Comprehensive list of Americanisms

[12fromcold]

Some I love, some I hate. Let's try and get them all here! Especially interested in the ones that are only a slight variation from the British counterpart.

Macaroni AND cheese
Hide and GO seek
GotTEN


I'll remember more and come back.

[12fromcold]

Hot FLASHES

[12fromcold]

SHREDDED cheese

[Abra1de]

Pay RAISE

[12fromcold]

I'd never heard of that one!

[12fromcold]

What are coddled eggs?

[Riotingbananas]

Surgeries as opposed to operations
Get as in 'can I get a coffee' rather than 'can I have a coffee' when when being served.
Pajamas is being used more and more.
'You've got this' no idea what that actually means

[WaxMyrtle]

I live in the USA.

Gotten isn’t exclusively American - it’s used in Scotland too.

[12fromcold]

I saw 'you've got this' on the marketing stuff at Greggs this morning while I was looking for a vegan sausage roll for the fifth time this week, it's a bloody stupid saying

[insidecardboardboxes]

"pissed" instead of "pissed off" in the context of being angry

"could care less" instead of "couldn't care less" - never understood that one.

[12fromcold]

@WaxMyrtle I'm sure all these sayings aren't exclusively American but are predominantly American. Also, it's not in anyway a negative thread

[WaxMyrtle]

A coddled egg is similar to a poached egg but the egg is placed into a ramekin before being put into the water.

[12fromcold]

@WaxMyrtle Thank you! I've only ever heard it said in an American accent but a google says it's international!

[WaxMyrtle]

It didn’t say it was a negative thread .

Gotten isn’t an American import into Scotland, it’s the other way round.

So although there are obviously more Americans that there are Scots it’s not really an “Americanism”.

[AuntBessies]

Also, it's not in anyway a negative thread

YET. Give it a while and it'll have posts pulled. Interested why you thought this would be a great chat discussion though!

[overmydeadbody]

If I/we can't rather than if I/we can

"Let's see if we can't get this tidying done in ten minutes" rather than "let's see if we can get the tidying done..."

[Riotingbananas]

Another one I've noticed from watching to much Judge Judy is the use of 'exactly' rather than 'yes'.

[amusedbush]

I'm Scottish and have always used "gotten", then saw on MN that it's a hanging offence. I thought I'd been making some huge faux pas so I'm glad to hear that it's a "thing"!

[Parthenope]

'Could care less' where UK/Irish English would say 'couldn't care less'.
'Math' vs 'maths'

My favourite US usage of recent years is 'shitgibbon', as used of Trump:

@daylinleach

Hey @realDonaldTrump* I oppose civil asset forfeiture too! Why don't you try to destroy my career you fascist, loofa-faced, shit-gibbon!
32.3K*
18:58 - 7 Feb 2017

though apparently he was inspired by Scottish people using it during Trump's visit there:

Scotland voted to stay & plan on a second referendum, you tiny fingered, Cheeto-faced, ferret wearing shitgibbon. t.co/iKyEIxf8ej
— Hamfisted Bun Vendor 🔞 (@MetalOllie) 24 June 2016

so probably not really American. More on it here on this blog, which is great on US/UK Englishes:

separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com/2017/12/2017-uk-to-us-word-of-year-shitgibbon.html

[JustGettingStarted]

I wish Americans would learn to speak the language properly!

[cooblanket]

Meds

[JustGettingStarted]

(I'm American and just being silly.)

[QuinionsRainbow]

The Americans have spelt pyjamas as "pajamas" since time immemorial.

Two nations divided by a common tongue.

[steppemum]

gotten is old english.
In fatc many 'Americanisms' are old english. The language in UK (or just England) continued to change, but that phrase, once exported to US didn't change, and remained a valid part of speech.

fortnight is a uniquely Bristich phrase. Confuses many Americans!

[BartonHollow]

ON accident instead of By Accident, no, you don't say I did that on mistake do you?

I'm PISSED (to mean annoyed not drunk)

Could Care Less Instead Of Couldn't - still not sure how that's a thing did someone mishear a British person and it caught on like a disease - WTF?

[steppemum]

glad you posted you second post Just!

we use prepositions differently too.

English - I wrote to Jane
American - I wrote Jane