When America gets it right.

[popcornwizard]

Most of their spelling and grammar differences are just wrong, but occasionally something it works, and works even better than our version! Dear reader I give you the 'cell' or 'cellphone'. It is much easier and more pleasant than the 'mobile phone' that we linguistically haul around. Is it the only one?

Critter is a good word too

Critter is great, but very regional to the American south, like vittles (a derivative of victuals). Saying either in NY or CA would get you an odd look.

Dh and I nearly got divorced over him calling pasta 'noodles'. DS does it with glee to piss me off now.

It's a source of immense joy to me when some uses the term 'Varmit.' It has me in fits of giggles.

Another term which I was horrified by (but now find hysterical) is calling a blue heron a 'shitpoke'.

As for "toilet," I think one of the generalizations that you can make that is true for virtually the whole country is that Americans avoid using that at most all costs. The only time we say it is if forced to refer to the actual porcelain fixture as in saying to DH: "Honey, can you come in here and help me; the toilet has overflowed." This reticence is so deeply ingrained that I struggle when I am in the UK to ask for the facilities because I just cannot say "where is the toilet" and I am always concerned about the class implications regarding "loo" so if in a restaurant or pub, I just wander around until I find it.

No one calls pasta "noodles" where I live (Deep South). Maybe that's a Yankee thing.

I worked for an American family in London and I remember her SCREAMING at me when I asked where the toilet was in a restaurant.

(She also only allowed me to use her first name and the decent toilet in the house. The staff that weren't white had to call her Mrs and use the cold, scummy toilet.)

No one calls pasta "noodles" where I live (Deep South). Maybe that's a Yankee thing.

Noodles are noodles, pasta is pasta, so not a Yankee thing.

There is a related linguistic oddity. People of Italian family background in New York call the tomato based sauce put over pasta "gravy" or sometimes "tomato gravy". To people of non-Italian heritage here gravy refers to a meat fat or drippings based roux made with flour, like a beef or turkey gravy.

Seneca have you heard this in the deep south at all?

Yes, MissConduct Italian-Americans in the South also call use "gravy" for pasta sauce. In high school, my son had a best friend who was from an Italian family, and he came home one day saying that he wanted me to learn how to make the mom's "gravy." I am not much of a cook so I told him to learn how to make it. He did and still uses that recipe for his spaghetti sauce. As I recall, they differentiated by saying "tomato gravy" because, of course, the other roux-based kind of gravy is a staple of Southern cooking.

I can't bring myself to ask for a toilet now we are back in UK. I now ask for the ladies room.

MissConductUS. I appreciate your comment that 'critter' is more used in the southern states, but not in the northern states.

DP and I are both originally London born - but neither of us were brought up in the UK. Both of us spent our childhoods about 4,000 miles away - each of us on different continents! We both use words from our childhood 'home countries' which probably wouldn't be used in the UK as a rule!

Critter, varmint and ornery all make me think of Yosemite Sam. If you can't bring yourself to say toilet, just say bog or khasi

Soda being used for all fizzy drinks is the same as juice being used for every soft drink in Scotland. Although ginger is used for irn bru in lots of places

I struggle when I am in the UK to ask for the facilities because I just cannot say "where is the toilet"

Just ask for the shit house, people will understand.

oh yes, soda is a better term than fizzy drink, which is what we always said!

But we have pop!

In the South, it's all Coke.

The regional variations explained.

www-huffpost-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.huffpost.com/entry/soda-vs-pop_n_2103764/amp?amp_js_v=a2&amp_gsa=1&usqp=mq331AQHCAFYAYABAQ%3D%3D#referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffpost.com%2Fentry%2Fsoda-vs-pop_n_2103764

But we have pop!

A lot of Americans also say 'pop' for fizzy drinks, depending on where they live.

DH is from Western NY as you can see is "pop" country. When we load up for a long car journey, he always packs a cooler of "road pop."

You are on a bus but in a car so you should get off one and out of the other.

Again (as you seem to have missed my point) why do you get out of something but not off of something else?

In this, American English is at least consistent.

As someone from the UK, I do chuckle at signs outside American businesses and houses saying 'No solicitors'.

One I can never understand is 'faucet' for tap. Perhaps someone knows how that came about?
Spunky always makes me snigger, especially if it is associated with a lad called 'Randy'.
Faggots are another word you have to be careful with.
I had a misunderstanding with an American once when he said he was wearing his new suspenders. I was a bit surprised until he showed me his snazzy braces (ones for trousers..my god, english can be confusing).

Yay we're adding critters to the list :-)

especially if it is associated with a lad called 'Randy'

Or lass

When I was a student in the UK, one of my visiting American friends had to be admonished to revert to her full name of Miranda. She was from Mississippi, very friendly and outgoing, and she had a habit of bouncing up to people, sticking out her hand and saying, "Hi, I'm Randie."

When we were back in Boston in October, DH had conniptions when I said we should pop along to the packie for his beer. That took some explaining that it definitely wasn’t what it sounded like! (liquor store)

*we should pop along to the packie for his beer.^

Just to clarify the origin, packie in this case is short for package. Alcohol is sold in these stores packaged (in bottles) as opposed to by the drink as it would be in a bar (pub).

HTH

Well, I know that! DH not so much.