Hello friends!

Despite having English parents it took me about two weeks to actually understand anybody. I didn’t realize how different English and “American” English actually was. For this reason, I have created a handy-dandy English to “American” guide.

The English word is on the left and the “American” word is on the right. I.e. English – American

 Clothes

Check shirt – Flannel

Fancy dress – Costume (fancy dress party – costume party)

Gilet – Vest (Gilet is French)

Pants – Underwear

Swimming costume or just costume – Swim suit

Trainers – Sneakers

Trousers – Pants

 

Travel/Out and About

Bonnet – Hood of a car

Boot – Trunk of a car

Boot sale – Flea market or Yard sale

Cheers – Thanks

Dual carriageway – Divided highway

Hen party – Bachelorette party

High street – Main shopping street in town (Guildford has two!)

Lorry – Semi-Truck

Petrol – Gas

Stag do- Bachelor party

Takeaway – Takeout

Trolley – Shopping cart

Tube – Subway

VAT – Sales tax

WC or Water closet or Loo – Bathroom or restroom

Windshield – Windscreen

Zebra crossing – Striped pedestrian crossing

 

Food

Aubergine – Eggplant

Basil (pronounced bazil with an “A” sound found in the word “cat”) – Basil

Chicken stock – Chicken broth

Chickpeas – Garbanzo beans

Chips – Fries

Courgette – Zucchini

Crisps – Potato chips

Pudding – Name for all deserts in general

Rashers – Bacon

Squash – Concentrated fruit drink (Tescos has a full aisle)

 

Things/Items

C.V. – Resume

Cling film – Saran wrap

Cooker or hob – Stove

Course – Degree

Diary – Calender

Duvet – Comforter

Fag – Cigarette

Flannel – Face cloth

Flat – Apartment

Flatmates – People living with you in your apartment/house

Fringe – Hair bangs

Hoover – Vacuum

Lift – Elevator

Module – Class

Plaster – Band-Aid

Quid – Slang for one pound

Rubbish – Garbage

Sellotape – Scotchtape

Stone (in terms of weight measurements) – 14lbs

 

Furthermore, as the school year is fast approaching there are a couple more practices to be aware of:

1. English buildings label their floors starting with the “ground floor”. Meaning, the American 2nd floor is labeled as the 1st floor. Try not to get caught off guard. You will have to go up one more floor than you might think.
2. At the grocery store, you pack your own groceries in the bag. Someone won’t do it for you. You might look a bit silly if you just let your groceries pile up at the end of the table 😉
3. When you finish trying on clothes in a changing room, you must take the clothes out of the dressing room. English people don’t leave their clothes in the stall like Americans do.
4. Sales tax, or VAT, is included in the price displayed in a store. The price you see is the price you pay.
5. I have found that most people use 24 hour clocks in England. If you can’t read 24 hour clocks already, you will eventually just pick it up. A trick I use is just subtract 2 from the number and take the second digit to find the time. Ex 17:30 – 2 = 15:30 is 5:30. Or just as easily subtract 12. Ex 19:45 – 12 = 7:45.
6. England has different keyboards than America. The most obvious difference is the quote ” and at sign @ are switched.
7. Jaywalking is allowed in England and you will see loads of people doing it. Embrace it! Make sure you look right though, cars are on the opposite side of the road in England.
8. When sending messages, some English people put “x” marks, symbolizing kisses, at the end of their messages. It is a normal thing and just shows familiarity.
9. When writing the date, the order is day, month, then year. I.e. March 18, 1996 would be 18-3-1996 as opposed to 3-18-1996 in America.

 

Hope this helps clear up some basic confusion with the language and practices. If you have any questions on this or anything else, please email me at northamerica@surrey.ac.uk!

Holly