· Bathroom = toilet, w.c. (G.B. bathroom will have bath, washbasin or shower only)
· Billboard = hoarding
· Biscuit = scone; G.B. biscuit = U.S. cookie
· Billy club = truncheon
· Blank = empty form, i.e. telegraph blank
· Block (city block) = city block bounded by streets on 4 sides, distance between 2 streets or crossings in same direction
· Block-busting = "penetration" of a residential area by an ethnic or minority group unwelcome by original residents, who often then sell and leave
· Blotter = police official daily record of happenings in local precinct office
· Blowout = puncture (flat tire on car, bicycle, etc.)
· Blue book = local social register of high-status families
· Blue Cross/Blue Shield = two different large health-insurance companies
· Blue laws = restrictive community "moral" laws dating from Puritan times, such as prohibition of liquor sales on Sunday, limits on public entertainment on Sundays, etc.
· Bomb (theater) = a failure; G.B. bomb (theatre) = great success
· Boner = gaffe, mistake, faux pas
· Boot camp = military basic training period/location
· Boondocks = backwoods
· Bourbon = corn- (maize-) derived whiskey
· Box car = good waggon (U.S. spelling "wagon")
· Bronx cheer = raspberry (critical noise ...)
· Brownie = small, "heavy," rich-chocolate baked biscuit; also young Girl scout
· Brunch = mid-morning meal (combination of "breakfast & lunch")
· Bush league = baseball "minor" training leagues; also connotes "amateurism," unprofessionalism, etc.
· Caboose = last waggon on a goods train
· Candy = sweets
· Car fare = money for transportation fares
· Carry-out (food) = take-away (food)
· Catch (to play catch [baseball]) = "playing tag" (US "playing tag" is children's game where one tries to run and "catch" or touch ("tag") one of the other children playing)
· "Catch up with him" = "Catch him up"
· Checkers = draughts (the game, played on checker/chess board)
· Checking account = current account (banking)
· Comfort station = public convenience
· Cone = cornet ("ice cream" cones--British "ice cream" also quite a different commodity)
· Cord (electrical) = flex, lead, wire
· Corn = maize; G.B. corn = all types of grain, unless specified
· Cotton candy = candy floss
· Certified Public Accountant (CPA) = Chartered Pub. Account. (CPA)
· Cube sugar = lump sugar
· Diaper = nappy
· Dishpan = washing-up bowl
· Distaff = female
· Double header = two sports games played as a single event; also used metaphorically
· Draft (military) = conscription into the armed forces
· Druggist = chemist (in commercial drugstore or pharmacy)
· Editorial = leading article (in a newspaper, periodical)
· Eggnog = egg flip (special Christmas drink in U.S. only)
· Engineer = railroad engine-driver
· Enjoin = to forbid from doing; GB enjoin = to compel to do
· Eraser = rubber; G.B. rubber is U.S. condom
· "Fairy" = male homosexual, or highly effiminate-acting male
· Field hockey = hockey; U.S. hockey (by itself) = ice hockey
· Filling station = petrol station
· Flashlight = torch
· Football = U.S. (American) football, not "soccer"
· Formula = baby's prepared liquid food, replaces breast milk
· "Freebee" = anything given away free
· Freeway = motorway
· Freight car = goods waggon (on a train)
· Gangway! = exclamation to "clear a path!"; G.B. gangway = U.S. aisle (in a theater, etc.), U.S. gangway [naval term] = entrance "bridge" from shore onto a ship
· Glee club = club or group for choral singing
· Glue factory = knacker's yard
· "Gofer" [to GO out FOR something ... ] = "dogsbody"
· Goldbrick(er) = loaf(er)
· Good Humor Man = ice cream peddler in residential areas
· Graham cracker = wholemeal biscuit
· Grandstand play = done to impress the audience in the grandstands rather than as a requirement of the game, "showy" action
· Ground rules= specific local rules for particular event or action, sports or otherwise
· Half & Half = dairy mixture of half cream, half milk (to put in coffee, for use in baking, etc.)
· Handball = game played by hitting a small, hard ball with bare hand against a wall in room similar to a squash court — European "handball" is not 'known' in the U.S.
· Hard-on = male sexual erection
· High school = secondary school, senior (upper) secondary school
· Home free (colloquial) = home & dry
· Homely = plain-featured, -looking; GB homely = domestic, pleasant
· Horny = randy
· Housing project = housing development, housing estate
· Huddle = planning, tactics conference, especially in American football, but also metaphorically in other situations
· Hung jury = jury that is divided, cannot reach a verdict
· Jello = jelly; U.S. "jelly" = G.B. "jam"; U.S. "jam" = G.B. "thick [GB] jelly with fruit embedded"
· Kerosene = paraffin, U.S. paraffin = GB paraffin wax
· Longshoreman = docker, dock worker
· Lox = smoked salmon, especially American Jewish usage
· Martini = gin & vermouth (combined) cocktail (does not refer to "Vermouth" brand name)
· Mean = nasty
· Mobile home = (trailer) house on wheels, can be moved behind truck, auto
· Mononucleosis, "Mono" = glandular fever
· Nervy = impudent, impertinent, with a lot of nerve (cf. GB Nervy)
· Night crawler = fishing worm
· Oatmeal = porridge
· Ordinance = by-law (law at local city, municipal level)
· Overpass = flyover
· Pacifier = dummy (what baby uses to suck on when not eating)
· Parakeet = budgerigar
· Parka = anorak
· Patrol wagon, Paddy wagon = black maria
· Pegged pants = tapered trousers
· To pinch-hit for = to substitute for in a particular tactical situation (batting in Am baseball, or metaphorically)
· Plexiglass = Perspex glass (brand names used as generics)
· Potato chips = potato crisps
· Quarterback = Am. football team leader, also to direct, manage, in other situations
· Railroad = railway; U.S. railway = tracks, roadbed which trains run ON; U.S. "railroad" refers to the enterprise, i.e. the Union Pacific Railroad
· Raise = rise; U.S. "rise" is slang for male erection, or, "to get a sensation from ..."
· Realtor = estate (real estate) agent
· Retroactive = retrospective
· Roomer = lodger
· Roster = rota
· Rubber = condom; GB rubber = US eraser
· Rube Goldberg = Heath Robinson (stereotyped creators of wacky, bizarre "inventions" in USA, GB)
· Sedan = saloon car
· Shellac = high-gloss varnish
· Slingshot = catapult; U.S. "catapult" = G.B. "sling"
· Special Delivery = Express (postal) Mail
· Station wagon = estate car
· Thumbtack = drawing pin (small, flat-headed tack used on bulletin boards or to attach papers to wooden surfaces; U.S. "drawing pin" a long, narrow, sharp pin used in sewing, clothing design, always with soft fabrics or paper)
· Thread = cotton; U.S. cotton = plant, fiber, material only
· Trash = rubbish
· Trashcan = dustbin; trashman = dustman
· Turtleneck = polo neck (sweaters or pullovers)
· Vaudeville = Music hall (type of entertainment, style of theater)
· Wash up = to wash oneSELF, not the dishes; G.B. to wash up = to do the dishes
· Wax paper = greaseproof paper
· Yard = garden; U.S. garden = vegetable or flower garden (cultivated area); GB yard = US paved area, not grassy lawn)
· ZIP code = postal code
· Zucchini (squash) = courgette (marrow)