This tag is for questions related to the English language as used in the United States of America.
63
votes
28answers
5k views
Is there an American English equivalent of the British idiom “carrying coals to Newcastle”?
I'm an American living in the Netherlands who is learning Dutch. There's an idiom in Dutch that describes performing a needless/futile activity, "water naar de zee dragen," which literally translates ...
51
votes
6answers
2k views
How come 'ou' was reduced to 'o' in the US?
Americans write color and favorite, when others say colour and favourite. How/why did this happen?
37
votes
7answers
2k views
Which variant of English should I use when my target audience is the world?
I know that all variants of English (American English, British English, etc.) can be generally understood by everybody who knows any of the English variants. However, there are some regionalisms that ...
33
votes
3answers
3k views
Why do some words have two past tense forms (e.g. “dreamed” vs. “dreamt”)?
While perusing ShreevatsaR's answer to this question, it occurred to me that my own verbal usage is out of step with what I see in current American literature. When speaking in the past tense, I ...
30
votes
15answers
3k views
Words with opposite meanings in different regions
I can't recall it, but there is a word in American English which now means the opposite of itself in British English. What words are there that have opposite (not just different) meanings in different ...
25
votes
7answers
2k views
How are 'marry', 'merry', and 'Mary' pronounced differently?
The way I pronounce these words is the same. Similarly for other words like these: I pronounce ferry and fairy the same, carrot and caret. Yet, dictionaries show different pronunciations for these ...
25
votes
6answers
10k views
“Oriented” vs. “orientated”
What are the origins of the word orientated?
As far as I know, the correct spelling is oriented and orientated is not an alternative spelling but an error that is in common use.
Is it for example ...
25
votes
1answer
54k views
What's the difference between “requester” and “requestor”?
Both are in dictionaries. I've heard people insist "requester" is correct for a person who requests something, and that "requestor" is wrong there, leaving me to wonder how it is used. Requestor ...
24
votes
6answers
17k views
What is the difference between dialogue and dialog?
I am American, and I always thought the difference between dialogue and dialog was one of meaning, the way Merriam-Webster has them listed:
2 entries found:
dialogue (noun)
dialog box ...
23
votes
7answers
2k views
Does “gay” still include the meaning “merry”?
Dictionary.com lists eight meanings
of gay, with “merry, lively” as
the first entry.
Microsoft banned an
Xbox user for listing Fort
Gay (a real place) as his
hometown:
Xbox Live considered the ...
21
votes
3answers
1k views
Do Americans understand Donald Duck?
I had always assumed that although I understood only about half of what Donald Duck says in his cartoons, Americans understood everything despite his comical pronunciation.
However friends have just ...
19
votes
7answers
10k views
Can 'revert' be used as a synonym of 'reply'?
I am a native speaker of American English, and I have only ever heard this usage of the word revert from one person. This person is not a native English speaker (he is from India), so he may just be ...
19
votes
4answers
1k views
“Pissed” vs “Pissed off”
In Australian English there has always been a distinction between "pissed" (intoxicated) and "pissed off" (angry, irritated).
I've noticed a trend towards the American usage where "he was really ...
18
votes
5answers
1k views
What is the pronunciation of “the”?
I read that the definite article is pronounced differently depending on the word that follows it.
Which is the exact pronunciation of the?
18
votes
6answers
3k views
Are the endings “-zation” and “-sation” interchangeable?
What is with words that have forms that end both in -zation and -sation, such as localization and localisation?
Many spell checkers recommend -zation.
18
votes
5answers
8k views
What is the origin of the phrase “I'll take a raincheck”?
What is the origin of the phrase I'll take a raincheck?
18
votes
9answers
6k views
Why is 'c*nt' so much more derogatory in the US than the UK?
What accounts for the strong disapproval of anyone using the word 'cunt' in the US, when the sentiment doesn't exist to the same extent in the UK?
To be clear, it's still a strong word to use in the ...
18
votes
2answers
1k views
When do you use “learnt” and when “learned”?
Is learnt UK English and learned US? Is it that simple?
I’m used to using learnt, but my US spellchecker says it is wrong.
17
votes
3answers
1k views
Why don't Americans write “devor” instead of “devour”?
Why don't Americans write devor instead of devour to be consistent with the pervasiveness of using variations such as color and armor?
17
votes
4answers
5k views
Why do we call our lovers “baby”?
It is common in American English and culture to refer to one's lover or significant other as "baby" or "babe", for example:
Come on baby, light my fire! 1
or
I got you, I won't let go. I got ...
17
votes
8answers
1k views
Why does American English pluralize certain singular nouns?
I keep hearing "A savings of $10" or that something is "a ways off".
Sounds deeply weird to my British English ear.
16
votes
3answers
1k views
Why does “corn” mean “maize” in American English?
I keep hearing "corn" as a synonym of "maize". This is widely popularized worldwide by popcorn. However, this is American English! In British English, "corn" can mean any type of "grain", especially ...
16
votes
4answers
16k views
What do Americans think of using 'cheers' to sign off an email?
I've suspected before that "Cheers" as an email sign-off is a bit of an English (or possibly Commonwealth) thing, but being English it's natural to me and I use it as the mood takes me to end an ...
16
votes
4answers
1k views
Does America have its Versions of U- and Non-U English?
In Britain and most of Europe, some form of U-speak exists: old-money language has certain features that distinguish it from other language. In Dutch, it doesn't really have a name, but it is still ...
15
votes
5answers
3k views
How should I address a professor in the US?
I am always puzzled about how students address a professor in America. Perhaps "Professor + Last name" is the most formal way to do. Here are my questions:
What if the last name of a professor is ...
15
votes
4answers
1k views
Pronunciation of “er” in “farmer” vs. “earth”
I'm confused about the difference in pronouncing "er" in words such as "farmer" and "earth". I hear them the same, but they have different phonetic symbols. Is there any difference in pronouncing "er" ...
15
votes
4answers
30k views
What does “8/7c” stand for?
I just saw an update on Facebook saying:
Watch Russell present LIVE at the 42nd Annual NAACP Image Awards. Tonight at 8/7c on FOX.
What does "8/7c" mean?
15
votes
3answers
597 views
Billion and other large numbers
Traditionally a billion in American English means 109 (1,000,000,000, a thousand million) while in British English it means 1012 (a million million) with milliard meaning 109.
Is this still the case ...
14
votes
22answers
669 views
Is there a good substitute for the word “scarper” in American English?
I used quick, let's scarper before the boss comes back to inject some levity into a recent meeting, but got only blank stares for my trouble. When asked to explain scarper to my American chums, all I ...
14
votes
4answers
7k views
What are the important differences between Canadian and American (USA) English?
English is not my first language; the little English I know is mostly from the USA.
I know some of the differences between British English (or just English?) and American English, and the same with ...
14
votes
4answers
1k views
Is there a shorter term for “divided by” in American English?
Given the following expression:
5 (+-×÷%) 4
You would say "5 plus 4," "5 minus 4," "5 times 4," "5 divided by 4," and "5 mod(ulo) 4" respectively.
As far as I know, "divided by" does not have ...
14
votes
8answers
5k views
Is it proper to omit periods after honorifics (Mr, Mrs, Dr)?
I've been reading the Economist lately and they apparently don't punctuate honorifics like "Mr.", "Mrs.", e.g.
The popular rejection of Mr Mubarak offers the Middle East’s best chance for reform ...
14
votes
4answers
989 views
ON an American street, but IN a British one. Do the twain ever meet?
In the United States, we say that someone lives on a street, whereas I've noticed that British people say in. For instance:
Bubba lives on Washington Street.
Colin lives in Cavendish Avenue.
I ...
14
votes
3answers
1k views
Dialects where days of the week end with “dee”?
Someone recently posted a question about the pronunciation of Wednesday, which reminded me of a different question about pronouncing the days of the week I've had floating around in my head for a ...
14
votes
2answers
966 views
What's this tense called: “I been done ate”?
Growing up in a Black family in the US, I frequently heard people have conversations like this:
Mom: Have you eaten yet?
Kid: Yeah, Mom, I been done ate.
Wife: Have you fixed the sink yet?
...
13
votes
9answers
998 views
Simple English for “filling hunger”
I'm looking for a (preferably) one-word term to describe a meal that's filling.
I'd like to avoid ambiguity with the substance put inside cakes, also called filling.
Satiating appears to be too ...
13
votes
3answers
500 views
Difference between styles of English in technical communication
I have a collaborative software project with two other users. Nearly every technical report and documentation written goes through the following editorial changes to some of the sentences (examples ...
13
votes
3answers
8k views
What does the sentence “Butter my butt, call me a biscuit” mean?
What does this sentence mean? How do I use it?
Butter my butt, call me a biscuit.
13
votes
6answers
14k views
Data pronunciation: “dayta” or “dahta”?
I hear "dayta" more often, but what's the correct pronunciation?
13
votes
6answers
1k views
Are “betwixt”, “trebble”, etc., acceptable in American English?
I grew up speaking British English. The words I learnt were occasionally marked off in papers, despite their being English words. Are words like betwixt, trebble, learnt acceptable in papers for ...
13
votes
2answers
363 views
Is there an American term for a group of elitist schools, similar to the abbreviation “Oxbridge”?
I saw the word, ‘Oxbridge’, a portmanteau of Oxford and Cambridge, in a comment to a question asking for a better word for ‘invigilator’:
Whereas the situation is reversed in the UK, and one in a ...
13
votes
4answers
611 views
Which English language variety is best to use for global e-commerce?
Which variety of English — like American English, British English, and so one — is better to choose when translating to Englis, or building it from scratch, for an e-commerce site which intends to ...
13
votes
3answers
10k views
Which is correct: “This is her” or “This is she”?
Upon answering the telephone, the person calling asks if Joan is available. If Joan is the person who answered the phone, should she say "This is her" or "This is she"?
13
votes
1answer
2k views
Trapezium/trapezoid — why are the US/UK definitions swapped around?
These are the US definitions...
Trapezoid — a 4-sided flat shape with straight sides that has a pair of opposite sides parallel.
Trapezium — a 4-sided flat shape with straight sides and NO parallel ...
13
votes
2answers
5k views
Why is the phrase “should have went” so widely used?
Rarely do we hear "should have gone" in common speech.
Some background: My father immigrated to the US in the late 60s. He learned English first overseas, British English. Then he studied extensively ...
13
votes
3answers
2k views
Starting an independent statement with “I mean, …”
A friend was noting that his daughter would occasionally start sentences with the phrase "I mean, " simply for emphasis, not for clarification:
Friend: How was the Miley Cyrus concert?
...
12
votes
9answers
2k views
American vs. British English: meaning of “One hundred and fifty”
I've noticed that Americans do not say "and" when speaking numbers: for example, 150 would be pronounced "one hundred fifty".
I and most other British-English speakers would pronounce it "one hundred ...
12
votes
3answers
7k views
How do you pronounce “melee”?
I've heard meelee, meyley (maylay), and mehlay. Is there any "correct" way to pronounce it in the U.S.?
12
votes
7answers
961 views
Is it appropriate to call a British person a “Brit”?
Specifically, is it appropriate for a non-British person to call a British person a "Brit"? Whenever I see it from an American source it always feels too familiar or too informal, or both. But I can't ...
12
votes
3answers
5k views
What's the difference between 'subway', 'metro' and 'tube'?
When I watched the "American Album" program, Susan and Henry talked about New York, and she used the word 'subway'.
When I listened to BBC's '6 minutes English', I heard 'tube' used in the ...
