American uses of English (L-P)

American/ Canadian

British

Notes

L
last name	surname
lawyer, advocate, attorney	lawyer, solicitor, barrister	In BE "lawyer" is a general purpose term, broadly synonymous with "solicitor" for a legal practitioner. A "barrister" is a more highly qualified (and paid !) practitioner who specialises in pleading (advocacy) in higher courts. Until very recently only barristers were allowed to practice in higher courts but this is slowly changing. In England and Wales, justice is administered via a hierarchy of magistrates' courts, county courts, crown courts and high courts with an ultimate appeal to the House of Lords. In criminal cases proceedings are initiated and led by the public or crown prosecutor (known as the procurator fiscal in Scotland). The legal system in Scotland is different from that in the rest of the United Kingdom. CE as BE.
lead	cable	Permanent electrical wiring. See entry for "cord". "cable" meaning TV distributed by cable is common to both AE and BE.
legal holiday	bank holiday	Current bank holidays in England are (for 2002) Jan 1st (New Year's Day), March 29th (Good Friday), April 1st (Easter Monday), May 6th (May Day), Jun 3rd Spring Bank Holiday, don't confuse with Whitsun which is a religious festival), Aug 26th (Summer Bank Holiday), Dec 25th (Christmas) and Dec 26th (Boxing Day). [In 2002 June 4th is also a bank holiday to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth 2nd.] The May day holiday is always the first monday in May, not May 1st.
lemonade	real lemonade, squash, cordial	In British usage "lemonade" often refers to a sort of carbonated sugar water.
license plate / license tag	number plate	It indicates the identity of a vehicle. British number plates are permanent for the life of the vehicle. There is a single nationwide system of numbering. The payment of annual road tax is indicated by a small paper disc fixed to the windscreen.
Lifesavers *	Polo	Both terms are proprietary and refer to a hard round white mint, sometimes fruit flavoured, with a hole in the middle.
lightning bug	fire fly
lima bean	butter bean
line *	queue	Group of people waiting in an orderly fashion. AE "waiting in line" is equivalent to BE "queueing".
line cord *	mains lead	Flexible cable joining electrical appliance to supply.
liquor	spirits	Alcoholic drink whose preparation involves distillation. Includes whisky, brandy, gin, vodka.
liquor store	off licence	A shop selling alcoholic drinks for consumption off the premises. There are regional variations in both AE and CE. Many British supermarkets and grocery shops also sell alcoholic beverages. In some North American regions (e.g. British Columbia) the sale of alcohol in this fashion is a monopoly. See notes on "bar".
lobby	foyer	First main room you encounter on entering a hotel, theatre or cinema. Both terms may be encountered in all versions of English. In BE a "lobby" is a group of people attempting to influence an organisation or decision making process, especially parliament.
locker room	changing room
long distance	trunk call Obs	Telephone. There is no general word for this in BE.
longshoreman	docker	Apparently a West Coast term.
loon	great northern diver	Bird pictured on Canadian one dollar coin.
loonie Can	no equivalent	This refers to a one dollar coin. In BE and AE "loony" is a colloquialism for lunatic. Fortunately I'd read the Air Canada in-flight magazine when the airport bus driver asked me "Have you got a Looney ?" The British pound coin is simply called a "pound coin". Pound notes were last issued in England in about 1985. Scottish banks issue their own notes which are different from those issued by the Bank of England and their one pound notes may sometimes be encountered. They are widely accepted in England. Referring to a pound as a "quid" is rapidly becoming uncommon in BE. Intriguingly the plural of "quid" is "quid". See entry for "bill" for details on British paper currency.
lorry obs	hand cart, dolly
lost and found	lost property
lot	plot	Parcel of land that can be bought and sold and is, usually, partly occupied by a building.
love seat	settee	see entry for "couch".
low fat milk	semi skimmed milk	In the UK there is no defined meaning for phrases such as "fat free" and "low fat" although consumer groups are campaigning for such standards.
luggage rack	roof rack	On the roof of a car. In BE luggage racks are found in trains and aeroplanes but not cars.
lumber	timber	AE distinguishes standing timber (i.e. trees that haven't been chopped down) from lumber (which is what they become after they've been chopped down and the logs cut to shape and size). BE uses "timber" in both contexts. In BE "lumber" refers to unwanted items hence "lumber room" and "to lumber somebody" i.e. give them an unwanted task and also means to proceed slowly and clumsily.
lunch pail	lunch box

American/ Canadian

British

Notes

M
M & M	Smarties	Both terms are proprietary and refer to small sweets with hard coloured sugary coatings. Both words are also sometimes used to mean any small item. Smarties have hard chocolate centres are shaped vaguely like flying saucers. A correspondent tells me there is a US sweet called Smarties that do not have chocolate centres.
mail	post	What you do to a letter or parcel to send it on its way. Whilst on its way its "in the mail" (AE) or "in the post" (BE).
mail man	postman	"mail lady" sounds improbable to British ears. In Britain she's called a post woman. "mail carrier" is an alternative American usage and has the official approval of the US Postal Service.
mail slot	letter box	Aperture for delivery of postal items to premises. Note that in British English, "letter box" also refers to a box in public place where letters etc., are deposited for onwards transmission by the Postal Service, sometimes known as a pillar box.
main street	high street	A common name for the most important road in a town or city. Often used to refer generally to the shops and retail outlets of a town or city.
maize	sweet corn	"maize" is apparently uncommon in AE. Also known as "corn on the cob". The use of "maize" to mean a shade of yellow is not known in BE.
mall	shopping centre	The obsolescent British usage "shopping arcade" means a group of shops fronting on to a covered pedestrian way. "Shopping centre" usually implies covered access in British usage whereas American usage uses "mall" to imply covered access and "center" to imply non-covered access. A "parade of shops" in British usage refers to a row of shops fronting on to a road, this usage is largely confined to Southern England. "mall" can also mean a large public park-like area such as Independence Mall in Philadelphia.
Mason jar	Kilner jar	Both terms are proprietary.
mass transit	public transport
Master Card	Access	Credit card company. The British arm has been called "Master Card" since 1998 but many British people still refer to "Access".
master of ceremonies	compere	The person who introduces the performers in a TV or stage variety show. However BE uses "master of ceremonies" for the person "orchestrating" a wedding reception or similar social occasion.
mean	bad tempered	In BE "mean" means stingy, unwilling to spend money, miserly. In AE "mean" can also mean "good" but this is probably obsolete.
meat grinder	mincer
median (strip)	central reservation	Dividing strip down the middle of a dual carriageway. Also called "median strip" in AE.
military time	24 hour clock	Times expressed using numbers in the range 0-23 for the hours.
mimosa *	Buck's Fizz	A drink made by mixing champagne and orange juice.
mobile home	caravan	See notes on "trailer".
modeling clay	Plasticine	BE term is proprietary.
mortician *	undertaker	There are regional variations in American usage. A correspondent tells me that "mortician" is still used for a hospital employee working in the morgue.
Mother's Day	Mothering Sunday	In the UK this is the fourth Sunday in Lent (21st March in 2004), in the US it's the second Sunday in May. "Mother's Day" is widely used in BE as a synonym for Mothering Sunday.
movies	films	The productions themselves. In BE you go to the cinema.
movie theater	cinema	"cinema" is also used in both BE and AE to refer to the art and culture of films.
moving company	removal company	A company that will move your personal effects etc.
moving van	pantechnicon, removal van	Lorry adapted for moving personal effects when moving house. Sometimes called a "panel truck" in AE.
muffler	silencer	Part of vehicle exhaust system. In British usage a muffler is a sort of scarf. In AE a silencer is something you put on a gun.
mutual fund	unit trust	A scheme whereby the investor buys shares or units in a fund which, in turns, buys shares in many companies thereby spreading risk. Dividends received by the fund are aggregated and paid to the fund's investors in proportion to the number of units they have purchased.

American/ Canadian

British

Notes

N
napkin	serviette
native americans	american indians
nickel	no equivalent	5 cent coin. The traditional names for British coins such as tanner (6d), bob (1/-), florin (2/-) and half-a-crown (2/6) all disappeared when the currency was decimalised in 1972. Surprisingly new names for the new coins have not emerged apart from the 1p coin being called a "penny". Mercifully the habit of referring to 5p as "five pee" that was common immediately after decimalisation is now dying out and most people would simply say "five pence". The current coin set is 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p, £1 and £2. The 1p and 2p are copper plated steel, sometimes called "coppers", the 5p and 10p are "silvery", the 10p being bigger than the 5p (unlike the nickel and dime). The 20p and 50p are curious seven-sided "silvery" affairs with curved edges, these having the interesting geometrical property of constant width (similar to the eleven-sided loonie). The £1 coin is small thick and rather yellowy, nobody calls it a sovereign. The recently introduced (1999) £2 coin is similar to the Canadian $2 coin having a "silvery" bit and a "yellowy" bit. The US government has, apparently, made several efforts to issue dollar coins in recent years but these have proved to be remarkably unpopular. I was at a meeting at the European Commission recently and we were all comparing our shiny new small change ('euro' coins have national symbols on the reverse) and commenting that I'd got a Luxembourg 'euro' when a German colleague asked if I had any British euros. Not yet.
nightstick	truncheon	Blunt cosh-like weapon carried by policemen.
normalcy	normality
notions	haberdashery	Accessories such as buttons and zips used in the manufacture of garments. In BE "haberdashery" also refers to a shop selling such things.
number sign	hash mark	See notes on "pound sign".

American/ Canadian

British

Notes

O
oatmeal	porridge
offense players	forwards	Players who lead attack in certain team sports such as football.
oh	nil	Used in reporting the scores of sports fixtures. Where AE would say "two-oh" or "two to nothing", BE would say "two-nil" for a score of 2-0.
oil pan	sump	Part of engine of motor vehicle.
on-ramp, off-ramp	sliproad	How you join or leave a limited access highway. Sometimes called "exit ramp" in AE.
operating room	operating theatre
orchestra seat	stalls	seat in a theatre on the same level as the stage and orchestra
outhouse	privy	In British usage an outhouse is just that. A small, usually brick, building used for storage or similar purposes with no through access from the main building.
overalls	dungarees	In British usage an "overall" is a one-piece sleeved garment used to cover one's normal clothes when working in a dirty place or job. In British usage "dungarees" often refer to such a garment worn by children or women, especially when pregnant, it consists of trousers integral with a bib-like top.
outlet	socket	Connector for telephone or electrical power. In BE these are sometimes referred to as "telephone points" or "power points". British telephone sockets are similar to American ones except that the little latching thingy is on the side rather than the top. Technically the American connector is an RJ11, the British plug is a BT/431A or a BT/631A depending on whether there are 4 or 6 wires, the socket is a BT/601A although there are variants. RJ45's are used in both the UK and North America for data connections. British power sockets have three thick flat pins in a sort of T-shaped arrangement, plugs are large clumsy things whose only saving grace is a fuse in the plug, the user has to find a screwdriver to connect a plug to a cable. American power sockets use thin flat blades, sometimes with a round earth pin, plugs are almost always moulded on to the cable. In very old British buildings an extraordinary variety of round pin sockets may sometimes be encountered. British domestic electric power is nominally 230V at 50Hz, whereas American is nominally 117V at 60 Hz British light bulbs use a two pin bayonet fitting of similar size to the large screw fitting used on American light bulbs. Light fittings have two spring loaded pins that hold the bulb in place. Less likely to come undone than a screw fitting. Screw fitting light bulbs are quite widely obtainable for use in imported fittings.
overpass	flyover	Road system.

American/ Canadian

British

Notes

P
pacifier	dummy	Artificial nipple used to stop small children crying.
paddle	bat	For "ping-pong" and similar games.
panhandler *	beggar
pantihose/pantyhose	tights	An American correspondent tells me that "pantihose" are translucent whereas "tights" are opaque. This distinction is not known in BE.
pants	trousers	The word "pants" refers to an undergarment in BE.
paraffin	wax	See entry for "kerosene".
parka	anorak	In British usage the word "anorak" is also used pejoratively to refer to somebody with a seemingly obsessive hobby interest in something mechanical.
parkade Can	multi-storey car park
parking garage/ramp	multi-storey car park
parking lot	car park
parking stall	parking bay
party tent	marquee	Large tent for social or commercial functions.
pass	overtake	When a faster vehicle passes a slower one travelling in the same direction, especially when the manouevre involves crossing into a lane normally used by vehicles travelling in the other direction.
pastor	minister, vicar, rector	There are subtle differences but you have to understand the ancient and complex administrative hierarchy of the Church of England to understand them. There are also curates, rural deans (even in urban areas), archdeacons, wardens, vergers, readers and sextons.
paved shoulder	hard shoulder	At side of road. See entry for "pull out".
pavement	paved area	Many British people think, incorrectly, that the American usage "pavement" refers to the surface of a road. In fact, it refers to any area that is paved and sealed against water by asphalt or concrete. Such areas can be for foot traffic as well as vehicular traffic.
penitentiary	prison	"prison" is also common American usage except in the proper names of such institutions where "penitentiary" or "correctional institute" is used.
penny	cent	Referring to a 1 cent coin as a "penny" confuses British visitors.
period	full stop	Punctuation at end of sentence, otherwise its just a dot or decimal point.
personalty Obs	personal property	Presumably by analogy with "realty".
petroleum	crude oil	As it comes out of the ground. See entry for "gasoline".
phonograph Obs	record player, gramophone	"gramophone" is distinctly archaic. Of course gramophone records (aka "vinyl") are themselves pretty much obsolete now, although keen audio types may still have a "turntable" to play them on.
pitcher	jug	Nothing to do with baseball (!).
plastic wrap	clingfilm	Thin transparent film used for wrapping food. "Saran wrap" is a US proprietary term.
playhouse	Wendy house
plexiglass	perspex	Also known as lucite.
pocketbook obs	wallet, purse	The AE word "pocketbook" is reported as being synonymous with "handbag"
polliwog * Obs	tadpole	Baby frog.
pool	snooker, billiards	Really three very different games, the only similarities are the use of long narrow wooden cues to push balls around on a cloth covered table usually in a smoky club.
popsicle	lollipop	Frozen confectionary made of ice cream or fruit juice. The British version usually has a spatula like wooden stick printed with execrable jokes. The old fashioned version consisting of flavoured crystallised sugar may also be encountered. "Popsicle" is proprietary.
pork rinds	pork scratchings
postal code Can	post code	See entry for "zip code".
postal outlet Can	sub post office	A shop that includes a counter providing postal services as well as its normal trade (it may be a pharmacy, a grocery or, especially in rural areas, a general store). Post Offices (sometimes called General Post Offices or Crown Offices) are owned by the Post Office (or Post Office Counters Ltd.,) and handle only postal services, although they're increasingly branching into the sale of stationery, greetings cards etc.
potato chips	crisps	See also entry for "French Fries".
pot holders	oven gloves	Padded mittens for holding hot dishes. Oven mitts in CE.
pound sign, number sign	hash sign	This refers to the symbol #. To British people a pound sign is, of course, the currency symbol £. Confusion is heightened by the fact that the # symbol appears in the same place on American keyboards as the £ symbol on British keyboards (above the 3). You're probably wondering where the # symbol appears on British keyboards, that's another story.
powdered sugar US	icing sugar
pre-natal	ante-natal	For mothers to be.
preserves	jam, marmalade	Fruit, usually chopped in, mixed with sugar and boiled then cooled and bottled. Used as a spread on toast, bread etc, and as a cake filling. In AE it is suggested that "jam" implies pulped fruit whereas "preserves" implies recognisable chunks of fruit, in BE both would be called "jam". In BE "preserves" refers to fruit preserved whole, usually in a sugar solution or syrup, without being first chopped up. "marmalade" is the same thing made using citrus fruits such as oranges and is widely used on toast at breakfast.
pressure	pressurise	To try and force somebody to do something.
private school	public school	You have to pay to go there. In BE "private school" means pretty much the same thing as "public school".
proctor	invigilator	College or university official charged with supervising the conduct of an examination.
professor	lecturer	Teacher in university or college. In BE the title "Professor" is awarded to lecturers who have a particularly distinguished record in administration or research (usually the administration of research). A correspondent has suggested that "professor" implies that the title holder has tenure.
property check (girl)	cloakroom attendant	See also "hat check girl".
prong	pin	Business part of electrical connector, especially the large flat blades on North American mains connectors.
pruning shears	secateurs	small gardening tool
public school	state school	You don't have to pay to go there. The state, in the guise of local authorities, pay. OK, you ultimately pay via taxes.
pulley cords	sash ropes	Part of window.
pullout, pulloff	lay by	Place where you can park temporarily at the side of a road. This is not to be confused with the "shoulder" or "hard shoulder" that runs continuously at the side of major roads and motorways.
pump	court shoe	A low-cut slip-on woman's shoe. In British usage "pump" is a regional name for what is now called a "trainer" or "running shoe". In Scotland "pump", apparently, means to pass wind.
purse	handbag	In BE a purse is used by women to carry currency notes, credit cards etc., whereas a handbag is used by women to carry a vast assortment of oddments including their purses.