British) English Translated For Americans.

· ACCOMMODATION in the sense of lodging is singular in English and plural in American English

· ADMIRALTY in Britain is the Navy Department in the U.S.

· AGRICULTURAL SHOW is a State or County Fair.

· AIRY-FAIRY means superficial in a disparaging sense and is roughly "fanciful"

· ALLOTMENT is a small rented area for growing vegetables or flowers away from you home.

· ANORAK is an Eskimo word for a windbreaker or parka.

· ANTI-CLOCKWISE is counter clockwise.

· ARTICULATED LORRY is a trailer truck.

· ASSISTANT - short for shop assistant - would be a salesclerk.

· AU PAIR is a foreign girl who lives as one of the family in return for helping with the children. Enables "foreign" girls to learn English in a family environment.

· AUBERGINE is an EGGPLANT

· BACKBENCHERS is a Member of the House of Commons who is not the Minister.

· BAD PATCH means a rough time

· BAGS OF is slang and means piles of - usually referring to money.

· BALACLAVA is a woolen helmet named after the site of a battle in the Crimean War

· BANGER is slang for a sausage

· BANK HOLIDAY is a LEGAL HOLIDAY in the U.S. Apart from Xmas they are all different in Britain

· BARGE POLE is a colloquialism for a ten-foot-pole

· BARRACK is to demonstrate noisily in public e.g. as in 'boo'

· BARRISTER is a TRIAL LAWYER

· BASH is to hit as in 'bang'

· BATH in Britain becomes BATHTUB in the US

· BATH OLIVER is a dry biscuit eaten with cheese

· BBC the British Broadcasting Corporation

· BEARSKIN is a high, black fur hat worn by Guardsmen

· BELT UP is slang for shut up

· BILL is what one asks the waiter for and in the US becomes CHECK

· BIRD is slang for 'girl' although in the US DAME would be closer

· BIRO is a ball-point pen

· BISCUIT is a CRACKER or a COOKIE

· BIT used where Americans would say "part"

· BITTER is a type of beer

· BLACK TIE is Mess dress or tuxedo

· BLOCK OF FLATS is an apartment building or high-rise tower block, or a large house converted to flats

· BLOKE slang for man

· BOBBY is a police officer

· BOG toilet

· BOG-ROLL toilet roll

· BOILER is the furnace

· BOLLARDS are barrels

· BONNET is HOOD when referring to your car

· BOOK as a verb to reserve rooms or theater seats

· BOOT is the TRUNK of your car

· BOOT SALE is a flea market or yard sale

· BOX television

· BOXING DAY is the first week-day after Christmas

· BRACES are SUSPENDERS which as an English word means GARTERS

· BRASS PLATE is the equivalent of a SHINGLE

· BUBBLES & SQUEAK is cooked cabbage and potatoes combined and fried

· BUILDING SOCIETY is a savings and loan

· BUMBAG is the same as our fanny pack

· BUNGALOW is a single story house detached house

· BUREAU is a writing desk with drawers and a lift-down flap

· CAB-RANK is a taxi-stand

· CALL-BOX is a telephone booth

· CAMIKNICKERS are teddies

· CAMP BED is a COT which in Britain is used for a baby's CRIB

· CANDYFLOSS is cotton candy

· CARAVAN is a trailer

· CAR PARK is a parking lot

· CASHIER is a TELLER

· CALICO is muslin

· CALOR GAS is bottled gas

· CASTOR SUGAR is finer than granulated sugar but not as fine as icing-sugar

· CATS EYES are surface road reflectors

· CHAR is slang for tea - the drink

· CHAT UP is slang for handling someone a line especially to get to know a girl

· CHEERS thanks; also used as a toast before drinking; also, "see you later"

· CHEMIST is a DRUG-STORE

· CHESTERFIELD is a sofa

· CHIPS are FRENCH FRIES

· CLINGFILM is Saran wrap

· CLOAKROOM is a half bath

· COACHES are buses

· COFFEE, WHITE, WITHOUT is coffee, cream, no sugar

· COLLEAGUE is a co-worker

· CONVENIENCE is a REST ROOM

· CONVEYANCING is buying or selling properties

· COOKER is a stove

· CORNFLOUR is cornstarch

· COSTUME is a swimsuit

· COURGETTE is a ZUCCHINI

· COT is a small child's bed or crib

· COTTAGE traditionally a pretty, quaint house in the country, perhaps with a thatched roof (although the name is stretched nowadays to encompass almost anything except a flat), may be detached or terraced

· COVER NOTE is an Insurance binder

· CRACKING great ("What a cracking bird!")

· CRICKET is a ball game to which Americans have no equal

· CRISPS are potato chips

· CUPBOARD in Britain is CLOSET in the US

· CURRENT ACCOUNT at a bank is a CHECKING ACCOUNT

· C.V. (CURRICULUM VITAE) is a resume

· DAME in Britain refers to a lady who has been knighted

· DAY-RETURN means a ROUND-TRIP ticket usually on the railway

· DEMERAEA sugar is the brown sugar usually on the tables in pubs, not at all like our baking brown sugar

· DETACHED is a house that stands alone, usually with its own garden

· DEVIATION is a detour

· DIARY is our calendar/date or appointment book

· DINNER JACKET is a TUXEDO

· DORMITORY is a multiple bedroom usually found in boarding schools and is NOT a barracks

· DRAUGHTS is the game of CHECKERS

· DRESS CIRCLE in the theater is the FIRST BALCONY

· DRESSING TABLE is the equivalent of the American DRESSER

· DRESSING GOWN is a ROBE or bathrobe

· DUAL CARRIAGEWAY is a DIVIDED HIGHWAY

· DUMMY is a pacifier

· DUSTBIN is a GARBAGE CAN

· DUSTMAN is a garbage collector

· DUVET is a eiderdown quilt

· EARLY-CLOSING is an infuriating custom of shops closing one afternoon a week

· EARTH as a verb and as an electrical term equals to GROUND a wire

· ELASTOPLAST is BAND-AID

· ELEVEN is a FOOTBALL or CRICKET TEAM (from the number of players)

· ENGAGED is what the operator says when the telephone line is BUSY

· ERNIE is 'electronic random number indicator equipment' and selects Premium Bond winners

· ESTATE AGENT is a REAL-ESTATE BROKER

· ESTATE CAR is a STATION WAGON

· EX-DIRECTORY is a UNLISTED TELEPHONE NUMBER

· EX-SERVICE MAN is a VETERAN

· FAG is a cigarette

· FANCY DRESS is costumes

· FANCY DRESS PARTY is a costumes party

· FEN is swampland or marsh

· FIRST FLOOR in a building is SECOND-FLOOR in the US

· FISH-FINGERS are FISH-STICKS

· FITTED applied to carpets means WALL-TO-WALL

· FIZZY DRINK is pop/soda

· FLAN is an open sponge or pastry case with a fruit or sweet filling

· FLANNEL is a face-cloth

· FLAT is an APARTMENT usually one floor

· FLEET STREET is a colloquialism for the PRESS

· FLEX is an electric cord

· FLY-OVER is an over-pass

· FOOTBALL is rugby, not American football

· FORTNIGHT means two weeks or fourteen nights

· FREE HOUSE associated with a Pub means it can sell any brand of beer it wishes, it is not linked to any specific brewery

· FRINGE (HAIR) is BANGS

· FULL STOP is the black dot at the end of a sentence called in the US a period

· GAMMON is ham

· GARDEN is the property outside a house which in the US is a YARD

· GATEAU is a type of layer cake

· GEARBOX is TRANSMISSION

· GEAR-LEVER is GEARSHIFT

· GEORDIE (pronounced JORDY) is a native of Tyneside and also the dialect he speaks

· GEYSER (GEEZER) is a water heater

· GIVE-WAY as a road sign means YIELD

· GLASS is CRYSTAL

· GONGS are slang for military medals

· GOVERNMENT means administration and refers to the people currently running the country

· GENERAL PRACTITIONER (GP) is a internist or doctor

· GREASPROOF PAPER is wax paper

· GREEN BELT is a no-building zone around a town or city

· GREENGROCER is a fruit/vegetable store

· GRILL as a verb is to BROIL

· GUILLOTINE is a paper-cutter

· GUMBOOTS are rubber boots

· GUMSHIELD is the same as a mouthgaurd

· GYMKHANA is a local Horse Show

· GYM SHOES are SNEAKERS

· HABERDASHERY is pins, needles, ribbons, thread etc. : and is what you ask for in a shop

· HAGGIS a traditional Scottish dish made from a sheep's inside

· HAIRDRESSER is a man or women's 'barber shop' or 'beauty shop'

· HAIRSLIDE is a barrette

· "HALF" when addressed to a bar-tender means a half-pint of beer

· HALF-TERM is a mid-term vacation of short duration

· HARD CHEESE is tough luck

· HAT TRICK is a cricket term for taking three wickets by three successive balls but it is often to any triple triumph

· HAVE-A-BASH means give it a try

· HAVE NO TIME FOR means to have a low opinion

· HESSIAN is burlap

· HIGH STREET preceded by 'the', is the American Main Street

· HIGH TEA served late in the afternoon usually contains a cooked item such as eggs or sausages - this is not to be confused with 'tea' or 'afternoon tea' which is merely a cup of tea with a cake or very small sandwich

· HIRE PURCHASE is to buy on an installment plan

· HOB is an installed gas, electric range top

· HOLIDAY is a vacation although the university still uses vacation for the time after term finishes

· HOMELY is simple or unpretentious and not the 'ugly' meant in America

· HOOD of a car is known as 'BONNET' in England but of a cloak or coat is still the same

· HOUSEMAN in a hospital is a doctor or 'intern' in America

· HOOVER is to vacuum

· HUNDREDWEIGHT is 112 pounds and 20 Hundredweight are in 1 ton

· HUNT an Englishman hunts fox or deer but shoots game birds or rabbits

· ICE on menus means ice-cream

· ICING SUGAR is similar to our powdered sugar

· IMMERSION TANK is a hot water heater in a house

· INTERVAL is an intermission

· IN TRAIN means coming along as in 'the work is progressing'

· IRONMONGER is a hardware shop

· JAB is a shot or immunization

· JAM is what Americans would call jelly

· JELLY is what they call Jell-O

· JERSEY is a sweater

· JOINT (of meat) as in Sunday Joint is a piece of roast meat

· JUMBLE SALE is a rummage sale

· JUMPER is a sweater (or woolly, or jersey), the American 'jumper' is a pinafore dress

· JUNCTION is an interchange on motorway

· KEDGEREE is a dish of fish, rice and eggs and often served at breakfast

· KETTLE (FOR HOB) is a tea kettle

· KIOSK can be a news-stand or a telephone box

· KIP sleep ("I could do with a kip" or "He's kipping on the sofa.")

· KITCHEN PAPER is paper towels

· KNAVE is a jack in playing cards

· KNICKERS underwear for women

· KNOCK BACK DOUGH is to punch down dough

· KNICKERS are ladies' underpants

· 'L' plates are large red 'L's which a person learning to drive must put on his car

· LACQUER is hair-spray

· LADDER in a stocking is a 'run' in America

· LADYBIRD is a lady bug

· LAGER is beer

· LANDLORD in a pub is the inn-keeper

· LARDER is a pantry

· LAY A TABLE is to set the table

· LAY-BY is a roadside parking area at the side of the road

· LEADER can be a newspaper editorial, the leading counsel of a team of lawyers or the first violinist in an orchestra but NOT the conductor as is popular in America

· LEMONADE is Sprite, 7UP

· LETTER-BOX is a mail-box

· LEVEL-CROSSING is a grade crossing

· LIFE GUARD is a member of a regiment of the Royal Household Cavalry

· LIFT is an elevator

· LINE on a railway means track

· LOO can be an 18th century card game or a lavatory or bathroom or whatever you wish to say

· LORRY is a truck

· LOUNGE SUIT is a business and NOT clothes for lounging in

· MAC is an abbreviation for macintosh or raincoat

· MAKING CONTACTS is networking

· MAGISTRATE is very close to a justice of the peace

· MAINS is an electric circuit box

· MAISONETTE is an apartment on 2 or more floors

· MAJORITY as a voting term this equals a 'plurality' in American terms

· MANCUNIAN is someone from Manchester

· MANGETOUT are snow peas

· MARKET many towns have a weekly market day with wares on stalls (booths) in the open air - the right to do so goes back hundreds of years & the AA book lists them all - so does a list available from my office

· MARROW is a very large zucchini

· MARTINI is vermouth - if you want a Dry Martini ash for a Gin & French

· MASH is mashed potatoes

· MATCH is what two sides play on a sports field and is equal to an American game

· MEAN is tight-fisted or stingy as opposed to the American 'cruel' or ill-tempered

· MEWS HOUSE is a hose that's converted from old stables or servants' lodging (usually 17th or 19th century) and is the town equivalent of a genuine cottage

· MINCE or MINCED MEAT from the butcher is chopped meat of hamburger however MINCEMEAT is chopped apples, raisins etc. Which goes into a mince pie

· MOOR is open land often with heather

· MOTORWAY is a Freeway

· MORNING TEA is often served in your hotel room before you go down to breakfast

· MUFFIN is a small, spongy cake served toasted and buttered - do NOT confuse with the American 'English Muffin' which does not exist in England.

· MUSLIN is cheesecloth in America but American 'muslin' is calico in England

· NAFF tacky

· NANNY is a child's nurse

· NAPPY, a corruption of napkin, is a diaper

· NETS are sheer curtains

· NEWSAGENT shop selling newspapers

· NOTECASE is a billfold

· NO ENTRY is wrong way (traffic sign)

· NO OVERTAKING is no passing

· NOTICEBOARD is a bulletin board

· NUMBER PLATE is a license plate

· OFF HIS ROCKER is out to lunch

· OFF LICENSE is a shop which can sell alcohol all day but it must be taken away or consumed 'off' the premises

· OFF-THE-PEG refers to 'ready-to-wear' clothes

· OPHTHALMIC OPTICIAN test eyesight, prescribe glasses, and diagnose eye diseases

· OPHTHALMIC MEDICAL PRACTITIONER treats eye diseases, test eyesight, prescribes lenses

· OUT OF BOUNDS is equivalent to the American term 'off-limits'

· OVERLEAF is the reverse side of a page as is P.T.O. (please turn over)

· OVERTAKE is a driving term meaning to pass another car

· OXBRIDGE is a portmanteau word for the ancient universities of Oxford and Cambridge

· P45 is a pink slip

· PANDA CAR is a small police car

· PANTOMINE has no American equivalent and is an English Christmas entertainment based on a fairy-tale with a lot of modern singing, dancing and humor - it is not mime

· PANTS are underpants in American - the English equivalent of American pants is trousers

· PARAFFIN is kerosene - American 'paraffin' is paraffin wax or white wax

· PASTRY CASE is a pie crust

· PASTY is an individual pie as in Cornish Pasty

· PAVEMENT is sidewalk

· PERAMBULATOR shortened usually to 'pram' is a baby-carriage

· PETROL is gasoline

· PILLAR BOX or POST BOX is a mail-box and its painted red not blue

· PLAIT is a braid when applied to girls' hair

· PLASTER is a band-aid

· PLIMSOLLS are shoes such as American deckshoes

· PLONK (SLANG) is wine

· PORRIDGE is oatmeal

· POLYFILLA is spackle compound

· POPPERS are snaps

· PUDDINGS (the term) can be used to group all desserts whether it is cake, pie, ice-cream, custards. British puddings are not like our custard type "Jell-O" pudding

· PRANG (in a car) is a fender bender

· PREMIUM BOND is a Government Lottery Bond which has no interest

· PROVISION is accrual

· PUB is a public house which is a bar with an English atmosphere which cannot be defined in this small space - go an see one

· PUB WITH ROOMS - is similar to an inn

· PUSH-CHAIR is a child's stroller

· PYLON is a high tension tower

· QUEUE as a verb it means to stand in line - and woe betide you if you cut in

· QUID (slang) is a one pound note

· RED INDIAN means an American Indian - 'Indian' alone means a native of India

· REDUNDANT is to be released from a job

· REEL is a spool

· REFUSE COLLECTOR is a garbage man

· REGISTER OFFICE is a marriage clerk's office

· REMEMBRANCE DAY is November 11 or the nearest Sunday and is Veteran Day in America

· RESIDENT is the name for a person registered at a hotel

· RETURN TICKET is a round-trip ticket on a train or bus

· RING ROAD is a circular route around a town

· RING UP is to telephone

· ROAD WORKERS is road construction or road repair

· ROUNDABOUT is a traffic control or a merry-go-round

· RUBBISH is garbage

· RUCKSACK is a backpack

· RUNNER BEANS are string beans

· SACK is to be fired from a job

· SCONE is an American soda biscuit and its eaten with butter and often jam and cream

· SCOTCH EGG is a hard-boiled egg in sausage meat

· SELLOTAPE is scotchtape

· SEMI-DETACHED is a duplex or two-family house

· SEND DOWN means to expel from University although it may indicate only a temporary absence

· SERVIETTE is a napkin

· SHANDY is a drink made from beer and lemonade

· SHEPHERD'S PIE is a dish made from minced beef and potatoes

· SILENCER of a car is the muffler

· SISTER in a hospital is the head nurse of a ward

· SLAP-UP four-star, excellent-refers to food

· SLATE is to express a harsh criticism

· SLIPROAD onto a motorway is a ramp

· SOLICITOR is an attorney

· SPONGE BAG is a toilet kit

· SPONGE FINGER is a long, soft, sweet cake or 'lady-finger'

· SPROUTS is Brussels sprouts

· SQUASH is a fruit drink

· STALL in a market is a 'booth' but in a theater is an orchestra seat

· STARTER is an appetizer

· STONE referring to weight is 14 pounds

· SUBWAY is a pedestrian underpass

· SUMMERTIME is when daylight saving time is in effect

· SUPER means 'terrific' i.e. splendid

· SURGICAL SPIRIT is rubbing alcohol

· SURGERY is a doctor's office

· SUSPENDERS are garters

· SWEETS are candy

· SWISS ROLL is a jelly roll

· TA informal thank you

· TABLE the verb means to submit for discussion (the reverse of its American meaning)

· TAILBACK is a line of traffic

· TAKEAWAY is carryout

· TALLBOY is a highboy

· TAP is faucet

· TARMAC is pavement

· TATTY is shabby

· TEAT is a nipple for baby's bottle

· TERM is one of the three educational parts of the year - roughly like a semester

· TERRACE HOUSES is a row of 3 or more usually 2 or 3 stories high

· THEATRE in a hospital is the operating room

· THIRD PARTY INSURANCE is liability insurance

· TIGHTS are pantyhose

· TIN as a food container is a can

· TOAD-IN-A-HOLE is a dish of sausage 'bangers' in batter

· TO PINCH is to steal

· TORCH flashlight

· TORY is a member of the Conservative party

· TRAINERS are sneakers

· TROUSERS are slacks

· TUBE in the subway

· TWEE is arty

· UNDERDONE referring to meat is rare

· VACUUM FLASK is a thermos bottle

· VAN is a small truck

· VAT is Value-Added Tax. Similar to sales tax in the states

· VERGE (OF ROAD) is the shoulder

· VEST is an undershirt in Britain not the American meaning of a 'waistcoat'

· VILLAGE is a small town without a mayor and usually with under 3,000 people. In the UK can be a handful of houses with a church and a pub, or a larger settlement with shops and community center

· WASHING UP LIQUID is dishwashing liquid

· WASHING UP POWDER is laundry soap

· WC stands for "water closet", in other words, the toilet

· WELLINGTONS are rubber boots named after the Duke of Wellington

· WHISKY is Scotch

· WHISKEY is Irish

· WHITEHALL is a collective word referring to the government because so many government offices are located around the road

· WHITE SPIRIT is alcohol

· WINDSCREEN is a windshield

· WING of a car is the fender

· WIRELESS is the original term for radio and is often used by older people

· WOOLLY is a sweater