BRITISH ENGLISH
|
AMERICAN ENGLISH
|
Aluminium foil
|
Aluminum foil
|
Aubergine
|
Eggplant
|
Beetroot
|
Beet
|
Biscuit
|
Cookie
|
Bitter
|
Pale ale
|
Candy floss
|
Cotton candy
|
Chips
|
Fries
|
Chili con carne
|
Chili
|
Chili sauce
|
Hot sauce
|
Chocolate bar
|
Candy bar
|
Cling film
|
Saran wrap
|
Cooker
|
Oven
|
Coriander
|
Cilantro
|
Cornflour
|
Corn starch
|
Cos lettuce
|
Romaine lettuce
|
Courgette
|
Zucchini
|
Crisps
|
Potato chips
|
Cutlery
|
Silverware
|
Digestives
|
Graham crackers
|
Fairy cake
|
Cupcake
|
Fish fingers
|
Fish sticks
|
Fizzy drink
|
Pop/Soda/Coke
|
Flask
|
Water bottle
|
Gammon
|
Ham
|
Ice lolly
|
Popsicle
|
Icing
|
Frosting
|
Jam
|
Fruit preserves (also jam)
|
Jelly
|
Jell-O
|
Kebab
|
Gyro
|
Macaroni cheese
|
Mac and cheese
|
Main Course
|
Entrée
|
Minced meat
|
Ground meat
|
Pie
|
Pot Pie
|
Porridge
|
Oatmeal
|
Prawn
|
Shrimp
|
Profiterole
|
Cream puff
|
Pudding
|
Dessert
|
Rapeseed oil
|
Canola oil
|
Ready salted
|
Original
|
Salt and pepper pot
|
Salt and pepper shaker
|
Saucepan
|
Pot
|
Scone
|
Biscuit
|
Semolina
|
Grits
|
Serviette
|
Napkin
|
Skimmed milk
|
Skim milk
|
Slow Cooker
|
Crock pot (also slow cooker)
|
Spaghetti bolognese
|
Spaghetti
|
Spirit
|
Liquor
|
Spring onion
|
Scallion
|
Starter
|
Appetizer
|
Sweetcorn
|
Corn
|
Sweets
|
Candy
|
Swiss roll
|
Jelly roll
|
Tinned food
|
Canned food
|
Treacle
|
Molasses
|
Water biscuits
|
Crackers
|
Laurence is a British expat living in Indianapolis, Indiana. He is a contributor for BBC America and writes a weekly column for Anglotopia. Having graduated from Lancaster University with a degree in English Language and Creative Writing, Laurence runs this blog, Lost In The Pond, charting the endless cultural and linguistic differences between Britain and The United States.
Please follow Laurence by clicking on any of the icons below.
I use quite a lot of the American words (like oven, cupcake etc.) and use zucchini due to my German side of the family, but seriously, fish-fingers are completely different to fish sticks, same foes for the gammon/ham and flask/water bottle (seriously!? A flask is an insulated metal container for hot drinks, and water bottle is a plastic bottle for water/juice etc. :/
ReplyDeleteI know right!!!������ Lol��
Delete��
A bunch of these really are not pure substitutions. Several of the 'British' forms are highly common in the U.S., e.g. "main course", "prawn", "starter", "sweetcorn", and "spring onion." Further, a bunch of the "British" forms describe different things or are not direct replacements. For example, semolina is typically a wheat product while grits are exclusively corn. You could in a broad sense call them corn semolina, but the "corn" is a very important distinction. Same idea for gyro/kebab, which are very slightly different dishes. Both terms are used here in the States depending on if you're getting the Greek dish or the Turkish/Arabic dish. "Candy bar" is a more broad description that can cover chocolate and non-chocolate bars, so that's also not a pure substitution. Lastly, the spaghetti comparison is laughable and really doesn't belong on this list. Spaghetti is a noodle; spaghetti bolognese is a particular dish made with that noodle featuring a tomato and meat sauce. If you're making spaghetti, it could have a number of different sauces, some red, some white, some green, some colorless, some with meat, some with vegetarian. You -might- hear an American using spaghetti as shorthand for spaghetti bolognese in context, but that's a shorthand. If I invited you over to dinner for spaghetti without specifying sauce, you're just as likely to get a puttanesca, marinara, arrabiata, napolitana, or carbonara as you are to get a bolognese. If you want a closer translation in common speak for "spaghetti bolognese", try "spaghetti with red sauce" or "spaghetti with gravy" (if you're feeling particularly New Jersey Sicilian).
ReplyDeleteYeah, thats actually not true about 'sketti'. I never heard of spaghetti bolognese until I was 17 and reading a book. American, 25, grandfather's family full italian immigrant.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteI'm (Englishwoman) sure we in the UK never used to say 'sides' for the extras to the main meal. But I cannot remember that word!
ReplyDeletePale Ale is a type of Bitter not a substitution. Lots of Pale Ale in the uk.
ReplyDelete