100+ Differences between British and American English | British vs. American Vocabulary Words

In another book I am reading just now:

Half eleven. Half of eleven would be ten-thirty, right?
No, according to the book it's eleven-thirty!

Why can't people be more logical?
 

Old Salt said:
Is it fourteen days, HD?
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“Fortnight“, literally meaning fourteen nights. From a Germanic custom of reckoning by nights, as opposed to reckoning by days.

kind of reminds me of a story I read where NASA sent a report to a government organisation (or some organisation) where measurements, including speed, were quoted in international SI units. That organisation wrote back by asking NASA to quote in Imperial units Instead. So NASA, allegedly, gave that organisation speed measurements in Furlongs Per Fortnight.

Update: It sounds like something I would do, give them what they wanted but in a way something obscure. Apparently, that organisation never asked NASA to give them different measurment units again.
 
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RadishRose said:
What makes me laugh is the Brit phrase the "washing up".

Washing what? It took me a long time to figure out it means washing the dishes, or doing the dishes. Cute.
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See, this is where 'Brit'' get used in an all consuming manner. As you know I'm Scottish from Irish Grandparents.. In both Scotland and Ireland we say ''Doing the dishes'' ... only when I moved to England I found they say The Washing Up... and for all I know that could just be the south of England.. which is very different to the North of England.. where the latter do tend to be a lot more like Scots...
 
StarSong said:
Other than in books, I've never come across anyone referring to a toilet/bathroom as a water closet or WC.
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In 1950s Germany we went to the W.C. which was ridiculous because we didn't have one at the time. Ours was a sturdy board with a hole cut into the centre, a large pipe leading straight down to a septic tank, and a wooden cover! Yuck! No fridge, no central heating, no hot running water, either!
 
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Old Salt said:
In 1950s Germany we went to the W.C. which was ridiculous because we didn't have one at the time. Ours was a sturdy board with a hole cut into the centre, a large pipe leading straight down to a septic tank, and a wooden cover! Yuck! No fridge, no central heating, no hot running water, either!
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@Old Salt
Believe it or not .. that's how we lived in early 50's Alberta. Outhouse (no septic tank, no wooden cover), we had a tiny ice box, no central heating, no running water at all (we had to get buckets of well water).

sorry for taking this off-topic!
 
Old Salt said:
In 1950s Germany we went to the W.C. which was ridiculous because we didn't have one at the time. Ours was a sturdy board with a hole cut into the centre, a large pipe leading straight down to a septic tank, and a wooden cover! Yuck! No fridge, no central heating, no hot running water, either!
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we had no central heating until the late 70's... and the whole time I was growing up in the 60's we had no hot running water.. we had to boil water for everything .
 
With 7 trips to the UK, being an ardent Anglophile, and having read travel books that have pages of Brit words and their meaning, I'm can sprechen sie Brit pretty well (can't do any of the accents, however). I've now started using tickety boo when asked how I'm doing (only in UK, not US). I'll be back in a few weeks after the plague hiatis.
 
retiredtraveler said:
With 7 trips to the UK, being an ardent Anglophile, and having read travel books that have pages of Brit words and their meaning, I'm can sprechen sie Brit pretty well (can't do any of the accents, however). I've now started using tickety boo when asked how I'm doing (only in UK, not US). I'll be back in a few weeks after the plague hiatis.
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I have been known to use tickety boo at times, but not necessarily in equal measure. It’s been said of me a few times that I’ve got an overabundance of tickety, and not enough boo!
 
retiredtraveler said:
With 7 trips to the UK, being an ardent Anglophile, and having read travel books that have pages of Brit words and their meaning, I'm can sprechen sie Brit pretty well (can't do any of the accents, however). I've now started using tickety boo when asked how I'm doing (only in UK, not US). I'll be back in a few weeks after the plague hiatis.
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You keep that up and before too long you might be considered an honorary "Chap" and start using words like, spiffing. Next thing you know you could end up with these spiffing types. What ho!
flaneurs1.jpgflaneurs2.jpgflaneurs3.jpg
You can see these in full size, and a lot more in the online Chap Magazine.
 
the british acronysms you are using I hardly ever use but as soon as I read or hear them they immediately click - been cemented in for life?
 
It seems that both the US and the UK are on the same page when it comes to being employed as a researcher.
Both countries require a Bachelor’s degree as the first step. It’s great to know that in important matters, our differences are minimal.

In the UK, to obtain work as a “researcher” in television, film or radio, one has to have at least a Bachelor’s Degree in Media Production… or… be a graduate of the British Film Institute.

To obtain the relevant degree one has to attend any of these universities:

London School of Economics.

Goldsmiths, University of London.

Cardiff University.

University of Leeds.

King's College London.

University College London.

City, University of London.

Even after all this you may still be on probation.
.
 
Tommy said:
Interesting. I've never noticed that. I wonder if Brits do that with other collective nouns as well. :unsure:
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In British English, collective nouns can take either singular or plural verb forms, according to whether the emphasis is on the body as a whole or on the individual members respectively as per this example.

The committee has decided…. gives the impression that the committee has made a unanimous decision.

The committee have decided… gives the impression that the members of the committee have all (or mostly) decided of their own individual free will.
 
Old Salt said:
Just came across a new difference: In Britain: The whole clan were there! In N.A. The whole clan was there! Or has this been mentioned before?
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OH yes this is a very common phrase. Meaning of course the whole family and extended family... remember we're an Island of Celtic Clans


ETA I just realised you're asking about the was/were reference,

This is interesting that I found..

It is impossible to "pin down" why you would not say "My whole family are.." - only you know the answer. (In short "pin down" requires an object that tells us a little more than "it" tells us.) ;):)

However -
Any noun that describes a group of individuals can take a single or plural verb.

The staff is/are unhappy.
The government has/have reduced taxes
The company has/have announced huge profits.
The crowd is/are leaving the cricket ground.
The single verb imagines the noun as one unit.
The plural verb imagines the noun as being comprised of the separate individuals.

The fact that your example has "The whole family" does not matter - the above guidance applies - the verb allows you to express these nuances.

(There are exceptions.)

https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/the-whole-family-were-was.3349025/
 
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