
American > British Glossary | C
Smoothing transatlantic communication
Index of Americanisms |
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cab | taxi |
cabana | beach hut |
cabinet | cupboard |
caboose (railroad) | guard's van; on goods train a carriage for workmen |
calico | patterned, usually cheap cotton cloth |
call collect | reverse the charge(s), have recipient pay for a call |
campaign bus | battle bus (for politician in national election) |
campground | campsite, camping site |
calendar (for business appointments) | diary |
can (food type) | tin |
candy | sweet, sweets |
candy apple | toffee apple |
candy store | sweetshop |
canned food | tinned food |
captain (U.S. Air Force) | flight lieutenant (Royal Air Force) |
car driver | motorist, car driver |
caravan | covered lorry or wagon; convoy of such vehicles travelling together for security |
card file | card index |
caregiver | carer |
carnival (traveling outdoor amusement show) | funfair; sometimes a fête |
carryall
(long cloth or leather travel bag with two tough handles) |
holdall |
carryout (food to go) | takeaway |
cart | trolley (for shopping or luggage) |
casket [euphemism] | coffin |
cast ('He had his arm in a cast [of plaster of Paris] ') | plaster [U] ('He had his arm in plaster.') |
cell phone | mobile, mobile phone |
cement truck | cement lorry, cement mixer |
certified mail | recorded delivery, registered post |
charity bazaar | fête (outdoor), jumble sale |
check (n.) | cheque (form of payment); bill (in restaurant, etc.) |
check (v.); check mark (n.) | tick √ (given for correct answers) |
check pattern | checked pattern |
checker (at a supermarket) | cashier |
checkers (board game) | draughts |
checking account | current account, cheque account |
checkroom (in hotel, restaurant, theater, etc.) | cloakroom |
cheesecloth | butter muslin |
chesterfield | a sofa with arms and back of the same height and which is curved outward at the top |
chicory, chicory crown | endive, curly endive |
chick [slang] (girl) | bird [slang] |
chief executive officer (or CEO) | managing director, chief executive |
chief financial officer (or CFO) | chief financial director, finance director |
chief master sergeant (U.S. Air Force) | warrant officer (Royal Air Force) |
chief operating officer (or COO) | within job sphere of managing director in the UK |
chief warrant officer (U.S. Air Force) | pilot officer (Royal Air Force) |
chief warrant officer (U.S. Army/U.S. Marine Corps) | 2nd lieutenant (British Army & Royal Marines) |
chief warrant officer (U.S. Navy) | acting sub-lieutenant (Royal Navy) |
chipper | cheerful |
chips, potato chips | crisps, potato crisps |
chowder | a rich, usually sea-food based soup |
chum | chopped fish used as bait |
chutes and ladders (children's board game) | snakes and ladders |
cinder block | breeze block |
circuit (breaker) box | mains, the |
citation (legal term) | official notice issued by a law court |
claims adjuster (investigates insurance claims) | loss adjuster |
clambake | seafood picnic, esp. beach party |
clapboard (to protect a house from bad weather) | weatherboard |
claw (e.g. on a crab) | pincer |
cleat | metal or hard plastic stud on sole of shoe |
clerk (in office or store) | assistant |
climate control system | air-conditioning |
clinker [colloq.] (U.S. meaning is negative) | clanger [slang] (as in 'to drop a clanger'), blunder |
closet | cupboard; wardrobe |
clothes pin | clothes peg |
coach class | economy class |
coaster (small mat under a glass to protect table) | drip-mat |
coat check girl | cloakroom attendant |
coffee light (coffee with milk or cream added) | white coffee |
coin laundry | launderette |
coin locker | left luggage locker |
collar stay | collar stiffener |
collect call | reverse charge call |
collect on delivery (COD) | cash on delivery (COD) |
college | university |
college graduate | postgraduate |
colonel (U.S. Air Force) | group captain (Royal Air Force) |
combine (n.) | combine harvester |
comforter (thick, soft quilt with detachable cover) | continental quilt, duvet |
commencement | graduation ceremony |
commode | lavatory (the receptacle itself) |
common stock (investment) | ordinary share |
commuter pass | season ticket |
concert master | leader, leading violinist |
condominium | flat (individually owned) |
conductor (on train) | guard |
confectioners' sugar | icing sugar |
container (of yoghurt, cream, etc.) | pot |
cookbook | cookery book |
cookie | bickie [colloq.], biscuit |
cookie sheet | baking tray |
cooler | fridge, refrigerator; cool box |
cop [colloq.] (police officer) | copper,
cop; peeler [archaic]; the fuzz (police force) [all colloq.] |
copy editor | sub-editor, subeditor |
cord (electrical) | flex, wire, lead |
corn | in the
U.S., maize plants and their grain; sweet corn, corn on the cob |
cornstarch | cornflour |
corporal > specialist 4 (U.S. Army) | corporal (British Army) |
correction fluid (to hide typing errors, etc.) | Tipp-Ex™ |
costumes party | fancy dress party |
cotton balls, cotton batting | cotton wool |
cotton candy | candyfloss |
cotton swab | cotton bud |
couch | sofa, settee |
cougar (panther) | puma |
counter | worktop, work surface (e.g. in a kitchen) |
counter-clockwise | anti-clockwise |
county fair | agricultural show (with funfair and entertainments) |
court
tennis (the ancient game from which modern-day tennis is derived) |
real tennis |
coverage (insurance) | cover |
cover letter | covering letter |
coveralls | boiler suit |
cracker (unsweetened biscuit) | cheese biscuit, cracker |
cram (study hard before an exam) | swot, mug up [slang] |
crane fly | daddy longlegs [colloq.] |
crap [slang] | shit [slang], poo [colloq.], faeces |
crawfish | crayfish |
crazy bone | funny bone |
cream of wheat | semolina (pudding) |
creek | tributary (of a river) |
crescent moon | new moon |
crib death (sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS) | cot death |
critter [colloq.] | creature |
crossing guard | lollipop
man, lollipop lady [both colloq.], school crossing patrol officer |
crosswalk | zebra crossing, pedestrian crossing |
cup noodles (Japanese English?) | pot noodles |
curb | kerb |
cuspidor (receptacle for spit) | spittoon |
cut in line | jump the queue |