Weird British Words That Mean Something TOTALLY DIFFERENT in America

[@woltersworld]

Please know that many of these words are used in both spots. So it is not the end all be all "never said in the other country" just other vocabulary words you may hear. I have heard all of these myself and I have heard each other used in the other country. Just want to help expand all our vocabulary.

[@blahmcblahface3965]

Scotland do the private vs state/public school thing the same as America.

[@blahmcblahface3965]

(in Scotland it's either private or public/state. England and Wales will say its either public or state)

[@Thefishinggroupjersey]

Please say english (uk) and american english, as its our language and its the og one.

[@sw793]

Love the videos, kind of fun. I think most British people are aware of a lot of American terms due to tv. Also, a lot of American terms you used are also valid here in the UK. Even if a word has two meanings, then the context of the sentence defines the meaning. The dual terms are often the basis of a lot of deliberate humour.

[@trevorcook4439]

Outside of the US the saying is “be all, end all” as you have to be before you end.

[@rodjones117]

In Britain, "pissed"= "drunk", "pissed off"= annoyed. "ketchup" is used and understood by everybody in Britain, there won't be any confusion.

[@Curling_Rack]

Bruv

[@Dr.AdamK.]

Just the British serve, please bring me the Heinz.

[@LeClaw]

to be fair we'd probably confuse the Americans more asking for "Tommy-K" and other such variations. 😆

[@dobythedog]

I refuse to use the word "ketchup". Far too American. I always say 'tomato sauce'.

[@rodjones117]

@@dobythedog The word "ketchup" has a fascinating history that spans various cultures. The term is believed to have originated from the Chinese word "kôe-chiap" or "kê-chiap," which referred to a sauce made from fermented fish brine. This sauce made its way to Malaysia, where it became "kechap" or "ketjap." Dutch traders encountered it in the 17th century and brought it back to Europe. In the 18th century, the sauce reached England, and it underwent further modifications. Tomatoes, which were not present in the original Chinese version, were added. The term "ketchup" started to be associated with a tomato-based sauce. The first known published tomato ketchup recipe appeared in a cookbook called "The Compleat Housewife" by Eliza Smith in 1727. The popularity of tomato ketchup continued to grow, and it eventually made it's way to the American colonies.

[@TheEulerID]

To confuse things further, pudding doesn't always mean dessert. There are savoury puddings, such as steak and kidney pudding, black pudding and Yorkshire pudding.

[@Lily_The_Pink972]

And sweet is also another word for dessert.

[@josepherhardt164]

Indeed. There is absolutely nothing "pudding" about Yorkshire pudding.

[@Lily_The_Pink972]

@@josepherhardt164 Except it's exactly the same recipe to make pancakes!

[@PhilipMarcYT]

I just learned the other day that "black pudding" is blood chorizo (or morcilla).

[@josepherhardt164]

@@PhilipMarcYT I think the Germans have Blutwurst, which may be similar.

[@msmith2654]

A British coworker told me the slang for pregnant is “up the duff”

[@ballroomdiva6856]

It is but it's not necessarily polite. 😆

[@patriciaoreilly8907]

@@ballroomdiva6856 lol 😂

[@no_soy_rubio]

Yup or got a bun in the oven

[@Chasworth]

@@no_soy_rubiomatt👋🏻

[@no_soy_rubio]

@@Chasworth 😁

[@fionagregory9147]

We call toilet a loo or lavatory but not the bathroom. The bathroom has to contain a bath.

[@herrbonk3635]

The restroom is funny too (at least for me as a swede).

[@fionagregory9147]

@@herrbonk3635 yes I agree. Call a spade a spade I say.

[@AndreiTupolev]

"Lavatory" was itself a euphemism originally, as what it's from the Latin for washroom

[@lebbraumman]

people call it a restrooms here since that word its used for other places. bathrooms...do contain baths but that word is used more for homes and apartments. Im not sure the reason for your comment

[@herrbonk3635]

@@AndreiTupolev Euphemisms and other loans from languages incomprehensible to the lay man are common. But not really comparable to literally misleading words, like bathroom or restroom meaning toilet.

[@VampiraVonGhoulscout]

Don't worry about using most of these American words in the UK. Most of our TV shows are from the US. We will know what you mean.

[@keouine]

The clrcle I move in mostly know most of these British terms. Either by visiting or by watching BBC. But my siblings who watch neither British TV nor have been outside the country have no idea except for lift or chips.

[@kenbrown2808]

conversely we watch enough british shows and british youtube sensations, that we know what the british words mean, so if you want to take the pizza, (as introduced by a brit on an all ages chat board) feel free to let fly with the more colourful slang.

[@JoeStanek-vu7rl]

VampiraVonGhoulscout... best name I've seen in a long time.

[@peterd788]

The main channels in the UK have a policy of not showing shows from the US in primetime, in general.

[@TheAcogshot]

@@peterd788 Do people still watch the "main channels"? I haven't had an aerial plugged in to my TV for over 10 years now.

[@gchecosse]

As a British person, I've never heard "knock up" in anything other than the US sense.

[@RussE-qh7my]

But who knocked up the knocker-upper?

[@abbeycat6425]

As an Aussie, we use the term ‘knocked up’ to get someone pregnant, usually out of wedlock.

[@neilhawkins7021]

Many years ago I was working on a US/British construction camp in Korea. One breakfast, one of my British colleagues did not appear and was in danger of missing the bus to the site, so I announced "I'll go and knock him up". The reaction from the Americans around the table was one of shock and sniggering. That's when I learnt that I'd told them I was going to put him 'up the duff'. (It was 45 years ago, you don't hear the 'knock up' so much nowadays.)

[@patchso]

Me too.

[@davidmellish3295]

​@@abbeycat6425Yes mate, I'm British and it means the same here. Except I don't think it matters if you're married or not, you can say the Mrs is knocked up

[@DaBIONICLEFan]

You’ll also hear "telly" used frequently in the UK when referring to the TV.

[@f0rth3l0v30fchr15t]

'Casualty' has generally been replaced by 'Accident and Emergency'. And the term 'casualty' more often means that someone has been injured badly enough that they've been taken to A&E, not that they're toes up.

[@berniethekiwidragon4382]

We still have a long-running TV series called Casualty, set in a fictional emergency department.

[@f0rth3l0v30fchr15t]

@@berniethekiwidragon4382 No, it's set in a fictional A&E department. It was called Casualty because when the show started, A&E was called Casualty.

[@JustMe-dc6ks]

In the sixties or seventies there was a show called “Emergency”. That was a fictionalized version of the establishment of paramedics in California as emergency service workers who try to stabilize a victim’s condition and begin treatment before they get to the hospital rather than just chucking them into an ambulance and just hoping they hang on until a doctor sees them. Basically a buddy cop type show except they’re paramedics and the other “cops” are firefighters and they interact with the emergency physicians and chief nurse a lot.

[@marieparker3822]

In Britain, the Casualty Department of a hospital is now normally called 'Accident and Emergency' or 'A and E'.

[@chrissanfino761]

And a&e in the US is arts & entertainment

[@frankmurray1549]

@@chrissanfino761 Not the best place to be when having a heart attack.

[@frglee]

Also the way things are said. An American in London for the first time phoned and told me told me that he was at "Gloucester and Brompton". I asked if that was a shop. He repeated it so I asked him what he meant. After more confusion I finally got to understood that he was standing at the corner of Gloucester Road and Brompton Road in West London. We don't describe street locations like that here in the UK. As he pronounced Gloucester as 'Gloaw - sester' rather than 'gloster', I have to say another common issue is mispronunciation of British place names by Americans, sometimes unrecognisably so, so that didn't help either.

[@k.e.becquer4681]

Leicester Square is another one. It's simply "Lester."

[@Mark.Andrew.Pardoe]

@@k.e.becquer4681 Well, Lester Square to be really correct. So it's not confused with Leicester Avenue in Mitcham, Leicester Close in Worcester [Wooster] Park, Leicester Court near Leicester Square tube station, Leicester Gardens in Ilford, Leicester Mews off Leicester Road in East Finchley, Leicester Place off Leicester Square.... All these are in London; you get the picture?

[@kylock]

I think he gets that. He nots going to write how to pronounce square now is he? 😂😂

[@leehorrocks5253]

Edinburgh = Edin-burr-ah Not Edin-borrow

[@allendracabal0819]

I would have guessed that saying the names of both streets at an intersection was a standard way to describe such a location. I'm surprised it's not. I would have said the exact same thing in that situation, including the mispronunciations.

[@shaggydog9789]

Ketchup is definitely an extremely widely used word in the UK, but you'll also hear it referred to as "red sauce" espcially in relation to being on a bacon or sausage sarnie/buttie (sandwich or roll). Brown sauce refers to HP Sauce or Daddies sauce which is also used on those items and is brown coloured tomato based sauce flavoured with tamarind, molasses, spices, and dates and the taste is a little reminiscent of worcestershire sauce.

[@thomasharland4703]

Ketchup is just ketchup

[@JustinThomas7]

If you have two drinks in your hands in the UK/Australia you are “Double Parked”. DO NOT say the American version “Double Fisting”. You’ll be escorted off the premises.

[@marktierney2117]

😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@Lily_The_Pink972]

Sounds painful!!!

[@cynsi7604]

I’ve always said “2 handed”. Cause you have one in each hand. Back in the 80s when we went out they had 2 for 1. One for each hand! 😁 ✌🏻 Edited: 🇺🇸 😊

[@Lily_The_Pink972]

I've never heard that situation called anything ther than perhaps 'one in each hand' or 'both hands full'.

[@massacred666]

Depends what they're into

[@felikso]

One thing important to correct in this video: in the UK, we don't use the word "casualty" to refer to the ER. Instead, we call it "A&E" (pronounced "A and E", stands for Accident and Emergency). Really important to be aware of, in case you hurt yourself or have a health scare, and you're told to go to A&E!!

[@MinesAGuinness]

Yes, a good point. Whilst going to casualty used to be the common phrase, it has almost completed been replaced in usage over the past 30 years or so. Not that most adults wouldn't immediately understand what you wanted if you said, "I need to get to casualty!"

[@heindaddel2531]

I thought A&E is a TV channel 😂

[@timmmahhhh]

That's a great one to know I did not know, thanks! Also the word whilst: while understood by most Americans it's a good giveaway that you're not American. No problem most Americans will love hearing that and think it's cute. And for the non Americans A&E is a cable TV channel Arts and Entertainment.

[@Trebor74]

Yeah,you're wrong. There was a whole TV prog called "casualty".

[@wessexdruid7598]

@@Trebor74 Show us a UK hospital that actually has a 'Casualty' department, please. The word fell out of use in the 1960s.

[@ahmd5]

When I was doing my internship in Arkansas, I asked the nurses for a torch, she corrected me and said you probably do fine if we get you a flash light 😂

[@Penny-mk7fv]

When you storm a castle, do bring a torch too?

[@HolgerJakobs]

"Flash light" is so funny, because usually it doesn't even flash. A flash is something you use when taking a photo in a dark room.

[@kurukblackflame]

A flash light? Nah-It doesn't have to be flash. Just an ordinary one will do ;)

[@toddwebb7521]

If I hear a person with a British accent say torch I know they mean a flashlight, but if I read a British person's writing and see torch as read in my US English in my head narrator voice I'm picturing a flaming stick like Frankenstein villager torch.

[@gitanalolita]

@@HolgerJakobs It could be because the early flashlights had a red flash button that could be pushed and the flashlight would flash instead of the light staying on. I know the flashlights from the 1960s and 1970s had this feature. Probably before that, too, but this would've been before my time.

[@David-nx2vm]

“Bobby” is a slang term that refers to Sir Robert Peel, who organized the London Metropolitan Police in the early 19th century and is widely regarded as the “father of modern policing”.

[@ajkooper]

thanks to James May i can't get the term rozzers out of my head

[@ulsan5010]

Also in Northern Ireland they call them Peelers

[@6yjjk]

@@David-nx2vm This is also UK railway slang for a signaller, because before signalboxes were invented, trains were controlled by railway police.

[@SustainableSierra]

Having spent many years in the UK, tea versus dinner is regional. Where we live, near York, you have tea in the evening and dinner midday. In the south you have dinner in the evening.

[@Jinty92]

I was going to say the same. The North is Breakfast, dinner then tea. I'm Scottish so being more Northern still, we say the same as the North of England.

[@annainns6452]

Southerner here, and we also had breakfast, dinner and tea. We had school dinners and took our dinner money.

[@computingnerd7005]

General rule of thumb for the South-west is, breakfast = first meal of the day, lunch = either a packed lunch or a picnic or noon's meal, tea = a general dinner or at times a picnic with cold cooked food or a light meal in the afternoon -> evening, dinner = something like a sunday roast or a general dinner later at night. Most people will understand that if you go "right, time for tea/dinner/lunch/breakfast" that it's one of the main meals you'll be having that day.

[@Feanari]

Yep, it's totally regional. Here in the South East, I have lunch and dinner. When I was a child it was lunch and tea ('tea' denoting a slightly earlier evening meal). If you're really posh, you might call the evening meal 'supper'. That said, the term 'school dinners' is also common - dinner being used there to refer to the midday meal. But funnily enough, I would have taken 'lunch money' to pay for it, haha.

[@neilp1885]

⁠​⁠@@Feanarisimilar for me in South Wales. We had "dinner ladies" in school, but it was lunch break on the timetable and we took lunch money to pay for it. When I got home from school, I'd have tea, which was usually a sandwich to keep me going until later in the evening when we had dinner, which was the full cooked meal. Later in the evening, I'd often have supper, which would be cereal or toast, before going to bed.

[@ennythinn]

If you go to a pub or restaurant if you see chips on the menu you're getting the thick ones. If you see fries on the menu you are getting the skinny ones. However Brits will still, informally, often call fries chips, as we consider fries to be a type of chip.

[@herrbonk3635]

@ennythinn So what's the etymology behind your "chip"? That it's chopped up perhaps?

[@hesky10]

​@@herrbonk3635chips was initially called fried chipped potatoes, you can get a metal utensil like a grater that grates potatoes to chip size

[@herrbonk3635]

@@hesky10 So chipped = chopped, or is there a difference (in nuance) somehow?

[@HaggisOfDeath]

@@herrbonk3635 You can 'chip' a tooth. The tooth would then be referred to as 'chipped', and the bit that came off would be a 'chip of the tooth'. Wood chips are left over scraps of wood that might come off when you're doing carpentry. It's pretty close to something that is 'chopped', but that doesn't quite convey it. Perhaps a 'shard' of something would be better. Shard would typically be used in place of chip to refer to glass or a crystal or something like that, and would probably denote that a larger part of the glass was missing, where a chip would be a very small amount that has come away from the whole.

[@herrbonk3635]

@@HaggisOfDeath Ok, I see. (That's something like flisa or skärva in my closely related language.)

[@DBIVUK]

A bit niche but there was a lot of confusion back in WWII when a proposal came up and the British said "Yes, let's table that proposal". The US said "So you're not going with it?" and the British replied, "No, we want to discuss it." In the UK, to table something means to place it on the agenda for future discussion - in Parliament, Bills used to be placed on the table in the middle of the room while waiting for debate. In the USA, to table something is to take it off the agenda and not discuss it any more.

[@EdwardGregoryNYC]

To table a discussion means the same thing. The Americans probably though the Brits were just trying to politely drop the issue without saying no.

[@musicandbooklover-p2o]

Interesting, I didn't know it meant to basically can something and forget about it. Thank you. Actually makes sense now of mentions in books, they ''table'' something and that's the last you ever hear of it whereas when mentioned in a British written book the whatever crops up again later in the storyline.

[@patrickmanning2865]

Britain - "Garden" means your yard or lawn

[@deborahwarren6710]

We say loo roll mainly, Bog roll is a bit crude lol 😂

[@kevindarkstar]

So I guess arse wipe is way too much 😂😂

[@rybro2129]

Yeh don't ask for bog roll, you may hear it but unlikely when you're a tourist / out sightseeing

[@allendracabal0819]

Good to know. I had not come across "loo roll" until seeing your comment.

[@multifaceteduser3405]

i sometimes say is there any 'shit roll'? 🤣🤣🤣

[@pamstein1556]

Bum fodder

[@glyno77]

A french fry is NOT a chip! French fries are thin and chips are chunkier. I once asked a girl for a pack of skins in a cannabis dispensary and she blushed. I was asking for rolling papers,she thought I meant condoms. 😂

[@kellyja8]

A chip/ thick fry is sometimes called a steak fry. They're pretty common at diners on the East Coast of the US.

[@allang4182]

Hi there, I lived in Minneapolis and found my accent was the hardest thing for them to understand. It surprised me but as you alluded to, it’s how words Are pronounced. So a few more examples is 1) where is the toilet (restroom), 2) rutabaga is what we call a swede, c) cilantro is what we call coriander, d) filter coffee is what Americans would call drip coffee. Hope you find this useful. Keep up the brilliant and informative videos. Allan

[@overlordnat]

I thought I’d heard every Americanism out there but ‘drip coffee’ has passed me by, good one!

[@Hanescymru]

I’m from Wales and also live in Minneapolis .. NE to be precise, been here 30 years .. can’t say I’ve come across ‘drip coffee’ but yes the non rhotic speech is a bit of an issue for a lot of the US .. more so in the south than mid west in my experience.. asking for water is usually the one that most don’t understand? Still drives me nuts after all this time.

[@RainbowYak]

The rubber thing happened to me in that exact way. I'm not a native speaker but I'm from Switzerland where British English is taught at schools (and generally considered "the only correct English"). As a teenager, I went on an exchange year to the US. During one of my first weeks at my American school, I was sitting in a History class when I asked the girl next to me for a rubber. Since it had been very quiet before (we were writing some sort of quiz), literally everyone in the classroom heard me. The girl stared at me as though she had seen a ghost and asked: "a what???" So, not thinking much of it, I politely repeated my request. Next thing I knew, 30 people were laughing really loudly at me. The teacher almost fell off his chair because he was laughing so hard. I still remember that moment because of course I felt embarrassed but above all, I felt extremely confused. I think I even said something like: "I don't understand, what's so funny about a rubber??" which made people laugh even harder.

[@KenFullman]

One of my American friends went to London by train with her British boyfriend. Apparently it wasn't a very smooth ride. While standing in the queue for the theatre she said quite loudly "My fanny still hurts from all that banging on the train" Apparently bystanders found it hysterical. (yes "banging" ALSO has a different meaning in the UK)

[@hasnainmahmood1776]

@@KenFullman that’s one crazy statement

[@theturtlemoves3014]

So in Britain we use a rubber to correct mistakes, while in America you use a rubber to prevent them

[@Fisherjobi]

British english is the only correct english language 👍🏼

[@user-zp4ge3yp2o]

@@Fisherjobi what about the different ways people use British English in Britain itself?

[@craigdavies5424]

We also use the word "Pissed" to mean angry too, but generally we would add "Off" to it, so "I'm really Pissed Off". Thats the confusing thing for visiting foreigners is that we can use a word to have multiple meanings. "I'm pissed off (Annoyed/ Angry) that my mate Dave is really Pissed (Drunk) this early in the evening, anyway I'm going for a Piss (Urinate)".

[@charleholst3881]

You weren’t really pissed, you were just taking the piss.

[@musicandbooklover-p2o]

Grew up in NZ, now live in Ireland. Makes perfect sense to me with all the different meanings. They're used in NZ and Ireland as well.

[@andyjohnson4907]

I refuse to believe that there are 'British' places in America that serve potato chips with fish.

[@vaughnwilliams1208]

I've had that served in Philippines once too.

[@6yjjk]

Happened to me. I was gutted!

[@TheNeilsolaris]

​@@6yjjkSo was the fish!

[@D_4_N_]

This video is great! Native Brit here with some additions for you all. On the topic of "Soliciters", in the UK, people who knock on your door to ask for money or sell you stuff are known as "Cold Callers". Regarding "Football"/"Soccer", while we'll know what you mean if you say "Soccer", save yourself getting laughed at, just say "Football". The actual closest thing to "ER" would be "A&E" (Accident and Emergency)

[@johwales9555]

You mention English and Scottish friends but please don’t forget your Welsh friends. We love your videos too (from a Cardiff girl). 💖😊

[@epoch71]

He mentioned Wales within the first 30 seconds of the video ...

[@ruairi_d]

...and us from Northern Ireland 😂😂

[@johwales9555]

😂@@ruairi_d

[@logicfxtrading2280]

Thanks Welsh friend for forgetting us Nothern Irish Friends

[@ulsan5010]

Don't forget Northern Ireland, part of the UK

[@john_smith1471]

Knife and fork are utensils/cutlery, silverware is the nice upmarket, expensive cutlery and plates for dinner service, often displayed in cabinets.

[@fishfootball5301]

You seem like a top bloke, glad you highlight the north of England, it’s the best bit of the country and people always miss it.

[@TingTingalingy]

I knew a family that traveled to the UK and said the same about North England, just a true gem of old world beauty and wonder.

[@fishfootball5301]

@@TingTingalingy I am lucky enough to live in Lancashire and while there’s obviously shit bits, we have the Lake District, morecambe bay, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Yorkshire dales, some nice bits of Yorkshire (I’ll begrudgingly admit), Cheshire, and easy access to Scotland all in the north of the country. Couldn’t be better.

[@yorkshirej2219]

@@fishfootball5301 Lucky to live in Lancashire?! only having a laugh lol up the North

[@fishfootball5301]

@@yorkshirej2219 Lancashire > Yorkshire 😂 as you say, up the north, much better up here

[@yorkshirej2219]

@@fishfootball5301 I will go to war for this lol

[@trevormoat6919]

We do call it Ketchup here too, they are interchangeable

[@stephenlee5929]

Hi, Nice. Just a small point 7:14, you have the US/UK labels wrong Should be US Public school = UK State school, US Private school = UK Public school The Dinner/Tea, in England its is different if you are in North or South of England, I think its also different in Scotland: US Lunch = South England =Lunch or dinner, North England = Dinner (I don't know Scotland) , US Dinner = South England = Dinner or Tea (sort of depends on whether they would have called midday meal as lunch), North England = Tea, Scotland can be Supper (which can also mean with chips/French fries). Note Meal names also depend on age and social class. Schools have a Dinner break at midday, whilst offices stop for Lunch. A formal meal in the evening is normally Dinner, where as you may go home for your Tea.

[@Feanari]

Age/class/region is definitely a thing on this entire discussion tbh. As a kid we had 'lunch break' at school and I would go home for 'tea' at the end of the day. Now, my evening meal is 'dinner'. A more formal/upper class term in the south of England would be 'supper'. I also have northern friends who call their evening meal 'tea' as adults. Nevertheless we all know what we're talking about, which is the best bit about it all haha.

[@xb2856]

US Private school = English Public school, or Scottish private school

[@jeremypnet]

@@xb2856 England also has private schools which are the ones posh children attend before they are old enough to go to public school.

[@PatriciaHall-r3u]

​@xb2856 I think this can also be a regional or class issue. I am from Northern England. Most people I know call a Public School a Private School (as in private education).

[@stephenlee5929]

@@PatriciaHall-r3u I agree, we (UK) call 'paid for' schools by many names, including Public, Private, Independent, there are probably others, note that technically each of these is different, but most people don't know these differences (including me). But I think we can agree we would not use any of those words to describe what the US would call a Public School, free to the end user type school. To be fair the confusion does not stop there: I would love to know what Americans would understand by Approved Schools, I'm guessing its not the same as the UK, though I think this term maybe out of date in the UK.

[@justayoutuber1906]

Very helpful list - definitely need a part 2! Thanks!

[@corneliusdoug]

"very helpful list" 99% of this shit nobody says n the information was pretty much entirely wrong

[@shanesweeney1377]

@@corneliusdoug troll

[@corneliusdoug]

@@shanesweeney1377 no..just completely correct theres a difference

[@Tcoldsteel]

There was an American all-girl rock group in the 1970s called ‘Fanny’ - so funny 🇬🇧 Bob’s your uncle, Fanny’s your aunt.

[@BrianMcGuirkBMG]

One slipped past there. When you're mad in the US, it means annoyed or angry. When you're mad in the UK, you're insane. [Edit] .. After I got to the end. That was an excellent summary. You really covered a lot of the differences.

[@david-stewart]

I'm in the UK and we say mad (meaning annoyed) all the time. "He's mad at her for what she did".

[@TripleSomething]

@@david-stewart Yeah, and whilst mad can mean insane, we often say mental to mean insane/crazy.

[@timmmahhhh]

There is a routine by Rowan Atkinson called Fatal Beating that plays on both meanings. In one line the parent asks the school master: are you mad? And he goes, I'm furious! It's pretty hilarious dark humor / humour, if you've not heard it; I highly recommend looking it up.

[@AndreiTupolev]

It can also mean (particularly if you're a Mancunian) being very enthusiastic about something. "Mad for iiiiitt!!!"

[@BrianMcGuirkBMG]

@david-stewart Somehow, American English has breached the English borders. It makes me so mad!

[@wobaguk]

"Police" does not equal "Constable". Constable is just one rank of the police, so its more the equivalent of "officer" in usage.

[@luxocrates]

You beat me to it. I'll add that "Policeman" has the same meaning in both dialects.

[@joshlunt7827]

A banger can also mean a really good song here in the UK lol 😛

[@robindtgriffiths6487]

Also a cheap old car that still runs

[@philroberts7238]

And back in the day at least, a very derogatory and moralistic term for anything (or, more to the point, anyone) 'cheap' in the behavioural sense!

[@keepitchill9186]

@@joshlunt7827 And a Sausage

[@vinceely2906]

Khaki - Same word different pronunciation. Here in the UK it’s ’carky’ for the colour, ‘cacky’ means like excrement. So if you do wear khaki trousers please don’t tell anyone you’re wearing ‘cacky pants’ 😄

[@theotherbrian3079]

I’m from Scotland and I pronounce khaki as cacky. It’s only in the SE of England that you hear “a” pronounced “ah”.

[@tomthomas2268]

I met my american friend in London and said I'd travelled by coach and she thought I meant by train. Struggled to explain until I remembered the word bus.

[@kenbrown2808]

you missed that in the UK, the ER is A&E (accident and emergency)

[@R32R38]

In the US "sod" is something you buy from the garden store. In Britain ...

[@no_soy_rubio]

For quite a vulgar act, sod (or bugger) is a mild swear word

[@queendumb]

Sod is also something that you buy from the garden store in the UK. Just has different meanings depending on the context.

[@sarahstrong7174]

Another U.K. term for drunk is 'three sheets to the wind'. I think it refers to the way a drunk person might walk, kind of comparing it to a sailing ship that has been rigged wrong, causing uneven movement.

[@evan22303]

There was this video I found on YT of a couple who used both US & UK slang. The husband was from the UK & his wife was American. They would use their own slang words against one another throughout their day, and plenty of the words you used were in that video. The video got so funny when it came to the pacifier/dummy part. The wife was so chippy when she assumed her husband called her a dummy while he was trying to explain that he was referring to the binky. Later in the video, he commented on her swim costume(or cozzie). She was like "It's a bathing suit." They happen to also have a baby son so they used a lot of UK/US words like Push chair/stroller or Baby carriage/pram.

[@OscarOSullivan]

I use togs for what you wear for swimming

[@janellefsen1989]

Sometimes a "chippy" can also be used as a slang word for a carpenter in the UK

[@markhernandez95]

ice lollie is a popcicle. a lollie is short for a lollipop (hard candy on a stick)

[@mancmanomomyst]

lolly can also be slang for money, just to add confusion...lol

[@burnleyfan11965]

Chippy in the UK can also refer to a Carpenter. its not regularly used but you do occasionally hear it

[@BradThePitts]

I love the UK terms "wanker" and "knob-jockey." (Selef explanatory) 😂

[@cultofdagon]

Nobody says "knob-jockey". Sounds like a homophobic slur?

[@Wolf-Rayet_Arthur]

@@cultofdagon its not. And people do say it - especially if between the ages of 14 and 17. its a very childish way to call someone a name, or chide them for their stupid behaviour. not outwardly homophobic either, as one can jockey their own knob much like a horse jockey will ride their own horse, not the horse that their opponent is riding

[@computingnerd7005]

@@Wolf-Rayet_Arthur Not a thing in the south then at least, never heard the saying once throughout my schooling.

[@teach100]

Swearing is a whole new set of videos!

[@GemmaBarton-z9q]

I use knob jockey all the time. 😂

[@saskiaschoonderbeek879]

A very common one is the mailman and the postman. Besides this you've got the different pronunciation of the words potato and tomato. Thanks for the fun vlog. Love from Holland

[@TravelwithTravelarii]

Hilarious breakdown of UK vs. US English! Cracking up at "rubber." Thanks for the tips, Mark 👍

[@Trebor74]

Rubber is also used as a condom in Britain from the phrase "rubber Johnny". We just use context to determine what's meant.

[@imagseer]

He missed an even better one: "suspenders". In the UK they hold a lady's tights (pantyhose) up rather than the over the shoulder braces which hold up a trucker's pants.

[@user-zp4ge3yp2o]

​@@Trebor74we say Johnnys though, not rubbers

[@tomburke5311]

'Pissed' - there's a moment near the end of Die Hard when one of the villains emerges back into the scene (having been strung up in chains, maybe?) and Bonnie Bedelia says "that guy is so pissed!" - which always gets a good chuckle in the UK.

[@allendracabal0819]

First Bonnie Bedelia reference of 2024.

[@thehapagirl92]

I learned a torch meant flashlight when a British friend asked me for a torch and I said why would you want to light a fire😂?!

[@malthuswasright]

You could do an entire video just on tea. High tea is the tea + dainty sandwiches and cakes served around 3-4pm. Tea as an equivalent for dinner is very regionally dependent. In the area of the midlands where I grew up, tea certainly meant dinner (and dinner meant lunch), and I think that is true for a large part of the north of England. But in the south I don't think tea is the equivalent of dinner at all. Other stuff: Ketchup is ketchup in the UK too (as well as tomato sauce). Knock up can have the same meaning in the UK too - but context is everything! In the UK we just say policeman now - no-one I know says constable or bobby. And I think American football is more popular in the UK than you imagine. London gets 4 NFL games a year and they sell out pretty much instantly. And TV coverage is pretty good (and we've had highlights coverage since the 80s). A lot of people will know who the Chicago Bears etc are (go Packers!). But great idea to try to demystify some of this stuff.

[@EmilyKira]

Even though you're cheering for the Packers (haha), I like your idea of doing an entire video on tea. I'd watch that.

[@utha2665]

High tea back in the 19th century was a working class meal at ~5pm, nowadays it's as you said, tea, dainty sandwiches, cakes and scones with jam and clotted cream. Sometimes they even serve wine.

[@teresafinch7790]

High tea, is a big meal, afternoon tea is a dainty meal with small sandwiches and cakes.

[@hesky10]

​@@utha2665I think high tea got appropriated by luxury hotels who wanted to advertise their afternoon tea but wanted to make it more luxurious, and so high and afternoon tend to mean the same these days. There's so many terms we stopped using or merged into something else where the one that was lost became less distinct

[@NIckyFromDunedin]

tea is dinner in NZ although when i was a kid at primary school i went home for dinner at noon but we also have afternoon/ morning tea also known as smoko

[@hazel1605]

I watched one of your videos and then looked for another, found them to be very comprehensive and interesting, straight to the point, no waffling! Thank you 😊😊

[@sandiandgregh]

That was a fun one. I was born in Canada but with Scottish & Irish parents so a lot of the British terms are every day ones for us. And actually I find they are common in Canada, too. I think "tea", "afternoon tea", "high tea" and "tea time" could use their own video. LOL

[@andrewstewart3063]

Tea. Even within the UK this is used selectively. I. The North , tea time is is evening dinner. Dinner in the North is the midday meal as opposed to the South where it is the evening meal. There are no real worries as it is more about preference and all understand.

[@DH.2016]

Silverware in the UK is also cutlery.

[@grahamlive]

Yeah, but only if you're really posh.

[@au9parsec]

As an American, I wouldn't at all get pissed off if I saw someone dip their fries in marinara sauce, I would just assume that they probably just like how fries taste with marinara sauce.

[@Dave5400]

Let's face it, we may both speak English, but we certainly don't speak the same language!

[@stephaniewalklett8029]

Mostly correct but one or two are not quite accurate.... We totally call bacon bacon, a rasher just means a slice of.. so a rasher of bacon for example. Homely is fine maybe some people use this a bit snarky but not commonly. We really just call the emergency room a&e short for accident and emergency. There is a TV show called Casualty about a&e but it's very old fashioned term really. Yes Bobby is understood but old fashioned, we say a police man/woman or officer. Also well done for going to Yorkshire, it's often overlooked and where I'm from :)

[@j.j.1064]

As always, great content. Just thought I'd mention it. Some hotels have a basement, ground floor, then a mezzanine floor, (usually a lounge or restaurant or utility. And then it's 1st 2nd 3rd ect bunched together. This makes it easier to navigate for sleeping areas. So in real terms the 1st floor becomes the 3rd floor. This is sometimes employed in high rise hotels.

[@Trebor74]

Also hotels tend to number the rooms depending on the floor. So 101 would be on the first floor,201 would be on the second and 301 would be on the third

[@davidcrowther2685]

I'm a brit who's been in North Carolina for 13 years. You really sum up the differences in US and UK language really well. You should touch on the famous British word 'Bollocks'. Can be used in so many ways!

[@jerrygregor]

Never mind the bollocks . . .

[@kurukblackflame]

Bollocks is a very confusing one. It can be used to mean 'Bullshit' -Like 'You're talking bollocks' or it can be used like a mild swear such as 'damn'. It can also mean something is good 'That car is the bollocks!' (which is a shortened version of 'The dog's bollocks' which is a good thing for some reason?). It is also sland for testicles btw 'I just got kicked in the bollocks!'.

[@Wolf-Rayet_Arthur]

"the dogs bollocks" comes from the fact that a dog will be quite proud of that part of their body - or at least makes no attempt to hide them. So if its the dogs bollocks, you're saying that its something to be proud of

[@teach100]

Get it wrong and you will get a bollocking (severely told off)

[@neilfoddering921]

In 1963, my family moved from England to Germany with my father’s job. I was 13 at the time, and my parents decided that I should attend the English-speaking Frankfurt International School in the outskirts of Oberursel. The curriculum at that time was American, as were most of the students, presumably because of the large US military presence nearby at Camp King. I remember the class erupting with laughter on two occasions. The first was when I used the term “lay the table”; it was explained to me that in the USA, the equivalent expression was “set the table”. The second was when I used the term “rubber”, and again I was told that in US English, the word used was ”eraser”. An American classmate, Frank Streisand (no relation to Barbra I assume), explained this to me, saying, “You invented the language, and we improved it”. I’ve since noticed more recent “improvements”, including some which I find particularly irritating, for example, “you did good” instead of the grammatically-correct “you did well”. (On a different note, this was before American involvement in Vietnam, and I’ve wondered over the years how many of my American classmates were drafted and survived).

[@AndreiTupolev]

"A policeman is called a constable" You might want to be careful there, as that's a particular rank (the ordinary footsoldier, the bobby on the beat), and it might not be popular if you're talking to a sergeant

[@RogersRamblings]

All British police officers are constables hence most police forces have a Chief Constable. It's a legal term for an officer with the powers of a police officer. Agreed addressing a sergeant etc as "Constable" might get you a bit of side eye but only until they realise you're a foreigner.

[@robinholland1136]

Just stick to 'officer', when addressing a member of the constabulary. Rank and gender non-specific. As in, 'It's a fair cop, officer,' as he/she slips the bracelets on.

[@steelwheel-i3s]

@@robinholland1136 constable is also rank and "gender" non-specific.

[@mireyam4661]

Thank you!!! 👍🙂 Very helpful video. I'll travel to UK for the first time next year. I am preparing for my trip by watching videos.

[@magellan8449]

Here is an example from Germany/the U.S.: Back in the Nokia days when I was visiting a friend in New York City, I asked him if he could give me or recommend a cellphone for my stay. But the common term for cellphones in Germany isn’t cellular or mobile phone. So I asked him if he could give me a Handy. 😂

[@reginafromrio]

I like the phrase "are you taking the piss". 😅 Also bell end is a funny one.

[@JeffC-fq1be]

Awesome! I wonder if Mark has seen Lost in The Pond. His KZbin channel is pretty good.

[@stevecarter8810]

Tea and dinner is complicated. Some regional and class subcultures in Britain have breakfast dinner tea, some have breakfast lunch dinner, some have subtle nuances meaning tea is a light meal and supper is more substantial, others that supper is a layer meal then tea...

[@susie9893]

And here in Oz it's all become totally tangled and confused. Can be dinner, supper or tea. Generally have to rely on context to figure it out (and clarify if unsure)

[@redbeki]

I've had this conversation a lot about 'Tea'. It's generally regional and class. Working class say tea for dinner . Dinner is mid day, if you say, breakfast, dinner and tea.

[@RandomBobsAndBits]

You missed 'im smoking a cigarette'. That's completely different in that UK.

[@livrowland171]

A public school in the UK is technically one of a list of large, expensive, traditional private secondary schools, such as Eton and Harrow etc. They were called that because before the upper class started sending their children there they were taught at home by tutors. The terms private or independent are also used for fee-paying schools generally, but not every private school is a public school.

[@thomasdemoor874]

My favorite British slang is "Face like a smacked arse" which means "Someone who looks angry/upset".

[@neuralwarp]

Or "Face like a bulldog chewing a wasp".

[@tomwilko7841]

dont get me wrong it can mean that but if i ever used that term it would mean the lady involved was 'less than pretty' shall we say

[@KenFullman]

@@neuralwarp My favourite variation is "Face like a bulldog licking piss from a thistle"

[@Jinty92]

I laughed when Mark was talking about signs saying *No Solicitors*. I thought he was going to joke about if a sign in the UK said *No Soliciting*. This would mean *No Prostitution*. Weird how we are separated by the same words which have completely different meanings. Like York, where this was filmed, we too, up North here in Scotland say Breakfast, dinner & tea. We talk about having School Dinner which is at lunchtime.

[@grahamlive]

Not in my part of Scotland (Lanarkshire). Here it's Breakfast lunch dinner. But aye, My family in Dumfries call their lunch "dinner" and their dinner "tea". As for school dinners, that's what I called it at school but my kids talk about "school lunches" now.

[@Aetheraev]

Note that a public school in the UK is not just any private school but (usually) only the really fancy ones like Eton, Rugby and Charterhouse

[@pianocrisante90]

UK 🇬🇧 English: Motorway US 🇺🇸 English: Highway That is another difference between the two. UK 🇬🇧 English: Lift US 🇺🇸 English: Elevator That is also another difference between the two. AU 🇦🇺 English: Motorway/Highway AU 🇦🇺 English: Lift/Elevator In Australia you can use both words and people will still understand you.

[@Bleckman666]

@pianocrisante90 you can also add UK 🇬🇧 English: Dual Carriage Way US 🇺🇸 English: Freeway (or Interstate)

[@frederickniditch4204]

Other weird vocab? There's soooo much.I taught in English "public " schools for four years and had to learn a different way of speaking.I could write a book about it!

[@salford6]

To sum up the Yanks have mullered the English language 🤣 great video the wife’s mam was in Florida years ago trying to buy a dummy, took them nearly 3hrs before they bumped into a Brit who said it’s called a pacifier in the US

[@samcurry7477]

Chippy is also a slang term for a carpenter Knackered also means when something is broken Plaster also means plaster as in the building material

[@albear972]

Ha, ha! Nice! You did the rubber one. I still remember as a kid going to elementary school back in the 80's, there was a new Caribbean girl who spoke English, English. She raised her hand and asked the teacher if she had an extra rubber she could borrow. The whole class burst out laughing! Hey, we were silly pre-teens. It was funny as all heck. I still remember that vividly.

[@Trebor74]

The problem is Americans can't seem to understand that 1 word can have several meanings depending on context.

[@gitanalolita]

As a child in the 1960s and 1970s US, "rubbers" were rain boots. I owned several pairs of rubbers in those days.

[@mancmanomomyst]

you've reminded me kindergarten = nursery elementary school = primary school college = university

[@computingnerd7005]

@@mancmanomomyst Equally we have secondary school over high school (generally), and 6th form or college is our last 2 years of secondary school.

[@StitchRipRepeat]

Another important one is the ‘bill’ in a restaurant, you would call it the ‘check’ in America

[@robertcheyne7235]

In the UK, pudding is usually a hot dessert (often with custard, cream and/or ice cream), whereas a dessert can be hot or cold.

[@DaveG-rs3xp]

Here in Canada it's a mix of American and UK English word choices. In Australia it's much closer to UK English. So ... What trips me up in Canada is 'lucked out' meaning you had good luck whereas in Australia and the UK that would be understood to mean unlucky or bad luck.

[@fionagregory9147]

Chester is 18 miles from Liverpool. I know because I grew up in Chester.

[@jt5765]

We have have cribs & cots as beds for babies in the UK. Cribs are generally used when they sleep in the parents room when really young because they are much smaller than a cot which is basically a small bed with high sides to stop the now standing capable child from climbing out.

[@joshlunt7827]

I've never been to America ☹️ I would love to see all 50 states someday 🇺🇲

[@PopPop_2]

No you don't.. lol

[@FelonFitness]

I’ve been to 46 of 50, and I’m American; visiting all fifty will take some time so get started asap.

[@vermontvoice13]

@@FelonFitness visiting all 50 states actually doesn't need to be time consuming if you have the money anyway. One could easily just go to each state and do a couple sight seeing things that state is known for, and then be off to the next state. Esp if you're traveling as road trip. A lot of people have done that, it's not hard you just need the funds

[@mikemalloy1681]

Well, you could visit all 50 states, but rather than thinking of individual states, think in terms of regions. The south is a region. Texas (where I live is it's own region), which is totally different from Louisiana, (next state over). Florida, except for the northern part of Florida is not like the south. Especially southern Florida is more like NJ and NY, along with their bad manners, etc. California is really divided into southern (Los Angles) and northern California, which is more representative of the western part of the US, except for the coastal plains north of San Francisco, where mostly, but not all are financially well off and live a charmed life (think, Petaluma, Ca, etc), but out in the outer regions of Petaluma, is sheep country, etc. Last one: New Orleans (NOLA). It has become a dangerous city. Be very careful. Don't get drunk and walk around the street. If you want to walk around the French Quarter (downtown), stay sober, don't stay out late at night and watch your back, especially at night. If you are walking around the French Quarter even in the day with expensive camera gear (like I have), you are setting your self up to be robbed. It is best to have someone with you to watch the crowd as you are photographing. They can come up from behind, knock you in the head and steal your gear all at the same time. I could go on, but you get the idea.

[@joshlunt7827]

@@vermontvoice13 That's what I'd do 🙂

[@abinashmishra329]

Jumper in America also means the skirt version of overalls that girls wear Band Aid in Britain refers to the collaboration of top British singers/groups (along with Kool and the Gang, U2, Jody Watley, etc.) who fed the world in 1984 by recording my favorite modern Christmas song.

[@Reazzurro90]

Some intra-American differences too. I've never used "tennis shoes" but always "sneakers." Never "SEE-ment" but "seh-ment." 🎉

[@roger6867]

But a cenet path is a concrete path in the UK

[@roger6867]

Sorry-- CEMENT

[@Nurichiri]

In the Chicago area those shoes are known as "gym shoes".

[@PaulGodfrey]

Worth noting that the tap is a faucet.

[@Tiny-One]

Be careful with "Lolly", Mark... yes, we do have ice lollies - which are typically called "suckers" or "ice pops" - but we also have lollipops, which is a hard boiled candy on a stick. If anyone comes and asks me for a lolly, I will be pointing them to the candy aisle for lollypops rather than a freezer for an ice pop.

[@davidjackson2580]

Also, lolly can mean money although that is rather old fashioned and I haven't used it that was for the last half century at least, but you will hear it is old films.

[@stevedennison4095]

@@davidjackson2580 That's because nobody has any these days.

[@robertfoulkes1832]

And in Australia "lollies" are ANY type of sweets/candy!

[@lobstermash]

@@robertfoulkes1832 Also in NZ, and a lolly scramble is an event where one person throws a large number of paper-wrapped sweet in the air and kids grab as many as they can. Sometimes at birthday parties, more common at primary school fairs. But I suppose that's out now, can't give kids lollies any more.

[@overlordnat]

An ‘ice pop’, to use but one of its names, doesn’t have a stick but an ‘ice lolly’ or ‘ice lol’ does.

[@spockwatford]

In the UK the term FILLING STATION is often used as it covers petrol & diesel fuels as well as PETROL STATION

[@fionagregory9147]

You call a duvet something else. Comforter I think.

[@darlataddeo6376]

We have duvets in the US- it is the cover that goes over the thicker bed covering. We remove it for laundering. A “comforter” is a regular thick bed covering with no removeable duvet. It’s usually very decorative.

[@migsg7238]

@@darlataddeo6376 I the UK the thick bed covering with the removable cover is the Duvet and the cover is called the "Duvet Cover".

[@Pinkpig57]

아조씨 웃참 잘하시네요… so funny how you hold your laughter while talking😂

[@joshlunt7827]

Don't you guys say sneakers for trainers as well?

[@cpnolto]

I remember stopping at a motorway restaurant to get a meal and seeing a sign that said - "No football coaches" and I wondered at the time what they had against football coaches. Never occurred to me that they meant bus loads of rowdy football fans. My favorite shop window sign over there read: "English spoken - American understood". All in good fun.

[@laurelcosten1012]

In American English, a jumper, jumper dress, or pinafore dress is a sleeveless, collarless dress intended to be worn over a blouse, shirt, T-shirt or sweater. Hemlines can be of different lengths and the type of collar and whether or not there is pleating are also variables in the design. In British English, the term jumper describes what is called a sweater in American English

[@woofbarkyap]

In the UK, "mad" means crazy, insane, mentally unbalanced. We will understand an American using it to mean angry but we won't use it ourselves. "knock up" has both meanings in the UK but the "wake up" one is quite old fashioned now

[@garymacmillan6401]

It’s okay to ‘Prick your finger’, but not the other way round…

[@jeffponcar391]

I found out the hard way in a pub in Dover that what we in the U.S. call a "napkin" is called a "serviette" there. I was utterly baffled over something that simple. Haha

[@brigidsingleton1596]

We also say "napkin" here in the UK but usually (or sometimes) it is just the longer, less-used name for 'nappy' which is a "diaper" to any American!! I don't know where the word "diaper" originated, unless it was a brand name, as often seems to happen in the US... (eg. "Kleenex" - tissue, "Bandaid" - plaster, "Crockpot" - slow-cooker, etc) perhaps then also "Diaper" - napkin - nappy?!) 😊

[@wessexdruid7598]

Napkins are cloth (and re-used); serviettes are paper and disposable.

[@jerry2357]

@@brigidsingleton1596 "Diaper" came from Middle English and got there from an old French word meaning a type of costly fabric, and in general modern English means a cloth with a diamond weave. (Source: Concise Oxford Dictionary).

[@JonathonV]

I’m a Canadian and we generally use the same terms as Americans, with some slight differences. When I went to teach in the UK, there were certainly a few “lost in translation” mistakes! My main difficulty came from all the differences in mathematical terms, since I was teaching mathematics (we even abbreviate that word differently!): “exponents” became “indices”, “radicals” became “surds”, “scientific notation” became “standard form”, etc. I definitely was taken aback the first time a student asked for a “rubber” because that means “condom” in Canada too. Another time I asked a student to place their assignment in the “bin”, because that’s what Canadians term for a storage box with open sides, not noticing that I was asking the student to throw their assignment in the garbage! 😬 My worst, though, was when I was writing a detention slip for a student who made an obscene gesture to a classmate; I wrote that she had “fingered” the other student … yeah, I immediately realised how badly I worded that one! 😂 We were all laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation. She told me she was going to have that detention slip framed!

[@adrianl5899]

Sadly New Radicals weren't forced to release their song You Get What You Give under the moniker New Surds in the UK. That would have stopped it being on radio every 5 minutes for a year.

[@computingnerd7005]

Doing my A levels I was so confused anytime people mentioned calculus, I didn't even realise I had learnt it because we generally just called it integration and differentiation. Thought it was something involving using an abacus for years.

[@allendracabal0819]

I have never heard "surds". Sounds like an ethnic group from the Middle East.

[@auldfouter8661]

I'm never quite sure what Americans mean by dry walling as a building trade. Here joiners put up plasterboard , then plasterers come in and cover it with wet plaster.

[@neuralwarp]

In Britain, Dry Stone Walling is building a wall from rocks using Tetris, with no cement. The rocks settle together as the ground moves. They have earthquakes in Wales.

[@LeftofTheDial_]

In the US we don't typically plaster walls anymore. We put up drywall and then paint it.

[@josepherhardt164]

@@LeftofTheDial_ Indeed. The first time you try to drive a nail through plaster, you'll know why no one uses that stuff any longer. >:(