Essential Info PreTrip Essentials Customs/Money Communications Hours/Holidays Health Driving Language National Transportation Offices to Serve You Abroad
|
USEFUL WORDS AND PHRASES
Spotting the differences between American and British English is fun, especially as some regional accents are almost incomprehensible
to the untrained ear! Britons have become familiar with Americanisms through imported American television shows, but it is
still possible to make a blunder. Below are some illustrations of the “Atlantic divide.”
American British
|
ATM
|
cashpoint
|
|
ball-point pen
|
biro
|
|
to call collect
|
to reverse the charges
|
|
check
|
cheque
|
|
check (in a restaurant)
|
bill
|
|
elevator
|
lift
|
|
first/second floor (etc.)
|
ground/first floor (etc.)
|
|
movie theater
|
cinema
|
|
phone booth
|
phone box
|
|
reserve (reservation)
|
book (reservation)
|
|
restroom
|
toilet/loo (colloquial)
|
|
Scotch tape
|
sticky tape/Sellotape
|
|
trash or garbage can
|
dustbin or rubbish bin
|
food and drink
|
(soft hamburger) bun
|
bap
|
|
beer
|
bitter (dark), lager (light)
|
|
candy
|
sweets
|
|
(potato) chips
|
crisps
|
|
cookies
|
biscuits
|
|
corn
|
maize
|
|
cotton candy
|
candyfloss
|
|
eggplant
|
aubergine
|
|
french fries
|
chips
|
|
grocery store
|
supermarket
|
|
Jell-O
|
jelly
|
|
jelly
|
jam
|
|
liquor store
|
off-licence
|
|
oatmeal
|
porridge
|
|
Saranwrap
|
cling film
|
|
zucchini
|
courgette
|
fashion
|
bangs
|
fringe
|
|
pants
|
trousers
|
|
pantyhose
|
tights
|
|
suspenders
|
braces
|
|
undershirt
|
vest
|
|
vest
|
waistcoat
|
getting around
|
hood (of a car)
|
bonnet
|
|
one-way trip
|
single
|
|
parking lot
|
car park
|
|
paved shoulder
|
lay-by
|
|
rotary/traffic circle
|
roundabout
|
|
round trip
|
return ticket
|
|
sidewalk
|
pavement
|
|
stick shift
|
manual
|
|
subway
|
tube/underground
|
|
truck
|
lorry
|
|
trunk (of a car)
|
boot
|
|
|