EFL teacher David Appleyard
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American > British Glossary | H

Smoothing transatlantic communication
Index of Americanisms
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 Briticisms

 

AmericanAmerican term or expression BritishBritish equivalent, or explanation
haberdasher menswear dealer
hair braids plaits
hair spray hair lacquer, hair spray
half note minim
half-staff (as in 'a flag at half-staff') half-mast
half-step, half-tone (in music)  semitone
hamburger [C] beefburger, hamburger, burger
hamburger [U]  (ground beef) mince, minced meat
ham-handed (awkward, clumsy) ham-fisted
hamper laundry basket
hang up (end a phone call) ring off
harbor seal common seal
hardware store ironmonger('s), ironmongery, hardware store
hat check girl cloakroom attendant
hauler (trucker; trucking company) haulier (lorry driver, truck driver; haulage company)
have (as in 'Do you have a piano?') have got (as in 'Have you got a piano?')
have a go at (try doing something) have a bash at, have a whack at, have a go at
hazard pay, hazardous duty pay danger money
haze (v.) bully, harass
hazing bullying, harassment
head nurse matron
headcheese (cooked and pressed meat
                        from a pig's head)
brawn
health club sports centre
healthful (beneficial to health) healthy
heavy cream double cream
heist [slang] robbery
hem and haw (take a long time deciding something) hum and haw, haver
Hey! (exclamation to attract someone's attention) Oi!
high school secondary school
high tension tower (supporting high-voltage cables) pylon, electricity pylon
highboy (piece of furniture) tallboy
highly leveraged (of a company with high borrowing
                             in relation to its share capital)
highly geared
highway main road, trunk road; motorway
highway intersection motorway junction
hike rise (in the cost of something suddenly, in one go)
hip-huggers (pants not reaching
                      as high as the waist)
hipsters
hobo [slang] (vagrant) tramp
hockey ice hockey
hokey, hoky [colloq.]  (as in 'Most Japanese TV
                                      dramas are so hokey!')
too artificial, exaggerated or sickly sentimental, hence lacking in credibility
holiday season Christmas season
holler [colloq.] shout out loudly
hollowware   (compare AmE flatware) crockery not flat in shape, such as cups and bowls
homey (familiar, simple and comfortable, like home) homely
homely  (a rather negative attribute in the U.S.) plain in the sense of unattractive, not alluring
homemaker housewife
honey, hon'   love (form of address used by older shop clerks);
poppet [colloq.] (said to young, dainty girl)
hood (on motor vehicle) bonnet
hood [slang] gangster
hooker [slang] scrubber, slag [both slang], prostitute
hooters [slang] (female breasts) knockers, bristols [both slang], boobs [colloq.]
hope chest  (clothes, linen, etc. which a young
                      woman traditionally collects for use
                      after she is married)
bottom drawer
horizontal stabilizer (on aircraft) tailplane
horn, the [slang] (telephone) blower, the [slang]
horny [slang]  (lustful) randy [slang]
horse opera [slang] western (film)
horse trailer horsebox
horseback riding horse riding, pony trekking
horsefly cleg
hospitalized in hospital
hot button, hot button issue [colloq.] a thorny, controversial or emotive issue
hot flash (sensation felt by menopausal women) hot flush
hotdog bun bridge roll
housewares household goods
housing development estate, housing estate
housing loan company/corporation building society
housing project (low-cost housing
                            for the less affluent)
council estate; council flats
hump (v.)  [slang] (copulate) bonk, have it away/off, roger [all slang]
hunker down sit down on your heels
hunting expedition, hunting party shoot (as in 'we took part in a shoot on Dartmoor')
hutch (cabinet with doors or drawers at 
           the bottom and shelves at the top)
Welsh dresser