English to USA Translations

Jacuzzi is another in the US. And don't you also use "hoover" as a verb?

And now I understand why they call it "spellotape" in Harry Potter!

We do indeed. I need to do the hoovering, actually.

It's 'do the hoovering' and 'hoover up', in general.

Which I think is why Dyson hasn't taken off quite as well. Quite a few people now use Dyson and hoover/vacuum cleaner interchangeably, but 'I need to do the Dyson-ing' and 'Will you Dyson up?' just don't sound right. :laugh:

hahahaha too right.
I have a dyson and i still call it 'hoovering' even though ive never actually owned a 'Hoover'!

I spent nearly a month in Australia here's what I remember hearing lots of modified words.

Iggie - Shortened version of Igloo, but used to refer any type of ice chest or cooler

Sickie - Taking a sick day at work

Flattie - Flat tire

Brekki - Breakfast

Kiwi - New Zealander

Pom - British person

I'll hopefully think of more

JM

Oh Really, says the guy from Boston who still pronounces his Rs.

Ya - the regional dialects in the US also make some phrases pretty interesting - Boston is the only place where people die from a "hat attack"

shag = sex

Does anyone really say that other than Austin Powers?

You mean what Americans call garters, the British call suspenders? I didn't know that.

I did know that what Americans call suspenders, the British call braces. Americans have braces: they are metallic bands to straighten the teeth. I don't know the British call those. Perhaps garters!

You mean what Americans call garters, the British call suspenders? I didn't know that.

I did know that what Americans call suspenders, the British call braces. Americans have braces: they are metallic bands to straighten the teeth. I don't know the British call those. Perhaps garters!

Braces are the things to straighten teeth, or straps to hold up trousers.
Suspenders are used to hold up stockings.
Garters are worn around the leg.

Tea and Dinner.

What I'd call my dinner, would be lunch to Americans (I think), so my Tea is dinner to them.. and to them Tea is probably just a drink.

I live in the UK and it's breakfast, lunch, dinner for me.

I have never called a cake a gateux! I think that ine's a stereotype lol

In the south, we've got Breakfast, Dinner, Supper

JM

But what about second breakfast and elevensies?

shag = sex

Does anyone really say that other than Austin Powers?

Yep, infact a lot of my male friends call each other Shag as a term of endearment! But other than my odd friends, Brits do tend to use it to mean sex.

Most people I know would probably say "shag" than "sex". Or any other word, including "rumpy-pumpy", than use the actual word "sex".

Bump to keep it alive. My favorite thread ever!

I always liked

Happy Christmas = Merry Christmas or

on holiday = on vacation

I don't think anyone has mentioned wee (UK) vs pee (US)! And toilet/rest room.

And of course, football / soccer!

Leer is a verb. Leery is an adjective. They are not the same word or meaning.

Describing someone who is leering as being leery is just making up a word (thus why it's classified as slang).

Yes, I do agree that it is slang - but i'm saying that is how I would understand the word 'leery' in the UK. I have never in my life heard anyone use it to mean 'wary', except on this site! When I have heard it being used it over here it has always been in the context as I described above

rml is correct - stereotypical workmen et al may 'leer' at women, but to describe this activity as 'being leery' is made-up/slang, possibly a a feature of a regional dialect. The correct British usage is 'to be leery of something', usually meaning to be wary, or cautious, about an action, or sometimes a person. I've never heard the phrase used in standard UK English as you describe. Which part of the country are you based in? I'd love to add it to my mental list of 'phrases that mean something else in xyz...'

I have lived in both East Anglia and S. Yorkshire - 18 yrs in E.Anglia and 7 yrs in S.Yorks - neither of these places have I ever heard anyone say 'leery' to mean wary! If someone said it to me i'd assume they were describing someone who was leering! It's very strange too, as even at Uni when people congregated from all round the country, again i've never heard 'leery' used to mean 'wary'. I guess it's just one of those words that has gone out of favour?

Which might also be why I assumed it meant the same as leering - because i've just never heard it used in everyday conversation before! I actually couldn't believe when I looked it up in a dictionary that it meant what it did :embarassed: