Americanisms and British...isms?

[JackTHerbert]

I know what Americans call gas (for cars) the British call petrol.

I never understood why they call it gas, for it isn't a gas... Does anyone know where the term came from?

Also, it's short for "gasoline". Kerosene also gets refined from crude oil, so there's probably some chemistry related reason for the name "gasoline". (Just don't ask me why "diesel" is called what it is.)

Well I remember in GCSE Chemistry we did a topic on Crude Oil, I do remember most of the things that you could get out of it; Petrolium Gas, Petrol, Kerosine, Diesel, and Bitumen. That is if I am remembering it right...

 

[Megacherv]

I know that what we call a cigarette you would call a term I can not type because it is considered a slur.

Yes it's quite funny when some people say "I'd love to have a fag right now".

i got a box of 20 fags this morning! =D

And that over here, a '******' is a type of meatball aswell...

I have one

Icing (as in the stuff on a cake) in the UK is Frosting in the US...you can actually see the logical connection there...

Actually, we use "icing" and "frosting" here, too. They're actually two different kinds of cake topping.

Wait...what's what?

 

[Perryman93]

Yeah they aren't called Walkers in the USA, they're called Lays.

They're only called Walkers in the UK for some reason. Like Opel cars are Vauxhall. And German Shepherd dogs are Alsatians, though that comes from the anti-German policy of the World Wars, like our royal family going from Sax-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor.

The strange thing is, officially the company is called Walkers, not Laysand GM who make Vauxhall, call them Vauxhall and not Opel. Also, the dogs name was changed to Alsations because people were abandoning and killing them because they believed they were associated with Germans

 

[NuclearPenguin]

I don't really pay attention to brittish things because I don't hear people speaking it often.

But I know in Australia we always called it chips and crisps.

 

[The_Decoy]

I know what Americans call gas (for cars) the British call petrol.

I never understood why they call it gas, for it isn't a gas... Does anyone know where the term came from?

Gas is short for gasoline, which is the full name of the product

EDIT:

Ninja'd

 

[Athlumney]

I know what Americans call gas (for cars) the British call petrol.

I never understood why they call it gas, for it isn't a gas... Does anyone know where the term came from?

Also, it's short for "gasoline". Kerosene also gets refined from crude oil, so there's probably some chemistry related reason for the name "gasoline". (Just don't ask me why "diesel" is called what it is.)

Well I remember in GCSE Chemistry we did a topic on Crude Oil, I do remember most of the things that you could get out of it; Petrolium Gas, Petrol, Kerosine, Diesel, and Bitumen. That is if I am remembering it right...

yeah your remembering it right. All hydrocarbon chains are derived from crude oil. Bitumen comes from the slag left at the bottom of the tanks after all the other lighter hydrocarbons have being evaporated.

OT: tomato sauce/ketchup/dead horse(only in Aus)

 

[Perryman93]

Registration Number(UK)= Liscence Plate.
-.-

Most of us here in England just call it a number plate

 

[ultimateownage]

jam= jelly
jelly= jello
crisps= chips
chips= fries
french fries= freedom fries.
America is fucked up.

 

[Perryman93]

OT: So yeah, "pussy" is another word with different connotations. In the US, it's calling someone a very weak man, as well as crude slang for a vagina. While, I believe, in England it means someone who is sweet, like a pussy cat.

Not quite so, here(England) pussy is generally used as a very crude term for vagina, and occasionally for insulting someone cowardly or weak. Generally a cat is just called a cat rather than a pussy cat

 

[Jroo wuz heer]

Us-apartment
Uk-flat

 

[Susan Arendt]

I know that what we call a cigarette you would call a term I can not type because it is considered a slur.

Yes it's quite funny when some people say "I'd love to have a fag right now".

i got a box of 20 fags this morning! =D

And that over here, a '******' is a type of meatball aswell...

I have one

Icing (as in the stuff on a cake) in the UK is Frosting in the US...you can actually see the logical connection there...

Actually, we use "icing" and "frosting" here, too. They're actually two different kinds of cake topping.

Wait...what's what?

Well, they're both sweet, but frosting is thicker.

 

[KimberlyGoreHound]

I believe that Jelly is something different in America then it is here in the UK, I think what we know as Jelly they know as Gelatin, or something. Their Jelly is more like our Jam. I think...

Jelly is closer to a liquid, as it's a spread made from the extracted juices of the fruit, whereas jam is more solid, because it uses the fruit itself smashed up and spreadable. Or maybe that's just 'cause I'm a Canadian...

Nope, sounds about right to me. At least from my memory of what my Gran did when she made the different types.

Except for grape jelly. I think that comes from space.

Grape jelly is far too delicious to be made by mankind. I'm pretty sure they get it by drilling into the core of the moon, and siphoning it out.

 

[AntiAntagonist]

I lived in the UK and visited a few times (from the US). Once confused a kid when I returned his cap and said "here's your hat back".

Since I lived in the UK during grade school it affected my writing somewhat. I still sometimes put in unneeded vowels and had a row with my teacher over my lower case cursive Rs.

 

[Megacherv]

I know that what we call a cigarette you would call a term I can not type because it is considered a slur.

Yes it's quite funny when some people say "I'd love to have a fag right now".

i got a box of 20 fags this morning! =D

And that over here, a '******' is a type of meatball aswell...

I have one

Icing (as in the stuff on a cake) in the UK is Frosting in the US...you can actually see the logical connection there...

Actually, we use "icing" and "frosting" here, too. They're actually two different kinds of cake topping.

Wait...what's what?

Well, they're both sweet, but frosting is thicker.

Why don't you just call it 'thick icing' then?

 

[The Bandit]

British = I couldn't care less (right context - you really could not care less)
American = I could care less (wrong context - you could care less, so you care to some degree)

This nonsense really pisses me off. I have never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, EVER heard ANYONE say "I could care less."

 

[Veldt Falsetto]

Sidewalk = Pavement
Highway = Motorway.

Hm. Can't think of anymore right now either. There are a hell of a lot more, though, I'm sure.

British fanny = vagina
American fanny = arse.

That one can lead to some horrible misunderstandings.

Yes, my god, I was shocked on The Simpsons when they started talking about Maggie's fanny in one of the episodes...I was like wtf that's rude how can they get that on TV

 

[Wadders]

I think most of them have already been covered, but I've got a (kind of) rare one.

Americans call Shotgun ammunition Shells. In the UK the proper name for them is cartridges instead.

I have no idea why though, as shells are explosive munitions, like artillery rounds for example.

 

[johnman]

I know what Americans call gas (for cars) the British call petrol.

Thats a funny one, whihc one is actually the correct term, petroleum or gasoloine
(excuse spelling I have a stinking cold and cant think straight)

 

[SuccessAndBiscuts]

Football is a favorite of mine, can any Ammerican honestly claim the sport they call "football" is not massively misnamed in comparison to football(soccer)?

 

[CK76]

*Stereotypical hat on* Let me tell you something, I just want to say! *Points for those who get reference*

The one I run into as I'm such a big supporter (Vamos United!) is Association Football, which English nicknamed Soccer in same way Rugby Football was nicknamed Rugger. The US called this sport football for decades, but around 60s or so changed over nickname as official name as USFF became USSF (I guess to avoid confusion with sport derived from Rugby called Football or American Football).

Not that any of it matters, lived, visited and have many friends from the UK. Good folks.