Questions tagged [british-english]
This tag is for questions related to English as used in Great Britain, and sometimes Ireland.
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Where were "should", "shall", and "must" in the 18th Century?
According to the following Google Ngram, in the U.K. the modals should, shall, and must were virtually missing from English writing during the 18th Century (I've added will for a comparison modal ...
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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 ...
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"Synced" or "synched"
Which is correct: synced or synched? Is one of these American and the other British spelling or are they interchangeable?
I have only ever seen sync used in the computing industry.
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Is there a reason the British omit the article when they "go to hospital"?
Why do British speakers omit the article in constructions like "go to hospital" or "go on holiday"? Pretty much all American speakers would rephrase those as "go to the hospital" and "go on a holiday",...
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How can I order eggs "over hard" in the UK?
I've recently made a couple of trips to the London area, and I've had a terrible time trying to convince the hotel breakfast cooks that I want my eggs fried "over hard", meaning that both the white ...
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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 (noun)
...
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"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 ...
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Is "faff" well understood outside Britain?
Google says "faff" is just British English. Is it well understood in other English speaking regions? If not, is there an international alternative?
faff
BRITISH informal
verb: faff; 3rd person ...
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How did "biscuit" come to have a distinct meaning in North American English?
The Oxford Living Dictionary makes a clear distinction between the usage of biscuit in Britain and North America:
British: A small baked unleavened cake, typically crisp, flat, and sweet.
‘a ...
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Is "act like a mensch" too localized for ELU readers (U.S. and/or British English)?
This question was motivated by an interesting comment that was made at https://academia.stackexchange.com/posts/comments/123681?noredirect=1
Part of Answer: I don't think that particular research ...
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Should I say "ATM" or "cashpoint" in the UK?
ATM is an initialism of automated teller machine, coined sometime in the 1970s. I have always considered it an Americanism while its British equivalent has always been cashpoint, Oxford Living ...
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"Speak to" vs. "Speak with"
What are the differences between these two phrasal verbs and what are the best situations to use each?
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Around 1960 in Britain "Have you a camera?" or "Do you have a camera?"
Around 1960, when we began learning English in Japan, we were taught British English. To our great surprise, we were forced to change into American English in the next grade. Japanese English teachers ...
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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.
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What does "trodie" mean?
In "The Star Fraction" by Ken MacLeod, a Scottish science fiction author, a couple walks through a street and past a "trodie". The novel is set in Britain, so it may be a British expression. The ...
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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 email....
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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 ...
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Is "used in anger" a Britishism for something?
On a different board, someone referred to a computer language that had achieved popularity beyond the academic world as "used in anger", the way a shot fired in combat instead of on the practice range ...
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"Invite" vs. "invitation"
I hear a lot of people saying "Send me an invite". I always thought that it was an 'invitation'. Is "sending one an invite" accepted usage? Or is it incorrect? If I need to get my wedding invitation ...
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"Maths" for "Mathematics"; where does the S come from?
So in US English we shorten mathematics to math, and in the UK they say maths. Where does the 'S' come from in the UK version? For some reason I had it in my head that this was just because it's ...
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Friendly way of saying "I love you"
In Spanish, Te amo (I love you) has more romantic feeling than saying Te quiero.
The last one is used as a friendly way of saying I love you, but without romantic purposes.
However, if translated to ...
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Why were slum kids called “urchins”?
To the eyes of Mr. Jeremiah Cruncher, sitting on his stool in Fleet Street with his grisly urchin beside him, a vast number and variety of objects in movement were every day presented.
A Tale ...
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"Successfull"/"successful" — is this a UK/US difference? [closed]
I would tend to write double-l, but Google gives me more single-l, so I'm guessing it's an Atlantic divide thing.
And I guess all the other *full words.
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Why do Americans go 'downtown' whilst people in the UK go 'up town'?
People in London, who live in the suburbs, may tell you they work 'up town', meaning in the City or the West End.
In other large cities in Britain, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds etc., I think people ...
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Why is "whomse" not a word?
I often hear people say something like
For whose benefit is that?
Should it not be
For whomse benefit is that
Who -> Whom
Whose -> Whomse
I know "whomse" is not a real word. My question is: ...
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How and when did American spelling supersede British spelling in the US?
Considering that Webster published his first dictionary in 1806, is there a recognised tipping point (year, decade, etc.) that marked the move from traditional British spelling to Webster's American? ...
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Reason for different pronunciations of "lieutenant"
While Americans (and possibly others) pronounce this as "loo-tenant", folks from the UK pronounce it as "lef-tenant".
Why?
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Why are Leicester & co pronounced as they are?
What is the origin of the pronunciation of words like Leicester, Gloucester, Worcestershire? Presumably, the spelling predates the pronunciation but what is the history here? What language do the ...
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"Your fly is open" "You mean my flies?"
Apparently, when a gentleman has forgotten to zip his pants, in the US they remind him thusly
Your fly is open
Dictionary.com lists the noun fly meaning: 20. a strip of material sewn along one ...
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Is there a difference between “arse” and “ass”?
From a comment here, in frequent usage, arse and ass are often interchangeable when used to refer to buttocks or to a person of dubious charms. However, although “to arse about” has a vague connection ...
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What is the difference between "English" and "British"?
As an American, I naively think of British and English as exact synonyms. I know I'm wrong, but I just don't know in what way. I am vaguely aware that people in the UK hold strong opinions about one ...
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"have" vs."have got" in American and British English
I have looked through several questions and answers on EL&U, and often there is an indication that American English prefers "have" while British English prefers "have got". In addition, there are ...
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"Parametrise" or "parameterise" a curve? [closed]
In British English, which one is correct? Does one parameterise a curve or parametrise it?
hopo2
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When did "More tea vicar?" start to be used after farting? Where did it come from?
In England when someone farts they might say "More tea vicar?"
When did this start, and how did it come about? It feels unusual enough to have a definite creation - some comedian perhaps? Web ...
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Why is "math" always pluralized in British English but singular in American English?
In the United Kingdom, I would study maths; but in the United States, I would study math. What gives?
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When talking to American clients, should I say "smoothie" or "milkshake"?
We have a client visit planned to our service center (in India) and I am in-charge of Food and Beverages for our client's entire itinerary. I am writing to my client's Travel coordinator(an American) ...
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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 ...
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Meaning of "He's got more bottle than a milkman"
I was watching a game of snooker the other day and heard one of the commentators say "This player has got more bottle than a milkman" after a particularly good shot. What does this mean and how could ...
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"Toilet", "lavatory" or "loo" for polite society
My friend is trying so hard to fit into polite society, and is raising her child to say loo rather than toilet. I know it should be lavatory (and I would not say lav) but we are in the 21st century ...
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Is there a difference between "cheers" and "thanks" in colloquial British English?
In colloquial British English today you hear "Cheers" (to mean "thank you") more often than "Thanks."
Is the choice of one or the other determined by regional, class, or education differences, or is ...
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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.
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"right" vs "correct"
Except when we use right to denote direction, what is the difference between these two terms?
Also, which one is the preferred construction between these two
Am I right?
or
Am I correct?
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Is "ageing" the only exception?
have, having
love, loving
make, making
take, taking
give, giving
hate, hating
strive, striving
Etc. When a verb in its lemmatic form ends with "-e" then its present participle omits that letter.
...
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Sleepy tired vs physically tired
I'm trying to figure out if there is a better way to distinguish between being sleepy-tired, and being physically tired.
Scenario A: You didn't get much sleep last night. It's only 10am so you've not ...
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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 in ...
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Origin of "queer as a clockwork orange"
While reading a recent Ken Follet novel, I came across the following, spoken in a gay bar set in early sixties London:
"I am queer as a clockwork orange, a three-pound note, a purple unicorn, or a ...
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Date format in UK vs US
Why is the most common date format in the US like mm/dd/yyyy, whereas in Europe (including the UK) it's more common to have dd/mm/yyyy?
Looking around, I found that the US form is actually the more ...
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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 "...
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Why did "sceptical" become "skeptical" in the US?
Compare the following two Google Ngram Viewer charts for sceptical vs. skeptical in American English and British English:
British English
American English
My interpretation of these charts is that:
...
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The British pronunciation of the word "schedule"
Is pronouncing the word "schedule" as "shed-ule" only an upper class thing in the UK? Which pronunciation, "sked-ule" "or "shed-ule" is more faithful to the original etymology of the word, i.e. which ...
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