Limies Vs Yanks

Exercise: American & British vocab expansion.

"Limie" is an American insult for a British person.
"Yank" is a British insult for an American person.

As you can see, the British and Americans get on very well! If you had a British and American teacher in the classroom together, they would probably argue about several things: vocabulary, correct spelling and who won World War II! In the following exercise we are going to look at the first of these.
Here's a list of word pairs. You probably know one or the other in each pair, but do you know which are of British or American origin?

pants - trousers
lift - elevator
flat - apartment
cookies - biscuits
candy - sweets
football - soccer
subway - underground
lorry - truck
garbage - rubbish
sidewalk- pavement
baggage - luggage
queue - line
movie theatre - cinema
vacation - holiday
eraser - rubber
faucet - tap
curtains- drapes
the fall - autumn
garden - yard
petrol - gas
trunk - boot (the back of the car)
hood - bonnet (the front of the car)
car park - parking lot
chips - fries

Is it okay to use American words in Britain? Will you be understood if you use British words in America? The answer, of course, is yes. So you shouldn't worry too much about the vocab that you use. Although it is generally better to stick to one group or the other.

Further vocab expansion:

Do the British and Americans ever misunderstand each other? Here are a few examples of words that have different meanings, depending on which side of the Atlantic you are from!

Crisps, Chips or Fries?

In Britain you get crisps in a packet and chips are served with fish, while in America chips are in a packet and fries are served at fast food restaurants!

Pissed or Pissed off?

In Britain pissed means drunk and pissed off means angry, while in America pissed means angry. Be careful who you go drinking with!

Cookies or Biscuits?

In Britain a cookie is a type of biscuit with chocolate chips, while in America cookies are general.

Let's end with a video. This is British actor and comedian Hugh Laurie on American TV being tested on his knowledge of American slang. Don't worry... I've never heard these phrases either!

Answers:

British: trousers, lift, flat, biscuits, sweets, football, underground, lorry, rubbish, pavement, luggage, queue, cinema, holiday, rubber, tap, curtains, autumn, garden, petrol, boot, bonnet.