British > American Glossary | R
Smoothing and improving transatlantic communication
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P Q R S T U V W X Y Z | Americanisms |
 British
term or expression |
 American
equivalent, or explanation |
|---|---|
| racecourse | racetrack |
| racing car | race car |
| racing driver | race car driver |
| radio cassette recorder | AM/FM cassette recorder |
| rag (UK college event) | row of charity fund-raising activities and entertainments annually organized by students |
| rag [colloq.] (as in 'I read it in the local rag') | humorous term for newspaper of lower quality |
| rag-and-bone man | ragman |
| railway | railroad |
| railway carriage, coach or wagon (also 'waggon') | railroad car, passenger car |
| railway crossing, level crossing | grade crossing, railroad crossing |
| railway line | railroad track |
| railway station | railroad station, train station, depot |
| rallying (motor sport) | rally racing |
| randy [slang] (lustful) | horny [slang] |
| range (of products) | line, product line |
| range (old style cooker) | stove (solid fuel-fired type kept hot all day long) |
| rasher of bacon | bacon slice |
| rat run [colloq.] | back road used by many to avoid rush-hour traffic |
| ratty [colloq.] | irritable, touchy |
| Rawplug™ | plastic
wall anchor to give screws grip on walls; U.S. equivalents include the molly bolt & toggle bolt |
| reafforestation | reforestation |
| real
tennis (the ancient game from which modern-day tennis is derived) |
court tennis |
| rear light (on vehicle) | taillight |
| reception (hotel, etc.) | front desk |
| receptionist | front desk clerk |
| recess | temporary cessation of work, esp. in Parliament, government organizations, and law courts |
| reckon [colloq.] (think, guess) | figure [colloq.] |
| recorded delivery | certified mail |
| recreation ground | playground |
| Red Indian [dated and politically incorrect] | American Indian, Native American |
| redundant | out of work, unemployed |
| reel (of film, tape, cotton, etc.) | roll, spool |
| refuse collector [formal], dustman | garbage man, trash man [both colloq.] |
| registered post | certified mail |
| registration number, registration plate (on vehicle) | license plate |
| registry office, register office | marriage clerk's office |
| Remembrance Day, Remembrance Sunday | British equivalent of Veterans' Day |
| remould a tyre | retread a tire |
| removal or removals firm, service or company | movers |
| removal or removals lorry or van | moving van |
| repeat prescription (medical) | additional prescription allowing more of a previously prescribed medicine, and usually without the patient having to see the doctor all over again |
| research director (top executive) | vice president (VP) research |
| resident | overnight hotel guest |
| residential area or district | residential section, uptown |
| rest room | relaxation room |
| restaurant bill | check |
| restaurant car (on train) | dining car |
| return ticket | round trip ticket |
| reverse charge call | collect call |
| reverse the charges | call collect |
| reversing lights (on vehicle) | reverse lights, backup lights |
| revise (re-read study notes or textbooks for exam) | review |
| riding (equestrian) | horseback riding |
| right cock-up, a | screw-up resulting from total incompetence |
| right-angled triangle (triangle with one 90° angle) | right triangle |
| Righto! Right-oh! Righty-ho! | Sure thing! |
| ring off (end a phone call) | hang up |
| ring road (bypass encircling city or town) | beltway |
| ring someone up | phone someone |
| ring pull (on drink can) | pull tab |
| rise, pay rise | raise, pay raise |
| rising damp | ground-moisture penetration in wall |
| road metal | small or crushed stones used in road-making |
| roadworks | road work |
| rock | hard, cylindrical stick of peppermint candy |
| roger [slang] (have sex with) | ball, hump, screw [all slang] |
| roll neck, roll-necked jumper | turtleneck sweater |
| Roller [colloq.] | Rolls Royce car |
| roller blind | shade, window shade |
| rollmop | a rolled-up pickled herring fillet |
| room only (at hotel, etc.) | European plan |
| ropy, ropey [colloq.] | in poor condition or of low quality |
| ro-ro [colloq.] | roll-on,
roll-off ferry (vehicles driven on at one
end and off at the other) |
| rot [slang] | baloney [colloq.], nonsense |
| rota | roster, duty roster |
| rotter | cad; objectionable, unpleasant person |
| round (adv., prep.) | around |
| round brackets ( ) | parentheses |
| round the bend [colloq.] | crazy; extremely agitated or worked up |
| roundabout (merry-go-round) | carousel |
| roundabout (circular road junction) | rotary, traffic circle |
| rowing boat | rowboat |
| rubber | pencil eraser |
| rubber dinghy, inflatable dinghy | rubber raft, rubber life raft |
| rubber johnny, johnny [both slang] | rubber [slang], condom, sheath |
| rubbish (n.) | garbage,
trash; nonsense, baloney [colloq.] |
| rubbish (v.) [colloq.] | criticize severely; reject as worthless |
| rubbish tip | garbage dump |
| rucksack | backpack |
| ruddy [colloq.] | damned, darned [colloq.] |
| rug | thick wool coverlet or blanket |
| rugger [colloq.] | rugby football |
| rum, rummy (adj.) [colloq.] | strange, odd, queer |
| rumble someone [colloq.] | dredge up or dig up dirt on someone [colloq.] |
| rump steak | sirloin steak |
| run a new car in | break in a new car's engine by not driving too fast for the first 1,000 miles or so |
| run away to Gretna Green [colloq.] | elope |
| runner bean | string bean |
| rusticate (a student) | suspend from college or university |
