- Over the last decade or so, an alarming number of traditionally British expressions have found their way into the American vocabulary. This page offers a growing list of Britishisms that have been widely adopted in the U.S.–that is, they are not “one-offs.” Each entry offers a definition/American equivalent, followed by quotes representing the first and most recent American usages I’ve found.
- Some entries include a link to a Google Ngram. This is a nifty tool that allows you to search for the frequency with which a word or phrase was used year to year. The link provided here compares the use of the Britishism and the traditional U.S. equivalent in the “American English” corpus between 1990 and 2008, with a “smoothing” level of 0. (Don’t ask.) In some cases–e.g., advert, bits–Ngram data is not applicable because the word or phrase can be used in two or more different ways.
- For each entry, readers are ask to vote on their opinion of the Britishism in an American context. By “over the top,” I mean that the word or phrase (still) comes off as mannered or affected. In my humble opinion, the key factor in this is whether there’s an equally good American equivalent.Thus, we already have the perfectly fine words “ad,” “advertisement” and “commercial,” so there is no excuse for “advert.” Same with “fire”/”sack” and “on vacation”/”on holiday.” On the other hand, we don’t have an expression that succinctly expresses the meaning “run-up” does. So if you use it, good on ya, mate. (At some point, I am going to have to start a blog about not one-off Australianisms!)
- Cheers!–Ben Yagoda (Please follow me on Twitter @byagoda)
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I haven’t seen “punter” in the US except in British books and films. I’d always thought it meant betters/wagerers, but this Telegraph article uses it to mean tourists, leading me to wonder Have I misunderstood its meaning all along?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/8434460/The-House-that-Hardy-built.html
Eric, my sense is that punter is actually an all-purpose informal term for “customer.”
Yep, customer is right. I’m interested to see that the reasoning for over-the-top Britishisms is very similar to the one I’ve always used for Americanisms. If it either makes a useful distinction or represents something for which there is not already an expression, fine, no problem. If there’s already an exact equivalent, forget it.
“It’s my ‘local’ ” (in reference to a bar or, more Britannically, a pub).
It is a slightly derogatory term for the person who is paying, usually meant kindly, but somewhat patronising.
hmmm….punter can be a used in a demeaning way about people who pay for services (mugs or johns).
Why not write an article about the effect of the BBC, Guardian and Economist on American media? Not just in popularizing various Britishisms, but the writing style and what’s covered (including scandals). Think Harold Evans, Hugo Young, Peter Preston, Simon Hoggart et al.
What do you think the effect has been? I am a little familiar with the writers you mention, but would be interested in what you think about their influence.
Punter isn’t demeaning. A punter means a customer of any stripe or, more specifically, a gambler (ie, I had a punt on the 3.10 at Ascot).
How about “to pong,” a humorous way of saying to stink? Pong is also used as a noun, as in “the pong from the loo . . .”
If you would really like to get worked up (or wound up) take a look at the infiltration of Britishism in the sport of soccer (which, the Brits use as a derisive term, but in fact is British in origin). Pitch, boots, brace, kits, etc. These are NOT soccer terms. They are British terms. Give a look.
Not to mention “nil,” which is really annoying.
Off the top of my head come “more-ish” and “rent boy” as increasingly common terms in the US. “Randy” is so familiar I can’t tell whether it was always American. “Nosh” may not be strictly British in origin, but I first heard it in a Beatles movie — along with “kip” — when I was young enough that the movie was new and I had to ask around to find out what it meant. Personally, I use both “chuffed” and the quite useful “high street,” but that may be pure idiosyncrasy.
I’ve not encountered “crap” in the States as an adjective, but in the UK, is it really more common than the more vulgar “s” words alternative, or the rather less strong “rubbish”? Incidentally, the latter makes a perfectly good verb as well, though one unlikely ever to replace “trash” for the same purpose.
Also, “that’s not cricket” has no succinct alternative to convey the notion of “that’s not the way the game is played” And then there’s the almost certainly misused “high tea” to mean a proper English tea….
Randy is a common male first name in the US. I find it hard to believe that many parents would have knowingly named their offspring “Horny”!
I reckon that “randy” as a synonym for “horny” has become more popular in the last 15 years or so with the advent of the Austin Powers movies. It has long been a diminutive form for the name Randall in the States, but I think it’s become more widespread as slang since “Do I make you randy baby”.
On the other hand, “reckon” has never caught on in the U.S. except by screenwriters writing dialog for westerns. Which, with the disappearance of said westerns, means it’s now all but extinct.
I lived in Britain in the 80s with some American friends and we all laughed at how they said “as well” all the time instead of also or too. Now I hear it in the US all the time.
Absolutely. I think of John McEnroe in his tennis commentary as a huge “as well” user.
It took me a while to get used to “pissed” meaning anything other than “angry”.
Hello! I’m not sure where to go to leave a suggestion, so here it is. Someone above mentioned “rubbish,” and I seem to be hearing it a good deal lately, also “rubbishy” (rubbishy bits). I edit exhibition catalogues, so I regularly encounter academics; perhaps that is the reason?
Anyway–I love this project. Thank you!
This blog is ace!
As an American living in Spain, about 90% of my English-speaking friends are from the UK/Ireland. My favorite words come from my former flatmate (not roommate) who instilled such gems as knackered and faff into my daily vocabulary.
Keep up the great work!
How long does it take for Brits to start speaking American?
The Economist, online blog on language, Nov. 3rd 2011
One of the set-piece conversations that Britons living in America have with each other, besides how cold it is, how hot it is, or how interesting it is that people here don’t talk about the weather all the time, is about which British words or pronunciations they have shed in favour of their American equivalents.
For many of us, the first to go are pronunciations so interchangeable that we can’t even remember which version is which. For instance, shedule vs skedule, or contROVersy vs CONtroversy.
http://www.economist.com/blogs/johnson/2011/11/british-and-american-english
I am hearing a lot (in the U.S.) “scenarrrio,” which I assume is British.
According to dictionary.net (and urbandictionary, but that doesn’t count), gotten is “obsolescent”. Finally, a major Internet dictionary that agrees! Gotten is horrible and old-fashioned, and there are plenty of alternatives: obtained, received, acquired, etc.
‘Gotten’ in the US has also become much overused.
And I would also add to the above list of alternatives: become
Is “streets ahead” well-established in American sources? Earliest OED reference is 1885 in Ireland. Recently a character in NBC’s “Community” tried to “coin the phrase”, without realising it already existed (for the backstory see http://earnthis.net/2010/04/community-is-streets-ahead/ ). Appearances of this phrase in US news outlets are now being seen as references to the TV show rather than the original Britishism.
Keep your eyes open for “pie hole” and “cake hole,” both of which I have seen in the last year or so but do not have documentation for,
“If I’m being honest” is one I’m noticing.
Well-played. Heard this one this morning in a Lincoln (auto) commercial. “You moved from a third-floor walkup to the home of your dreams. Well played.”
Usually heard in cricket or polo scenes in British films.
Nonstarter. Keep your eyes peeled. Used in an insurance context: “gave us a new demand but it was a nonstarter.”
Is “nonstarter” supposed to be a Britishism? I’ve heard this word used in political reporting in the U.S. for years — e.g., Republicans consider Obama’s tax proposal [or any other proposal, for that matter] to be a nonstarter.
Glad you have this Blog! I noticed that in the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Daniel Craig said he would “do the washing up.” It kinda blew my mind since I didn’t know how Americans would take it. They probably glossed over it, but maybe…it will become a part of our everyday speech? Probably not, in my opinion it’s a bit too general. What are you washing!? But of course the British get it because it’s “the” washing up!
Interesting blog. Thanks.
Sometimes, too, what are thought to be “modern” British-isms, such as reckon (see above) in Western movies, because it was used in the 16thc ~ 19thc in America and is now out of use here, but has not died out in Britain. Try a real Britis-ism: ‘lagging’ Material providing heat insulation for a boiler, pipes, etc.
I laughed aloud when my dear husband of 20+ years in America went to the hardware store for me. He called and asked “What’s the American word for lagging? This fellow at the shop doesn’t know what it is.” I had no idea! Or the time he went for 3 tab asphalt shingles and had asked for ‘soft slates’ What if he’d asked for ‘thatching’? At least I knew that one.
I loved this blog. My mother was from London and used all kinds off british-isms that I often took for granted to be regular American speech. I’d love to hear more on: “have a go”, “get on with it”, and “off we go”. I also want to share my favorite saying of hers, when we couldn’t find something, and there it was right in front of us, she’d dangle it before us and say, “What’s this? Scotch mist?”
^There are so many more that are occurring to me now… “have a bath”, as opposed to “take” a bath. Also, “in you get” and “out you get” (from the car, for instance.)
I just discovered your blog and I’m thrilled.
I’m an American married to a British-Australian – at times it’s as if he’s speaking an entirely different language. It took me 2 years to realize that the reason I was reacting so negatively to one of his phrases was my misunderstanding of the meaning.
Just recently, we were invited to a dinner party and it was suggested that we bring pudding. I spent two days agonizing about what kind of ‘pudding’ to make. Then my husband said, ‘take a fruit salad.’ But that’s not pudding, I replied.
Anyhow, look forward to reading your blog regularly.
Partly because my family lived in the UK for a few years while my father went all ABD at Cambridge and the University of London, then I worked right out of college for British Airways in NYC, I’m a wicked Britishismophile.
Love chuffed and sussed and still cling to the 22.May.2012 date structure I learned as a kid and had reinforced by years in rez at BA.
As I work my way through Netflix’s British series and film lists, I’ve waded into Skins. Maybe my work as a high school English teacher makes me look forward innit’s crossing. (Spellcheck like-y innit; innit’s not so much.)
Thanks for the comma support and the blog.
I’m waiting for innit to really make it across.
Thanks for the blog and the comma columns.
I’ve had my eye on “innit”–and also the less flashy but equally common “yeah?” at the end of a statement or sentence. No penetration yet for either, as far as I can see.
I thought, whilst reading this post, that this might be a crap blog because it fails to *appreciate* affectation.
But I was entertained enough to have a go.
Pip pip, ol’ cock!
I’m fascinated by your blog. We brits, well, some of us, have long groused about “americanisms” shoe-horning their way in to our language, which, after all, we’ve been using a lot longer than you guys! But there are more than a few words in your list which would never have occured to me as either different from yours (did you see what I did there?) or just not used in USAland. I live and learn. I’m also amused to see some folks over there get as worked-up over people using “brit” terms as we do over your exports. I note however that in many cases you attribute this to the speaker trying to “sound british” or similar. I wonder if it isn’t just the case, as it fairly surely is over here, that the speaker has picked up the word from a televisual entertainment. I shall return from time to time to learn more! I offer for your consideration, especially as you start the run up to the next decision by the denizens of Florida as to who should run the entire country for the next couple of years, the difference between running for election, and standing for election. Cheerio.