Richard Gadd earns apology from New York Times

By Natasha Anderson 

As George Bernard Shaw once observed, England and America are two countries divided by a common language. 

Social media, TV, movies, and global travel have blurred language differences, and many people in the US and UK are familiar with bizarre figures of speech from both sides of the pond.

Yet important differences remain… 

CLOTHING 

The lexicon for clothing can be a bit confusing and if used in the wrong setting may be quite embarrassing.

In Britain, the term ‘pants’ refers to underwear. But Americans would use the word to describe everything from jeans, slacks, leggings and joggers.

In the UK it would be more appropriate to say ‘trousers’. Also, trousers are not held up by ‘suspenders’ in Britain, but instead by ‘braces’. In British English, ‘suspenders’ are what Americans call a garter belt.

While Americans dress for ‘sweater’ weather, Brits will wear a ‘jumper’ – which can be used to described a sweater or sweatshirt.

Brits also call a jacket called an ‘anorak’.

Another term that may puzzle Americans is ‘brolly’ which refers to an umbrella.

FOOD AND DRINK

Would you like fries with that? Well, in Britain your burger is accompanied by ‘chips’ – not fries. 

You’d like some potato chips? Those are ‘crisps’.

A soft drink or soda? That would be a ‘fizzy drink’ in Britain. A soft drink can refer to any nonalcoholic beverage. 

Americans refer to all cookie-like treats as ‘cookies’, but Brits have different terms depending on how the treat is made. In the UK a hard or crisp cookie is called a ‘biscuit’. A cookie is a larger, softer, and chewier treat.

In America, a ‘biscuit’ refers to a buttery, flaky bread pastry.

If a British waiter asks if you’d like ‘pudding,’ he’s referring to dessert in general, not necessarily the soft sweet custard-like treat that Americans love. 

Additionally, a ‘black pudding’ or ‘blood pudding’ are not dessert at all. It’s sausage.

SLANG

In Britain, when someone says they are feeling ‘chuffed’, it means they’re delighted. As in, ‘I’m chuffed to bits that I got those concert tickets’.

If someone says they’re ‘gutted,’ it has nothing to do with fish. They’re just bitterly disappointed.

Brits also say ‘Cheers’ a lot, and not just in the pub. It’s a term for thank you. So is ‘Ta.’

TRAVEL TALK

Americans walk on the ‘sidewalk’, but Brits say they walk on the ‘pavement.’

In Britain, a ‘crosswalk’ is called a ‘zebra crossing’ (pronounced zeh-bra, not zee-bra).

A ‘highway’ in the UK is called a ‘motorway’ and you park in the ‘car park’ – not the ‘parking lot’.

The hood and the trunk? To Brits, those would be the ‘bonnet’ and the ‘boot.’ The ‘windshield’ is the ‘windscreen,’ ‘side-view mirrors’ are ‘wing mirrors,’ and the ‘stick shift’ is the ‘gear stick’. 

Also, Brits don’t ‘drive stick’, they drive a ‘manual’ car.