British English (BrE)
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American English (AmE)
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Aubergine
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Eggplant
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Beetroot
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Beet
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Biscuit
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Cookie
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Candy floss
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Cotton candy
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Chili con carne
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Chili
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Chili sauce
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Hot sauce
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Chips
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Fries
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Chocolate bar
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Candy bar
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Coriander
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Cilantro
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Corn flower
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Corn starch
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Cos lettuce
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Romaine lettuce
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Courgette
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Zucchini
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Crisps
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Potato chips
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Digestives
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Graham crackers
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Fish fingers
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Fish sticks
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Gammon
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Ham
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Ice lolly
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Popsicle
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Icing
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Frosting
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Jam
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Fruit preserves (also jam)
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Jelly
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Jell-O
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Kebab
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Gyro
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Macaroni cheese
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Mac and cheese
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Minced meat
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Ground meat
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Porridge
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Oatmeal
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Prawn
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Shrimp
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Profiterole
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Cream puff
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Pudding
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Dessert
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Rapeseed oil
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Canola oil
|
Scone
|
Biscuit
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Ready salted
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Original
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Skimmed milk
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Skim milk
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Spaghetti bolognese
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Spaghetti
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Spring onion
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Scallion
|
Swiss roll
|
Jelly roll
|
Tinned food
|
Canned food
|
Treacle
|
Molasses
|
Water biscuits
|
Crackers
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This ongoing list was compiled by Laurence Brown. Laurence is a British expat living in Indianapolis, Indiana. He is a contributor for BBC America and has written for Anglotopia. He is Editor-in-chief of Lost in the Pond and loves nothing more than to share his articles with anglophiles, expats, and other interested parties on social media. Follow Lost in the Pond on Facebook, Twitter and Google+.
I think I am pretty good at using the English words now that we are back in England. I gotta remember to pronounce Basil correctly.
ReplyDeleteBonnie Rose | A Compass Rose
Ah yes. I have a video coming up on food pronunciations!
ReplyDeleteInteresting! Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Laura. Here's a growing compendium of word differences.
ReplyDeleteFollow Lost In The Pond | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | RSS | Pinterest | Instagram
The British pronunciations always trip me up plus, what's with adding a "u" to everything? Colour, flavour, favourite... haha
ReplyDeleteHaha! Lily, I long to write a post on the "u" difference. Stay tuned.
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Stationery is another trans-Atlantic minefield...and pants.
ReplyDeleteWait--the British call gelatin "jelly"? As a semantic nickname, that makes sense, but then what do they call jelly? You know the cheaper stuff that's not jam or preserves, i.e. grape jelly that kids like to use for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, or people put on toast? American jelly is made with pectin, not gelatin. Flavored gelatins, like the brand "Jell-O" are usually used for desserts, although sometimes unflavored gelatin is used for things like aspic.
ReplyDeletehad to laugh at digestives vs. graham crackers. too funny.
ReplyDeleteI think we just call it all jam, be it cheap or fancy.
ReplyDeleteI personally disagree with the Kebab and Gyro examples. I don't like Gyros, but I love Kebabs. Whilst living in England I have noticed it's always called a Kebab, but Gyros are of Greek origin whilst Kebabs are Middle Eastern, and they are also different in general. In the NE US where I'm from people refer to the food accordingly (idk about everywhere).
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you've figured it out by now but I just wanted to point out that "Jell-O" is just one of those brand "ingrainings". Like Kleenex, Chapstick and Sharpie but what you really mean is tissue, lip balm and a permanent marker. =]
ReplyDelete