Can you name the common UK equivalents?

US term	UK term	(Type)
Pacifier		Babycare
Fanny pack		Clothing
Chutes and Ladders		Game
Stroller		Babycare
Attorney		Job
Panties		Clothing
Trash Can		Household
Santa Claus		Jolly Elf
Mail		Communication
Hobo		(occupation)
Dumb or Silly		Intelligence
Zipper		Clothing
Private School		Place
Ballpoint pen		Stationery
Hard Candy		Food
Box car		Trains
Garbage Collector		Job
Q-Tip		Healthcare
Bumper Cars		Fairground attraction
Thumb tack		Stationery
Face/wash cloth		Healthcare
Solitaire		Game
Bangs		Haircare

US term	UK term	(Type)
Principal		School
Booger		Mucus (slang)
Popsicle		Food
Baked Potato		Food
Rummage Sale		Sale
Laundromat		Place
Teleprompter		TV
Ground beef		Food
Mother-in-law		Apartment
ZIP Code		Address
Pruners		Gardening
Napkin		Food
Speed bump		Motoring
Fire or Can		Employment
Garter belt		Clothing
Wite-Out		Stationery
Candy Apple		Food
Biscuit		Food
Shopping cart		Tool
Carnival		Place
Emergency Room		Healthcare
Drugstore		Healthcare
Cot		Bedding

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UK/US Words Quiz

by ntnon

Created Jul 31, 2009 in Language
Featured Jul 31, 2009
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	Unidentifiedkiwi:	Jul 31st, 2009 at 04:29 GMT		22 points
	@MovieDynamic, this quiz is typing in UK terms based on US terms, and the other one is typing in US terms based on UK terms.

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	NoVan:	Jul 31st, 2009 at 04:32 GMT		25 points
	"Sleeping policeman"- HA!

	bernerd:	Jul 31st, 2009 at 04:32 GMT		31 points
	As an Australian, I'm surprised at how much of a half-American half-British split the words we use are.. I thought we would have followed the Brits much more closely.

	plixgirl:	Jul 31st, 2009 at 04:37 GMT		17 points
	This was much more difficult than I thought it would be.

	starfish:	Jul 31st, 2009 at 04:41 GMT		13 points
	I had gone into this quiz figuring I would see apartment -> flat, elevator -> lift, etc. -- the ones most Americans (and presumably others) know from having watched movies with British characters. Glad to learn some new ones along the way :-) Should be interesting to see how the Brits critique this.

	luulapants:	Jul 31st, 2009 at 04:50 GMT		38 points
	I knew dodgems because my Roller Coaster Tycoon game got stuck on British English once. Other than that, I didn't do so well, lol.

	jmarshallg:	Jul 31st, 2009 at 04:54 GMT		29 points
	Apparently I wouldn't survive in England because I don't speak the language. I would wonder why public school was so damn expensive.

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MovieDynamic:

Jul 31st, 2009 at 05:03 GMT

-3 points

luulapants, your game wasn't stuck on anything. Rollercoaster Tycoon calls it Dodgems. Now I know why!

	RedLIon:	Jul 31st, 2009 at 05:06 GMT		29 points
	Glad to see it accepts "a & e" for emergency room.

mwmw127ny:

Jul 31st, 2009 at 05:08 GMT

22 points

@geoexpert: Private and public schools are different in the UK as well, but what we call private schools in the states are called public schools over there. I like this quiz but I feel "rummage sale" is a Britishism itself (or definitely not a part of the northeastern US vernacular) -- I've only heard yard/garage/junk sale. And I'm a little disappointed they left off "torch" for flashlight.

	lauraellen:	Jul 31st, 2009 at 05:11 GMT		55 points
	as someone from the south, i am somewhat offended that one would suggest that the scone is an "equivalent" to a biscuit. i've been to britain, had the scones, and while delish, they are hardly the same thing!

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	Platypus222:	Jul 31st, 2009 at 05:15 GMT		2 points
	@mwmw127ny: Then what are US-public schools called in the UK? And why are they called different things? In the US, private schools are privately owned and public schools are owned by the government for use by the general public. I don't see how the UK way makes any sense, though I'd love to be enlightened. I did terrible on this one, though I did know "patience," only from an article about how Windows's popularity has led to a lot of younger Brits calling it "Solitaire" from the name there, to the annoyance of older people.

	minor9th:	Jul 31st, 2009 at 05:21 GMT		54 points
	I'm British and got 37 - though I think you'd be pressed to find any British person ever say "suspender belt" or "goods wagon"

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	epaminondus:	Jul 31st, 2009 at 05:36 GMT		15 points
	I tried 'dim' and 'thick' for dumb but 'daft' is definitely the best answer. Just couldn't dredge it up. Everyone I know calls 'boiled sweets' just 'sweets'. And I know it's kind of common use proper nouns with 'Wite-Out' and 'Tipp-ex', but I've always heard 'liquid paper'? @lauraellen: as someone from the South now residing in the UK, I couldn't agree with you more. American biscuits use less sugar (and/or honey) and often include buttermilk. Scones are sweet and American biscuits are savoury. But savoury scones, on the other hand, like ones with cheese in, are quite similar to a good old Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuit. But they ain't got nothin' on Sister (Shubert), if you know what I mean.

	Guinevere:	Jul 31st, 2009 at 05:51 GMT		0 points
	See, I thought daft=crazy. This was HARD. I agree that there were a number of more familiar phrases that I was expecting to see (e.g. crisps=chips, trainers=sneakers). Some of these I just had no idea. A few I pulled out of my...bum, like jacket potato. And a few I should have but didn't, like serviette. minor9th, suspenders (which the quiz accepted for suspenser belt) was one of the few I DID know!

	chanman:	Jul 31st, 2009 at 05:52 GMT		4 points
	really? It wouldn't accept postal code for postcode???

	Niques:	Jul 31st, 2009 at 05:53 GMT		10 points
	I only got 30 :( Now we need a UK/US -> Australian. Either I didn't understand the US term or couldn't think of the British term. I should think liquid paper would be acceptable as a Tipp-Ex alternative. And scones are very much not what the Americans call biscuits.

	Niques:	Jul 31st, 2009 at 05:54 GMT		15 points
	Also, are serviettes and napkins not two separate things? Napkins are cloth and serviettes are paper, no?

	tannem:	Jul 31st, 2009 at 06:30 GMT		-3 points
	I only got 5, and three of those weren't legit - the quiz accepts "cotton swab" for Q-tip, "pharmacy" for drugstore, and "lawyer" for attorney. Tough quiz.

	deej:	Jul 31st, 2009 at 06:39 GMT		76 points
	where's my English-to-English dictionary...

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	Hess:	Jul 31st, 2009 at 07:07 GMT		4 points
	A scone and a biscuit are different things. A biscuit is like a cookie and a scone is a type of bread made from dough.

	milkmeister:	Jul 31st, 2009 at 07:08 GMT		13 points
	@platypus222: In the UK private schools are expensive schools where the parents pay for their kids to go. Public schools are VERY expensive schools and are pretty much the antithesis of "public", we're talking the likes of Eton. State schools are pretty much just called state secondary schools, or comprehensives.

	Espada:	Jul 31st, 2009 at 07:26 GMT		2 points
	Some of these are somewhat dubious, I haven't heard the word kickers used for a very long time, pants is far more common now. Why "mail" as an American term? We call our postal service the Royal Mail.

	Rhys:	Jul 31st, 2009 at 07:37 GMT		8 points
	@bernerd, I was thinking the exact same thing. I think there are more British words than American in our vocabulary but surprised to see the 7-8 American words that make it in. 10-20 years time, I imagine it will be almost all American. Oh and on a different note, an Attorney is a Solicitor not a Barrister.

	livfred:	Jul 31st, 2009 at 07:41 GMT		5 points
	@chanman: Postal code is Canadian, zip code is American, postcode is British. What do they call it Australia? Anyone?

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	Lilybert:	Jul 31st, 2009 at 07:48 GMT		13 points
	RESPECT the scone's own nature! Long live the scone. Yummm...

	lostnone:	Jul 31st, 2009 at 08:12 GMT		13 points
	@jjs91 - yes we have public schools in UK, we call them state school, as in provided by the state....

	lostnone:	Jul 31st, 2009 at 08:13 GMT		14 points
	@michael - i think the postcode is the equivalent of the US zip code, as they do symbolize specific locations - ie my postcode starts CF, which indicates Cardiff. Similarly, Manchester is M, Birmingham is B, Leeds is LS etc.... I think the only exception is Greater London, which uses compass points (ie SW)

	ferdy1985:	Jul 31st, 2009 at 08:23 GMT		3 points
	as someone who's British and lived in England all my life I can safely say whoever wrote this quiz hasn't got this very right. There various words in there (granny flat?!) we don't say (we say mother-in-law), and if someone comes up to you in the UK talking about sleeping policemen most wouldn't know what you are talking about. I ended up getting frustrated as it wasn't accepting what the British people would actually say. Good idea, poorly executed.

	davidr:	Jul 31st, 2009 at 08:24 GMT		-3 points
	@milkmeister: The difference between UK public and private schools has nothing to do with cost or social class. A public school is a school that is not run by the government but which, in principle, anyone can attend (subject to their ability to pay the fees and possibly pass an entrance exam). A private school is not open to anyone — a typical example would be a school for the children of workers at a particular factory. I don't know if there are any private schools in the UK, currently — there isn't much point in a company running a school, now that the state provides free education for all.

	Niques:	Jul 31st, 2009 at 08:26 GMT		9 points
	@livfred: We call it a postcode in Australia as well. I'd never heard of the 'mother-in-law' and wouldn't have gotten it unless I read the 'apartment' bit as well - I've only heard it as a granny flat.