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When I moved here from Canada back in 2003, I had to change some of my words quite quickly in order to avoid embarrassment. Persisting in calling ‘trousers’ ‘pants’, for example, would not have helped me very much.
There are some British words that I have become quite enamoured with, though, such as ‘shag’ and ‘snog’, as they both have a slightly humorous and less vulgar side to them than the North American ‘f-word’ and ‘kiss’.
A word like ‘punter’, however, still seems seedy-sounding to me: like a word you use for some creep in a trench coat sneaking into the side-entrance of a brothel.
Are there any North American words that you like - either Canadian or American - that you don’t tend to hear over here? I can’t imagine many words from the New World are all that appealing, but as a cradle Canadian, I still say ‘toque’ in reference to a woolly hat, and ‘toboggan’ for sledge.
No North American words I particularly like but don't hear over here.
I'm pleased that fanny pack hasn't crossed the Atlantic - yet.
‘song’
That’ll be ‘snog’, then… 🤣
But to answer your question, off the top of my head, I can’t actually think of anything at the moment, but I’m just about to go to bed, ‘cos I’ve got a 5am alarm in the morning, but I’ll give it a bit of thought.
eh?
I did once cause a stir in an American drawing office by asking for a rubber. Oh and some of my American workmates lived in condoms.
Closest I can come up with is my pootine which my family know not to mess with.
Might be plenty that get used unknowingly.
Toboggan is normal UK use in my experience. The difficulty in identifying N American words that aren't used here is that if they aren't used we don't know they exist. Like the infamous "can you tell me registration number of the lorry that hasn't arrived?"
The traditional Canadian ‘Kraft Dinner’ (heard on South Park) sounds good but I don’t really know what it means
Isn't 'Kraft Dinner' just that (fake) cheesey pasta?
A word like ‘punter’, however, still seems seedy-sounding to me: like a word you use for some creep in a trench coat sneaking into the side-entrance of a brothel.
Are you suggesting Arthur Daley was a pimp?
Worth a punt doesn't mean worth a shag.
In the 80's, when people still smoked, a mate of mine at a party in New York asked for a fag.
(fake) cheesey pasta?
🤮
Worth a punt doesn’t mean worth a shag.
In my little world a punter is a customer, could be seedy but not necessarily e.g. a track day organiser I worked for was always talking about giving the Billy’s (Billy Bunter = punter) a good time but I am 99% confident nothing seedy was involved
I've been pulled up on here for using the term punter before. It's certainly a term which I hear a lot and it never occurred to me that some might find it strange. I guess it could be a South London thing, dunno.
My wife has used the term 'galoshes' in all seriousness before. Er yea, I think I last saw them with my sou'wester and my mackintosh....
Been in Canada 12 years and I'm struggling to think of much slang at all beyond toque...
Going for a Tim's and a double, double might count?
The UK has far more dialect variation. Sweajnr occasionally still causes confusion in school asking for jumpers or a spanner.....
I've always liked the sund of "faucet".
Punter is referred to customers of pubs more than those frequenting ladies of the night.
Try telling people in north Northumberland you’re a bit warm.
My wife has used the term ‘galoshes’ in all seriousness before. Er yea, I think I last saw them with my sou’wester and my mackintosh….
dos she actually own galoshes? it seems unlikley. They're a great concept though
Some of the car terms are better. Fender, trunk and hood rather than wing, boot and bonnet. Can't think of much else.
My wife's Canadian, our difference are mainly care based i think; put it in the trunk, fill up with gas. Her dad drove a sedan, he always had his head under the hood....That sort of thing.
Traffic accident on the other side of the road and slowing down for a look. We call it rubbernecking but for some reason I prefer the American slang “gawkers”
Gawk is used in Northumberland for staring.
The UK has far more dialect variation. Sweajnr occasionally still causes confusion in school asking for jumpers or a spanner…..
There is huge differences - but surely other nations have the same differences, perhaps over a larger geographical area?
Taint and fanny are ones that immediately spring to mind, but I notice my son using lots of Americanisms that annoy me, such as gas for petrol or accelerating and elevator for lift or garbage for the bin.
True-my sons the same probably mostly thanks to YouTubers. He does love to wind his mum up by asking her to take the road past the fire “dee-po”
A couple of Americanisms which I enjoy
Discombobulated
Catty-corner ("diagonally opposite" is much clumsier)
I thought 'punter' came from Ireland and was a gambling reference to its former currency.
'Perp' hasn't crossed the Atlantic and doesn't 'vest' refer to a waistcoat?
I quite like the term 'Jaywalking'.
I don't really know what it is but I quite fancy doing it.
dos she actually own galoshes?
It means wellies in the US.
Fender, trunk and hood rather than wing, boot and bonnet.
Fender means bumper, no?
And yes vest means waistcoat, and tank top means a strappy top a woman might wear, rather than an old man's knitted garment.
I'm rather found of "oftentimes" where we might use just often or usually.
Some US states seem to have also developed an irregular past tense form of "dragged" and use "drug" instead.
--Edit--
Bill Bryson's 'Made in America' is a great read.
Yonder is a word I enjoyed hearing.
I quite like the term ‘Jaywalking’.
I don’t really know what it is but I quite fancy doing it.
If you've ever crossed a road not at a crossing you've already done it.
How about aboot? I love that word.
Fender means bumper, no?
Only boats have fenders
Bikes have mudguards
Cars have bumpers
Bangs - fringe (hair)
Median - central reservation
Partner is US American (with an English accent 🙂 ).
I was surprised to learn in a meeting that Americans don’t have fortnights.
Fender means bumper, no?
Turns out not! I had no idea either.
Discussing the American cycling term 'w++king on the bars' would probs get you chucked out of Wetherspoons.
BigJohn
Yonder is a word I enjoyed hearing
When you were in Wensleydale?
Sidewalk.
It's a much better description of what it is than "pavement"
I once got thrown when organising a speaker from the US and they put numerical dates in a different order, I think I had a window of a week not six months.
Sidewalk.
It’s a much better description of what it is than “pavement”
Just use the correct term of footway instead i.e. the bit next to the carriageway that you walk on.
Not an american english problem, but I was once working on a building site in Australia and had trouble when asking for a bucket.
"Have we got a buck-it"
"A what?"
"A buck-it"
"seriously mate, a facking what?"
"you know a buck-it, has a handle, you put stuff in it..."
"Ah, a back-et...."
"In back of", as the opposite to "In front of".
I mean, it makes sense, but it sounds bad.
Rambunctious is a word I hear a lot used by Canadians in normal conversation. The first time I heard the word I thought the guy saying it had just made it up.
backcountry, opencountry, downcountry - What?
Calling someone a "jerk" in America is NOT the same as calling someome a "wan1<er" in the UK.
Fanny ≠ cvnt
Moving away from North America, "outwith" is the best word that Scots have and the English don't - every time I hear it I see a Venn diagram in my mind.
When you were in Wensleydale?
Erstwhile, 'appen.
I'm also taken that Americans don't use "and" in numbers. "Give me hundred ten", not "a hundred and ten".
Their pronunciation of Aluminum is historically correct, unlike their mangling of nuclear.
I like various bits of redneck/southern slang and I do like the drawl.
Examples would be "y'all", "goddang", "britches" etc. Wouldn't use them myself but I do think its fun to hear.
Just use the correct term of footway instead i.e. the bit next to the carriageway that you walk on.
I was also aware of "footway" but its not really in general usage compared to "pavement"
Ah but 'pavement' in America has a totally different meaning as it's used to described a metalled road hence the use of 'sidewalk'.
Moving away from North America, “outwith” is the best word that Scots have and the English don’t – every time I hear it I see a Venn diagram in my mind.
See also 'squint' as in not straight or level.
Persisting in calling ‘trousers’ ‘pants’, for example, would not have helped me very much.
Depends where you are in the country. Up here in the North they'd still be pants and calling them trousers would be considered a little lar-de-dar.
A word like ‘punter’, however, still seems seedy-sounding to me
A punter is a prospective customer. Its other meaning as a purveyor of services from ladies of merchantable virtue I'd never heard of until a few years ago.
Worth a punt doesn’t mean worth a shag.
I rather suspect that's of US origin - it's a type of kick in American Football.
In the 80’s, when people still smoked, a mate of mine at a party in New York asked for a fag.
Did he try to bum one?
Gawk is used in Northumberland for staring.
In the NW also. "Quit thi gawkin an gerron wi it."
Gawk is/was in fairly common use in the Scottish Central Belt and Borders too.
Worth a punt doesn’t mean worth a shag.
I rather suspect that’s of US origin – it’s a type of kick in American Football.
I’d always take worth a punt to mean worth a try deriving from a punt being a bet in English slang and punters being the betting house’s customers and then evolving to just customers
Gawk is/was in fairly common use in the Scottish Central Belt and Borders too.
Yeah that, outwith, yonder (yon) and squint are pretty common usage the further north you go.
I rather suspect that’s of US origin – it’s a type of kick in American Football.
Which is based Rugby Football terminology, the term punt was used in the first known written rules of any type of football in 1845.
Back when I smoked, and used to travel to the US for work, I learned that “jeez, I could murder a fag right now…” wasn’t going to be understood the way I meant it. Just the once.
Is verbalising nouns an American thing? I quite like some of it in the brevity it provides. Hearing them refer to St Patrick’s Day as “patties day” is almost endearing.
I could listen the Canadian accent all day, especially the Newfoundland variety.
Let's face it, if you're in Newfoundland it takes them a whole day to say anything.
Ah but ‘pavement’ in America has a totally different meaning as it’s used to described a metalled road hence the use of ‘sidewalk’.
Pavement technically* refers to the construction make up of the road/carriageway and/or footway here as well, including all sub layers. Not sure when it took on the meaning of the footway generally though.
*In civil engineering highway design any way.
Is verbalising nouns an American thing? I quite like some of it in the brevity it provides.
Not sure about brevity. In the UK, the verb to steal from houses is burgle, the noun is burglar. In the US, it's burglarize and burglarizer.
Not sure about brevity.
To medal.
Making nouns into verbs has happened all the time. Most verbs started that way. I can imagine an 18th Century Jacob Rees Mogg (tautology alert) admonishing a yeoman farmer "You're not ploughing that field my man, you're turning the soil with a plough"
Oh, and anaesthesiologist.
Hmm.
To win a medal.
To medal.
Medalling.
In the US, it’s burglarize and burglarizer.
It's still burglar in the US, isn't it?
an 18th Century Jacob Rees Mogg (tautology alert)
Well, I laughed.
burglarizer
Did you just make that up?
Tardy for late and period for full stop can both do one.
What's wrong with tardy? It's been in my vocabulary since secondary school and I'm 63 🙂