American > British Glossary | H
Smoothing transatlantic communication
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P Q R S T U V W X Y Z | Briticisms |
 American
term or expression |
 British
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 |
