American Vs British English

Here are a few of the more common words which are different in American and British English. This is only meant to highlight some of the variety which exists within English, and is not a complete list by any means. It also does not address different vocabulary which is used in Australia, Canada, South Africa and India as well as the Caribbean, Africa, and the many other places in the world which use English as the language of commerce or government.

American apartment argument baby carriage band-aid bathroom Can chopped beef Cookie Corn Diaper Elevator Eraser flashlight Fries Gas Guy flat row pram plaster loo or WC tin mince biscuit maize nappy lift rubber torch chips petrol bloke, chap

British

Highway hood (car) Jello Jelly kerosene Lawyer license plate Line Mail motor home movie theater Muffler Napkin Nothing overpass Pacifier Pants parking lot Period pharmacist potato chips Rent Sausage

motorway bonnet jelly jam paraffin solicitor number plate queue post caravan cinema silencer serviette nought flyover dummy trousers car park full stop chemist crisps hire banger

Sidewalk Soccer Sweater trash can Truck trunk (car) Vacation Vest windshield (car) zip code

pavement football jumper bin lorry boot holiday waistcoat windscreen postal code

SOL Vocabulary
Terms Unique to SOL'ers SOL Scion(s) of Lucas (sometimes S... Out of Luck) (Includes both Sisters of Lucas, and Sons of Lucas) Scion LBC PO n. A descendant or heir. Little British Car, Little British Convertible, Large British Car, etc. The Previous Owner of your car.

DPO Dreaded Previous Owner (because of the hacks they always seem to have made on your car.) The Prince of Darkness Lucas, Lucas electrics, etc.

BPSL British (Phlegm Sucking) Leyland. A term of, er, endearment, referring to the things they did to destroy the British Sports Car quality, designs and market (With thanks to Scott Fisher) OSOTP SWORK Other Side of the Pond. (Across the Ocean) Swearing While Working, a common practice.

VIQ Wanker

Vehicle In Question Someone who hacks at their car. Sometimes clueless.

British <=> American Automotive Translations British term American term

accumulator battery actuator switch or servo Artic articulated lorry = "tractor-trailer" baulk ring synchro ring bonnet hood boot trunk bulkhead firewall choke tube venturi core plug freeze plug crocodile clip alligator clip crosshead Phillips crown wheel ring gear cubby box glove box or glove compartment damper shock absorber drive shaft half shaft or axle shaft drop-head coupe convertible version of 2 door coupe dumpy screwdriver short screwdriver dynamo generator earth ground estate station wagon fascia dashboard fixed-head coupe 2 door coupe frogeye bugeye Gallon (Imperial) 5 US Quarts gearbox transmission gudgeon pin wrist pin hood convertible top jointing compound gasket sealant lorry truck mole wrench Vice grips monocoque unibody MOT DOT Ministry of Transport Department of Transportation nave plate hubcap nose front of car paraffin kerosene pinking knocking or pinging prop shaft drive shaft petrol gasoline

prise proud quarterlight rev counter ring gear roadster roundabout RoStyle saloon scuttle side curtains silencer sill Shooting Brake spanner split pin spring washer squab suction advance sump thrust bearing tickover top gear torch trunnion Tyre wheel nut whitworth windscreen wing

pry above or raised vent window tachometer flywheel gear, or starter gear car that only comes in a convertible style rotary, traffic circle type of steel wheel (as opposed to wire) 2 or 4 door sedan cowl removable side windows muffler rocker panel station wagon wrench cotter pin lock washer part of seat vacuum advance oil pan throwout bearing idle high gear flashlight sliding or rotating joint (suspension) tire lug nut Brtish thread measuring standard windshield fender

Common Auto Abbreviations Abbreviation AC (e.g. AC Cobra) ARG BL BLMC BMC BSF BSW Meaning Auto Carrier Austin Rover Group British Leyland British Leyland Motor Corporation British Motor Corporation British Standard Fine (Thread system) British Standard Whitworth (Thread system)

BFH

Big F...... Hammer, AKA: "Bashing Tool" (big, heavy hammer used "persuading" stuck parts, etc.) CD (refers to carbs) constant depression DB (e.g. Aston-Martin DB6) David Brown M.G. Derived from Morris Garage(s) NOS New, Old Stock parts (as opposed to a recent copy) PI petrol injection SS Swallow Sidecars SU Skinners Union (Carbs and Fuel pumps) TVR TreVoR (Wilkinson), the founder of TVR ZS Zenith-Stromberg (Carbs) Some Common Net Abbreviations AKA BTW or OBTW FLAMES ON/OFF IMO IMHO ROM effort) RTM RTFM SWAG WAG TTFN Also Known As (alias) By The Way, or Oh, By the Way... Start/end of major gripe or insult In My Opinion In My Humble Opinion Rough Order of Magnitude (size, weight, usually cost, Read The Manual Read The (Fun, Foolish, F.....) Manual Scientific WAG (at least one reason for the guess exists) Wild-Assed Guess Ta Ta For Now, AKA: "Bye for now"