English to USA Translations

Libby81

I apologise for generalising on the UK to USA translations... all translations are fun!

I didn't want to have Eggplant in the USA because I literally thought it would taste of egg! Didn't realise I was missing out on Aubergine at the time!

Oh, and I'm Southern UK but I still think "*kitten*" sounds better the way it's pronounced oop north, which is how I always say it!

We stayed in Lumley Castle for our honeymoon and spent a couple of days in Newcastle upon Tyne. The Geordie accent is the best thing I have ever heard in my life. My husband is so posh; he's from Windsor and I long for the North!

Well then you've not heard the Mackem accent (from Sunderland next to Newcastle). The differences in how we say things compared to Geordies can be big

Libby81

Question for the British: What do you call the cart you put your groceries in while shopping? We have a few variations between northern and southern US. In the north, it is either carriage or shopping cart. In the south I have heard people call them buggies.

In Nz we call them a trolley!!!

Same here in north UK

HeidiMightyRawr

I can't believe that nobody here on MFP has noticed the differences between US and UK definitions for FIT

US = in good physical health / active / athletic
UK (to my understanding) = physically attractive

So in the US, I am fit, but in the UK, I am not.

Haha in the UK, "fit" means both of those, but is mainly used (by me anyway) to mean healthy/athletic etc. I have heard it used to mean attractive loads of times, but usually only by the younger generation (25 and under)

Translations I know of:
Pavement - Sidewalk
Nappy - Diaper
Rubbish - Garbage / Trash (My bf uses "trash" a lot and it does my head in because he's not even American!)
Trolley - Cart?
Sweets - Candy
Fizzy drinks - Pop / Soda
Trousers - Pants
Pants/Underwear - Underwear
Chips - Fries
Crisps - Potato chips

thrld

what do you wash your dishes with?

Liquid soap = fairy liquid



Also,

You know those lights on your christmas tree? Fairy lights.

England is just full of magic.

Laces_0ut

Later that night I went to an Italian restaurant and ordered Iced tea. I didn't know that the making of iced tea was going to require 3 waiters and involve the shaker used for mixed drinks but hey they got the job done and it was a fine glass of iced tea.

Ha! Yes, for a nation of tea drinkers we still haven't quite got to grips with the 'iced tea' concept! Well, we understand the concept, I don't understand why you'd want to drink it :laugh:

wait until you try the abomination called Sweet Tea. its mostly popular in the south in the US. its regular iced tea that is filled with sugar until it reaches its saturation point. its horrible. its like you are drinking a wet bag of sugar.

k8blujay2

So I'm American living in the UK. When I say "we" I mean Americans.

We say suspenders, you say braces

We say garters, you say suspenders

My old boss used to say "for belts and braces" and I was more than confused, haha, since for us, braces are a brace (the metal things on your teeth to make them straighter)

Also cilantro = coriander
zucchini = courgette
eggplant = aubergine

Why we felt the need to call those something else is beyond me.

Also love the difference in pronunciation of some things over here. Yoghurt sounds like boggart. You say *kitten* the way we say pasta and we say *kitten* the way you say pasta.

The reason we have different words than our lingustic cousins is to show our soveriegnty and independence. It's a political and geographic thing... :-) Sorry, I couldn't help myself cause I knew the answer... We had a discussion about this in a Political Geography class a few years back... one of the first things a newly independent nation does is create a dictionary.

ZombieSlayer

Later that night I went to an Italian restaurant and ordered Iced tea. I didn't know that the making of iced tea was going to require 3 waiters and involve the shaker used for mixed drinks but hey they got the job done and it was a fine glass of iced tea.

Ha! Yes, for a nation of tea drinkers we still haven't quite got to grips with the 'iced tea' concept! Well, we understand the concept, I don't understand why you'd want to drink it :laugh:

wait until you try the abomination called Sweet Tea. its mostly popular in the south in the US. its regular iced tea that is filled with sugar until it reaches its saturation point. its horrible. its like you are drinking a wet bag of sugar.

Tell us what you really think? :laugh: :laugh:

For what it's worth, I agree. The first time I ordered iced tea down south, I about died when I tasted it . The misunderstood accent translation sounded about right... *kitten* tea.

castadiva

I don't agree, then. Everyone I know says dinner or supper (usually supper) Tea is something you have between 4 and 5 pm, and involved the drink.

That's what I thought, but I'm not a Brit, so I wasn't going to argue the point. Thanks for clearing it up!

Typically a north/south UK divide and historically a class divide as well. In the north (historically-speaking more working-class) lunch = dinner, dinner/supper = tea. Pudding often = sweet.

In the south, tea is a light meal somewhere between 3 and 5pm, involving the drink, and a selection of cakes, sandwiches, maybe muffins/crumpets (now mostly a function of smart hotels!)

High Tea is slightly later and more substantial, including cold meats, maybe one hot dish, and things like hard-boiled eggs, pork pies etc. Typically a children's meal, or after a day's sport (hunting, shooting, fishing...), if dinner is not until quite late.

Lunch(midday meal) is lunch/luncheon if one wants to be very smart (note 'smart' instead of 'posh' - no truly 'posh' person would ever describe themselves, or anything else, for that matter, as such) and the evening meal is either dinner (more formal) or supper (implies a more casual meal - just to confuse matters, supper can also happen after dinner, just before bed - a hot drink and a biscuit, for example), and is followed by pudding (and possibly a savoury), definitely not dessert or a 'sweet'.

British English is still absolutely chockablock of these verbal distinguishers of origin and background - what you say often gives you away as much as how you say it! No wonder we confuse everyone!:laugh:

MrsR0SE

Ok, I am loving this thread

Speed bumps in the UK are also known as 'sleeping policemen'

One time, when I was in NYC, I ordered a cup of hot tea at McDonalds (I know, just asking for trouble!). When I asked for milk for my tea the lady behind the counter was hugely confused at the strange request in the weird accent and kept asking if I wanted cream. Yuck, I thought, but eventually gave in and accepted the 'cream' which turned out, in fact to be milk. Why?!
:laugh:

MrsR0SE

I don't agree, then. Everyone I know says dinner or supper (usually supper) Tea is something you have between 4 and 5 pm, and involved the drink.

That's what I thought, but I'm not a Brit, so I wasn't going to argue the point. Thanks for clearing it up!

British English is still absolutely chockablock of these verbal distinguishers of origin and background - what you say often gives you away as much as how you say it! No wonder we confuse everyone!:laugh:

Absolutely - to the above comment, and....

I would call my evening meal 'tea' unless I was eating out at a restaurant, and even then I would sometimes call it tea! Makes no difference what the food or beverages are, the time of day, or how heavy the meal is!

Jmollster1

yeah, a guy i met on the first day of college was british, and at one point he goes to me "you want to go smoke a *kitten*?"

i was like "uuuuh... you want to go... kill... a homosexual??? we uh, we uh, can't do that here..."

I'm in hysterics... this thread is fab :laugh:

Jmollster1

Another one I've run across here on MFP:

US drive-through > UK Take-away

I think in the US you call it "take out" in UK we call it take-away. We also have drive-thrus (McD's, BK)

Jmollster1

UK: Plastic wrap/cling film USA: Saran wrap (I think!) NZ/AUS: Glad Wrap!!!

Here in the Southeast US it's usually just plastic wrap, actually. Sometimes cling wrap. Saran wrap is a brand.

From the west coast. To me it's all Saran Wrap, just like all soda is coke, and all facial tissues (had to think on that) are kleenex. Oh... and all sticky bandages are band-aids.

In US.. band aid = Plasters (in the UK)

Libby81

I don't agree, then. Everyone I know says dinner or supper (usually supper) Tea is something you have between 4 and 5 pm, and involved the drink.

That's what I thought, but I'm not a Brit, so I wasn't going to argue the point. Thanks for clearing it up!

Typically a north/south UK divide and historically a class divide as well. In the north (historically-speaking more working-class) lunch = dinner, dinner/supper = tea. Pudding often = sweet.

In the south, tea is a light meal somewhere between 3 and 5pm, involving the drink, and a selection of cakes, sandwiches, maybe muffins/crumpets (now mostly a function of smart hotels!)

High Tea is slightly later and more substantial, including cold meats, maybe one hot dish, and things like hard-boiled eggs, pork pies etc. Typically a children's meal, or after a day's sport (hunting, shooting, fishing...), if dinner is not until quite late.

Lunch(midday meal) is lunch/luncheon if one wants to be very smart (note 'smart' instead of 'posh' - no truly 'posh' person would ever describe themselves, or anything else, for that matter, as such) and the evening meal is either dinner (more formal) or supper (implies a more casual meal - just to confuse matters, supper can also happen after dinner, just before bed - a hot drink and a biscuit, for example), and is followed by pudding (and possibly a savoury), definitely not dessert or a 'sweet'.

British English is still absolutely chockablock of these verbal distinguishers of origin and background - what you say often gives you away as much as how you say it! No wonder we confuse everyone!:laugh:

From the working class north everyone I know calls pudding - afters, because it comes after tea clever eh lol We also use bait as packed lunch - "put your bait up" means make your packed lunch

castadiva

From the working class north everyone I know calls pudding - afters, because it comes after tea clever eh lol We also use bait as packed lunch - "put your bait up" means make your packed lunch

Cunning! I've never heard 'bait' before. In Scotland, a packed lunch is a 'piece', and I know they have another word in Wales - just can't think what it is!

castadiva

http://septicscompanion.com/showcat.php?cat=food

Someone clearly got tired of explaining... a few classics in here!

hennyben

I can't believe I'm only seeing this thread now. Somebody's probably put this up already, I don't have time to check but just in case they haven't, this is FUNNY (picture is bad quality but you can hear the joke)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNzuOxJ3iS8

Jain

Potato chips = Crisps
Candy (like hard candy & similar = Lollies

JM

Candy = boiled sweets. Lollies are boiled sweets with a stick to hold. I think you call then suckers?

ZombieSlayer

Candy = boiled sweets. Lollies are boiled sweets with a stick to hold. I think you call then suckers?

Suckers or Lollipops.

thrld

Do Brits think YouTube is a funny name? Or an apt one?