English to USA Translations

Tree72 -- I'd call that hairstyle "Pig tails." I've never heard anyone call it "dog ears" before.

To me pigtails are always braided. (Parted down the middle and a braid on each side, which can be in front of or behind the ears, or even very near the center part at the nape of the neck.)

To RobynC79: here quilts and comforters are rather different types of bed coverings. Quilts are specifically made of multiple layers with a (usually cotton though sometimes poly-fiberfill) batting in the middle. The top layer is often an intricate patchwork design. Many families (in the South at least) have quilts that are family heirlooms made by a great grandmother or aunt and passed down through the generations. Comforters are just stuffed bed coverings used in colder weather. You can either get ones that match your decor or get a plain (frequently stuffed with down and/or feathers) comforter and then get duvets to put it in that match your decor.

It's so interesting to see all the regional variations as well as the English vs. American meanings. Thanks to everyone for participating in the discussion.

I've always considered "cooties" to be an imaginary, invisible bad thing. Kinda like the "boogey man." I suppose it could be germs or lice or something like that too. But, I remember as a child playing a game where the girls chased the boys and tried to touch them. If that happened, the girls would "give the boys their cooties."

I still use it as an adult, but when I am referring to something imaginary. Like people that avoid gay people... They don't want to "catch the gay cooties." That, of course, would make them gay too.

We call them roundabouts in Arizona too. Only thing is in Arizona, no one knows how to drive in one!

People in Florida don't know how to drive, period!

In America, we have "English Muffins" which I believe are just "muffins" in England. We have something totally different we call "muffins." Anyone know what those are in England?

cupcakes... sort of i guess.

In America, we have "English Muffins" which I believe are just "muffins" in England. We have something totally different we call "muffins." Anyone know what those are in England?

cupcakes... sort of i guess.

As I understand it, our English Muffins are more like their crumpets. Muffins are just muffins. Please correct me, if I'm wrong.

If you have an import store locally, buy the UK Mars Bar and a US Mars Bar and compare them. (Same with Skittles too. They look the same, but the sugar tastes are completely different.)

Crumpets are still different from English Muffins. We use Muffin for both forms of muffin, which can be kind of confusing.

You say lie low, we say floaty/air mattress/inflatable. That one got me confused for a second while on vacation with Brits and Aussies :happy:

hahaha lilo not lie low hahahahaha Sounds the same I'll give you that but this made me laugh!!! xx

Glad you laughed at this too Emma otherwise i may have felt guilty for bursting out laughing :laugh:

If you have an import store locally, buy the UK Mars Bar and a US Mars Bar and compare them. (Same with Skittles too. They look the same, but the sugar tastes are completely different.)

Crumpets are still different from English Muffins. We use Muffin for both forms of muffin, which can be kind of confusing.

Chocolate taste better over in UK & Ireland anyway. The ice cream tastes better too- especially Baileys ice cream! yum!
My favorite candy would be Milkyway bar and Galaxy bar.

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.

This would depend on the region you're in. I'm from "up North" and here we'd say *kitten* and pasta the same...not sure how you Americans say them so not sure if its the same or different :-D

*kitten* has a short a sound and pasta like the o in lobster.

Depends where in the UK your accent is from, in the South, it tends to pick up an additional R, said "barstud". In the North, it's said more like "basstud"

*raises hand* im guilty of pronouncing it with the extra 'r' :ohwell:

I was staying with an American friend and couldn't work the tap in the bathroom.

"Hey your tap's stuck!"
"My what?"
"Your tap, you know the thing over the sink the water comes out of."
"Oh, faucet!"

So I forced it and the damn thing came off in my hand.

In my region of Texas, we wouldn't call this part of the sink either.... we typically refer to it as a spigot.. though we pronounce it incorrectly and call it a 'spick-it'. More often than not, we would just say "Hey, your sink is broken" or something along those lines. When referring to things, we talk about it as a whole versus the parts. That could mean that the spigot is broken, the handles/knobs are broken, the basin is broken or the pedestal if it's that sort of sink.... I hear a lot of people speak in these generalized terms.

I haven't made it through all the pages yet, but what about things like

Tin Foil? and Washrags? Gosh we talk funny!

Ha, we say "spick-it" for spigot in SC, too. But I would only call something a spigot if it was outside... weird. For instance, I connect my garden hose to a spigot to water my vegetable and herb garden.

This is so great. Basically everything UK based sounds a gazillion times better than our US words. I love it.

Hey I have a question. Is there a difference in what school levels are called? I heard that it was different. Sorry if this has already been addressed.

In the US it goes: preschool (starting at age 5ish), then kindergarden (age 6ish), then elementary school (grade 1 through 6, about ages 7-13), then middle school or junior high (grade 7 and 8, about ages 14 through 15), then high school (grades 9 through 12, about ages 15 through 19) then we graduate high school and either go to college/university (but you have to pay for it), or go straight to work instead.

So what are the parallels to these stages of school over in the UK? Same? Different?

You're about a year off. If you graduate high school at 19, you were probably held back somewhere. Pre-k starts at 4, not 5.

Breakfast = Breakfast
Lunch = Diner
Diner = Tea
n/a = Supper

I'm English (near Manchester, actually Accrington to the English folks here.) and have lived in the US for 12 yrs.

If your English in America and what a little fun, go the the market and ask for basil the English way, they won't have a clue what you mean.

Me and my ex-wife (American) were once was at the supermarket, at the butchers counter and asked for 1lb of honey roast ham, the guy looked at me funny, so again I asked for 1lb of honey roast ham, he still did not understand what I was asking for. After repeating myself quite a number of time I looked at wife, she then says exactly the same thing with her American accent and the guy gets it instantly.
I turned to my wife and said "You just translated English into English".

I am English living in America too (Originally from Cheltenham)! Been here for ten years. They do the SAME thing to me!!! My husband/friends are always translating for me!!! At work I'm always having a problem because I take care of the elderly and they have absolutely no idea what this foreigner is saying to them - worse than younger generations around here (Pittsburgh).

An American friend of mine was going to Ireland for the first time. He's a smoker so I said to him on the phone:
"oh, there's a new law there now so you can't stamp out *kitten* on the street or it's a £200 fine"

His reply was "WHAT!?!....."

This is so funny it makes my stomach hurt. hahahaha

Hahaha this thread is funny! Ok my favourites are the differences in insults.

For example.... wanker & douche!

I was working with a couple of Americans and they had gone out & somebody called one of them a wanker, they asked me what it means.. Wank = *kitten*.... so a wanker is somebody who masturbates. They laughed and told me it was a stupid insult!! This coming from a nation who uses douche for an insult!! Err hellooo... douche means shower! Lol!