraffin |
| ketchup | tomato sauce, ketchup |
| kettle | In the U.S. a kettle is a metal cooking pot with lid (as in 'fish kettle'). Americans refer to the British type for boiling water in as a 'teakettle'. |
| kibitz (v.) | chat; offer unwanted advice, esp. during card games |
| kindergarten | first year at school in the U.S., which corresponds to infant school in the UK |
| kindergartner | infant (a UK schoolchild under 7) |
| kitchen counter | kitchen bench, worktop, work surface |
| kitchen shears | kitchen scissors |
| kitchen stove (with oven and grill) | cooker |
| Kleenex™ | tissue, paper handkerchief |
| knickers | knickerbockers; plus fours (these are baggy) |
| knock (on) wood (said when hoping for luck) | touch wood |
| knock someone up [slang] (make pregnant) | put in the family way [colloq.] |
| knucklehead [colloq.] (idiot, stupid person) | blockhead, pinhead, jackass, twit [all colloq.], oaf, cretin |
