[TAG] English->American dictionary

[Mike Orr]

Suramya Tomar wrote:

> Check out an American's guide to speaking British: 
> http://www.effingpot.com/
>

That one's great.  Comments:

FOOD & DRINK ===
Bacon.  So *that's* why Canadians call Canadian bacon "back bacon".

Blancmange & pudding.  My British friend said our pudding is "blanche 
menage".  Not quite what this thing says.

Doner.  My mom used to make shish kebabs on a skewer, sans pita.  Yum!  
A vertical lamb on a spit is a vertical lamb on a spit, not a doner or a 
gyro.  Although you might call it "gyro meat".  Now, what's the 
difference between these and a shaverma?  (Note: gyro is supposed to be 
gyros (singular), although nobody except Greeks pronounce it that way.)

English muffin.  What a hoot.  What about Australian toaster biscuits 
(which I think are called crumpets in England).  They're like an English 
muffin but more solid and sweet.

Scone.  The hospital I worked at served them with raspberry jam.  No 
clotted cream, tea, or strawberry jam.  That may be highly gauche but 
they're great tasting that way.

Scoff.  Closest equivalent is "scarf it down".  Kind of the reverse of 
the ass/arse thing.  Scoff is what I would do if Ben said, "I'm an 
innocent lad who has never done anything wrong."

Stuffed.  "I'm stuffed," means very full, not just full.  Especially 
used around Thanksgiving.  It may have an additional meaning in Texas.

Water.  Why would you ask a salesman in a washing machine shop, "Is 
water metered here?"  What does that mean?  Everyone buys water by the 
cubic foot, yes.  Although in some cities the landlord has to include it 
in the rent so it's a de facto flat rate.

One thing I noticed in England was a hotel with a machine in the shower 
charging for hot water.  I was incensed.  I already paid for my room, 
dammit.  Isn't a hot shower one of the basic things you expect in the 
deal?  Unsure if electricity's really that expensive in England, and if 
so, why tankless water heaters (which use a lot of energy) are so common.

White tea.  If white tea means black tea with milk, what do you call 
real white tea?  http://coffeetea.about.com/od/typesoftea/a/whitetea.htm

SLANG ===
Bang/chat up/cram/fluke/haggle/hanky panky/hunky-dory/nookie/not my cup 
of tea/piece of cake/puke/put a sock in 
it/round/sacked/sloshed/suss/twit.  All used here.

Cheesed off.  That's the funniest one on the list.  It doesn't really 
work here; it sounds too much like cheesy or cheesehead.

Healthful vs healthy.  Not sure what he means.  People are healthy if 
they're not sick.  Food is healthy or healthful.  But a healthy snack is 
a big snack, which is probably not healthful.

Knuckle sandwich.  Also used here.  But it's more of a 50s expression.