American > British Glossary | B
Smoothing and improving transatlantic communication
Index of Americanisms |
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O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z | Briticisms |
American term or expression | British equivalent, or explanation |
---|---|
baby buggy | pushchair |
baby carriage | pram (abbr. of perambulator) |
bachelor party | stag party, stag night |
bachelorette party | hen party, hen night |
backhoe | mechanical digger, excavator, JCB™ |
backpack | rucksack, backpack |
backsplash tiles (to protect kitchen wall) | splashback tiles |
backup lights (on vehicle) | reversing lights |
backward (adv.) | backwards |
backward (as in 'he wore his cap backward') | back to front |
backyard | back garden |
bacon slice | rasher of bacon |
bag of potato chips | packet of crisps |
bag (v.) [colloq.] | discontinue using something |
baggage | luggage |
baggage car (on train) | luggage van |
baggage reclaim (at airport) | luggage reclaim |
baggage room | left luggage office |
baked potato | jacket potato, baked potato |
balcony (highest theater floor with cheapest seats) | gallery |
ballpoint (pen) | Biro™, ballpoint (pen) |
balls [slang] | bollocks,
goolies, balls [all slang] (testicles); bullshit, crap [both slang] (utter nonsense) |
ballsy [slang] (as in 'she was a ballsy lady') | having attributes traditionally expected of the ideal male, like toughness, courage and determination |
baloney [colloq.] (foolish nonsense) | rot
[colloq.], codswallop [slang], cobblers [abbreviation of rhyming slang 'cobbler's awls' for 'balls' (see above)] |
Band Aid | plaster [C], sticking plaster |
bangs (hair) | fringe |
bank (by road or river) | embankment |
bank teller | cashier, bank cashier |
barrette | hairslide |
baseboard | skirting board |
basket of strawberries | punnet of strawberries |
bathing suit | swimming trunks (men); swimsuit (women) |
bathrobe | dressing gown |
bathroom [as euphemism] | lavatory, toilet |
bathtub | bath |
beach, the | seaside, the |
beach resort | seaside resort |
beano [colloq.] (bingo using beans as markers) | bingo |
beat it [slang] (get away) | scarper [slang] |
Beat it! [slang] (Get lost! Go to hell!) | Bugger off! Naff off! Piss off! Sod off! [all slang] |
beauty parlor/salon/shop | (women's) hairdresser |
beaver [slang] (female genitals) | fanny [slang] |
bedroom community | dormitory town |
beeper [colloq.] (pager) | bleeper [colloq.] |
beet | beetroot |
bell captain | head porter (at hotel) |
bell pepper (vegetable) | pepper |
bellhop, bellboy, bellman | porter |
belt up | buckle/fasten your seatbelt |
beltway (bypass encircling a city or town) | ring road |
bias tire, bias-ply tire | cross-ply tyre |
bicycle seat | saddle |
bicycling, to bicycle | cycling, to cycle |
bicyclist | cyclist |
Big Dipper, the (constellation) | Plough, the |
bike lane, bicycle lane | cycle lane |
bill (paper money) | note, banknote |
billboard | hoarding, advertising hording |
billfold | men's wallet, notecase |
billing | invoicing |
blacktop (asphalt) | tarmac |
blanket bath | sponge bath |
blender | liquidizer, blender |
blind alley (cul-de-sac) | close, cul-de-sac, dead-end road |
blinders (leather shields attached to either side
of a horse's head so it can only see forward) |
blinkers |
blowout (in a tire) | puncture, flat tyre |
blubber (v.) [colloq.] (weep loudly) | blub |
bobby pin (flat hairpin with ends close together) | hairclip, hairgrip |
bobsled; bobsledding [slang] | bobsleigh |
bomb | bad failure, disaster |
bond (as in 'he was released on a $10,000 bond') | bail (as in 'she was released on £10,000 bail') |
boner [slang] (penile erection) | stiffy, hard-on [both slang] |
boob tube [slang] (television set) | telly, goggle-box [both slang] |
booby hatch [disparaging] (psychiatric hospital) | loony-bin [slang] |
bouillon cube | stock cube, Oxo™ cube |
bowl (bowl-shaped structure) | large stadium for sports events and concerts |
box cutter, utility knife | craft knife, Stanley knife™ |
box wrench | box spanner |
boxcar (on a freight train) | goods wag(g)on (enclosed type) |
braces (leg supports) | callipers |
braids (as in 'Mandy wears her hair in braids') | plaits |
brainstorm (great new idea) | brainwave |
brass knuckles | knuckleduster |
bread box | bread bin |
break in
a new car's engine (by not driving too fast at first) |
run a new car in |
bridge loan (kind of short-term bank loan) | bridging loan |
brigadier general (U.S. Air Force) | air commodore (Royal Air Force) |
brigadier general (U.S. Army & U.S. Marine Corps) | brigadier (British Army & Royal Marines) |
britches (pants ending just below the knee) | breeches |
broad [slang] (woman) | bird [slang] |
broil | grill on a gridiron or rack |
broiler | grill |
BS (which also stands for 'bullshit' in the U.S.) | B.Sc. (Bachelor of Science) |
buck (C) [colloq.] (cf. U.K. quid) | dollar $ |
buckeye | conker (the hard core of a horse chestnut) |
buddy, bud | mate,
chum, pal
sunshine, sonny Jim, mush [slang] (used condescendingly) |
buffet (as an item of furniture) | sideboard |
bug | insect |
bulletin board | noticeboard |
bullhorn | loudhailer, megaphone |
bum, bummer [both slang] | tramp (vagrant); layabout (habitual loafer or idler) |
buns [slang] | buttocks |
bureau | chest of drawers |
burglarize | burgle |
bus (long-distance type with extra comfort) | coach |
busboy | a kind of assistant waiter |
butt [slang] (buttocks) | arse [slang], bum [colloq.], bottom |