BritSpeak

British - American Dictionary (Cont'd)

British Word        Americans Say

L    

Lad                   Boy

Ladder                Run (in stockings)

Ladies'               Ladies room (toilet)

Ladybird              Ladybug

Laik                  Play or mess about (northen dialect) pronounced "lake"

Lavatory              Toilet (the room or the sanitary device, never a basin as in US)

Lay-by                Rest stop

Lead                  Leash

Leader                Editorial

Legless               Drunk

Lemonade              Carbonated beverage

Lift                  Elevator

Lollipop lady         Crossing guard

Loo                   Toilet

Lorry                 Truck

Lounge                Living Room

M    

Mac                   See mackintosh

Mackintosh            Raincoat

Mange tout            Snow peas (French word pronouced "Monjh toot")

Marmite               Yeast extract spread - brand name, similar but not identical to Vegemite

Marrow                Squash (Marrow is long green squash, in fact a very large zucchini)

Match                 Game (Cricket match, football match for e.g.)

Mean                  Stingy or penny-pinching

Mince                 Ground meat, usually beef

Minder                Babysitter or bodyguard

Money for old rope    Expr. meaning getting paid for very little

Motorway              Highway

Muesli                Granola

Mum                   Mother (some areas say "Mom", just as in the US) - never used as abb. for chrysanthemum

N    

Nail varnish          Nail polish

Naff                  Worthless or unfashionable

Naff off              Go away

Nappy                 Diaper

Natter (noun or verb) Chat 

Naturist              Nudist

Naughts and crosses   Tic-Tac-Toe

Nick                  (verb) Steal, (noun) prison

  In good nick          In good condition

Nissen Hut            Quonset Hut (Br. hut designed by Peter Norman Nissen.)

Noddy (adj)           Simplified, basic, (named after children's character)

Not Half              Expression meaning  "very", as in "not half small" or an affirmative "Not half!"

Number plate          License Plate

Nutter                Kook

O    

OAP                   Senior citizen

Off                   Spoiled (food, "This food is off!")

Off licence           Liquor store

Old age pensioner     Senior citizen

Oodles                A large quantity

Over the moon         Elated

Over the top          Carried away, excessive

P    

Page 3 girl           Model (of sorts)

Painters in (Having)  Period (Menstrual)

Panda car             Police car

Pants                 Panties or men's underwear; as adj., worthless article.

Paracetamol           Acetaminophen (Tylenol)

Paraffin              Kerosene

Paralytic             Drunk

Parting               Part

Pavement              Sidewalk

Pear-shaped           (As in "It has all gone pear-shaped") - all gone wrong, fallen apart

Peckish               Hungry

Pelican crossing      Pedestrian crossing

Petrol                Gasoline

Pickle                Relish

Pictures, the         Cinema

Pilchards             Sardines

Pillock               Idiot

Pinch                 Steal

Pissed                Drunk

Pitch                 Playing field

Plait                 Braid (n or v, girl's hair, for e.g.)

Plaster               (noun) Band-aid

Plastered             (adj) Drunk, Inebriate

Plasterboard          Sheetrock

Plimsolls             Sneakers

Plonk                 Wine (cheap)

Points                Railroad switch

Pop                   Carbonated beverage, soda

Pop, playing          Arguing "I played pop with her!"

Post (noun or verb)   Mail 

Postal code           Zip code, also "postcode"

Postgraduate student  Graduate student

Power point           Electrical outlet

Pram                  Baby carriage

Prat                  Jerk

Pre-Fab               Small prefabricated single-storey home

Presenter             Newscaster

Press up              Push up (excercise)

Pub                   Bar

Public school         Private school

Pudding               Dessert

Pulses                Beans

Pumps                 Sneakers

Put down              Put to sleep (either baby, for e.g., or animal euthanasia)

Put paid to           Put an end to

Pyrenean Mountain     Great Pyrenees
 Dog

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