American words not understood outside the US

[Lord Mondegreen]

With the amount of US-produced TV and movies shown in the English-speaking world, I'd be surprised if there were many Americanisms which would not be understood. Sure, there would be regional words or expressions, but they would likely not be understood by the majority of Americans, let alone the rest of the world.

To use an example from this thread, way before I ever visited the States I knew that a Drug Store was what I would call a Chemist. I've been to the US many times and I don't recall ever having a problem understanding anything. The closest thing would be mundane stuff unlikely to have come up in movies or TV shows. For example, I still don't know whether "half-and-half" milk is what we in Australia would call "full cream" milk, but that's about the extent of my misunderstanding of American words.

The opposite of course is much more problematic. I have to be very careful what I say in the US, otherwise if I accidentally use Australian expressions or words I will frequently not get my message across.

[Vox Imperatoris]

Nice name, by the way, Lord Mondegreen.

[glee]

That's why I said it's a "mostly Southern" thing. Before today, I'd never heard it outside the South, but now I find it's apparently common in the UK and Australia.

Yes, I saw that, and I'm in Maryland, which some people consider southern, I guess because we're below the Mason-Dixon line. There were a couple of threads on the SD that got rather heated over whether or not Maryland was a Southern state, but I'm not opening that can of worms again.

Ah, the 'Mason-Dixon' line.
Presumably something to do with the Civil War (it means nowt to us Brits, although I've heard it in a song).

[The Original An Gadaí]

Griddle
Broiling
Skillet
Winnebago
Zucchini
Astroturfing
Rutabaga
Government Cheese
Bellwether
Duplex
Biscuits
Cupcake


These are all American terms that I had to look up or ask about at one time or another. I'm sure there are plenty of others. As others have posted above though, in context one can guess what they mean. Until recently though I thought a cupcake was what I would call a muffin. It's actually just what would be called a bun here, maybe a fairycake. The best description I can give for an American biscuit is a savoury scone.

[The Original An Gadaí]

That's why I said it's a "mostly Southern" thing. Before today, I'd never heard it outside the South, but now I find it's apparently common in the UK and Australia.

Yes, I saw that, and I'm in Maryland, which some people consider southern, I guess because we're below the Mason-Dixon line. There were a couple of threads on the SD that got rather heated over whether or not Maryland was a Southern state, but I'm not opening that can of worms again.

Ah, the 'Mason-Dixon' line.
Presumably something to do with the Civil War (it means nowt to us Brits, although I've heard it in a song).

Sailing To Philadelphia?

[Laughing Lagomorph]

Griddle
...
Skillet
...

'Spider' is a very obscure related item: http://www.journalofantiques.com/hearthjan01.htm

The thing itself is not quite obsolete...I have encountered them in a camping context. I've also heard the term used to refer to what most Americans would call a frying pan or skillet.

[Vox Imperatoris]

That's why I said it's a "mostly Southern" thing. Before today, I'd never heard it outside the South, but now I find it's apparently common in the UK and Australia.

Yes, I saw that, and I'm in Maryland, which some people consider southern, I guess because we're below the Mason-Dixon line. There were a couple of threads on the SD that got rather heated over whether or not Maryland was a Southern state, but I'm not opening that can of worms again.

Ah, the 'Mason-Dixon' line.
Presumably something to do with the Civil War (it means nowt to us Brits, although I've heard it in a song).

Actually, the Mason-Dixon line was surveyed about one hundred years before the Civil War as part of a border dispute. It's actually much further north than many people realize, since "northern" culture has crept downwards in the intervening years, but it's still used as the symbolic line between the North and the South in the east.

[OutStandingInTheField]

...
Bellwether
...

Really? I would not have said this was an Americanism. I have lived in North America for a while, but I am sure I knew and understood this term long before I moved here (from Australia).

[The Original An Gadaí]

...
Bellwether
...

Really? I would not have said this was an Americanism. I have lived in North America for a while, but I am sure I knew and understood this term long before I moved here (from Australia).

Yes, it's just a personal list. I've only ever seen it used in the context of US states and elections.

[lust4life]

Brit whos visited the U.S. alot but still gets surprises.

Dont think anyone answered this one,but if they have you have no excuse now to forget it but iced tea is virtually unheard of over here though I've no doubt that some people drink it.

Didn't hit the link about burble because it tends to log me out of this board,but burble is armed forces slang for verbal diahorrea,when people are sufficiently drunk they tend to burble all over you ie."Your my best mate you are,I love you man: not in a gay way I mean........etc."

I know OF but dont entirely understand Homecoming and Spring Break,I know that theres a HC queen but thats it on that topic and apparently Spring break is some sort of holiday where everyone goes somewhere by the beach,gets drunk,dances alot and trys to get laid though I suspect that theres more to it then that.

[Cluricaun]

Spring break is some sort of holiday where everyone goes somewhere by the beach,gets drunk,dances alot and trys to get laid though I suspect that theres more to it then that.

Spring Break is generally the Easter holiday week long hiatus from school, but it's no longer kosher to call anything by it's religious reasoning, so the term Spring Break overtook Easter Break.

[Laughing Lagomorph]

...
I know OF but dont entirely understand Homecoming and Spring Break,I know that theres a HC queen but thats it on that topic ...

I've lived in the US my whole life and that's about all I know about it too...I've never been to one.

...and apparently Spring break is some sort of holiday where everyone goes somewhere by the beach,gets drunk,dances alot and trys to get laid though I suspect that theres more to it then that.

No, that's pretty much it. There wasn't so much dancing when I went (at least not for us guys) but the rest is a pretty good description.

[Monstera deliciosa]

Spring break is some sort of holiday where everyone goes somewhere by the beach,gets drunk,dances alot and trys to get laid though I suspect that theres more to it then that.

Spring Break is generally the Easter holiday week long hiatus from school, but it's no longer kosher to call anything by it's religious reasoning, so the term Spring Break overtook Easter Break.

I'm glad you said generally. I have two stepsons in college (one at community college, the other at a university). One had his spring break the first week in March, the other the fourth week in March. Neither was at all close to Easter, so PCness wasn't involved in the name. In the first case, if anything is a euphemism/misnomer it would be the word "Spring" since it certainly wasn't.

[prr]

When you "have tea" in the US, it's just that: tea. When I've been invited to have tea in the UK, it's often a complete meal. I've often thought the most puzzling question an American encounters abroad is "What's for tea?"

[American thinking] "Duh! How about, like, you know, TEA, you limey friggen twit?" [/American thinking]
Of course, he's then ashamed and embarrased for his rude thoughts.

[Giles]

[American thinking] "Duh! How about, like, you know, TEA, you limey friggen twit?" [/American thinking]
Of course, he's then ashamed and embarrased for his rude thoughts.

Yes, for a Brit or for an Australian, having coffee for tea would not be an oxymoron, because "tea" is both the name of a drink and the name of a meal.

[MsPurlMcKnittington]

I know OF but dont entirely understand Homecoming and Spring Break,I know that theres a HC queen but thats it on that topic and apparently Spring break is some sort of holiday where everyone goes somewhere by the beach,gets drunk,dances alot and trys to get laid though I suspect that theres more to it then that.

Homecoming is generally an autumn dance/spirit week thing, associated with high school and college. It's an event where past graduates are encouraged to "come home" for a football (American) game, and then the students of the school go to a semi-formal dance afterward. There's generally a week of activities before to encourage "school spirit" which students participate in -- pep rallies, theme days where you dress on a theme, etc.

Homecoming king and queen is basically a popularity contest where the student body elects a junior or senior (11th and 12th grade) boy/girl couple. (Either seniors or juniors organize the homecoming events. In my high school, juniors were in charge of prom and seniors were in charge of homecoming, so juniors were elected prom king/queen and and seniors homecoming king/queen.) They get crowns and maybe scepters and they open the dancing. It's not really a big deal for anyone but high schoolers.

[McNutty]

Homecoming is ... an event where past graduates are encouraged to "come home" for a football (American) game

Is this actually something that happens anymore? Is it more or less prevalent in different areas? I went to high school in California, and if this was an aspect of our homecoming game, I was completely unaware of it. The description you give sounds like a throwback to a past age to me. But I could also imagine it being bigger in small towns where everybody knows everybody and people coming home to visit is a bigger deal.

[lust4life]

I know OF but dont entirely understand Homecoming and Spring Break,I know that theres a HC queen but thats it on that topic and apparently Spring break is some sort of holiday where everyone goes somewhere by the beach,gets drunk,dances alot and trys to get laid though I suspect that theres more to it then that.

Homecoming is generally an autumn dance/spirit week thing, associated with high school and college. It's an event where past graduates are encouraged to "come home" for a football (American) game, and then the students of the school go to a semi-formal dance afterward. There's generally a week of activities before to encourage "school spirit" which students participate in -- pep rallies, theme days where you dress on a theme, etc.

Homecoming king and queen is basically a popularity contest where the student body elects a junior or senior (11th and 12th grade) boy/girl couple. (Either seniors or juniors organize the homecoming events. In my high school, juniors were in charge of prom and seniors were in charge of homecoming, so juniors were elected prom king/queen and and seniors homecoming king/queen.) They get crowns and maybe scepters and they open the dancing. It's not really a big deal for anyone but high schoolers.

Thanks for that I genuinly was very curious about what HC was and now I know what The Monkees were on about.

[MsPurlMcKnittington]

Homecoming is ... an event where past graduates are encouraged to "come home" for a football (American) game

Is this actually something that happens anymore? Is it more or less prevalent in different areas? I went to high school in California, and if this was an aspect of our homecoming game, I was completely unaware of it. The description you give sounds like a throwback to a past age to me. But I could also imagine it being bigger in small towns where everybody knows everybody and people coming home to visit is a bigger deal.

That's exactly how it was in my high school -- past graduates came to the game and everything. They generally induct people into the school hall of fame that night, too, so football players come back for that. (Gag me, but I think the entire concept of a high school football hall of fame one of the stupidest things in the whole damn world.) Admittedly, my school was really small. There were 60 kids in my graduating class. So that is probably an influence.

[OneCentStamp]

(Gag me, but I think the entire concept of a high school football hall of fame one of the stupidest things in the whole damn world.)

Come now, MsPurl, have some pity for those whose social influence, physical attractiveness, and sense of achievement and self-worth all peaked at age 17 and have been in slow, inexorable decline ever since.

Let 'em have their good ol' days.

[featherlou]

Speaking of high school athletics, we love looking at all the stadiums in small towns when we visit the US. It blows our minds that just about every small town has a huge, well-lit stadium for baseball and//or football. Of course, US Americans coming to Canada might be surprised at every small town having an arena for curling and hockey, but they probably wouldn't recognize them for what they are because they are very nondescript buildings.

[Dangerously Unqualified]

So looking back over the thread at the parts about biscuts and gravy (and being hungry due to it being lunch time and my lunch consists of a large glass of reconstituted dihydrogen monoxide) I have to wonder:

If I went into a typical UK or EU kitchen,
Dumped some pork sausage into a pot (yes, chorizo will work just fine, it will taste a little different is all) and let it get brown and crumbly.
Toss a hand full of flour in there with the sausage and the grease and let it get a little bubbly,
Slowly start pouring fresh milk into the whole concoction until it was a smooth, creamy, salty, meaty substance,
Then dumped it over a biscut, or unsweetened scone, or baked lump of flour, shortning, oil and baking soda,
Would it be recognized as food right away or would I get hauled off for eating such a mess?

For bonus points, what if I added a lightly fried egg (over easy) and some hash browns (fried, shredded potatos) to the mix?

And some nice hot coffee...

Couple of pieces of toast and butter...

Some crispy bacon...

Dammit, I told you I was hungry.

ETA: Not the Canadians though, I've seen what you can do to a plate of fries, cheese and gravy, my arteries think you should be ashamed of yourselves.

[Badtz Maru]

Well, there's the (mostly Southern) use of "[day] week" to mean "not the upcoming day, but the week after that".

For example, if I made an appointment for our cat at the vet's office, I might tell my wife that the appointment is for "Tuesday week" (meaning 8 days from now) instead of "next Tuesday" or "the following Tuesday" or "not tomorrow, but the next Tuesday".

It seems that this usage is unknown outside the US.

It must be a southeast saying. I've lived in Texas for 25 years and I've never heard of this usage.

[Badtz Maru]

"Thong", in the sense of rubber sandals, seems to be particularly Australian (perhaps because they are worn a lot there). The New Zealand word for these is "jandal".

Until the 1990s or so, thongs referred to footwear around where I've lived (Oklahoma and Texas).

I actually have some sandals that are branded "Speedo", so I can frighten people by telling them I'm going to wear my Speedo thongs to the pool.

[OneCentStamp]

Well, there's the (mostly Southern) use of "[day] week" to mean "not the upcoming day, but the week after that".

For example, if I made an appointment for our cat at the vet's office, I might tell my wife that the appointment is for "Tuesday week" (meaning 8 days from now) instead of "next Tuesday" or "the following Tuesday" or "not tomorrow, but the next Tuesday".

It seems that this usage is unknown outside the US.

It must be a southeast saying. I've lived in Texas for 25 years and I've never heard of this usage.

I've lived in Texas for 3 years and this usage is making my head hurt.

[XJETGIRLX]

... I might tell my wife that the appointment is for "Tuesday week" (meaning 8 days from now) instead of "next Tuesday" or "the following Tuesday" or "not tomorrow, but the next Tuesday".

It seems that this usage is unknown outside the US.

I was born in the Midwest, and am now in the Mid-Atlantic, and and I've never heard this usage.

I've lived all up and down the East coast and I have never heard this usage, either.

[tunaman]

Homecoming is ... an event where past graduates are encouraged to "come home" for a football (American) game

Is this actually something that happens anymore? Is it more or less prevalent in different areas? I went to high school in California, and if this was an aspect of our homecoming game, I was completely unaware of it. The description you give sounds like a throwback to a past age to me. But I could also imagine it being bigger in small towns where everybody knows everybody and people coming home to visit is a bigger deal.

Well, homecoming actually is a big deal for colleges, since the university wants alumni to come and write checks to the athletic association or alumni fund, or what have you. People that have contributed lots of money in the past are often treated like high rollers are in Vegas - comped airfare and hotels, free meals, etc. My dad has contributed a ton of money to an Atlanta university over the years, and I've seen some of the perks he could have gotten ("donate $10 million and you can stay in the [university] president's house for Homecoming week! Donate $20 million and you can stay in the president's house for the week, *and* he'll shine your shoes every morning during your stay!!!"). Sadly, my dad never contributed 8 figures to the school, so he didn't get THAT kind of treatment!

I think some high schools just copied the "social aspects" of it (the dance, the king\queen election), while other schools might use it to recognize former players (and hit up parents\alumni for money for the booster club, etc.).

[MsPurlMcKnittington]

(Gag me, but I think the entire concept of a high school football hall of fame one of the stupidest things in the whole damn world.)

Come now, MsPurl, have some pity for those whose social influence, physical attractiveness, and sense of achievement and self-worth all peaked at age 17 and have been in slow, inexorable decline ever since.

Let 'em have their good ol' days.

You can't maaaaaaake me . . .

My resentment might come from the fact that while I was in high school, they cut the honors program and the band director position, while simultaneously installing new lights for the football field, new bleachers, and a new announcer's box. They didn't have any money, you see, so they had to cut academic programs.

[The Original An Gadaí]

Tuesday Week etc. is commonly used here.

[featherlou]

<snip>
My resentment might come from the fact that while I was in high school, they cut the honors program and the band director position, while simultaneously installing new lights for the football field, new bleachers, and a new announcer's box. They didn't have any money, you see, so they had to cut academic programs.

That explains a lot of what we see, actually.

[BiblioCat]

To expand on the Homecoming thing a bit, in my area (US Mid-Atlantic), the high school homecoming football games were usually played against your biggest rival.

My resentment might come from the fact that while I was in high school, they cut the honors program and the band director position, while simultaneously installing new lights for the football field, new bleachers, and a new announcer's box. They didn't have any money, you see, so they had to cut academic programs.

That's just sad.

[tunaman]

To expand on the Homecoming thing a bit, in my area (US Mid-Atlantic), the high school homecoming football games were usually played against your biggest rival.

What school did you go to where that was the case? At my high school, homecoming was always played against the worst possible team. Whichever nearby team went 1-11 the previous year was always chosen for the homecoming game the following year (since you wanted your school to win, right?)

Colleges do the same thing. In the ACC, this is why the Duke football team exists - to give everyone else in the conference a team to play during Homecoming Week!

My resentment might come from the fact that while I was in high school, they cut the honors program and the band director position, while simultaneously installing new lights for the football field, new bleachers, and a new announcer's box. They didn't have any money, you see, so they had to cut academic programs.

At my high school, the football team paid for itself via the Booster Club, ticket sales, receipts from the concession stand, ads in the game programs, etc. Of course, at the time, my school usually lost no more than 2 games a year and the margin of victory was usually 30+ points in every win, so it might be different at other schools.

Also, just for the record, at most Division-I colleges, football money funds for every other sport. So the women's lacrosse team owes its existence to the football team (and, to be honest, title IX).

[vison]

"Tuesday week" is not common in Canada, but I believe it is in the UK.

A "jumper" in England is what we call a "sweater". We say "runners" or "jogging shoes" or "running shoes", in the UK they say "trainers". "High tea" is the workingman's dinner in the UK, in the US it has come to mean what teh Brits call "afternoon tea" as in swell, with cucumber sandwiches and Her Ladyship pouring. But since you can't get a cup of tea in the US, whether "high" or "afternoon", it's sorta pointless anyway.

[parzival]

A "jumper" in England is what we call a "sweater".

Something I've wondered - what's the British English term for what Americans call a jumper? It's a sleeveless dress of heavy material, usually worn over a long-sleeve shirt and common as a school uniform for girls.
(Example here)

[vison]

Gym slip.

In Canada it was a jumper or sometimes a pinafore.

[MsPurlMcKnittington]

<snip>
My resentment might come from the fact that while I was in high school, they cut the honors program and the band director position, while simultaneously installing new lights for the football field, new bleachers, and a new announcer's box. They didn't have any money, you see, so they had to cut academic programs.

That explains a lot of what we see, actually.

Featherlou! You wound me, madam.

At my high school, the football team paid for itself via the Booster Club, ticket sales, receipts from the concession stand, ads in the game programs, etc. Of course, at the time, my school usually lost no more than 2 games a year and the margin of victory was usually 30+ points in every win, so it might be different at other schools.

That certainly wasn't the case here. The boosters and ticket sales did contribute, but the school district spent tens of thousands of dollars, well in excess of what keeping the honors and band director position would have cost.

[Liberal]

Another Southernism probably not known outside the US is "fixing to" (or the Georgian "fi'n' tah'). It means "getting ready to" or "am about to''. For example, "I'm glad you stopped by. We were just fixing to eat supper. Won't you join us?"

You probably know "Y'all" (a contraction of you all) as a plural of "you". But you might not know that "y'all" has a super-plural, namely, "All Y'all". For example, "Oh, we have plenty. We can feed all y'all."

Let's see. One more might be "mite", as in "a bit". For example, once the husband and wife are alone in the kitchen, one says to the other, "I'm a mite peeved they popped in that way."

[Giles]

But you might not know that "y'all" has a super-plural, namely, "All Y'all". For example, "Oh, we have plenty. We can feed all y'all."

That's very neat. Double plurals are pretty rare. One in standard English is "agendas", since "agenda" is already a Latin plural meaning "things to be done". And "children" is a fossilised double plural, since it's formed by adding the plural suffix -en (as in "brethren" and "oxen") to the plural form "childer".

[tunaman]

Another Southernism probably not known outside the US is "fixing to" (or the Georgian "fi'n' tah'). It means "getting ready to" or "am about to''. For example, "I'm glad you stopped by. We were just fixing to eat supper. Won't you join us?"

I've lived in the South my whole life, and I've never heard anyone pronounce the "g" at the end of "fixing". Although your "fi'n' tah" might be correct in lots of places (Valdosta, anyone?), I only regularly hear people say "fixin' to"... even people with master's degrees!

Let's see. One more might be "mite", as in "a bit". For example, once the husband and wife are alone in the kitchen, one says to the other, "I'm a mite peeved they popped in that way."

You spell it "mite"? I've always spelled it "might". Of course, I'm the same guy that often says that he's "looked all over Hell and half of Alabama" for some misplaced item, so what do I know?

[Liberal]

The "g" is indeed almost never pronounced.

[The Original An Gadaí]

Another Southernism probably not known outside the US is "fixing to" (or the Georgian "fi'n' tah'). It means "getting ready to" or "am about to''. For example, "I'm glad you stopped by. We were just fixing to eat supper. Won't you join us?"

You probably know "Y'all" (a contraction of you all) as a plural of "you". But you might not know that "y'all" has a super-plural, namely, "All Y'all". For example, "Oh, we have plenty. We can feed all y'all."

Let's see. One more might be "mite", as in "a bit". For example, once the husband and wife are alone in the kitchen, one says to the other, "I'm a mite peeved they popped in that way."

These are fairly familiar to me and might even be used theatrically hereabouts.

[Guizmeaux]

I am an Englishman who spent the ages of 6 months to 11 years old in Florida. As a result, I find that my language is often peppered with idiom from both sides of the pond. What's interesting to me is that English people will usually pull me up on it, whereas Americans will nod and smile politely, hoping to get what I mean from context.

Apropos the question asked, the example that irritates me most is words used for mealtimes. To wit, an American might have the following;

- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Dinner/Supper

There might be grazing or snacks in between, healthy or otherwise. I don't know and it's none of my business.

An Englishman, depending on how traditional he is, or where he comes from in the country (and that is important), will have some or all of the following;

- Breakfast
- Elevenses
- Dinner
- Tea
- High Tea
- Supper
- Ooh, some Horlicks please, dear - it'll help me sleep.

I remain resolutely American in this. Dinner is what you have at about 7pm. What is lunch for otherwise?

I have a theory that it's because of working profiles and European influence on us Brits. But since I can't get financed by a university to investigate, we'll have to just accept it as a difference.

[Badtz Maru]

"Dinner" varies regionally within the United States. Wikipedia says that in working-class families where the largest meal of the day is served at midday, it refers to that, while in areas where people eat the largest meal at the end of the day it refers to the evening meal, but I'm not sure that's correct. When I grew up in Oklahoma, dinner always referred to the evening meal and in Texas it can mean either, and it doesn't seem class-related.

[Giles]

Yes, the meaning of "dinner" varies in many countries, and often by social class. However, although it can be eaten any time from noon to around 9 pm, it's generally the main meal of the day.

[jali]

The "g" is indeed almost never pronounced.

I hear "finna", not "fixin'". I don't like it.

[Glazer]

The "g" is indeed almost never pronounced.

I hear "finna", not "fixin'". I don't like it.

I always say "fitin tu".

[Badtz Maru]

I say "fixin ta". Used to drive my Dad nuts, almost as bad as "you know".

Things have come to a pretty pass,
Our romance is growing flat,
For you like this and the other
While I go for this and that.
Goodness knows what the end will be;
Oh, I don't know where I'm at...
It looks as if we two will never be one,
Something must be done.

[Vox Imperatoris]

I just thought of another Southernism that might not be understood: "buggy" for "shopping cart".

[XJETGIRLX]

The "g" is indeed almost never pronounced.

I hear "finna", not "fixin'". I don't like it.

I always say "fitin tu".

Yes, "fittin' tu" is closer to what I'm accustomed to in the Alabama/N. Fla/Georgia area.