British Jargon Buster

Americans and Brits speak the same language but sometimes it can feel like two different languages!

Terminology mapper

American	British	British Example
Appliances	White goods	I am going to John Lewis to shop for new white goods.
Auto repair shop	Garage	I need to bring my car into the garage to get fitted with new brakes.
Belly button	Tummy button	Suck in your tummy button when planking.
Bi-weekly	Fortnight	The government will review the restrictions fortnightly.
Brownie pan	Flapjack tin	Whiz ingredients together, press into flapjack tin, and place in the fridge for four hours.
Calendar/schedule	Diary	I need to check my diary for a suitable date and time.
Christmas lights	Fairy lights	It was a romantic rooftop dinner with fairy lights and wine.
Clinic	Surgery/GP surgery/local surgery	Tests are performed at your local surgery.
Commercial/shopping area	Built-up area	The national speed limit in built-up areas is 30 mph.
Dessert	Pudding	Which pudding should we order?
Dish soap	Washing up liquid	I need to buy more washing up liquid.
Flashlight	Torch	Do not forget to pack the torch for our camping trip.
Garbage bag	Bin liner	I need to buy more bin liners.
Garbage can/trash can	Rubbish bin/dust bin	The dust bin is full.
Hob	Stove	Our hob is electric.
Hood (of a car)	Bonnet	Hail destroyed the bonnet of my car.
Jumping jacks	Star jacks	We had to do 100 star jacks today in gym class.
Packed (with people)	Rammed	The pub was rammed with people.
Pavement	Tarmac	Cyclists should ride on the tarmac.
Pet hate	Pet peeve	My pet hate is when businesses use Facebook as their ‘website’.
Pop/”Coke”/soda	Fizzy drink	Stop drinking all of the fizzy drink.
Primary care physician	General practitioner (“GP”)	I need to make an appointment with my GP.
Side mirror (on a car)	Wing mirror	When changing lanes, check for cars using your wing mirror.
Sidewalk	Pavement	Cyclists should not ride on the pavement.
Song	Track	Take the next track to let your heartrate slow down.
Street light	Lamp post	The car crashed into the lamp post.
Stop light	Traffic light	Turn left at the traffic light.
Swimsuit	Swimming costume	I need to pack my swimming costume for our trip to Greece.
Truck	Lorry	The lorry is driving down the road.
Trunk (of a car)	Boot	Hail destroyed the boot of my car.
Windshield	Windscreen	There is a rock chip in my windscreen.
Windshield wipers	Windscreen wipers	I need to buy new windscreen wipers.

Phrase mapper

American Phrase(s)	British Phrase(s)	Meaning
–	Up the wooden hill to bedfordshire	To walk up the stairs and go to bed.
To beat a dead horse	To flog a dead horse	To continue talking about a topic that has already been discussed at length; to waste time and energy trying to explain something that is impossible to explain.
It’s a horse a piece Six of one, half dozen of the other	It’s swings and roundabouts	The choices/options are roughly equal.
–	It’s the morning after the night before	It is the morning after a big announcement or event.
–	It’s like putting a cherry on a turd	To try to make something terrible better but the thing is so terrible nothing can make it better.
–	It’s a doddle to clean	Something that is easy to clean.
It’s raining cats and dogs	It’s blowing a hoolie	The weather is very windy, rainy, cold, and generally awful.
Don’t get your undies in a bunch	Don’t get your knickers in a twist	To not worry or stress about the thing or item being referenced.
–	Sporting a bit of a hangover	To feel like crap after drinking too much alcohol.
Knock on wood	Touch wood	Knocking or touching wood is a way to ask for good luck.
–	You can’t polish a turd	There is nothing that can be done to improve the thing or item that is being referenced.
Without the fuss	Without the faff	Something that is no hassle.