American English: Difference between revisions

{{tropeUseful Notes}}

Sister pages include [[Stock American Phrases]], [[British English]] and [[G Day'day, Mate]].

* '''Bathroom''', where somebody goes to relieve themselves, and may or may not contain a bath or shower.<ref> Those which do not contain a shower or bathtub are referred to as "half-bathrooms," which is ''only'' really used when discussing real estate. It is also sometimes called a "powder room"</ref>. "Restroom" is generally reserved for public toilets, though the word "toilet" itself is considered a bit rude in polite society and, at any rate, refers only to the porcelain basin itself, not the room. Nobody uses "water closet" (unless it's necessary to distinguish the small, closet-like room that actually contains a toilet and nothing else from a larger part of a bathroom consisting of more than one room--butroom—but even then it's not something you hear every day and many people with WC's may not know the term). In Canada, a public "restroom" is called a "washroom," just a slight difference and even though not common, if you ask where the washroom is in the U.S., people will know you mean the restroom. "Lavatory" (which is pronounced as LAV-uh-tore-ee) is recognized but relatively rare, and "loo" is recognized in context (and giggled at), if the speaker is clearly British/Scottish. People with military experience sometimes use the terms "head" (Navy/Marines) or "latrine" (Army/Air Force). "John," "can," and "crapper" are increasingly harsh cacophemisms that are still mostly acceptable in public (except don't use "crapper" at a fancy dinner party).

** '''Homosexual''' is considered "clinical" in tone, so it may sound either very neutral or distinctly distasteful depending on context and tone.

** '''Lesbian''' is used for a female homosexual.

** '''Queer''' basically means anything but heterosexual -- homoheterosexual—homo-, bi-, pan-, a-, whatever. It is a slur that has been ''partially'' "reclaimed." Basic rule is, [[N-Word Privileges|use it only for yourself and groups you belong to]].

* '''Check''' -- the U.S. spelling of ''cheque'' -- in—in a restaurant refers to the bill. Hence, [[Check, Please!]]. It can also refer to an actual check, which you fill out to buy something. Thus, you can pay a check with a check.

* '''Buck(s)''' is a very common slang word for "dollar(s)." There have been any number of other such words ("pictures of the president", "dead presidents"--neither—neither of which are [[Alexander Hamilton|strictly]] [[Benjamin Franklin|accurate]]--"smackeroos", etc.) but "bucks" the only one you'll need to learn. Think of it as an equivalent of "quid".

* '''Ground floor''' is interchangeable with "first floor" in America, unlike most other places. So the second floor up from the ground is called the second floor, not the first, and so on. But it depends on the building. Typically the ground floor is the bottommost floor that isn't a basement, regardless of function. The first floor is the floor where things like the reception area are, or the commons area or the equivalent for whatever type of building you are in -- essentiallyin—essentially the floor you are on when you enter the building. They are the same thing in many buildings but not all of them. Hotels and dorms will often have separate ground and first floors, with the ground floor having things other than rooms, but this varies widely. Sometimes the first floor will be called the "lobby" and there won't be a first floor; the elevator will have an "L" button instead of 1, and the next floor above it will be "2".

** And elevators, those things that you put in the back of your shoes, are called "lifts."

** '''Electric Steetcars''' are the equivelent of a "tram" or "trolly"--a—a bus that runs on rails or wires. They are occasionally thought of as the types of cable cars that run in San Francisco, but that is not the correct term for them. A "tram" is an interchangeable word for either. Tourist trolleys are considered different vehicles, and are called "trolley replicas".

* '''Gasoline''' or '''gas''' is what fuels cars in America, not "petrol." Filling a car's fuel tank is sometimes called "gassing up," and to tell the driver to press down on the accelerator pedal you can say "give 'er the gas."

* '''[French] fries''' (No one actually calls them "[[wikipedia:Freedom fries|"freedom fries"]]".) are what people in the USUK call "chips".<ref>But the American usage comes from the fact that they were once best known as a French side dish called "''pommes frites''", hence the original term "French-fried potatoes".</ref>

* '''Public school''' refers to [[American Educational System|any school funded by federal or state government money]].

* '''Elementary school''' or "grade school" is what those in the UK call a "Primary School", "grammar schools" are esentially defunct in the UK. Schools with grades 6-8 are called junior high schools or middle schools.

* '''[[Useful Notes/American Football|American Football]]''' is simply called football. Association football is only called soccer, though Americans are aware that other countries simply call it "football." If you personally call it "gridiron" they will know what you mean, too.

* '''Mate''' on its own is very rarely used to mean "friend," and even then it's still seen as borrowing British and Australian slang. "Mate" is commonly used on the zoological sense to indicate a sexual pair of animals, or the sexual act itself. It would generally sound odd or archaic to use it in reference to humans.

** And of course, Americans will park in driveways and drive on parkways.

*** Speaking of the US Military, the various military dialects<ref> Each branch of service, and sometimes even specific career fields in each branch, have their own often mutually incomprehensible versions of the language</ref> provide some similar terms. To be "Article Fifteened" or "NJP'd"<ref> "En-Jay-Peed"</ref> is to face Non-Judicial Punishment, where one's commanding officer can dole out punishment for relatively minor offenses without involving a court of law (the military courts are instead reserved for the ''big'' screw ups). "Article 15" comes from the portion of the Uniform Code of Military Justice that details the procedures for Non-Judicial Punishment.

** "Chapter 11" (from Chapter 11 of Title 11 of the United States Code) refers to bankruptcy. Hence, people file Chapter 11 <ref> Curiously, though, Chapter 11 covers the bankruptcy of a ''business''; individuals usually choose between two methods of resolving their debts, described in Chapters 7 (total liquidation) and 13 (reorganization of debts). However, since large corporate bankruptcies often receive nationwide media attention, "Chapter 11" has become the most common term.</ref>

* People of African racial decent are typically called "black" without insult. '''African-American''' is a very common and politically correct term for American blacks, to the point that Americans will occasionally slip up and use the term to refer to any black person, regardless of where they live ([[Freema Agyeman]] and [[Being Human (UK)|Lenora Crichlow]] have both been referred to as African-American, despite the obvious problems with that.) The term is generally used only in a racial sense, and it's therefore incorrect to use it for non-black people who immigrated from Africa to America. "People of color" often refers to all non-white racial groups. The terms "colored," "negro," "mulatto," and "Afro-American," are all dated and usually considered insensitive. (See also the trope on [[N-Word Privileges]].)

** You will find many Native Americans who prefer "Indian" for whatever reason. Some don't like being called Native Americans because it feels possessive, some like Indian because it is supposed to mean "People with God" (from Spanish ''[gente] en Dios'' -- but—but this is a folk etymology), some like it because many indigenous groups are clearly different in appearance from one another, and some simply don't care how you refer to them.

** Because of the persistence of using "Indian" to mean Native American -- theAmerican—the U.S. government has an official department that's still called the Bureau of Indian Affairs to this day -- peopleday—people from India will sometimes have to say that they're "An Indian from India" just to avoid confusion.

** "Congressmen" literally refers to any member of either the House of Representatives ("the House") or the Senate, both of which are referred to as "Houses" of Congress. Representatives are in the former, and Senators in the latter, but when you refer to a specific Representative or address them by name, you call them a Congressman or Congresswoman (i.e. Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, Representative from the 6th District of Minnesota). Senators are still referred to as Senators. Basically: "Congress" consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate combined. A person who holds office in the House is a "Congressman," "Representative," or "House member," while a person holding office in the Senate is a "Senator."

* [[Useful Notes/Baseball|Baseball]] terms are sometimes used in everyday conversation as metaphors. "Strike out" means to fail, as in: "I went to a bar hoping to meet a girl, but I totally struck out." "Home run," or "out of the park," means to succeed greatly. Strange ideas "come out of left field." Inappropriate comments are "off base." "Foul tip" meaning something that ends with neither a complete failure nor a satisfactory outcome. "Seventh-inning stretch," refers to a brief break from something to stretch your legs. "Getting to # base" refers to sexual activity, with each base coming closer to intercourse. <ref>First base is kissing, second base is feeling up your partner, third base is touching each other's genitals, and a home run is sex.</ref>

* [[Useful Notes/American Football|American Football]] metaphors are generally pretty simple. "Touchdown!" -- sometimes—sometimes accompanied by raising both arms in the air like a football referee -- isreferee—is common as a synonym for success or reaching a goal. "Third and long" refers to a last chance long-shot, and "going for two" refers to taking a risky move with a greater reward. By the same token, a "Hail Mary" is a desperate, usually final, attempt at something. "Punting" generally means a mediocre effort with limited results, a minor defeat, or passing responsibility on to someone else.

* A '''buzzard''' refers to a vulture, not a hawk.

** An equivalent word used in New York (and possibly other parts of the East Coast) is "youse" or "youse guys". In Jersey, it tends to be just "you guys".

* '''Vacation''' what Americans might call a "holiday", this break from school/work is called a "vacation" or a "break." A recreational trip somewhere is also called a "vacation." "Holiday" is used only to refer to special days that generally get people out of work or school, such as Christmas or the Fourth of July. Using "holiday" to mean "vacation" is recognized, but rare.

** The standard American electrical outlet produces 120 volts AC. Only for special high-power appliances like electric ovens, clothes dryers, and central air conditioners are 220-volt outlets provided. Additionally, the alternating current in American homes oscillates at a frequency of 60 &nbsp;Hz, not the 50 &nbsp;Hz that's standard in Britain and most Eurpoean countries, so most appliances that hum do so on a B-flat below middle C (instead of the pitch mid-way between G and G-sharp heard from most humming British appliances).

* '''[[Country Matters|Cunt]]''' is ''extremely'' offensive -- possiblyoffensive—possibly, barring racial slurs, one of the most offensive words you can use, and one almost exclusively aimed at people. (You won't hear anyone over here saying "I had a cunt of a day.") Mostly applied to women, though if you want to truly insult a man, you could call him one. Either way, don't be surprised if you get punched for it.