I was surprised to find the word "to abseil" being known in the UK. It clearly is of German origin and used literally (eg. to descend a mountain on a rope = Seil) as well as figuratively (to sneak out of an unpleasant situation).
Words known better in the US than in the UK, and vice versa
21–30 of 84 posts
Re: Words known better in the US than in the UK, and vice versa
#22Re: Words known better in the US than in the UK, and vice versa
#23I was surprised to find the word "to abseil" being known in the UK. It clearly is of German origin and used literally (eg. to descend a mountain on a rope = Seil) as well as figuratively (to sneak out of an unpleasant situation).
Both the activity and the word seems common in the UK. We did it at least a couple of times in school as part of some "team building" adventure day. Specifically it meant lowering yourself down a vertical wall using rope, a climbing harness and a figure-8.
Re: Words known better in the US than in the UK, and vice versa
#24Seems the UK lacks good Mexican food!
And cheese variety such as the Italian provolone. (It's weird that the cheese shelves in a big supermarket basically only contained cheddars.) EDIT: To be honest, this was Tesco Ireland some 15 years ago. There may have been cheese in other forms such as soft mozzarella and powdered parmesan, but definitely no provolone, gouda, manchego, emmentaler, port salut etc. It's just natural that you might not know a cheese i…
Even my sainsburys local has a lot more to purchase than just cheddar
Re: Words known better in the US than in the UK, and vice versa
#25Earlier quoted context omitted.
Kerbside is listed as being unknown to americans so people do seem sensitive to spelling
Wait is it really called a "kerb" in the UK?
The “kerb” in the UK is the step between the road surface and the bit the pedestrians walk on. More properly “kerbstone” I guess.
Re: Words known better in the US than in the UK, and vice versa
#26Seems the UK lacks good Mexican food!
And cheese variety such as the Italian provolone. (It's weird that the cheese shelves in a big supermarket basically only contained cheddars.) EDIT: To be honest, this was Tesco Ireland some 15 years ago. There may have been cheese in other forms such as soft mozzarella and powdered parmesan, but definitely no provolone, gouda, manchego, emmentaler, port salut etc. It's just natural that you might not know a cheese i…
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Re: Words known better in the US than in the UK, and vice versa
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
And cheese variety such as the Italian provolone. (It's weird that the cheese shelves in a big supermarket basically only contained cheddars.) EDIT: To be honest, this was Tesco Ireland some 15 years ago. There may have been cheese in other forms such as soft mozzarella and powdered parmesan, but definitely no provolone, gouda, manchego, emmentaler, port salut etc. It's just natural that you might not know a cheese i…
Which big supermarket only stocks cheddar?
Probably one in a country that exited their trade bloc full of countries known for a variety of cheeses.
Re: Words known better in the US than in the UK, and vice versa
#28As a Brit who lived in the US for roughly ten years, I knew most of them... which I guess is unsurprising. I didn't know albuterol, we called that ventolin when I was a kid. I also didn't know kwanza and manicotti, I guess those are due to the Italian and Jewish cultural influences in the US.
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Re: Words known better in the US than in the UK, and vice versa
#29The data suggest that over 80% of people in the UK know what 'pelmet' means. I had to look it up, so the 80% number surprises me. Perhaps it's because I've always bought blinds instead of curtains, or maybe the sample isn't representative? Or maybe I just need to pay more attention...
I have curtains in just about every window and had never heard of a pelmet. I just have exposed rails like an unsophisticated peasant.
Re: Words known better in the US than in the UK, and vice versa
#30The chart on this page is an example why not to set viewpoint user-scalable to '0'.