American > British Glossary | B
Smoothing transatlantic communication
| Index of Americanisms |
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P Q R S T U V W X Y Z | Briticisms |
 American
term or expression |
 British
equivalent, or explanation |
|---|---|
| baby buggy | pushchair |
| baby carriage | pram (abbr. of perambulator) |
| bachelor party | stag party, stag night |
| bachelorette party | hen party, hen night |
| backhoe | mechanical digger, excavator |
| backpack | rucksack |
| backsplash tiles (to protect kitchen wall) | splashback tiles |
| backup lights (on vehicle) | reversing lights |
| backwards (as in 'he wore his baseball cap backwards') | back to front |
| backyard | garden |
| bacon slice | rasher |
| bag (v.) [colloq.] | discontinue using something |
| baggage | luggage |
| baggage car (on train) | luggage van |
| baggage room | left luggage office |
| baked potato | jacket potato, baked potato |
| balcony (in theater) | gallery |
| ballpoint (pen) | Biro™, ballpoint (pen) |
| balls [slang] | bollocks,
goolies, balls [all slang] (testicles); bullshit, crap [both slang] (utter nonsense) |
| ballsy [slang] (as in 'she was a ballsy lady') | having attributes traditionally expected of the ideal male, like toughness, courage and determination |
| baloney [colloq.] (foolish nonsense) | rot
[colloq.], codswallop [slang], cobblers [abbreviation of rhyming slang 'cobbler's awls' for 'balls' (see above)] |
| Band Aid | plaster [C], sticking plaster |
| bangs (hair) | fringe |
| bank (of river) | embankment |
| bank teller | cashier, bank cashier |
| barrette | hairslide |
| baseboard | skirting board |
| bathing suit | swimming trunks (men); swimsuit (women) |
| bathrobe | dressing gown |
| bathroom [euphemism] | lavatory, toilet |
| bathtub | bath |
| beach resort | seaside resort |
| beano [colloq.] (esp. bingo using beans as markers) | bingo |
| beat it [slang] (get away) | scarper [slang] |
| Beat it! [slang] (Get lost! Go to hell!) | Bugger off! Naff off! Piss off! Sod off! [all slang] |
| beauty parlor/salon/shop | (women's) hairdresser |
| beaver [slang] (female genitals) | fanny [slang] |
| bedroom community | dormitory town |
| beeper [colloq.] (pager) | bleeper [colloq.] |
| beet | beetroot |
| bell captain | head porter (hotel) |
| bell pepper (vegetable) | pepper |
| bellhop/bellboy/bellman | porter (hotel) |
| belt up | buckle/fasten your seatbelt |
| beltway (bypass encircling a city or town) | ring road |
| bias tire, bias-ply tire | cross-ply tyre |
| bicycling | cycling |
| bicyclist | cyclist |
| Big Dipper, the (constellation) | Plough, the |
| bill (paper money) | note, banknote |
| billboard | hoarding, advertising hording |
| billfold | men's wallet, notecase |
| billing | invoicing |
| blacktop (asphalt) | tarmac |
| blanket bath | sponge bath |
| blender | liquidizer, blender |
| blind alley (cul-de-sac) | close, cul-de-sac, dead-end road |
|
blinders (leather shields attached to either side
of a horse's head so it can only see forward) |
blinkers |
| blowout (in a tire) | puncture, flat tyre |
| blubber [colloq.] (weep loudly) | blub |
| bobby pin | hairclip, hairgrip (flat hairpin with ends close together) |
| bobsled; bobsledding [slang] | bobsleigh |
| bomb | bad failure, disaster |
| bond (as in 'he was released on [a] $10,000 bond') | bail (as in 'she was released on £10,000 bail') |
| boner [slang] (penile erection) | stiffy, hard-on [both slang] |
| boob tube [slang] (television set) | telly, goggle-box [both slang] |
| booby-hatch [slang] (psychiatric hospital) | loony-bin [slang] |
| bowl (bowl-shaped structure) | large stadium for sports events and concerts |
| box cutter (utility knife) | craft knife, Stanley knife |
| box wrench | box spanner |
| boxcar (on a freight train) | goods wag(g)on (enclosed type) |
| braces (leg supports) | callipers |
| braids (as in 'Mandy wears her hair in braids') | plaits |
| brainstorm (great new idea) | brainwave |
| brass knuckles | knuckle-duster |
| bread box | bread bin |
| break in
a new car's engine (by not driving too fast at first) |
run a new car in |
| bridge loan (a kind of short-term bank loan) | bridging loan |
| brigadier general (U.S. Air Force) | air commodore (Royal Air Force) |
| brigadier general (U.S. Army & U.S. Marine Corps) | brigadier (British Army & Royal Marines) |
| britches (pants ending just below the knee) | breeches |
| broad [slang] (woman) | bird [slang] |
| broil | grill on a gridiron or rack |
| broiler | grill |
| BS (which also stands for 'bullshit' in the U.S.) | B.Sc. (Bachelor of Science) |
| buck [slang] (cf. U.K. quid) | dollar $ |
| buckeye | conker (the hard core of a horse chestnut) |
| buddy, bud (a form of very informal address) | mate;
sunshine, sonny Jim, mush [slang] (used condescendingly) |
| buffet (as an item of furniture) | sideboard |
| bug | insect |
| bulletin board | noticeboard |
| bullhorn | loudhailer, megaphone |
| bum, bummer [both slang] | tramp (vagrant); layabout (habitual loafer or idler) |
| bun(s) [slang] | buttock(s) |
| bureau | chest of drawers |
| burglarize | burgle |
| bus (more comfortable, long-distance type) | coach |
| busboy | a kind of assistant waiter |
| butt [slang] (buttocks) | bum [colloq.], bottom |
