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I love these word comparison videos, thanks for sharing! To answer some of your questions, here's a tl;dr list for some of the words you mentioned: "Central reservation" to an American sounds like an Native American Indian reservation, haha. "Hoover/vacuum" is a similar situation to "plaster/Band-Aid". We commonly call small self-adhesive bandages Band-Aids which is a very common brand here. Off License/Liquor store: In several states, the state issues alcoholic beverage licenses to sell beer, wine and liquor for consumption on-premises (as in a bar or restaurant) and off-premises (as in to take from the store to consume at home). I would bet that is where your "off license" comes from as well. Also, a few states only allow the sale of bottles of hard liquor by state owned and operated stores called "ABC" stores, which refers to a state's Alcoholic Beverage Control board /agency/authority. In the US, any path meant for vehicular travel may be referred to as a highway or roadway or road, street. Typically, when someone refers to a highway they more often are referring to a larger roadway. Freeways usually refer to a toll-free limited-access highway (where pedestrians and slow-moving vehicles are not permitted and access occurs via on- and off-ramps, such as an interstate highway). On the other hand, a turnpike or toll road is a highway or freeway which requires payment of a toll. Washcloths or wash rags are usually just 10-12 inch terry cloth squares. Here "flannel" is a specific type a fabric used for warm clothes, especially a a plaid flannel shirt. A likely reason we say "crosswalk" instead of "zebra crossing" is because a zebra on a public street would be an incredibly rare thing here. Also, not all crosswalks are marked by alternating black and white stripes. I hate the word binky, too. And the word "nappy" here is often derogatory depending on context. In the midwest and the south, for shopping cart you might hear "buggy." If you ask someone for the nearest "cash point" you will probably get a confused look and, "What's that?" Scotch tape is a brand of clear tape and the name now refers to any clear tape that usually isn't permanent. We don't say things like, "She's at university," because we don't have a royal family, even if she is enrolled in, say, the University of California. She's in college. They're usually interchangeable, but universities often have colleges and schools within them, like a college of engineering or school of medicine. Condo vs Apartment: A building of several individual living units can be classified as a condominium when the units are owned individually and the building as a whole is run by these owners. The owner may choose to rent it out as an investment. An apartment building is owned as a whole and whoever owns the building, rents out the units. Usually the word "lift" would mean something like a chair lift for a wheelchair to get up a few steps. If it's a box that takes people from floor to floor, it's an elevator. An escalator is just an escalator. American fish don't have fingers, so we call them fish sticks. Oddly, our buffalos have tiny useless wings. We don't restrict our vacations just to holidays. How can you go on holiday when it's not a holiday? Powdered sugar is also called confectioner's sugar, but this is going out of style. Most states require both front and rear license plates. Even in those states, enforcement is sporadic.
In the US a holiday is a day that you get off to celebrate something (e.g. Independence Day, Memorial Day, Christmas, etc.) while a vacation is something you take either in conjunction with a holiday or independent of one.
I like to think of vacation as where we VACATE our homes. 😉 As opposed to a STAYcation where we just sleep at home, but go do touristy things around the local area.
In US one can say, “Are you taking a vacation (or going on a vacation) during the Christmas holidays?” Joel: it’s British English and American English (not English English)
@@amandagoodman1272 long long ago. In your mother land. The only time off work was on Holy days, so any time off work school is holidays. If you vacate your home evey day then vacation doesn't make sense.
Off licence: because the stores have a licence to sell alcohol for consumption off the premises, as opposed to pubs where alcoholic beverages are consumed on the premises.
An apartment is something you rent. Usually you can't paint or change flooring and things like that. They have a landlord that will come and fix your sinks and things that break on the inside and out. A condo can very much look like an apartment building but you own your little area. They take care of the outside like roof, siding and shoveling the walkways. You take care of inside like the sinks or new fridge. You can also decorate and renovate any way you want. You can sell a condo and make money off it. You sign a lease for an apartment for a period of time. Both are buildings with units, they both can be single or multiple stories.
We sometimes have gardens in our yards. The garden is where you grow flowers or vegetables. The part of the yard covered in grass is the lawn. Most states require front and back plates, a few do not. We use college and university interchangeably. A university is a larger institution made up of multiple colleges. We say I’m going off to college or going to the university. We NEVER shorten it to uni.
@elizabethleas9934 most colleges are usually smaller and have only one thing, i.e. Liberal Arts. Where as a university is made up of several different colleges. College of liberal arts, college of arts & science, college of engineering, college of education, college of nursing, etc.
@elizabethleas9934 many colleges of liberal arts offer advanced degrees. Here around Boston, we have many colleges that decided to call themselves University so they could charge higher tuition and the higher ups in administration could pay themselves more money. But they may still only be a liberal art school.
A difference between a freeway and highway (at least in California) is that highways have cross traffic while freeways don't. Freeways have onramps, offramps and merging lanes that allow drivers to enter, leave, or transition to another freeway without stopping. The whole point of a freeway is to go from point A to point B without having to stop (subject to traffic conditions, of course). A highway is usually understood to be a main thoroughfare, but one that intersects other streets. Generally speaking, they go through towns. Highways will have intersections with stop signs and traffic lights. They will go through business districts and neighborhoods as well as sparsely populated open land. If you take Hwy 1 in California - a road which is over 650 mi. long - you'll travel along or near the coast through towns large and small. You'll also go through large stretches with no towns at all. Part of Hwy 1 is wide with many lanes of traffic, while the sections that go through rural areas are just one lane in each direction. Everybody understands Hwy 1 as the coastal route, also known as PCH (Pacific Coast Highway). Drive around any beach town in California, you're going to spend some time on the PCH.
Freeway is only used in California. Moreover, they were originally called freeways because there weren't any tolls. Many highways on the East coast charge a toll to drive on them.
@@ESUSAMEX Freeway is absolutely not only used in California. The story that freeway means no tolls is a myth. They're called freeways because the inventor imagined them as being free of traffic due to the lack of any traffic lights or intersections, and only allowing traffic on and off via ramps. Unfortunately, he didn't consider what happens when the exit ramps get blocked.
We have freeways all up and down the west coast, not just California. But they're not all "free". Ours have toll lanes where you pay if you aren't carpool (Washington State). We have toll bridges on freeways. Interstates cross borders, but can still be considered freeways (off/on ramps). We have an old interstate highway, too!! Cross streets and all. Highway 99, but it eventually expanded and now most of it is actually I-5 that runs from the Canadian border all the way to Mexico. (btw, the Pacific Coast Highway is Hwy 101. Hwy 1 is on the east coast. My dad's childhood home was ON Highway 1 in Maine! 😊)
In the Midwest, we say "interstate" instead of "freeway." We also use "highway" interchangeably with interstate, but a highway can be a state road too where there are intersections.
@@ESUSAMEX That is not true. I do not live in California and we use the exact same terminology. It is definitely similar across West Coast and other Western states.
The photo of the thumbtack is what we call a push pin. A thumbtack has a flat round head that sits flush to the wall or surface it's pushed into. We say escalator. In fact, its use is more consistent with elevator than yours is to lift. An American biscuit is not a scone.
Freeway is a lot more common on the west coast while on the east coast we say highway. Biscuit and scone are not even close to being the same thing. Next time you are in the US, go to Panera and order an orange scone. You will see the difference. We say vacation because "holiday" is Christmas, New years's, Easter, Thanksgiving, etc. Here in New York State, you must have both a front and rear license plate.
I'm on the west coast. Here's the difference. The freeway is usually an interstate; on ramps and off ramps only ( Interstate 10 or I 5). A highway is often a state road. It may go on for miles, but it can also go through a town or city and have intersections and traffic lights.(Highway 29 or Highway 101)
I just have to say that American biscuits and UK scones are not equivalent. Biscuits are light, fluffy and layered and scones are much more dense,crumbly and heavy. I used to live in England and have been back to visit so many times, and I just don’t think American biscuits exist there. At least I have never encountered them.
@@joyceanderson3165 No. I was in college (University) so I was living in the dorms. The kitchen area was a refrigerator and stove top. No oven. I am from Chicago, and while I enjoy biscuits they aren’t a huge part of the culture here.
and sadly, Joel and Lia are unlikely to ever encounter a proper American biscuit in a restaurant, because restaurant biscuits and restaurant gravy almost never rate better than "passable"
Plus Southern style biscuits generally have no sugar in them and use baking soda for leavening. The scones I've had in Britain were slightly sweet (and very good).
Scotch Tape is a brand. They made it first in America and the brand became the name. Same as Jello is gelatin and Kleenex tissue. Example: I’m going CVS to get my prescription but while I’m there I will pick up some kleenex, scotch tape and cherry jello.
@@jensm4026 I think the comparison being made is similar to the one about vacuums and Hoovers. Hoover is a brand but you’re commonly using it to describe a vacuum cleaner. We do the same thing with Kleenex being a brand of facial tissues we just say Kleenex.
I can just about promise you that if you asked someone here in the states where you could find the nearest CashPoint, you would get a lot of blank stares. That was the only surprise in your list of words though. Really enjoyed this video.
Another one I discovered when spending a week in England is that what we call "boxcutter knife" or "utility knife" in the US, are called "Stanley knife" in the UK since the most popular brand is by Stanley.
Suspenders attach to your pants/trousers with metal clips while braces attach to the same garments with leather attachments at the end that connect with buttons affixed to the garment. Four buttons on the front, two in back. The leather attachments form a brace that connects to two buttons each.
Once I worked in Marshall's and a British lady asked me "where the trolleys are?" I directed her out the store & to the bus stop, which was on the corner across the street from the store's parking lot. I had to have her explain to me what a trolley was to her, so that I could understand what she was asking for. A shopping cart...lol
I’m from the U.S. and dated a Brit some time ago. We found many words that were different. One day he asked me if I had a yard broom and I had no idea 🤷♀️ that it meant rake. He found it hilarious when I called a string trimmer a weed wacker. It was fun comparing the differences in our language. The most confusing to me was Dress Up Party, Costume Party and a Fancy Dress Party differences.
Fun topic. I know you mentioned some of these words before, but there are some that were new to me. Couple of clarifications: Freeways (and our Interstates) are limited access with no traffic signals and have entrance and exit ramps. Highways are 2 or more lanes that may have traffic signals and intersections. Some US states, like Michigan where I am do not have front license plates. It boils down to costs of producing a second plate, so the state no longer requires them. I kind of like it because a front plate messes up the look of the front of the car, like who wants wants to go around with some tag stuck on their nose. Subway is rarely used unless it really is a Subway. We refer to the sandwich as a submarine or sub, hoagie, hero or a grinder.
Laws regarding License plates in the US are state by state. Some states require both a front plate and a back plate other states are okay with just a back plate.
Yes. And... During World War 2, to conserve metal for the war effort, states only required a license plate for the back of the car. After the war, when rationing was over, and tfe government decided it was OK to have 2 license plates again , most states did and some did not.
Want to put the “why do Americans call it an eggplant?” question to rest. Look up a picture of eggplants growing. They look just like eggs….on a plant. Love you guys and your content!
In the uk we don't use any of the things you stated in the uk. We would say,tissue,jelly,ear bud,plaster. But we have lots that we use in the uk that you wouldn't use.
college's in the U.S. are typically smaller liberal arts/community college/vocational schools, and the like- where as Universities are typically larger institutions offering graduate and undergraduate degrees.....there are, of course, a variety of exceptions- but generally speaking those are the differences....
You rent apartments but buy condos. We have wardrobes too but a closet it built into the wall where as a wardrobe is a piece of furniture. A yard is grass but if plant anything else it becomes a garden. Faerie Floss is fun. It was first introduced at the 1904 St. Louis World Fair as Faerie Floss but over the years both sides of the Atlantic has bastardized it.
Popsicle, Binkie, and Scotch Tape are also a brand name. We use a washcloth in the bathroom and a kitchen towel or a rag in the kitchen. Also most washcloths I know are terrycloth, not flannel. Here flannels is usually used for blankets or sweatshirts…sometimes pants… I would totally not know what a cashpooint is…and I’ve never heard rasher of bacon before…we say escalator…I love tartare sauce! I have also never heard prick stick.
As a linguist, I might mention that the joke for "What is the difference between a language and a dialect?" is "A language is a dialect with an army and a navy."
When my family lived in England, we used to try and make cookies with “granulated sugar” and wondered why they were so hard. We didn’t realize that you call it “caster sugar.” We finally figured it out and our cookies came out fine. Food and clothing had lots of words that are different. You call something a “pinafore dress” and we call it a “jumper.” I also remember reading a magazine article over there and there were lots of words I didn’t understand. My brother is taking his wife to London this fall and I wish I was going.
Thank you Joel & Lia for making my day and putting a smile on my face🥰… my absolute favorite word without question is ice lolly vs popsicles 🙂 Wishing you and families nothing but the best! Wishing you a wonderful rest of the week ahead!
The state I live in (Pennsylvania) dropped front license plates from cars to save the steel during WWII. They tried bringing it back, but did a 180 at the start of the Korean War. It's just been that way ever since. There are some areas that call sprinkles - jimmies. And that '"subway" Joel mentioned going under a roadway is what we'd basically call an underpass. Just the same, we have the same thing that also goes over a roadway which we call an overpass. A torch is what we generally call a stick with a flame on the end to light a passage - like what you'd see in medieval films. Many of us in PA used to call ATMs MAC machines. Money Access Centers were located all over the place in the 80s and they slowly faded out. Took me some time to start calling the new ones ATMs.
I'm in PA as well and I didn't know that about the front license plates. It's nice to have the backstory. As for ATMs, my dad still slips up and calls it a MAC machine occasionally.
In the states, we actually have colleges and universities. Universities are larger and have more course offerings. A college is smaller and usually only offers the basic liberal arts, tech courses, and such offerings. Biscuits and scones are not the same.
A college is part of a university. The college of social work. The College of Liberal arts. The college of dentistry. Are all housed on the grounds of the university or offsite but they are still part of a larger entity called the University.
In America college and university are two different things. While both are typically post high school higher education institutions, colleges are generally much smaller than universities. College can be places like community college, liberal arts college, or trade school. Colleges generally offer undergraduate courses while universities have both undergraduate and graduate programs. A university can be made up of colleges, and a college can expand to become a university.
The picture shown for thumbtack were actually just push pins. Thumb tack is a more specific type of push pin with a large round head that is easily pressed in place with the thumb, and is used for attaching something usually to a vertical surface such as a board, post, or wall and are not meant to be moved very often (like tacks for other materials like wood or metal),The tack inserts all the way so the head presses flat against the surface. They can be more difficult to remove than other push pins. Push pins can be used for attaching, but are also used for marking an area and are easily removable.
In the US a wardrobe is a piece of furniture, and a closet is always built in (and required in building codes to be counted as a bedroom, a room without a closet is an office or bonus room). I think closets (or maybe you would call it a built in wardrobe) are not common or required in the UK, and the piece of furniture that we also call a wardrobe is more common.
The subway sandwich generically is called a sub. Subway is the name of a restaurant chain. A subway for transportation is simply called a subway. A highway is not an elevated road necessarily.. it’s a two lane road (1-2 lane each way) usually between smaller towns
Holiday = from the term “Holy day”, such as Christmas, Easter, etc. Vacation = meaning “to vacate” or leave on a trip. So no, you will never convince me to swap out “vacation” for “holiday”. 😉
A think a good majority of Americans call plastic wrap "Saran Wrap" because that is the company that makes plastic wrap. We also call tissues "Kleenex" because again that is a brand of tissues.
We’d probably use the term freeway, highway, thruway and interstate all to mean the same thing even though there may be technical or regional distinctions.
🤔 interesting. In my head Freeway & Expressway have ramps and no cross streets. Highways & interstates do not. Maybe thruway is another version of freeway. I never hear anybody say that one though.
Wash cloths are for washing your face/body, dish cloths are for washing dishes, cutlery, pans, etc. For me string beans and green beans are interchangeable, freeways are larger/more lanes than highways (and highways sometimes have stoplights where I’m from but freeways never do). Stockings can be held up with clipped on garters often as part of a garter belt.
I have missed these videos! I noticed Joel is having the same issue I am. I find myself thinking/saying the British version of things instead of the American version. I guess I’ve watched you guys so long it has gotten into my head now! 😆
When we visited the UK and called on an elderly cousin of my wife's family I said: "What a nice backyard you have".....she promptly corrected by saying "It is my GARDEN......a yard is full of junk"
@@amandagoodman1272 Nothing to do with snooty. I am pretty sure she was very proud of her garden and didn't appreciate some dumb yanks calling it a yard. It wasn't! Don't forget you are not in bloody America!
Loved this! An apartment is a "flat" that you rent. A condominium, or condo, is an "apartment" ( not a house) that you buy. In an apt., the landlord is responsible for all repairs. In a condo, the resident (owner) is responsible for all repairs from the front door in. With a condo, you also pay a condo fee to pay for building administration, and I think overall upkeep in common areas.
The biggest difference between a condo vs. apartment is ownership. An apartment is defined as a residence that is rented, often as part of a larger residential building. A condo is similar in structure to an apartment - usually a unit within a larger residential building - but condos are owned instead of rented.
As an American living in England, I had two embarrassing moments using the wrong word. Once I mentioned that I might occasionally wear suspenders when working around the house. I later learned I had inadvertently admitted to wearing a lady's garter belt! Another time, when discussing a disobedient little girl, I suggested she needed a smack on the fanny. A little girl's fanny is below the belt...but in front, not in back, hence Bum Bag vs. Fanny Pack.
Living here in London, there is liquor everywhere as in you can buy in supermarkets where in many areas of the US, the liquor store is the only place you can buy certain types of liquor (anything but beer), so we go there way more.
In the US garden refers to a patch of land used for growing fruits and vegetables. Its located in your yard. If it just has flowers in it then its a flowerbed.
Condo vs Apartment. The difference is ownership: an apartment is something you rent, but a condo you directly own (even if part of a building with many such in it, which it usually is). Generally speaking, due to contracts, apartments and condos don't exist together in the same building; even if you own a condo which you in turn rent or lease out to another person (sublet), it still isn't properly referred to as an "apartment" by the person renting it, but rather they simply note that they're renting/subletting a condo.
Freeway and highway mean the exact same thing. It depends on what part of the country you live in. In my part of the country we never say Freeway. We always use Highway. Unless it’s a Toll Road. Then we can it a Toll Road because you have to pay to go on it.
@@stacyr4070 maybe technically, since we have Toll roads. But personally, I have never used freeway. We always say Highway or Sometimes interstate. Thanks for the correction. I didn’t think of freeway being the opposite of a Toll Road. Never thought of that before.
And one I definitely agree with you on is “holiday” vs. “vacation”. Although we say “vacation”, I just love the sound of “we’re going on holiday”. Much more classy. 🙂🙂🙂
It's confusing to us Americans because Holidays here stand for days of the year recognized by the government as times for everyone to celebrate whereas vacation is time given to an individual to take off any random day or days of the year.
Saying that one of those words is more classy just sounds so stupid.. classiness has nothing to do with either of those words sorry to break the news to you. Vacation actually makes sense going on holiday doesn’t make sense in so many situations.
Look at it this way. Long ago when English was invented in England by the English. The church would give you time off work or school. Hence holidays. No idea where this vacation thing came from. We don't even know what it means really.
I really like these types of videos because I'm a huge linguistics nerd, and I wanted to share some of the other variations of several words you used in your video. A couple of these share similarities with British English. I'll throw in a few additional words for fun. A sled can also be referred to as a sleigh or toboggan. Here in New England, you'll hear some people refer to the liquor store as the Packie of the package store. Freeway, highway, interstate, it's all interchangeable. Tic-Tac-Toe can also be referred to as X's & O's. Shopping cart can be referred to a buggy when you are in the south and here in New England we call it a carriage. Sneakers can also be called tennis shoes, tennies, or runners (what I say). Colleges and Universities are not the same here in the United States. Colleges focus on undergraduate studies while Universities focus on both undergraduate and graduate studies. Sprinkles can be controversial. Most people will consider both the rainbow and chocolate ones to be sprinkles, but the chocolate ones are ACTUALLY called Jimmies. Powdered sugar is also confectioners sugar. Technically yard sales, garage sales and estates sales are different, but they are pretty much interchangeable. A TRUE estate sale would have an open-house showcasing styled walkthrough so you can view the furnishing for sale inside the home instead of out on the lawn. Here in New England you may also hear a yard sale referred to as a Tag Sale. As a bonus, I wanted to throw in some New England terms: Make a U-Turn - "Bang a 'Uey". Water Fountain is a Bubb-luh (Bubbler). Soft Serve Ice Cream is a Creemee Milkshakes are called Frappes. Sub sandwiches are Grinders. "Wicked!" is an intensifier word in place or "really" or "very". For example, "This grinder is wicked good", "My kid is wicked smart", "These concert tickets are wicked expensive."
Highway vs freeway: used interchangeably, depends where you are in the US. I live in the midwest and have always called it a highway. Washcloth: some use them to wash their faces or take their makeup off. Flannel is a type of cloth here, thicker and warm material often with a plaid pattern Never heard of a popover or yorkshire pudding Apartment is where one company ones the building and rents out each unit/apartment and they pay rent. Condo is where each apartment is owned by a different person and they pay a mortgage. Some states require license plate on front and back. I know Texas does and Kansas doesn't.
We would never call Yorkshire pudding a popover. While rare, we would just call it Yorkshire pudding. A popover is pastry that’s folded in half and usually has fruit inside. I suppose it could be savory as well.
Yorkshire puddings and popovers are made with the same batter, but in my experience yorkies are made in large pans; cut or tear to make multiple servings. Popovers are individual servings made in cups.
In American English, a highway is a major roadway, while a freeway is a highway with no cross traffic. Scotch Tape is a brand name of the 3M company. Americans use it as a generic term for that type of tape the way British people use the word "Hoover" to mean "vacuum cleaner." A condo (short for "condominium") is an apartment that is individually owned, rather than being owned by a landlord. Americans use the word "escalator" the same as British people. Tartar sauce is common in the U.S. "Holiday" in the U.S. is equivalent to "bank holiday" in Britain. In the U.S. we also say "garage sale" and "tag sale" as well as "yard sale."
It's entertaining to hear different words used for the same thing. Thanks! When I lived north of Boston MA, off license stores/liquor stores were called packies. In SC we call them Red Dots, and they have a giant red dot on the front of the store to identify them as such. Red Dots can only sell hard alcohol. Wine and beer can now be sold in grocery stores in SC, but if a Red Dot wants to sell both types of alcohol, they have to have separate entrances to each side so you pay on one side for the liquor, exit and enter the other side (2 feet away) for wine/beer. During slow times, the same clerk that sold you the liquor walks through the staff door connecting the two sides and rings up your wine/beer purchase.
A highway is, by definition, a main road that connects two cities, or another kind of main route between locations. The main difference between a highway and a freeway is that a highway does not have on-ramps, tends to have slower speed limits, and can utilise traffic lights and roundabouts. Moreover the term "freeway" would be more common in Californian English and some parts of Canada and Australia. Both colleges and universities offer post secondary degrees, so ultimately, it's up to you to decide what's a better fit for your goals. Colleges tend to be smaller and offer more specialized fields of study; universities are much larger, place heavy emphasis on research and award master's and doctoral degrees.
@@simonpowell2559 It's aways fun when you have to explain the English language to the English. The word Holiday comes from the Old English word haligdaeg, meaning holy day. The word vacation means the act of leaving something, as in leaving work or town for a period of time. For example one could say "I'm going on vacation during the Christmas holiday.
In the U.S., pharmacy is just as common as drug store, only California uses Freeways, Trolly suggests trolly car (cable car) still used in San Francisco (a city you must visit), and sledge sounds like an abbreviation for sledgehammer. A Yard is a grass area, where Garden suggests flower beds or a vegetable-growing patch. Dual Carriageway makes me think of horse-drawn carriages.
@@TheBullyMomma I agree, I definitely did not grow up in California and lived in a few different states and every state I lived in called them freeways.
@@TheBullyMomma - I was referring to the term "freeway" which is used in Calif,. while every other state calls them highways. The video is about language, not the actual items.
This is such a cool video!!! Here we go, from an American! 1. I never say telephone booth....I say phone booth. 2. I don't say drugstore. I say pharmacy. I also work for Walgreens! :) 3. Washcloth was correct. But for a cleaning cloth we Americans would call that a dishcloth. 4. I call it a Green Bean, never a String Bean. String beans are different than Green Beans, they are skinny beans. 5. I wouldn't know what a Cash Point was before watching this video. :) 6. We always call it an eraser, never a rubber which, for Americans, is slang for a Condom. 7. We say escalator for an escalator. Never Moving Staircase! lol 8. Yes, we call it TarTar sauce. 9. We also call it a driveway. And we do have our license plates on the front and back! 10. Love "Candy Floss!"
Condo is short for Condominium. A condo is basically an apartment you purchase and are usually located in a multiple story building. You own only between the 4 walls and the celling and floor.
Joel & Lia, I just learned via a google search that British, American, Aussie, Kiwi, S. African are dialects. I've always called them accents, but because of all the terminology differences, apparently that moves it beyond just an accent. RE. freeway, there are parts of the US that call the Interstate system the freeway, others tollway if there's a charge periodically, but most of us say Interstate, and a specific one is, say, I-90. These have on and off ramps plus multiple lanes. But, there are others which replace the on and off ramps with stop signs, and occasionally will have stop lights/signs, and they're called highways. To me, sneakers doesn't fill the total term need, as running shoes, hiking shoes, biking shoes, etc. all serve a specific function, and look much different, thus deserving separate terms. Some schools of higher learning are colleges, and some are universities, depending upon several items. Condo(minium)s are apartments that you own, rather than rent, and are usually found in a group all in 1 building. escalator = same--escalator. When the whole country gets the same day off (i.e., Christmas), it's a holiday, but when it's a week or more on your own, which you choose for your own time off work, it's a vacation. We have scones, but they're different than a biscuit. Re. license plates, most states require one on both front and back, including my state of Illinois; but some only require the back one. Do you know our term for loo is john, can. An alternative for yard sale is, if the stuff is put in the garage--garage sale.
so a difference that Ive not seen anyone else mention is... (im canadian) there are no 'exit' signs there, instead they say 'way out'. and 'yield' traffic signs all say 'give way'....
I now say lift instead of elevator. I'm learning British English from you both. I grew up with a New Jersey accent because my family is from New England states and I don't sound Texan at all. I'm glad.
The reason fewer and fewer states have two license plates is because they are almost completely unnecessary. Having just one cuts the cost in half firstly, and normally they are just for police use and if they are behind you they that's where they need to see the plate. If it was on the front of the car they would never be able to see it as you passed by quickly enough, also front plates for so long in many states messed up the styling because they had to add a makeshift bracket for it, and the states that didn't require front plates were able to have the sleek clean front of their car unobstructed by a number platethat is almost never used for anything. I love the styling of the front of my mini, and I would hate to have a boring license plate planted right in the middle of ruining the intended styling. And a few times when the car has been sold from a state that didn't require double plates to state that did require them, it didn't have the bracket from the dealership so people would use twist ties or wire hangers to try to hang their plate from their front grill. It really is silly to have a plate on the front. In those States where you only have one plate, it's usually illegal to back into a parking space though, because it conceals your license plate. But other than the odd Uber reason, there really is no reason to have a plate on the front of a car and it is slowly being done away with across the United states. I've always lived in a state where we didn't have them and I could never understand why other states did have them. In fact all it did is mark someone as being from somewhere else when they did have a plate on the front, and it's not always great to stand out when you are in unfamiliar territory. Plus, please immediately know that you are from somewhere else and to give you a second or third look or pull you over just to wonder why you're driving through their area. And frankly, many state plates have been very ugly, sometimes with wild colors sometimes with a dull colour that doesn't go well with some cars. I do support the legible black letters on a white plate that is common in the UK and europe. But I don't want to play that large and I absolutely do not want one on the front of my cars. It would absolutely destroy the styling of the front of my Lincoln Mark 8 which has a very sleek shovel type nose and literally no place to attach a flat boring piece of metal like that on that sculptured piece of art LOL
I've been to England a couple of times (and LOVED it) so I knew some of these. About half I prefer the Americanisms that I've always known, half I like the British better. But no matter what word it is, it always sounds better with a British accent.
Places like Walgreens are considered a drugstore with pharmacies inside. However, Targets and Walmarts also have Pharmacies inside them to get prescriptions filled but are not drugstores
Here's an southern American joke . One day a papa , a mama , and a baby mole were burrowing through the ground . They decided to go to the surface and sniff around . The papa said " It smells like there's a Waffle House here . I smell hash browns and eggs frying ." The mama squeezed in next to papa and said " I smell coffee and waffles , so it could be a Waffle House . " Mama then said " What do you think , son ? ". Jr. Couldn't squeeze past papa and mama , so he replied " Down here the only thing I smell is molasses . ". Edit . If you don't get the joke , imagine a cartoon mole pronouncing molasses with a southern drawl .
1. License plate rules are different by state. For example, Florida and Louisiana only require back plates. Illinois, Rhode Island, NY require front and back.
apartment and condos are technically different in how you actually sign for them. Apartments are on a term of 6 months to a year then you can sign the contract to rent again or not. Condos you buy straight up and are like houses where you pay mortgage per month on top of standard rent. Honestly apartments are ok most of the time just Condo complexes can be seriously in your face about getting one so just ignore them when possible.
The difference is not how you ‘sign for them’. An apartment is rented (month-to-month, or leased for a set period) and a condominium is owned. That’s the difference.
On the East side of the states we do not say Freeway, it is called the Interstate as it says on the signs. Its Interstate 95, Interstate 75 interstate 4 an etc.
In the West we have the interstate that is a main artery running across the country. The ones that aren’t as long we call freeways. The ones that aren’t as long or as wide we call highways. Like Highway 1 that goes along the coastline or PCH which stands for Pacific Coast Highway. I think I got that right 😆
I love these kinds of videos, please keep them up, it’s fun on our side as well to think “why do Brits call it that?” 😂 FYI, you buy a condo, you rent an apartment, and a condo is usually only 1 story, while a townhouse is 2! And I’m the great state of NJ where I live, we DO have license plates on the front and back, so Ubering is awesome here! Come back anytime! 🙂 Love you guys as always!!! ❤️❤️❤️
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I love these word comparison videos, thanks for sharing! To answer some of your questions, here's a tl;dr list for some of the words you mentioned:
"Central reservation" to an American sounds like an Native American Indian reservation, haha.
"Hoover/vacuum" is a similar situation to "plaster/Band-Aid". We commonly call small self-adhesive bandages Band-Aids which is a very common brand here.
Off License/Liquor store: In several states, the state issues alcoholic beverage licenses to sell beer, wine and liquor for consumption on-premises (as in a bar or restaurant) and off-premises (as in to take from the store to consume at home). I would bet that is where your "off license" comes from as well. Also, a few states only allow the sale of bottles of hard liquor by state owned and operated stores called "ABC" stores, which refers to a state's Alcoholic Beverage Control board /agency/authority.
In the US, any path meant for vehicular travel may be referred to as a highway or roadway or road, street. Typically, when someone refers to a highway they more often are referring to a larger roadway. Freeways usually refer to a toll-free limited-access highway (where pedestrians and slow-moving vehicles are not permitted and access occurs via on- and off-ramps, such as an interstate highway). On the other hand, a turnpike or toll road is a highway or freeway which requires payment of a toll.
Washcloths or wash rags are usually just 10-12 inch terry cloth squares. Here "flannel" is a specific type a fabric used for warm clothes, especially a a plaid flannel shirt.
A likely reason we say "crosswalk" instead of "zebra crossing" is because a zebra on a public street would be an incredibly rare thing here. Also, not all crosswalks are marked by alternating black and white stripes.
I hate the word binky, too. And the word "nappy" here is often derogatory depending on context.
In the midwest and the south, for shopping cart you might hear "buggy."
If you ask someone for the nearest "cash point" you will probably get a confused look and, "What's that?"
Scotch tape is a brand of clear tape and the name now refers to any clear tape that usually isn't permanent.
We don't say things like, "She's at university," because we don't have a royal family, even if she is enrolled in, say, the University of California. She's in college. They're usually interchangeable, but universities often have colleges and schools within them, like a college of engineering or school of medicine.
Condo vs Apartment: A building of several individual living units can be classified as a condominium when the units are owned individually and the building as a whole is run by these owners. The owner may choose to rent it out as an investment. An apartment building is owned as a whole and whoever owns the building, rents out the units.
Usually the word "lift" would mean something like a chair lift for a wheelchair to get up a few steps. If it's a box that takes people from floor to floor, it's an elevator. An escalator is just an escalator.
American fish don't have fingers, so we call them fish sticks. Oddly, our buffalos have tiny useless wings.
We don't restrict our vacations just to holidays. How can you go on holiday when it's not a holiday?
Powdered sugar is also called confectioner's sugar, but this is going out of style.
Most states require both front and rear license plates. Even in those states, enforcement is sporadic.
We’d just say phone booth
1:10 Pharmacy is often used
Paddling pool wouldn’t make sense because it’s too shallow to pedal how young you are
9:10 we would call those garter belts
In the US a holiday is a day that you get off to celebrate something (e.g. Independence Day, Memorial Day, Christmas, etc.) while a vacation is something you take either in conjunction with a holiday or independent of one.
I like to think of vacation as where we VACATE our homes. 😉 As opposed to a STAYcation where we just sleep at home, but go do touristy things around the local area.
True-and one could say: “Are you going on vacation during the holidays?”
In US one can say, “Are you taking a vacation (or going on a vacation) during the Christmas holidays?” Joel: it’s British English and American English (not English English)
@@amandagoodman1272 if I live in England, and speak English, then it's English English.
Britain is 4 countries. I come from England 🏴.
@@amandagoodman1272 long long ago. In your mother land. The only time off work was on Holy days, so any time off work school is holidays.
If you vacate your home evey day then vacation doesn't make sense.
Off licence: because the stores have a licence to sell alcohol for consumption off the premises, as opposed to pubs where alcoholic beverages are consumed on the premises.
An apartment is something you rent. Usually you can't paint or change flooring and things like that. They have a landlord that will come and fix your sinks and things that break on the inside and out. A condo can very much look like an apartment building but you own your little area. They take care of the outside like roof, siding and shoveling the walkways. You take care of inside like the sinks or new fridge. You can also decorate and renovate any way you want. You can sell a condo and make money off it. You sign a lease for an apartment for a period of time. Both are buildings with units, they both can be single or multiple stories.
Condo, short for condominium. Which is basically Co-dominion, because it’s one building divided into multiple residences with different owners.
What you were describing as a suspender (to hold up ladies stockings), we call a garter.
We sometimes have gardens in our yards. The garden is where you grow flowers or vegetables. The part of the yard covered in grass is the lawn.
Most states require front and back plates, a few do not.
We use college and university interchangeably. A university is a larger institution made up of multiple colleges. We say I’m going off to college or going to the university. We NEVER shorten it to uni.
And in the USA....a college is typically where you only earn a Bachelor's degree but at a University you can earn a Master's Degree and a PhD.
Yes what Doug said.
For example, I went to the college of education at my local university.
@elizabethleas9934 most colleges are usually smaller and have only one thing, i.e. Liberal Arts. Where as a university is made up of several different colleges. College of liberal arts, college of arts & science, college of engineering, college of education, college of nursing, etc.
@elizabethleas9934 many colleges of liberal arts offer advanced degrees. Here around Boston, we have many colleges that decided to call themselves University so they could charge higher tuition and the higher ups in administration could pay themselves more money. But they may still only be a liberal art school.
A difference between a freeway and highway (at least in California) is that highways have cross traffic while freeways don't. Freeways have onramps, offramps and merging lanes that allow drivers to enter, leave, or transition to another freeway without stopping. The whole point of a freeway is to go from point A to point B without having to stop (subject to traffic conditions, of course). A highway is usually understood to be a main thoroughfare, but one that intersects other streets. Generally speaking, they go through towns. Highways will have intersections with stop signs and traffic lights. They will go through business districts and neighborhoods as well as sparsely populated open land.
If you take Hwy 1 in California - a road which is over 650 mi. long - you'll travel along or near the coast through towns large and small. You'll also go through large stretches with no towns at all. Part of Hwy 1 is wide with many lanes of traffic, while the sections that go through rural areas are just one lane in each direction. Everybody understands Hwy 1 as the coastal route, also known as PCH (Pacific Coast Highway). Drive around any beach town in California, you're going to spend some time on the PCH.
Freeway is only used in California. Moreover, they were originally called freeways because there weren't any tolls. Many highways on the East coast charge a toll to drive on them.
@@ESUSAMEX Freeway is absolutely not only used in California. The story that freeway means no tolls is a myth. They're called freeways because the inventor imagined them as being free of traffic due to the lack of any traffic lights or intersections, and only allowing traffic on and off via ramps. Unfortunately, he didn't consider what happens when the exit ramps get blocked.
We have freeways all up and down the west coast, not just California. But they're not all "free". Ours have toll lanes where you pay if you aren't carpool (Washington State). We have toll bridges on freeways. Interstates cross borders, but can still be considered freeways (off/on ramps). We have an old interstate highway, too!! Cross streets and all. Highway 99, but it eventually expanded and now most of it is actually I-5 that runs from the Canadian border all the way to Mexico. (btw, the Pacific Coast Highway is Hwy 101. Hwy 1 is on the east coast. My dad's childhood home was ON Highway 1 in Maine! 😊)
In the Midwest, we say "interstate" instead of "freeway." We also use "highway" interchangeably with interstate, but a highway can be a state road too where there are intersections.
@@ESUSAMEX That is not true. I do not live in California and we use the exact same terminology. It is definitely similar across West Coast and other Western states.
Escalators are simply called escalators. I’ve never once heard it called a moving staircase
The photo of the thumbtack is what we call a push pin. A thumbtack has a flat round head that sits flush to the wall or surface it's pushed into.
We say escalator. In fact, its use is more consistent with elevator than yours is to lift.
An American biscuit is not a scone.
You're right about the thumbtack
Agreed, thumb tacks are the ones with flat ends!
We in the US say cookies, aren't they biscuits in the UK?
@@karolevans6891yes.
Freeway is a lot more common on the west coast while on the east coast we say highway. Biscuit and scone are not even close to being the same thing. Next time you are in the US, go to Panera and order an orange scone. You will see the difference. We say vacation because "holiday" is Christmas, New years's, Easter, Thanksgiving, etc. Here in New York State, you must have both a front and rear license plate.
In NY we call it the thruway.
I'm on the west coast. Here's the difference. The freeway is usually an interstate; on ramps and off ramps only ( Interstate 10 or I 5). A highway is often a state road. It may go on for miles, but it can also go through a town or city and have intersections and traffic lights.(Highway 29 or Highway 101)
In the south we call an interstate an interstate, and a highway a highway 🤷♂️
They had real scones (apparently in the UK they’re called “rock cakes”) in Philly I believe.
@@NickBLeaveIt Rock cakes aren't the same as scones
Flannel for us is a type of material. Usually used for sheets or plaid button up shirts.
yeah i’m kinda surprised he didn’t say tea towel instead of flanel
A tea towel is used for dishes, not for the face.
And in the US washcloths are for people & dishrags are for dishes.
@@JustMe-dc6ks Same in Canada, although I might be more likely to say "dish cloth" than "dishrag".
I just have to say that American biscuits and UK scones are not equivalent. Biscuits are light, fluffy and layered and scones are much more dense,crumbly and heavy.
I used to live in England and have been back to visit so many times, and I just don’t think American biscuits exist there. At least I have never encountered them.
No biscuit encounters? Did you try making them there?
@@joyceanderson3165 No. I was in college (University) so I was living in the dorms. The kitchen area was a refrigerator and stove top. No oven.
I am from Chicago, and while I enjoy biscuits they aren’t a huge part of the culture here.
@@joyceanderson3165 Maybe she could take some White Lilly flour, then and only then can a proper biscuit be made.
and sadly, Joel and Lia are unlikely to ever encounter a proper American biscuit in a restaurant, because restaurant biscuits and restaurant gravy almost never rate better than "passable"
Plus Southern style biscuits generally have no sugar in them and use baking soda for leavening. The scones I've had in Britain were slightly sweet (and very good).
Scotch Tape is a brand. They made it first in America and the brand became the name.
Same as Jello is gelatin and Kleenex tissue. Example: I’m going CVS to get my prescription but while I’m there I will pick up some kleenex, scotch tape and cherry jello.
And you can add band-aids to your list while you're at CVS.
But then none of those are terms we use on the uk. But we will have lots of similar things you don't use.
Like sellotape and that's a brand name.
And Bandaids (plasters) and Q-Tips (cotton buds)
@@jensm4026 I think the comparison being made is similar to the one about vacuums and Hoovers. Hoover is a brand but you’re commonly using it to describe a vacuum cleaner. We do the same thing with Kleenex being a brand of facial tissues we just say Kleenex.
I can just about promise you that if you asked someone here in the states where you could find the nearest CashPoint, you would get a lot of blank stares. That was the only surprise in your list of words though. Really enjoyed this video.
Depends on where you are I guess. They’re prevalent across North Carolina.
Agreed. I would have no idea.
That's for sure
Another one I discovered when spending a week in England is that what we call "boxcutter knife" or "utility knife" in the US, are called "Stanley knife" in the UK since the most popular brand is by Stanley.
Suspenders attach to your pants/trousers with metal clips while braces attach to the same garments with leather attachments at the end that connect with buttons affixed to the garment. Four buttons on the front, two in back. The leather attachments form a brace that connects to two buttons each.
And the supports for sexy stockings are garters or a garter belt. Suspenders is not a risqué word.
A condo (short for condominium) is an apartment (flat) that you OWN. An "apartment" is only rented, not owned by the resident.
Once I worked in Marshall's and a British lady asked me "where the trolleys are?" I directed her out the store & to the bus stop, which was on the corner across the street from the store's parking lot. I had to have her explain to me what a trolley was to her, so that I could understand what she was asking for. A shopping cart...lol
I’m from the U.S. and dated a Brit some time ago. We found many words that were different. One day he asked me if I had a yard broom and I had no idea 🤷♀️ that it meant rake. He found it hilarious when I called a string trimmer a weed wacker. It was fun comparing the differences in our language. The most confusing to me was Dress Up Party, Costume Party and a Fancy Dress Party differences.
How about "knock her up"?
How the heck is a rake a broom? You're not sweeping.
How about cloth vs rag?
I'm American. I thought I knew a lot of British lingo, but I learned so many terms in this video!
Love your language vids!
Fun topic. I know you mentioned some of these words before, but there are some that were new to me.
Couple of clarifications: Freeways (and our Interstates) are limited access with no traffic signals and have entrance and exit ramps. Highways are 2 or more lanes that may have traffic signals and intersections.
Some US states, like Michigan where I am do not have front license plates. It boils down to costs of producing a second plate, so the state no longer requires them. I kind of like it because a front plate messes up the look of the front of the car, like who wants wants to go around with some tag stuck on their nose.
Subway is rarely used unless it really is a Subway. We refer to the sandwich as a submarine or sub, hoagie, hero or a grinder.
Laws regarding License plates in the US are state by state. Some states require both a front plate and a back plate other states are okay with just a back plate.
Yes. And... During World War 2, to conserve metal for the war effort, states only required a license plate for the back of the car. After the war, when rationing was over, and tfe government decided it was OK to have 2 license plates again , most states did and some did not.
You use a dish rag for kitchen cleanup and a washcloth on your person.
Want to put the “why do
Americans call it an eggplant?” question to rest. Look up a picture of eggplants growing. They look just like eggs….on a plant.
Love you guys and your content!
Escalator is actually a brand name that became a common term for moving staircase. Like Kleenex, Jell-o, Q-tip, band-aid, and many more.
In the uk we don't use any of the things you stated in the uk. We would say,tissue,jelly,ear bud,plaster.
But we have lots that we use in the uk that you wouldn't use.
In the U.S. jelly is a relative of jam.
I remembered in school, someone ask for a rubber; obviously, that person got several looks
I love how you understand how posh you sound and have fun with it just like Americans would. Makes you so much more relatable.
college's in the U.S. are typically smaller liberal arts/community college/vocational schools, and the like- where as Universities are typically larger institutions offering graduate and undergraduate degrees.....there are, of course, a variety of exceptions- but generally speaking those are the differences....
You rent apartments but buy condos. We have wardrobes too but a closet it built into the wall where as a wardrobe is a piece of furniture. A yard is grass but if plant anything else it becomes a garden. Faerie Floss is fun. It was first introduced at the 1904 St. Louis World Fair as Faerie Floss but over the years both sides of the Atlantic has bastardized it.
In the US the pharmacy is the specific section of the drugstore where you get your prescriptions.
A university is made of several or as many as 20 colleges, Harvard and Oxford use the same terms.
Popsicle, Binkie, and Scotch Tape are also a brand name. We use a washcloth in the bathroom and a kitchen towel or a rag in the kitchen. Also most washcloths I know are terrycloth, not flannel. Here flannels is usually used for blankets or sweatshirts…sometimes pants… I would totally not know what a cashpooint is…and I’ve never heard rasher of bacon before…we say escalator…I love tartare sauce! I have also never heard prick stick.
I like how popsicle and icelolly are both saying frozen lollipop.
I remember when you did this type video many years ago, I loved these. Laurence from Lost in the pond does alot of these types of videos
Joel & Lia. Usually flats (apartments) are leased / rented, whereas condos are owned.
As a linguist, I might mention that the joke for "What is the difference between a language and a dialect?" is "A language is a dialect with an army and a navy."
They use different words from us
@@shadow1sdBlimey! 😊
When my family lived in England, we used to try and make cookies with “granulated sugar” and wondered why they were so hard. We didn’t realize that you call it “caster sugar.” We finally figured it out and our cookies came out fine. Food and clothing had lots of words that are different. You call something a “pinafore dress” and we call it a “jumper.” I also remember reading a magazine article over there and there were lots of words I didn’t understand. My brother is taking his wife to London this fall and I wish I was going.
Thank you Joel & Lia for making my day and putting a smile on my face🥰… my absolute favorite word without question is ice lolly vs popsicles 🙂
Wishing you and families nothing but the best! Wishing you a wonderful rest of the week ahead!
How about slush? A Frappe?
The state I live in (Pennsylvania) dropped front license plates from cars to save the steel during WWII. They tried bringing it back, but did a 180 at the start of the Korean War. It's just been that way ever since.
There are some areas that call sprinkles - jimmies.
And that '"subway" Joel mentioned going under a roadway is what we'd basically call an underpass. Just the same, we have the same thing that also goes over a roadway which we call an overpass.
A torch is what we generally call a stick with a flame on the end to light a passage - like what you'd see in medieval films.
Many of us in PA used to call ATMs MAC machines. Money Access Centers were located all over the place in the 80s and they slowly faded out. Took me some time to start calling the new ones ATMs.
I'm in PA as well and I didn't know that about the front license plates. It's nice to have the backstory. As for ATMs, my dad still slips up and calls it a MAC machine occasionally.
But a subway in the UK is for pedestrians to walk under a road while an underpass in the US is for cars to drive under another road.
In the states, we actually have colleges and universities. Universities are larger and have more course offerings. A college is smaller and usually only offers the basic liberal arts, tech courses, and such offerings. Biscuits and scones are not the same.
I don’t know if this still applies, but a college used to only offer bachelor level degrees, but a university also offers Master and PhD degrees.
Also within a University there can be individual “colleges” aka departments i.e. College of Music
A college is part of a university. The college of social work. The College of Liberal arts. The college of dentistry. Are all housed on the grounds of the university or offsite but they are still part of a larger entity called the University.
In America college and university are two different things. While both are typically post high school higher education institutions, colleges are generally much smaller than universities. College can be places like community college, liberal arts college, or trade school. Colleges generally offer undergraduate courses while universities have both undergraduate and graduate programs. A university can be made up of colleges, and a college can expand to become a university.
The picture shown for thumbtack were actually just push pins. Thumb tack is a more specific type of push pin with a large round head that is easily pressed in place with the thumb, and is used for attaching something usually to a vertical surface such as a board, post, or wall and are not meant to be moved very often (like tacks for other materials like wood or metal),The tack inserts all the way so the head presses flat against the surface. They can be more difficult to remove than other push pins.
Push pins can be used for attaching, but are also used for marking an area and are easily removable.
In the US a wardrobe is a piece of furniture, and a closet is always built in (and required in building codes to be counted as a bedroom, a room without a closet is an office or bonus room). I think closets (or maybe you would call it a built in wardrobe) are not common or required in the UK, and the piece of furniture that we also call a wardrobe is more common.
Yes, I find it so strange they don't have built in closets, I mean how can you not have closets in your bedrooms at the very least,lol.
the word "wardrobe" also refers to the sum total of the clothing you own.
@@davidheiser2225 True!
It's pretty common for pre WWII housing to not have built in closets in most of North America though.
@@robertsitch1415 My house was built in 1903 and it has walk-in closets in the bedrooms - 3 of the 4 have small windows that open.
You both are so much fun. You covered a lot of words, and it was interesting!!
The subway sandwich generically is called a sub. Subway is the name of a restaurant chain. A subway for transportation is simply called a subway. A highway is not an elevated road necessarily.. it’s a two lane road (1-2 lane each way) usually between smaller towns
Holiday = from the term “Holy day”, such as Christmas, Easter, etc.
Vacation = meaning “to vacate” or leave on a trip.
So no, you will never convince me to swap out “vacation” for “holiday”. 😉
Canadians use “holiday” and “vacation” interchangeably.
So, you have a vacation every day????
Don't you just find it hilarious that yanks tell English people how to speak English?
@@simonpowell2559 that literally makes no sense. Why would you think I take a trip every day?
@@simonpowell2559 I also think it’s “hilarious” when the English feel that everything they say is the only “correct” way to say it.
If you asked about the closest "cash point", absolutely no one would know what you were talking about !!!
A think a good majority of Americans call plastic wrap "Saran Wrap" because that is the company that makes plastic wrap. We also call tissues "Kleenex" because again that is a brand of tissues.
We’d probably use the term freeway, highway, thruway and interstate all to mean the same thing even though there may be technical or regional distinctions.
🤔 interesting. In my head Freeway & Expressway have ramps and no cross streets. Highways & interstates do not. Maybe thruway is another version of freeway. I never hear anybody say that one though.
"Interstate" refers to a specific set of highways, marked as such.
Popovers usually have filling. Freeways are usually quite wide, even six lanes+ and implies no toll is paid. We say STRIP of Bacon.
Great throwback video concept! So much fun! You would both make great game show hosts!!
Wash cloths are for washing your face/body, dish cloths are for washing dishes, cutlery, pans, etc. For me string beans and green beans are interchangeable, freeways are larger/more lanes than highways (and highways sometimes have stoplights where I’m from but freeways never do). Stockings can be held up with clipped on garters often as part of a garter belt.
I have missed these videos! I noticed Joel is having the same issue I am. I find myself thinking/saying the British version of things instead of the American version. I guess I’ve watched you guys so long it has gotten into my head now! 😆
String beans come from both bush beans (bushes in the row) and runner beans (vine type).
When we visited the UK and called on an elderly cousin of my wife's family I said: "What a nice backyard you have".....she promptly corrected by saying "It is my GARDEN......a yard is full of junk"
That was a snooty response. To Americans it is a “yard”… not a “junkyard.”
@@amandagoodman1272 different generation and proud of her flowers etc. The guy who took care of her lawn gets a tea break that she made for him.
@@amandagoodman1272 Nothing to do with snooty. I am pretty sure she was very proud of her garden and didn't appreciate some dumb yanks calling it a yard. It wasn't!
Don't forget you are not in bloody America!
But if you have no flowers or plants, then it can't be a garden. If you only have grass, it's a yard or a lawn..
@@aspenrebel she had both a lawn and surrounding flowers etc.
Loved this!
An apartment is a "flat" that you rent. A condominium, or condo, is an "apartment" ( not a house) that you buy.
In an apt., the landlord is responsible for all repairs. In a condo, the resident (owner) is responsible for all repairs from the front door in. With a condo, you also pay a condo fee to pay for building administration, and I think overall upkeep in common areas.
The biggest difference between a condo vs. apartment is ownership. An apartment is defined as a residence that is rented, often as part of a larger residential building. A condo is similar in structure to an apartment - usually a unit within a larger residential building - but condos are owned instead of rented.
As an American living in England, I had two embarrassing moments using the wrong word. Once I mentioned that I might occasionally wear suspenders when working around the house. I later learned I had inadvertently admitted to wearing a lady's garter belt! Another time, when discussing a disobedient little girl, I suggested she needed a smack on the fanny. A little girl's fanny is below the belt...but in front, not in back, hence Bum Bag vs. Fanny Pack.
Living here in London, there is liquor everywhere as in you can buy in supermarkets where in many areas of the US, the liquor store is the only place you can buy certain types of liquor (anything but beer), so we go there way more.
Alcohol laws differ from state to state.
The Hoover vacuum bran was invented in the United States.
Yeah, so? Hardly news.
It was nice to see the throwback style video again, good job guys.👍🏽
In the US garden refers to a patch of land used for growing fruits and vegetables. Its located in your yard. If it just has flowers in it then its a flowerbed.
Condo vs Apartment. The difference is ownership: an apartment is something you rent, but a condo you directly own (even if part of a building with many such in it, which it usually is). Generally speaking, due to contracts, apartments and condos don't exist together in the same building; even if you own a condo which you in turn rent or lease out to another person (sublet), it still isn't properly referred to as an "apartment" by the person renting it, but rather they simply note that they're renting/subletting a condo.
Freeway and highway mean the exact same thing.
It depends on what part of the country you live in. In my part of the country we never say Freeway. We always use Highway. Unless it’s a Toll Road. Then we can it a Toll Road because you have to pay to go on it.
Not really, all freeways are highways but not all highways are freeways.
@@stacyr4070 maybe technically, since we have Toll roads. But personally, I have never used freeway. We always say Highway or Sometimes interstate. Thanks for the correction. I didn’t think of freeway being the opposite of a Toll Road. Never thought of that before.
Freeway is free and thus the name vs paying a toll. Agree we use many interchangeably (highway, freeway, interstate).
And one I definitely agree with you on is “holiday” vs. “vacation”. Although we say “vacation”, I just love the sound of “we’re going on holiday”. Much more classy. 🙂🙂🙂
It's confusing to us Americans because Holidays here stand for days of the year recognized by the government as times for everyone to celebrate whereas vacation is time given to an individual to take off any random day or days of the year.
@@gacaptain yes
Saying that one of those words is more classy just sounds so stupid.. classiness has nothing to do with either of those words sorry to break the news to you. Vacation actually makes sense going on holiday doesn’t make sense in so many situations.
Look at it this way. Long ago when English was invented in England by the English. The church would give you time off work or school. Hence holidays. No idea where this vacation thing came from. We don't even know what it means really.
In the United States call a trolley a car that transport people. Like in San Francisco.
Yard? No, no, no.... Like Clint said, "Get off my lawn!" Oh, wait... it's just Joel and Lia... come on in for tea, y'all🥰
Quite comprehensive. Great job!
You rent an apartment. You own a condo.
I really like these types of videos because I'm a huge linguistics nerd, and I wanted to share some of the other variations of several words you used in your video. A couple of these share similarities with British English. I'll throw in a few additional words for fun.
A sled can also be referred to as a sleigh or toboggan.
Here in New England, you'll hear some people refer to the liquor store as the Packie of the package store.
Freeway, highway, interstate, it's all interchangeable.
Tic-Tac-Toe can also be referred to as X's & O's.
Shopping cart can be referred to a buggy when you are in the south and here in New England we call it a carriage.
Sneakers can also be called tennis shoes, tennies, or runners (what I say).
Colleges and Universities are not the same here in the United States. Colleges focus on undergraduate studies while Universities focus on both undergraduate and graduate studies.
Sprinkles can be controversial. Most people will consider both the rainbow and chocolate ones to be sprinkles, but the chocolate ones are ACTUALLY called Jimmies.
Powdered sugar is also confectioners sugar.
Technically yard sales, garage sales and estates sales are different, but they are pretty much interchangeable. A TRUE estate sale would have an open-house showcasing styled walkthrough so you can view the furnishing for sale inside the home instead of out on the lawn. Here in New England you may also hear a yard sale referred to as a Tag Sale.
As a bonus, I wanted to throw in some New England terms:
Make a U-Turn - "Bang a 'Uey".
Water Fountain is a Bubb-luh (Bubbler).
Soft Serve Ice Cream is a Creemee
Milkshakes are called Frappes.
Sub sandwiches are Grinders.
"Wicked!" is an intensifier word in place or "really" or "very". For example, "This grinder is wicked good", "My kid is wicked smart", "These concert tickets are wicked expensive."
Highway vs freeway: used interchangeably, depends where you are in the US. I live in the midwest and have always called it a highway.
Washcloth: some use them to wash their faces or take their makeup off. Flannel is a type of cloth here, thicker and warm material often with a plaid pattern
Never heard of a popover or yorkshire pudding
Apartment is where one company ones the building and rents out each unit/apartment and they pay rent. Condo is where each apartment is owned by a different person and they pay a mortgage.
Some states require license plate on front and back. I know Texas does and Kansas doesn't.
We would never call Yorkshire pudding a popover. While rare, we would just call it Yorkshire pudding. A popover is pastry that’s folded in half and usually has fruit inside. I suppose it could be savory as well.
A popover is an eggy batter cooked in cup at high heat in the oven which expand and remain hollow.
A pastry folded in half with fruit inside I've only ever seen called a turnover.
That's not what a popover is in the US
Yorkshire puddings and popovers are made with the same batter, but in my experience yorkies are made in large pans; cut or tear to make multiple servings. Popovers are individual servings made in cups.
Throwback was so much fun. Learned a few new Brit terms.
In American English, a highway is a major roadway, while a freeway is a highway with no cross traffic.
Scotch Tape is a brand name of the 3M company. Americans use it as a generic term for that type of tape the way British people use the word "Hoover" to mean "vacuum cleaner."
A condo (short for "condominium") is an apartment that is individually owned, rather than being owned by a landlord.
Americans use the word "escalator" the same as British people.
Tartar sauce is common in the U.S.
"Holiday" in the U.S. is equivalent to "bank holiday" in Britain.
In the U.S. we also say "garage sale" and "tag sale" as well as "yard sale."
Old school Joel & Lia. Love it!!
You guys 😂😂 I laughed out loud several times. Just naturally hilarious.
When I hear "Drawing Pin" I'd think of a pen to use for drawing. (Southerners pronounce PIN and PEN the same)
It's entertaining to hear different words used for the same thing. Thanks! When I lived north of Boston MA, off license stores/liquor stores were called packies. In SC we call them Red Dots, and they have a giant red dot on the front of the store to identify them as such. Red Dots can only sell hard alcohol. Wine and beer can now be sold in grocery stores in SC, but if a Red Dot wants to sell both types of alcohol, they have to have separate entrances to each side so you pay on one side for the liquor, exit and enter the other side (2 feet away) for wine/beer. During slow times, the same clerk that sold you the liquor walks through the staff door connecting the two sides and rings up your wine/beer purchase.
Yeah let's go to the packy!! That word is used in a rather limited geographical area around Boston. It's also a kind of old phased out word.
A highway is, by definition, a main road that connects two cities, or another kind of main route between locations. The main difference between a highway and a freeway is that a highway does not have on-ramps, tends to have slower speed limits, and can utilise traffic lights and roundabouts. Moreover the term "freeway" would be more common in Californian English and some parts of Canada and Australia.
Both colleges and universities offer post secondary degrees, so ultimately, it's up to you to decide what's a better fit for your goals. Colleges tend to be smaller and offer more specialized fields of study; universities are much larger, place heavy emphasis on research and award master's and doctoral degrees.
"Because you rub it out"...Oh Joel...lol.
Scotch tape is brand name of tape from 3M company
If we used Holiday instead of Vacation, we’d be confused over actual Holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Exactly, the word holiday comes from holy day; meaning a sacred day.
@@todradmaker4297 Any time off work or school is a holiday. All we know about vacation is it's some strange word yanks use.
Have you never heard the song "We are all going on a summer holiday" ?
@@simonpowell2559 It's aways fun when you have to explain the English language to the English. The word Holiday comes from the Old English word haligdaeg, meaning holy day. The word vacation means the act of leaving something, as in leaving work or town for a period of time. For example one could say "I'm going on vacation during the Christmas holiday.
In the U.S., pharmacy is just as common as drug store, only California uses Freeways, Trolly suggests trolly car (cable car) still used in San Francisco (a city you must visit), and sledge sounds like an abbreviation for sledgehammer. A Yard is a grass area, where Garden suggests flower beds or a vegetable-growing patch. Dual Carriageway makes me think of horse-drawn carriages.
I don’t know where you’re from but freeways are in every state that I know of. Freeways are highways that can only be accessed by on and off ramps.
@@TheBullyMomma I agree, I definitely did not grow up in California and lived in a few different states and every state I lived in called them freeways.
@@TheBullyMomma - I was referring to the term "freeway" which is used in Calif,. while every other state calls them highways. The video is about language, not the actual items.
This is such a cool video!!! Here we go, from an American! 1. I never say telephone booth....I say phone booth. 2. I don't say drugstore. I say pharmacy. I also work for Walgreens! :) 3. Washcloth was correct. But for a cleaning cloth we Americans would call that a dishcloth. 4. I call it a Green Bean, never a String Bean. String beans are different than Green Beans, they are skinny beans. 5. I wouldn't know what a Cash Point was before watching this video. :) 6. We always call it an eraser, never a rubber which, for Americans, is slang for a Condom. 7. We say escalator for an escalator. Never Moving Staircase! lol 8. Yes, we call it TarTar sauce. 9. We also call it a driveway. And we do have our license plates on the front and back! 10. Love "Candy Floss!"
This is my favorite kind of video with you two together and this kind of content! So happy to see your faces!
Condo is short for Condominium. A condo is basically an apartment you purchase and are usually located in a multiple story building. You own only between the 4 walls and the celling and floor.
Joel & Lia, I just learned via a google search that British, American, Aussie, Kiwi, S. African are dialects. I've always called them accents, but because of all the terminology differences, apparently that moves it beyond just an accent.
RE. freeway, there are parts of the US that call the Interstate system the freeway, others tollway if there's a charge periodically, but most of us say Interstate, and a specific one is, say, I-90. These have on and off ramps plus multiple lanes. But, there are others which replace the on and off ramps with stop signs, and occasionally will have stop lights/signs, and they're called highways.
To me, sneakers doesn't fill the total term need, as running shoes, hiking shoes, biking shoes, etc. all serve a specific function, and look much different, thus deserving separate terms.
Some schools of higher learning are colleges, and some are universities, depending upon several items.
Condo(minium)s are apartments that you own, rather than rent, and are usually found in a group all in 1 building.
escalator = same--escalator.
When the whole country gets the same day off (i.e., Christmas), it's a holiday, but when it's a week or more on your own, which you choose for your own time off work, it's a vacation.
We have scones, but they're different than a biscuit.
Re. license plates, most states require one on both front and back, including my state of Illinois; but some only require the back one.
Do you know our term for loo is john, can.
An alternative for yard sale is, if the stuff is put in the garage--garage sale.
so a difference that Ive not seen anyone else mention is... (im canadian) there are no 'exit' signs there, instead they say 'way out'. and 'yield' traffic signs all say 'give way'....
I now say lift instead of elevator. I'm learning British English from you both. I grew up with a New Jersey accent because my family is from New England states and I don't sound Texan at all. I'm glad.
Since when is New Jersey in "New England?" Hint: NEVER was, never will be
The reason fewer and fewer states have two license plates is because they are almost completely unnecessary.
Having just one cuts the cost in half firstly, and normally they are just for police use and if they are behind you they that's where they need to see the plate.
If it was on the front of the car they would never be able to see it as you passed by quickly enough, also front plates for so long in many states messed up the styling because they had to add a makeshift bracket for it, and the states that didn't require front plates were able to have the sleek clean front of their car unobstructed by a number platethat is almost never used for anything.
I love the styling of the front of my mini, and I would hate to have a boring license plate planted right in the middle of ruining the intended styling.
And a few times when the car has been sold from a state that didn't require double plates to state that did require them, it didn't have the bracket from the dealership so people would use twist ties or wire hangers to try to hang their plate from their front grill. It really is silly to have a plate on the front.
In those States where you only have one plate, it's usually illegal to back into a parking space though, because it conceals your license plate.
But other than the odd Uber reason, there really is no reason to have a plate on the front of a car and it is slowly being done away with across the United states.
I've always lived in a state where we didn't have them and I could never understand why other states did have them. In fact all it did is mark someone as being from somewhere else when they did have a plate on the front, and it's not always great to stand out when you are in unfamiliar territory.
Plus, please immediately know that you are from somewhere else and to give you a second or third look or pull you over just to wonder why you're driving through their area. And frankly, many state plates have been very ugly, sometimes with wild colors sometimes with a dull colour that doesn't go well with some cars.
I do support the legible black letters on a white plate that is common in the UK and europe. But I don't want to play that large and I absolutely do not want one on the front of my cars. It would absolutely destroy the styling of the front of my Lincoln Mark 8 which has a very sleek shovel type nose and literally no place to attach a flat boring piece of metal like that on that sculptured piece of art LOL
I've been to England a couple of times (and LOVED it) so I knew some of these. About half I prefer the Americanisms that I've always known, half I like the British better. But no matter what word it is, it always sounds better with a British accent.
Places like Walgreens are considered a drugstore with pharmacies inside. However, Targets and Walmarts also have Pharmacies inside them to get prescriptions filled but are not drugstores
Here's an southern American joke . One day a papa , a mama , and a baby mole were burrowing through the ground . They decided to go to the surface and sniff around . The papa said " It smells like there's a Waffle House here . I smell hash browns and eggs frying ." The mama squeezed in next to papa and said " I smell coffee and waffles , so it could be a Waffle House . " Mama then said " What do you think , son ? ". Jr. Couldn't squeeze past papa and mama , so he replied " Down here the only thing I smell is molasses . ". Edit . If you don't get the joke , imagine a cartoon mole pronouncing molasses with a southern drawl .
1. License plate rules are different by state. For example, Florida and Louisiana only require back plates. Illinois, Rhode Island, NY require front and back.
apartment and condos are technically different in how you actually sign for them. Apartments are on a term of 6 months to a year then you can sign the contract to rent again or not. Condos you buy straight up and are like houses where you pay mortgage per month on top of standard rent. Honestly apartments are ok most of the time just Condo complexes can be seriously in your face about getting one so just ignore them when possible.
The difference is not how you ‘sign for them’. An apartment is rented (month-to-month, or leased for a set period) and a condominium is owned. That’s the difference.
I think it’s interesting that some words are longer or shorter on both sides. Stroller vs pram for example.
I 💗 how exites Joel got for the "jumble sale"
On the East side of the states we do not say Freeway, it is called the Interstate as it says on the signs.
Its Interstate 95, Interstate 75 interstate 4 an etc.
In the West we have the interstate that is a main artery running across the country. The ones that aren’t as long we call freeways. The ones that aren’t as long or as wide we call highways. Like Highway 1 that goes along the coastline or PCH which stands for Pacific Coast Highway. I think I got that right 😆
@@grateful7912 in CA we call any interstate that has no toll a Freeway, no matter if it’s long (the 5 Freeway) or short (the 105 freeway).
@@fsujavi16 yup and we say “the” 55 or “the” 405 which I hear other places don’t say.
In the US a rasher of bacon is a serving of four strips.
2:35 - We would call what Joel is describing here an "underpass"
I love these kinds of videos, please keep them up, it’s fun on our side as well to think “why do Brits call it that?” 😂 FYI, you buy a condo, you rent an apartment, and a condo is usually only 1 story, while a townhouse is 2! And I’m the great state of NJ where I live, we DO have license plates on the front and back, so Ubering is awesome here! Come back anytime! 🙂 Love you guys as always!!! ❤️❤️❤️