British to English Dictionary

British - English Dictionary

The British actually speak the same language as North Americans, except for the fact that they have a different word for everything. It has occurred to me that not all North Americans will be familiar with this language, and so in order to make my stories accessible I have created this handy reference dictionary.

When given a choice, I generally opt for the North American term, but also throw in a few Briticisms for atmosphere. As a compromise, I tend to use Canadian spellings as well. This looks British, but is actually an odd mixture of British, French, and American, giving me three chances to say I spelled any given word correctly. I also deliberately misspell some words. I won't tell you which ones.

Leave me a comment with any words I've missed! I'll try to write a joke about them.

Bangers and Mash Sausages and mashed potatoes. The British are famous for their cuisine, which is as heavy as the names imply. Bangers and mash, steak and ale pie, mushy peas, ploughman’s lunch, be prepared to not move for about two hours after dinner. Some have complained that British food can be bland, which is why they invented the unpronounceable ‘Worcestershire Sauce’. Someone forgot to run that one past the marketing department.

Biro A pen. Why don't they just call it a pen? I don't know. They seem to feel it makes a difference that it is a 'ballpoint' pen. So what other type of pen does anyone ever actually use?

Bits and Bobs Odds and ends.

Bloody Annoying, as in 'stop asking such (annoying) stupid questions'.

Bloomers / Knickers Women's undergarment. The British have a lot of words for this, but I suppose North Americans do as well.

Bonnet The hood of a car.

Boot The car trunk. I must say, these words are inexplicable to me.

Brilliant Really great. It does not mean shiny, or bright, or smart.

Cardie / Cardigan / Jumper / Pullover A sweater. You know how Eskimos have 18 words for snow? The British are the same with sweaters for some reason. I don't know why. Also, they categorically refuse to recognize the word 'sweater'. I mean, of all the words they have for sweater, why not sweater? On a personal note, they also think it's weird if you wear a sweater to work.

Chemist, The The drug store, or pharmacy. Or the pharmacist himself.

Circle of Standing Stones A bunch of stones, standing in a circle. Not a difficult concept, really. Like Stonehenge. These are everywhere in Scotland. Many of them have been built into the traffic system and are now referred to as a 'roundabout'.

Colonies, The What Americans call the United States when they are trying to sound like Brits talking about Americans. Brits actually never say this.

Crisps Potato chips. And 'chips' are french fries for some reason. I mean, it's all potatoes, but how do things get this messed up?

Dollop British unit of measure. Roughly equivalent to the amount of sour cream your father would use on a baked potato.

Exercise Book Notebook.

FA Cup The World Series.

Fag A cigarette. Does anyone still use this? I don't recall ever hearing it since 'On the Buses' went off the air.