Our Common Language

[jinmich]

I knew I could always have fish and chips over there when I come to live

I went to Spain when I was in High School and they didn't have any of those places..McDonalds Pizza Hut, etc

Please forgive me if I sounded stupid or ignorant

I am just very nosey?!

Jan

[Brian]

Back to the language thing...

US: faucet
UK: tap

Willy - yes the metal things dentists put on our teeth to straighten them are also called braces, although in this context it can appear in the singular. The things that hold trousers (pants) up are generally referred to as braces, or a pair of braces,

Keep ing,
Bri

[Reds]

I just love this topic!! There is so much to learn. Okay, I'm waiting...Tell me more, please

[Willy]

US: drugstore
UK: chemist

US: bus
UK: coach

US: apartment / 1st floor = ground floor
UK: flat / 1st floor is above the ground floor

^..^ ~

[Brian]

Well, we use the term "bus" much more than "coach".
Bus is the usual term for the things that run around town or between nearby towns. The places where you wait for a bus are called Bus Stops.

Coach is used more for the things that comprise railway (=railroad(US)) trains, but can be used for the kind of more comfortable (usually) buses which do long distance or holiday travel.

Bri

[dferg]

As someone already said, in the US, knickers are shortened trousers, which over here we would call shorts. this could get confusing, here we go.
Kinckers (US)= Shorts (UK), but shorts (US) = pants (UK), pants (US) = Trousers (UK). Over here knickers are also womens underwear.

Fencers often wear short knee length trousers as part of the uniform. Over here they are breeches, in the US they are knickers. this led to a debate on a predominantly US biased fencing board as to weather it was beter to wear pants or knickers when fencing, which was quite amusing to speakers of Brittsh English.

Our cities tend to have the big chains, Macdonalds, Pizza Hut etc, but our smaller towns only tend to have independently owned chippers, kebab shops, chineese, indians and other takeaways. Personally, I prefer the smaller places to the chains.

Another useful Scots weather word is "snell", as in a snell wind. A snell wind is a particularly cold, sharp bitting one. probably from the same route as the German "schnell" as in quick or keen.

I was at a meeting of lots of international types once, when they guy running it said they'd have a break as one of the Brits looked like he was gasping for a fag. This caused one of our American cousins to look panicked untill someone explained it meant a cigarette. Faggot is more used as a derogatorry term for male homosexuals, but can also mean chunks of wood, or even chunks of meat, so don't be to surprised if you hear of someone burning faggots, or see faggots in gravy on a menu.

[Willy]

Funny story with the Fencing Team David.

Brian,
You're right. After posting "coach" I realized I did not make that interpretation clear as most city buses are called a bus in both countries. What I was referring to is the "luxury" coaches that exists in the UK that usually travel long distances. You may hear of an American describe a "luxury" bus, (like on excursions to Las Vegas), but the word "coach" and certainly motorcoach are never used here to describe a bus. (But the class of ticket; as in coach class is used in the US.)