British > American Glossary | C
Smoothing transatlantic communication
| Index of Briticisms |
|
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P Q R S T U V W X Y Z | Americanisms |
 British
term or expression |
 American
equivalent, or explanation |
|---|---|
| café, caff [colloq.] | coffee shop or small eatery |
| cakehole [slang] (mouth) | trap [slang] |
| calico (plain white cotton cloth) | muslin |
| call box | telephone booth, phone booth |
| Calor™ gas | a make of bottled gas |
| camiknickers (camisole + knickers) | teddy (one-piece undergarment for a woman) |
| campsite, camping site | campground |
| camper van, camper | motorhome |
| canoodle [colloq.] (kiss, cuddle, pet and fondle) | smooch [calloq.] |
| candyfloss | cotton candy |
| car manufacturer | auto maker |
| car park | parking lot |
| caravan | trailer, mobile home |
| caravan site | trailer park |
| caravanning | trailer camping |
| card index | card file |
| carer | caregiver |
| caretaker | janitor |
| carpet [v.] [colloq.] | harshly criticize or reprimand someone |
| carrier bag | disposable shopping bag of paper or plastic |
| carsy [slang] | john [slang], lavatory, outhouse |
| cash dispenser, cash machine | automated teller machine (ATM) |
| cash on delivery (COD) | collect on delivery (COD) |
| cashier | checker
(supermarket); teller (bank) |
| cashpoint | ATM |
| casket | small
box for cremated ashes; small ornamental box for jewelry, letters or valuables |
| caster sugar / castor sugar | finely granulated white sugar |
| casualty (department, ward) | emergency room |
| catapult (type used for shooting small stones) | slingshot |
| Catseye | type of reflector built into a road surface as demarkation |
| cattle
grid (grid over a ditch to allow vehicles but not sheep or cattle to pass) |
Texas gate |
| caught short [colloq.] | inopportunely in urgent need of a visit to the lavatory |
| cement mixer (lorry) | cement truck |
| central reservation (on a motorway or dual carriageway) | median
strip (on a freeway or divided highway); island (on regular roads) |
| chairman (of a company) | president |
| champers [colloq.] | bubbly [colloq.], champagne |
| chap | guy, fellow |
| char [slang.] | tea |
| char, charwoman [both colloq.] | cleaning lady |
| chat show (TV) | talk show |
| chat up | talk flirtatiously to a female |
| chav [slang.] | stereotypical white anti-social or delinquent juvenile |
| checked pattern | check pattern |
| Cheerio! [colloq.] | Bye! |
| Cheers! [colloq.] | Thanks! |
| cheese biscuit (unsweetened) | cracker |
| chemist (person licensed to sell and prepare medicines) | pharmacist, druggist |
| chemist, chemist's | pharmacy, drugstore |
| cheque | check |
| cheque account (old name for 'current account') | checking account |
| chest of drawers | bureau, dresser |
| chief constable | police chief in an English county or other region |
| chief executive (managing director) | chief executive officer (or CEO) |
| chief financial director (finance director) | chief financial officer (or CFO) |
| chief technician (Royal Air Force) | technical sergeant (U.S. Air Force) |
| chinwag [slang] | friendly chat or gossip |
| chipolata | small thin sausage |
| chippie, chippy [colloq.] | fish and chips shop |
| chips (of potato) | fries, french fries |
| chop [colloq.] (as in 'he was given the chop') | dismissal from employment |
| Christmas box | small Christmas gratuity to the milkman, trashman, etc. |
| Christmas season | holiday season |
| chuck it in [colloq.] (give up one's endeavours) | quit, throw in the towel, throw in the sponge |
| chuffed [colloq.] (as in 'I was quite chuffed about it!') | pleased or delighted |
| chum | pal or buddy, especially a school friend |
| chunter [colloq.] | mumble monotonously and usually complainingly |
| cinch [colloq.] (a very easy task) | snap, breeze [both colloq.] |
| cinema | movie theater; the movies |
| circle (the upper-floor seats in a theatre) | first balcony, mezzanine |
| City, the | London's financial district (cf. Wall Street) |
| city centre | downtown |
| civvy
street
[colloq.] (as in 'it's great to be back on civvy street') |
normal civilian life away from the military |
| clamp stand (in chemistry lab) | ring stand |
| clanger (n.) [slang] (as in 'to drop a clanger') | clinker, howler, boner, blunder |
| clapped out [slang] | worn out (esp. of machines) |
| cleg | horsefly |
|
clever
dick, clever clogs [colloq.] (a person who annoys others by never hesitating to show how smart he is) |
smart aleck |
| cling film | plastic wrap |
| clinker (n.) [colloq.] (British meaning is positive.) | something excellent or outstanding |
| clippie [slang] | formerly, a female fare collector on a city bus |
| cloakroom (in hotel, restaurant or theatre) | checkroom |
| cloakroom [euph.] (especially in a public building) | restroom, lavatory |
| cloakroom attendant | coat check girl, hat check girl |
| clobber
[colloq.] (belongings and clothing one has with one) |
gear [colloq.] |
| close (n.) | cul-de-sac, blind alley, dead-end road |
| clot [colloq.] (foolish person) | blockhead [colloq.] |
| cloth-ears (n.), cloth-eared (adj.) [colloq.] | describes someone who hasn't heard or understood what is said to them, probably through inattention |
| clothes (esp. when sold in a shop) | apparel |
| clothes peg | clothes pin |
| coach | bus (of the more comfortable, long-distance type) |
| cobblers
(from rhyming slang 'cobbler's awls' for 'balls') |
baloney, claptrap [both colloq.] |
| cock (adult male chicken) | rooster |
| cock something up [slang] | bungle something, do something badly or clumsily |
| cocktail cabinet | liquor cabinet |
| cock-up
[slang] (state of disorder or confusion caused by incompetence) |
a mess-up, botch-up, foul-up [colloq.], fuck-up [slang] |
| codswallop [slang] (nonsense) | baloney (or boloney) [slang] |
| coffin | casket [euphemism] |
| cold table | a selection of cold food dishes |
| collar (of meat) | piece of meat rolled up and tied |
| collar stiffener | collar stay |
| college | fee-paying
high-school; institution providing vocational training after the U.K. basic school-leaving age of 16 |
| collywobbles, the [colloq.] | stomach discomfort caused by nervous apprehension |
| colour sergeant (Royal Marines) | sergeant
major > master gunnery sergeant (U.S. Marine Corps) |
| colour supplement | free magazine included with Sunday newspaper |
| combine harvester | combine |
| comforter (baby's dummy) | pacifier |
| commercial traveller | traveling salesman |
| common or garden [colloq.] | ordinary, everyday |
| common seal | harbor seal |
| conductor (on city bus, etc.) | fare collector |
| conker (the hard core of a horse chestnut) | buckeye |
| conscript (person forced by law into military service) | draftee |
| conscription (compulsory military service) | the draft |
| consultant (medical) | senior specialist doctor who places and bears overall responsibility for patients in a hospital |
| consumer durables | durable goods |
| container (for large-scale refuse disposal) | Dumpster™ |
| continental quilt | comforter |
| convenience [euphemism] | public lavatory or restroom |
| conveyancing [legal] | transfer of property ownership |
| cooker | kitchen stove with oven and grill |
| cookery book | cookbook |
| cop shop [slang] | police station |
| copper [slang] | cop [slang], police officer |
| Cor!
[slang] (interjection expressing admiration, disbelief, wonder or surprise) |
Wow! Gee! Gee whiz! |
| Cor blimey! [slang; corruption of 'God blind me!'] | Good grief! Good God! |
| core time (in a British flexitime system) | central part of work day when all personnel, even those on flextime, are expected to be present |
| corker [slang] | something or someone outstandingly good |
| corking (adj.) [slang] | remarkably large or splendid |
| corn | In the U.K., corn is the grain of any available plant that can be used to make flour, such as wheat, barley, oats or maize. |
| corn on the cob | sweet corn |
| cornet | ice-cream cone |
| cornflour | cornstarch |
| corporal (British Army) | corporal > specialist 4 (U.S. Army) |
| corporal (Royal Air Force) | airman 1st class (U.S. Air Force) |
| corporation (of a city, town or borough) | municipal authorities, municipal government |
| cos lettuce | romaine |
| cot | baby's bed or crib with high sides |
| cot death (sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS) | crib death |
| cotton (on a reel) | thread (on a spool) |
| cotton bud | cotton swab |
| cotton on to something [colloq.] | begin to figure out, become wise to |
| cotton reel | spool of thread |
| cotton wool | cotton, cotton balls, cotton batting |
| council
estate, council flats (low-cost housing for the less affluent) |
housing project |
| counterfoil | part of a check, ticket, etc. retained by the issuer as a record of the transaction |
| courgette (vegetable) | zucchini |
| courier | messenger |
| court card (king, queen or jack in a deck of cards) | face card |
| court shoes | pumps |
| covenant (finance) | formal commitment to regularly pay a fixed amount, usually to a charity |
| cover (insurance) | coverage |
| cover note [legal] | temporary certificate of insurance coverage |
| covering letter (sent with a curriculum vitae [CV]) | cover letter (accompanies a résumé) |
| cowboy [colloq.] | unqualified repairman/tradesman who can undercut true
professionals thanks to cheap materials, shoddy workmanship, or non-payment of taxes |
| cracker [slang] (highly attractive female) | honey, peach, stunner, goddess, knockout |
| cracking
[slang] (as in 'we had a cracking good time') |
awesome [colloq.], outstanding |
| craft knife | utility knife, box cutter |
| crash barrier | guardrail |
| crayfish | crawfish |
| cream bun | bun filled or topped with cream |
| cream
cracker (crisp, unsweetened cracker for cheese) |
soda cracker |
| cream tea | traditional English afternoon tea with scones, jelly and clotted cream |
| crèche | day nursery for pre-school kids |
| creditors (in accounting) | accounts payable, payables |
| creek | small bay |
| Crikey! (euphemism for 'Christ!') | Gosh! (euphemism for 'God!') |
| crisps | chips, potato chips |
| crocodile [colloq.] | line of children walking in pairs |
| crocodile clip | alligator clip |
| cross-ply tyre | bias tire, bias-ply tire |
| crossroad | intersection |
| crotchet (in music) | quarter note |
| Crumbs! (exclamation of worry or surprise) | Gosh! Wow! |
| crumpet [slang] ('She's a nice bit of crumpet!' ) | women seen as objects of male desire |
| crush bar | a bar serving drinks during theater intermissions |
| crush barrier | barricade erected for crowd control |
| cup tie | eliminating game between teams, especially in soccer |
| cupboard | cabinet, closet |
| cuppa [colloq.] (as in 'I could do with a cuppa!') | a cup of tea |
| curate's egg | something that has both good and bad qualities |
| current account | checking account |
| currently, right now | presently |
| curriculum vitae, CV | résumé, resume |
| curtains (of thicker cloth) | drapes (generally plural only) |
| cushy
number [colloq.] (as in 'He's got himself a cushy little number!') |
a pleasant, undemanding job situation or sinecure |
| custom (as in 'we appreciate your custom') | business patronage |
| cutlery (eating utensils) | silverware, flatware |
| cycling | bicycling |
| cyclist |
bicyclist |
