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Index
of Briticisms |
A
B C D E
F G H
I J
K L M N
O P Q
R S T
U V W
X Y Z
| American-British |
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P |
|
British
|
American
|
| pack
of cards |
deck
of cards |
| packed
lunch |
sack
lunch |
| patch
[colloq.] ('He's been through a bad patch.') |
period of time |
| paddle
(n.) (v.) |
walk barefoot in shallow water |
| paddy
[colloq.] |
fit of rage or bad temper |
| Paddy
[colloq.] (short form of Irish name 'Patrick') |
Irishman |
| panda car |
police patrol car |
| pantechnicon |
moving van; truck for moving furniture |
| panther |
cougar, puma |
| pantomime |
comic fairytale-based Christmas musical |
| pants |
underpants, shorts,
jockey shorts, briefs |
| papaw |
papaya |
| paper handkerchief |
Kleenex™ |
| paper round |
paper route |
| paraffin |
kerosene |
| parcel |
package |
| parky
[colloq] |
chilly |
| parting
(hairstyle) |
part |
| pastry case |
pie crust |
| pasty |
individual pie with meat or savory filling |
| patience (card game for one) |
solitaire |
| patterned (re. textiles) |
print |
| patterned, usually cheap cotton cloth |
calico |
| pavement |
sidewalk |
| pawpaw |
papaya |
| pay rise |
raise |
| pease pudding |
peas, onion & carrot boiled & mashed |
| peckish
[colloq.] |
hungry |
| pedestrian crossing |
crosswalk |
| pedestrian
precinct |
a
vehicle-free area of town or city |
| pedlar |
peddler |
| pelican crossing |
pedestrian light controlled
crosswalk |
| pelmet |
valance |
| pen torch |
penlight |
| penknife |
pocketknife |
| pepper
(vegetable) |
bell
pepper, sweet pepper |
| perish |
cause to deteriorate or rot |
| perished
[colloq.] (as in 'I'm perished!') |
suffering from cold |
| perishing
[colloq.] (as in 'It's perishing in here!') |
freezing cold |
| personal ad |
personal |
| personal
call (operator-connected private call) |
person-to-person |
| personal stereo |
Walkman |
| Perspex™ |
Plexiglas™, clear plastic |
| petrol |
gas
[colloq.], gasoline |
| petrol station |
gas station |
| petrol tanker |
fuel truck |
| Petty Officer (Royal Navy) |
Petty Officer 1st Class >
Petty Officer 2nd Class (U.S. Navy) |
| phone box |
phone
booth |
| photocopier,
photocopy machine |
Xerox™
(machine) |
| photocopy
(n.)
(v.) |
xerox |
| pickle
[colloq.] |
mischievous young child |
| pictures,
the [colloq.] |
movies,
the |
| pigsty |
pigpen |
| pilchard |
fish
similar to a sardine but a bit larger |
| pillar-box |
red,
round, pillar-shaped mail box for mailing letters |
| pillock
[slang] |
jackass,
foolish or stupid person |
| Pilot Officer (Royal Air Force) |
Second Lieutenant >
Chief Warrant Officer (U.S. Air Force) |
| pinafore,
pinny
[colloq.] |
large apron or sleeveless smock worn by
adult female |
| pincer (e.g. on a crab) |
claw |
| pinch
[colloq.] |
steal, take without permission, glom
[slang] |
| pint
(Imperial pint = 0.565 litres) |
pint
(U.S. pint = 0.473 liters) |
| pip
(fruit seed) (see also stone) |
pit
(smaller size) |
| piss artist
[slang] |
drunkard; person who fools around |
| piss down
[slang] |
rain heavily |
| Piss off! [slang] |
Go away! Get lost! Beat it!
[slang] |
| pissed
[slang] |
drunk, smashed [slang] |
| pissed off
[slang] |
depressed; annoyed,
pissed
[slang] |
| pisshead
[slang] |
drunkard |
| pitch (n.) |
playing field for soccer, rugby
or cricket |
| plain pattern (textiles) |
solid pattern |
| plaits |
hair braids |
| plaster |
Band-Aid™ |
| plaster cast |
cast |
| platform 1 (of a railway station) |
track 1 (of a train/railroad station) |
| play truant |
play
hooky (or hookey) [colloq.] |
| plimsolls |
sneakers, deck shoes |
| plonk
[colloq.] |
cheap or low-quality wine |
| plough |
plow |
| Plough,
the (constellation) |
Big
Dipper, the |
| plug
[colloq. for 'plug socket'] |
electrical
outlet |
| plug (in basin or bath) |
stopper |
| plus fours |
baggy knickerbockers |
| pneumatic drill |
jackhammer |
| pocket money |
allowance paid to child |
| points
(pl.) (for changing tracks on a railway) |
switches |
| pointsman |
switchman |
| polo neck,
polo-necked jumper |
turtleneck
(sweater) |
| Polyfilla
™ |
spackle compound |
| ponce
[slang] |
pimp; effeminate man |
| pong
[colloq.] |
unpleasant smell, stink |
| pony-trekking |
horseback riding |
| poof, poofter
[both slang] |
fag,
faggot
[both slang], homosexual or 'gay' man |
pop (v.)
[colloq.] (as in 'I'll just pop round to the
neighbour's and pop this letter in
his mailbox.') |
hastily move, come, go or put |
| pop
(v.)
[slang] |
pawn |
| POP
(of an envelope) |
Post
Office preferred size |
| pop
music (even the tuneful type) |
rock
(seems to cover a broader spectrum in the U.S.) |
| pop
shop [colloq.] |
pawnbroker's
shop |
| popper
(press stud) |
snap |
| poppet
[colloq.] (said
to young, dainty girl) |
honey, hon' |
| porch |
shelter
over entrance of building |
| porridge |
oatmeal |
| porridge
[slang] |
imprisonment |
| porter (in hotel) |
bellhop/bellboy/bellman |
| posh |
fancy
[colloq.],
stylish, classy, smart |
post
(referring to letters and packages for delivery,
as well as the public service for
this purpose) |
mail |
| postal code, postcode |
zip code |
| postal order |
money order |
| poste restante |
general delivery |
| postgraduate |
college/university graduate |
| postgraduate school |
graduate school |
| postman |
mailman,
mail carrier |
| pot
(of yoghurt, cream, etc.) |
container |
| pot
noodles |
cup
noodles (Japanese English?) |
| potato chips |
fries,
French fries |
| potato crisps |
chips,
potato chips
|
| pots
[colloq.] (as in 'Dan's got pots of money') |
a
large amount |
| potty
[colloq.] |
crazy |
| power
cut |
power
outage |
| power
point |
outlet,
wall outlet |
| pram (abbr. of perambulator) |
baby carriage,
baby buggy |
| prang
[slang] (minor vehicle collision) |
fender bender
[slang] |
| prat
[slang] (inept, annoying, foolish person) |
jerk, goofball
[both slang] |
| prawn |
shrimp |
| precinct |
shopping
mall or shopping area free of traffic |
| preggers
[slang] |
in
the family way [colloq.], pregnant, expecting a baby |
| Premium (Savings) Bond |
government lottery bond without interest |
| prep
school |
private elementary school preparing kids for
private high school; BrE public
school |
| presently |
soon, after a short time |
| press
stud |
snap |
| primary school |
elementary school |
| prise
open (lever open) |
prize
or pry open
- In early 19th century America the verb 'pry'
resulted from British English 'prise' being misconstrued as a
3rd person singular form 'pries'.
|
| prison |
jail,
jailhouse, penitentiary (reformatory prison) |
| professor |
university academic of highest rank only |
| promenade
concert, prom |
concert
at which part of a concert hall has been cleared of seats to allow in
more people standing |
| propelling pencil |
mechanical pencil |
| public bar |
bar in a
public
house simply furnished and slightly less expensive than the
adjoining saloon
bar |
| public convenience
[euph.] |
public lavatory |
| public house
(i.e. a 'pub') |
tavern; inn |
| public
school |
private, fee-paying school
(the term 'independent school' is now preferred by the schools
themselves and their representative bodies, while 'public school'
remains prevalent in conversation and the media) |
| pudding |
in
Britain a hot or cold dessert of any kind |
| pull round (recover from an illness) |
pull through |
| Pull the other one!
[colloq.] |
You're kidding! |
| puncture (in tyre) |
blow-out (in tire) |
| punnet of strawberries |
basket of strawberries |
| punter |
one who bets on horses |
| pupil (schoolchild) |
student
|
| purse |
in
the U.K. a small pocketbook or coin pouch |
| pushchair |
stroller |
| put the boot in
[colloq.] |
kick brutally; act firmly against someone |
| pyjamas |
pajamas |
| pylon |
high tension tower |
