Literature The British English vs American English thread!

[Alice-Bee]

We would also say trainers for sneakers

 

[Amy SF]

I noticed that in the last 1 or 2 Harry Potter books there were more British expressions in the American versions that were published. Apparently the earlier books had some changes made so as not to confuse American readers, but due to a little pressure from JK Rowling (not to mention American readers' increased familiarity with the world of Harry Potter and of British terms in general), the later books had less of the British to American translation.

There's still a world of difference between British and American expressions, of course. I know that "bloody" is a bad word to use in the UK, but on American broadcast television (the most censored part of television), you can have somebody say "bloody" ten times in a row and nobody would bat an eyelash. It just doesn't have the same meaning here.

 

[kazyeeqen]

I had a British instructor for a college class once and she'd say 'bugger' occasionally because it cracked her up that no one reacted to it, cause even if we did know it was a filthy word, we've had no training to associate it with bad words.

 

[Blobbenstein]

'bloody' isn't that bad here......or maybe that's just me.

 

[Blobbenstein]

you could say 'bloody good show, old boy'.......if you wanted to , but maybe it isn't on daytime TV that much.

 

[hungryraccoon]

Bloody is barely a swear word anymore.

 

[Alice-Bee]

Used in the right context most words become 'swear words' in the UK.

Grrrrrr, Oh purple banana hippo!

 

[kazyeeqen]

Had a young nephew once say, "for banana's sake!" in frustration and I was like, "" cause it seemed so sweary, even if it wasn't.

 

[Alice-Bee]

Exactly...say a word in place of where a 'swear' would be and it sounds rude.

 

[RabbitLuvr]

On days I work, I have a mid-morning snack. I just call it a "snack," not second breakfast or anything else.

Any food eaten outside of breakfast, lunch, or dinner is a snack.

 

[Alice-Bee]

I would always say what Id eaten like
'I had a sandwich for lunch, then later I had an apple' not '...later I had a snack'
But I think thats just me personally not a British thing. Id also say 'have a 10 oclock' over 2nd breakfast or Elevenses. but it doesnt have to be at 10oclock.

 

[FortyTwo]

I noticed that in the last 1 or 2 Harry Potter books there were more British expressions in the American versions that were published. Apparently the earlier books had some changes made so as not to confuse American readers, but due to a little pressure from JK Rowling (not to mention American readers' increased familiarity with the world of Harry Potter and of British terms in general), the later books had less of the British to American translation.

Not to mention, us dumb Americans clearly could never understand what the word "philosopher" means, nor the significance of the Philosopher's Stone.

Though, to be honest, "sorcerer's stone" does flow much smoother as a book's title.

 

[Blobbenstein]

I sometimes wonder about the word 'tramp'. In the UK 'tramp' mainly means a homeless person, a hobo....does 'tramp' mean that at all in the US?

 

[Amy SF]

I sometimes wonder about the word 'tramp'. In the UK 'tramp' mainly means a homeless person, a hobo....does 'tramp' mean that at all in the US?

It did, a long time ago. Back in the 1920's, Charlie Chaplin's most popular movie character was called "The Little Tramp". But the word eventually fell out of favor in the US, replaced by "bum" and "hobo". In fact, "bum" still means "roam", as in, "I'm not working right now, so I plan to bum around the country looking for odd jobs" and soforth.

 

[Blobbenstein]

Oh yeah, I remember that film. Was that the one where he carried panes of glass around on his back, and got a little kid to smash windows?

 

[kazyeeqen]

Also means something akin to a lady of easy virtue, but isn't used much at all.

 

[Amy SF]

Also means something akin to a lady of easy virtue, but isn't used much at all.

Except when someone is flashing a tramp stamp.

 

[Joe]

Except when someone is flashing a tramp stamp.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lower-back_tattoo

Women's lower backs are often viewed by people as an erotic body part, leading to the association of lower-back tattoos with sexuality.[2] Lower-back tattoos are also perceived as an indication of promiscuity by some, possibly owing to media portrayals of women with tattoos.[6] A 2011 study of media stereotypes criticized media portrayals of lower-back tattoos, arguing that they are unfairly cast as a symbol of promiscuity.[7] There are a number of pejorative nicknames for lower-back tattoos, including "tramp stamp", "bulls-eye", and "target".[1]

 

[Joe]

I saw an interview with British author Melanie Phillips. She used the expression "selling a pup," or something similar. I had never heard that expression before, and only found it defined in one online dictionary.

sell (someone) a pup to swindle (someone) by selling him something worthless

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/selling+a+pup

It's not clear whether that is mainly a British expression.

I think the American expression for this is usually sell a bill of goods.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/sold+a+bill+of+goods

 

[Alice-Bee]

Another one Ive never ever heard of :/

Scam, sure but pup...nope sorry.