English | American | Example |
A Roads | First Class Roads | Stick to the a roads and you'll have no problems. |
Afters | Dessert | Are you ready for afters? how about cheese and biscuits? |
B Roads | Second Class Roads | These B Roads are too narrow! |
Bangers | Sausage Links | Let's have bangers and mash for dinner. |
Birds | Young Ladies | Check out those two birds. |
Biscuits | Cookies | Let's get some chocolate chip biscuits for afters. |
Bitter | Beer | Pint 'o bitter please bar tender. |
Blimey! | Golly! | Blimey! That was fast! |
Bloke | Buddy / Friend / Work Mate | I'm having a pint with some blokes from the office! |
Bobbie | Policeman / Constable | Bobbies are called policemen now-a-days. |
Bonnet | Hood Of A Car. | Raise the bonnet and let's have a look at the engine. |
Boot | Trunk | There's a spare
tyre in the boot (tire is tyre in the UK) |
Boot Sale | Garage Sale (Done From The Boot Of A Car) |
Most boot sales are held in the car park on sundays. |
Brace | A Pair (Two) | I'll be down in a brace of shakes. |
Braces | Suspenders | I don't like belts. I prefer to wear braces. |
Brolly | Umbrella | It's raining so take your brolly. |
Car Park | Parking Lot | Let's see if there is a car park nearby. |
Castor Sugar | Finely Granulated Sugar | This recipe calls for castor sugar. |
Chemist Shop | Drug Store | Can you stop by the chemist's for some aspirin? |
Cinema | Movie Theater | What's playing at the cinema this week? (flicks) |
Cock-Up | A Big Foul Up / Gross Mistake | The whole meeting was a big cock up! |
Cod's Wallop (Indian Origin) | Nonsense | Don't be ridiculous! That's a lot of cod's wallop! |
Cooker | Stove / Range | What type of cooker do you prefer? Electric or gas? |
Cot | Crib | The baby's asleep in her cot. |
Cuppa | A Cup Of Tea. | How about another cuppa matey? |
Dear | Expensive | Well! that dinner was dear. It cost me nearly 20 pounds! |
Dinner | Lunch (A Large Mid-Day Meal) |
I've just stopped in for dinner, then it's back to work for me. |
Dodgy | Peculiar / Suspicious | Trying that seems a bit dodgy to me. |
Double Glazing | Double Paned Window | This house has double glazing all round. |
Dual Carriage Way | Four Or Six Lane Highway | Exit on the slip road from the motorway to the dual carriage way |
Dud Pound | Counterfeit One Pound Coin | When I looked at my change, I saw it included a dud pound. |
Dust Bin | Trash Can | Let's put all the rubbish in the dust bin. |
Elevenses | Late Morning Break / Snack | Anybody ready for elevenses? |
Immerser | Immersion Water Heater | Remember to turn on the immerser a half hour before bathing. |
Estate Vehicle | Station Wagon | All we have left is a saloon and an estate. |
Fags | Cigarettes | Hey, Mable, run out and get me a pack of fags will ya? |
First Floor | Second Floor | Go up to the first floor and look down on the garden. |
Fitter | Mechanic | I'm a fitter over 't the brick works! I use a spanner you see. |
Flannel | Wash Cloth / Face Cloth | Where are the clean towels and flannels? |
Fortnight | Two Weeks | I'm going on a fortnight's holiday. |
Frying Times | Opening Times For A Fish And Chips Shop. | Most fish and chips shops have limited frying times. |
Garden | Back Yard | Most homes have a small garden in the rear. |
Gob | Mouth | Shut your gob! |
Guv | Governor / Boss | Sorry I'm late guv. The M25 was a car park! |
Ha'penny | Half Of A Penny | They don't use ha'pennies in Britain any more. |
High Street | Main Street | The chemist shop is in the high street. |
Hole In The Wall | ATM Machine | You can get some cash from the hole in the wall. |
Holiday | Vacation | So long chum. I'm going on a fortnight's holiday. |
Hooter | Horn On A Car | If you want service sound your hooter. |
In Hospital | In The Hospital | My mum's in hospital for the next fortnight. |
Juggernaut | Tractor Trailer / Semi / 18 Wheeler | There seem to be a lot of juggernauts on the M1 today! |
Knock Me Up | Wake Me Up | I'm going to bed now. Knock me up at about 7 will you? |
Loo | Toilet / Rest room | Don't forget to go to the loo before you leave. |
Lorry | Delivery Truck (One Body) | There's a big lorry blocking the roadway. |
Mash | Whipped Potatoes | Lets have bangers and mash for dinner. |
Mate | Work Mate / Companion On The Job. | I'm going down t'the rose & crown for a drink with me mates. |
Micro | Microwave Oven | Stick it in the micro for a few minutes. |
Minced Beef | Ground Beef | Let's get minced beef for burgers. |
Mixed Grill | Grilled Meat And Vegetables Plate Lunch | Shall we have fish & chips or the mixed grill? |
Motorway | Interstate Highway | The M1 was the first motorway built in Britain. |
Mum | Mother / Mom | Me mum's Welsh and me dad's Scottish. |
Nanny | Baby Nurse / Baby Sitter | My sister works as a nanny for my cousin's children. |
Nappies | Baby Diapers | It's time to change the baby's nappies. |
On The Never Never | On Credit (Or Instalment Plan) | The only way I could afford it was to buy it on the never never. |
Petrol | Gasoline | Let's stop at the next petrol station. |
Pill Box | Mail Box | I dropped the letter in the pill box. |
Poe | Chamber Pot | There a nice clean poe under each bed! |
Post | I received a letter in the post. | |
Pram | Baby Carriage | Put the baby in the pram. |
Prawns | Shrimp | Our speciality tonight is curried prawns with watercress salad. |
Pudding | Dessert (Cake/Ice Cream/Etc. or Pudding) |
Stay for pudding won't you? We're having apple pie a la mode. |
Quid | Pound Coin | That book cost me three quid. |
Rates | Property Taxes | Between the rent and the rates I don't have tuppence left over. |
Reel Of Cotton | Spool Of Thread | To finish my darning I'll need another reel of cotton. |
Return Ticket (Train / Bus) | Round Trip Ticket | How much is a return to Bristol? |
Ring Me Up | Call Me On The Phone | Ring me up tomorrow, ducky. |
Ring Roads | Perimeter Roads | Most large British towns have ring roads. |
Rosie Lee (Cockney Origin) | A Cup Of Tea | What you need lovey is a good ol cup of Rosie Lee! |
Round-About | Circular Intersection | Round abouts speed traffic along. |
Saloon | 4 Door Car | Would you prefer a sports car or a saloon? |
Scones | Biscuits | I'd like some strawberry jam on these scones. |
Scrumpy | Apple Cider | I'd like a half pint of scrumpy instead of beer please. |
Serviette | Paper Napkins | I need another serviette because this food is so messy. |
Shilling | A Coin No Longer
Used In Britain. Was Worth 12 Pence. |
That'll cost ya 4 shillings and a ha'penny. |
Single Ticket (Train /Bus) | One Way Ticket | I'd like a single to liverpool. |
Skip | Large Trash Container / Dumpster | The construction crew rented a skip for the week. |
Slip Road | Exit Ramp (From Motorway) | They're making repairs on all the slip roads in this area. |
Solicitor | Lawyer | I'll have my solicitor call your solicitor. |
Spanner | Open Ended Box Wrench | I'm going to need a slightly larger spanner for this job. |
Spend A Penny | Going To The Toilet | Wait here while I spend a penny. |
Starters | Appetizers | What shall we select for starters? soup or salad? |
Supper | Late Meal (Not Dinner) At Or After 8pm | Well, I've had my tea, but can I stay for supper? |
Sweeties | Candy | Would you like a few more sweeties mate? |
Tea | Tea & Sandwiches/Cakes Served At About 4pm | Please come to tea. |
Tea Cosy | Tea Pot Cover | Cover the pot with the tea cosy to keep it warm. |
Telly | Television | What's on the telly tonight mum? |
Tenner | A Ten Pound Note | Can you give me a tenner for these two fivers? |
Till | Cash Register | I don't have any fivers in my till. |
Tin | Canned Food | Let's open a tin of soup. |
Toilet | Rest Room | Where is the men's toilet? |
Top Of The Road | End Of The Road | The bus stop is at the top of the road. |
Torch | Flashlight | Turn on that torch mate! I can't see a bloody thing! |
Trainers | Sneakers / Tennis Shoes | He's got a new pair of trainers. |
Tube | Subway (Underground) | You should get off at the next tube station. |
Tuppence | Two Pennies | It's not worth tuppence. |
Tweaked | Broken / Twisted | If I start misbehaving I might get my nose tweaked. |
Tyres | Tires | His tyre has a puncture! |
Underground | Subway | You can take the underground to most places in london. |
Vest | Undershirt | Do you have a vest on under your shirt? |
W.C. (Water Closet) |
Rest room / Toilet | In the airports toilets are called W.C.s. |
Way In / Way Out | Entrance / Exit | In case of fire
look for the signs marked "Way Out". |
Wayside Park | Rest Area | We can stop for a picnic lunch at the next wayside park. |
Windscreen | Windshield | This windscreen's bloody filthy! |
Wireless | Radio | We were listening to the news on the wireless. |
Wonky | Crooked / Misaligned | The wheels on that cart look a bit wonky to me! |
Woolies | Sweaters | Its very cold. better put on woollies today. |
Yank | American (Even Southern) | He's nothing but a bloody Yank. What do you expect? |
Zebra Crossing | Pedestrian Crossing | A zebra crossing is marked by black & white stripes and 2 lights. |
Fitted | Installed Built-In Wall-To-Wall | 1: Fitted kitchen appliances 2: Fitted carpets |
Re-Fitted | Updated | Cottage has a re-fitted kitchen |
Tick | Check Mark | Place a tick in box 3 of form C-1 |
Mackintosh | Raincoat | It's raining today. Better wear your mackintosh and rubbers |
Row | Argument | I had a big row with my wife last night! |
Flat | Apartment | My cousin and I are sharing a flat in london. |
Stood Down | Discontinued | The search for the missing men was stood down due to the weather. |
Sort You Out | Straighten You Out | Well, Billy, your dad will sort you out when he gets home! |
Head Master | Principal Or Dean | The head master at Billy's school was a sergeant in the army. |
Building Society | Savings And Loan Association | We can take a few quid out of the building society account |
Semi-Detached | Duplex | If two houses are joined together they are called semi-detached. |
Flex | Electrical Cord | The cat was chewing on the flex |
Lark | Fooling Around / Playing | But mom ... we were just having a lark! |
Mend | Repair | Can you mend my carburettor? |