The British Language

British: “Just bear with me…”
American: Please hold… (as during a phone conversation with customer service)

British: “It won’t be a moment…”
American: It WILL be a moment…(as during a phone conversation with customer service)

British: To sort out
American: To take care of, to figure out

British: Straight away
American: Right now

British: Boot
American: Trunk (auto)

British: Lorry
American: Truck

British: Estate wagon
American: Station wagon

British: Slip road
American: Exit/Entrance ramp

British: Diversion
American: Detour

British: Give way
American: Yield

British: Roundabout
American: Traffic circle

British: Current account
American: Checking account

British: "Cheers"
American: Thanks, see you later, bye

British: "Brilliant”
American: Cool, great, wonderful

British: "Right" (Used a ton in casual conversation)
American: Okay/so

British: Chips
American: French fries

British: Crisp
American: Potato chip

British: Biscuit
American: Cookie

British: Bin
American: Garbage can

British: Hob
American: Stovetop

British: King-sized bed
American: Queen-sized bed (they don’t use the: “Queen” here for anything except in reference to the royal family)

British: Kit
American: Equipment, like the clothing and shoes required for Emma’s gym class

British: Loo
American: Toilet

British: Bangers and mash
American: Sausages and mashed potatoes

British: Naught, nil
American: Zero (game scores)

British: On holiday
American: On vacation

British: Pastie ("PAH-stee")
American: Pot pie. Baked flour crust with meat filling

British: Common top speed 90-95mph
American: Common top speed 70-80mph

British: Courgette
American: Zucchini

British: Swede
American: White turnip

British: Take away
American: Take out (fast food), to go – traditional American-type fast food is rare (I’ve only seen a few McD’s and Burger Kings in our travels and there are none within 10 miles of where we live.) Instead, there are places that serve fish-n-chips, Chinese, etc., which are take-out only, no sit-down.

British: Torch
American: Flashlight

British: En suite room
American: Master bedroom/bathroom

British: Rubber
American: Eraser

British: Wellies
American: Rubber boots

British: To nick
American: To steal

British: Cot
American: Crib

British: Nappies
American: Diapers

British: Sweets/pudding
American: Any kind of dessert

British: dodgy
American: iffy

British: cello-tape
American: "Scotch" tape

British: Biro
American: Ink pen

British: "Full stop"
American: "Period" (at end of sentence) or meaning "finally" as "We should fire him--full stop."