
American > British Glossary | P
Smoothing transatlantic communication
Index of Americanisms |
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package (mail item) | parcel |
package store (liquor store) | off-licence |
pacifier | (baby's) dummy, (baby) comforter |
paddle | table tennis bat |
pail | bucket |
pajamas | pyjamas |
pal [colloq.] | chum, mate [both colloq.] |
pancake turner | spatula, fish slice |
pant cuffs | turn-ups (on trousers) |
panties | knickers |
pantry | larder
(usually a kitchen cupboard for food storage); pantry (small room for storing not only food but also crockery and perhaps other kitchenware) |
pants | trousers, bags [colloq.] |
pantsuit
(smart women's outfit with matching jacket and pants) |
trouser suit |
pantyhose | tights |
papaya | papaw, pawpaw |
paper cutter | guillotine |
paper route | newspaper round, paper round |
parakeet | budgerigar, budgie |
parchment, parchment paper | greaseproof paper |
parentheses ( ) | (round) brackets |
parish | In U.S., the area/residents covered by a
church and its pastor. Not a unit of local government. |
parka | anorak |
parkway | main
road with trees and greenery on either side and in the middle |
parking brake | handbrake |
parking garage | multi-storey car park; underground car park |
parking lot | car park |
parochial school | faith school |
part (in hair) | parting |
party-poop, party-pooper [both slang] | party
killjoy (someone who doesn't get into a party mood or leaves a party too soon) |
passenger car (train) | railway carriage or coach |
passing lane (of a freeway) | outside lane (of a motorway) |
patronage (business) | custom (as in 'we appreciate your custom') |
pavement | road surface (covered with concrete or tarmac) |
pay envelope | pay packet, wage packet |
payables (in accounting) | creditors |
peach [slang] (great-looking girl) | cracker, smasher [both colloq.] |
pecker [slang] (penis) | knob, willie, willy [all schoolboy slang] |
peckish | shirty [colloq.], annoyed, irritated, irritable |
peddler (door-to-door salesman) | pedlar |
penitentiary | reformatory prison |
penlight | pen torch |
period (punctuation mark) | full stop, period |
persnickety (overly fussy or fastidious) | pernickety |
person-to-person (operator-connected private call) | personal call |
personal (n.) | personal ad |
petty
officer 1st class > petty officer 2nd class (U.S. Navy) |
petty officer (Royal Navy) |
petty officer 3rd class (U.S. Navy) | leading seaman (Royal Navy) |
pharmacist
(person licensed to sell and prepare medicines) |
chemist |
pharmacy | chemist, chemist's (shop), pharmacy |
phone booth | phone box, call box, telephone kiosk |
phonograph | gramophone |
physical therapy | physiotherapy |
pie crust | pastry case |
pigpen | pigsty |
pike [colloq.] (abbreviation of turnpike) | tollroad (motorway type) |
pin | brooch |
pinafore | apron for a young girl, usually long enough to cover a dress and perhaps trimmed with flounces |
pint (1 U.S. pint = 0.473 liters) | pint (1 imperial pint = 0.565 litres) |
pinwale (fine-ribbed corduroy fabric) | needlecord |
pissed [slang] (very annoyed, fed up, depressed) | narked, brassed off, pissed off [all slang] |
pit (fruit seed) | pip (smaller), stone (larger) |
pitcher | jug |
play hooky (or hookey) [colloq.] | skive [colloq.], play truant |
pitted | stoned (olives, etc.) |
plaid | tartan |
plastic wrap | cling film |
platform (political) | party manifesto |
play hooky | bunk off, do a bunk, skive [all slang]; play truant |
playbook | set of rules or guidelines (American football term) |
playground | recreation ground |
Plexiglas™ (a tough, clear plastic used instead of glass) | Perspex™ |
plow | plough |
plurality (in a winner-takes-all candidate selection) | majority (in a first-past-the-post election) |
pocketbook | wallet or small handbag |
pocketknife | penknife |
polliwog, pollywog [dial.] | tadpole |
pompadour (hairstyle) | quiff |
porterhouse steak | sirloin steak |
Popsicle™ | ice lolly, iced lolly |
porch | veranda |
potato chips | crisps, potato crisps |
pound sign; pound key # | hash sign, hash mark; hash key |
powdered sugar | icing sugar |
power outage | power cut |
precinct | In the U.S. this is a division of a city for policing or local election purposes. |
preferred stock (investment) | preference share |
prenatal | antenatal |
preschool (school for children aged 2-5) | nursery school, kindergarten |
prep school | private school in the U.S. preparing children for a top class, perhaps Ivy League university |
presently | currently, right now |
president (company) | chairman/chairwoman |
principal | head, headteacher, headmaster, headmistress |
print (textiles and clothes) | patterned |
private 1st class (U.S. Army) | lance corporal (British Army) |
private 1st class > private (U.S. Marine Corps) | marine (title of starting rank in Royal Marines) |
private bath/shower & WC (in hotel room) | en suite facilities |
private brand | own-brand product, own-label product |
private dick [colloq.] | private detective |
prize open (lever open) | prise open |
product line (goods produced by one company) | product range |
professor | lecturer (at college or university) |
prom | formal dance party held for senior or graduating high school students at end of school year |
pry
open (lever open)
Comment: In early 19th century America, the verb 'pry' resulted from British English 'prise' being misconstrued as a 3rd person singular form 'pries'. |
prise open |
public lavatory | public convenience |
public school | state school (free, government-provided school) |
public transportation | public transport |
pudding | cold, soft, creamy type of dessert |
pull through (recover from an illness) | pull round, pull through |
pull up
stakes [colloq.] (move out with all one's possessions) |
up sticks [colloq.] |
pull-off (roadside resting place
or vehicle stopping area) |
lay-by |
pull-tab (on drink can) | ring-pull |
pumps | court shoes |
punching bag | punchbag |
purse | ladies'
handbag |
push-up (physical exercise) | press-up |