English Words That Are Different in the UK and USA

space is for stars.:

I got a question. You guys say 'bloody' is a swear word right? So would you get in trouble for saying it at school? Or is it not that bad?

Some people view it as a swear word but I think most Brits will agree with me when I say that it's one of the mildest you could use.

I was trying to think of swear words that only we Brits use, the other day. I think I only came up with about four; arse, bugger, tosser, sod. Anymore?

^ Wanker is a pretty British one.

Dr. Mrs. Vandertramp:

Actually around New York I've heard people use mad a word for making something seeming cooler. Like "mad skills" Its sort of weird I know.

I've heard that a lot. Mainly because "mad skills" is one of my favorite phrases. Also, I'm from New Jersey.

It's not cooler necessarily. It's just...emphasizing. Like "Oh fuck, it's mad bright out today" or something, but that was a bad example. or "This is mad loud", y'know?

The Doctor:

^ Wanker is a pretty British one.

Love that one especially if it's said in a cockney accent. Dunno if you've seen Russell Howard's first DVD, where the bloke in the audience shouts it out when Russell asks what's the worst they're allowed to say in front of their parents.

These are just some slang words that we use where I'm from in Britain:
Samehead - someone who's a bit of a loser, annoying and so on.
Samehead Sally - variation of above.
Bish - Shortened from the word 'Bishop', you'd say it in the context of "Y'alright, Bish?"
Yoonz - Not entirely sure if there is a correct spelling of this one, but it's a term made popular by the internet personality and stereotypical chav, Devvo. It's the equivalent of saying "You alright, mate?"
Henching - This one is pretty new, and popular among the hardcore kids in my city, I don't know how popular it is anywhere else. It means 'rank', 'disgusting', 'rubbish' etc. You can also say Henchious, or Henchessed. Example (taken from a gig at the weekend) "Mate, this is the most henching toilet I've ever seen."
Gash - Obviously a pretty vile word for vagina, but also used to describe how rubbish something is, e.g "That song was gash."

That's pretty much all I can think of, but as you can tell, I hang around with some pretty foul mouthed people :P

Petrol and gas. Y'know that stuff you put in your car to make it go

N. Syko:

Henching - This one is pretty new, and popular among the hardcore kids in my city, I don't know how popular it is anywhere else. It means 'rank', 'disgusting', 'rubbish' etc. You can also say Henchious, or Henchessed. Example (taken from a gig at the weekend) "Mate, this is the most henching toilet I've ever seen."

Haven't heard that one but it's interesting to hear that meaning for it. Generally heard of hench as in "That guy was hench!"
'Henching' has put a whole new meaning on that now

Not sure on the spelling either, but quite like the 'gangsta' phrase "Whas guanin?" meaning "what's up?" or "what's going on?". Just really quite fun to pronounce 'cause it involves some strange mouth movements.

Yard or lawn in the US, and garden in the UK.

Simply, 'ass' and 'arse'.

An ass is a donkey, not your backside.

The Common Dread:

Simply, 'ass' and 'arse'.

An ass is a donkey, not your backside.

I think that's more of a pronunciation thing
I'm from Australia, so I say and write 'arse', but there are probably a lot of people in America who pronounce it 'ass' because of their accent.

I like saying American words, but because of my slightly posh, slightly West Country English accent, even 'dude' sounds weird.

Blatent - Meaning obvious.
Camp - Someone who shows effeminite or gay behaviour so you could say 'Oh they're slightly camp'
Cor - You say when surprised like 'Cor blimey'
Doddle - Easy
Love Bite - The British version of hickies

Oh and this was a word they used on the show The Inbetweeners 'Clunge'

I'm British so I use most of these terms, though my dad sometimes used the phrase 'Beastly Toad' when I was a kid if someone was dirty or messy.

I wonder if the British use words like 'nigga' or 'hype'.

Tom DeLonge.:

Blatent - Meaning obvious.

It's 'blatant', and I don't see how that's exclusively used in your country. It's a legitimate word in the English language, not British slang.

In the UK they say "happy Christmas" instead of "merry Christmas"
I just cant get used to that.

Avant Gardener:

In the UK they say "happy Christmas" instead of "merry Christmas"
I just cant get used to that.

Well, we say both.
But gosh, is that really so strange?

CALiEJO:

I wonder if the British use words like 'nigga' or 'hype'.

Now that I think about it, I wonder too...
I say it all the time. Including to my black friends

Your Mom:

Now that I think about it, I wonder too...
I say it all the time. Including to my black friends

Yeah, I can't do that - I'm too white and the words sound foreign when they come from my mouth.

Alexface.:

Some people view it as a swear word but I think most Brits will agree with me when I say that it's one of the mildest you could use.

I was trying to think of swear words that only we Brits use, the other day. I think I only came up with about four; arse, bugger, tosser, sod. Anymore?

Shite is different than Shit, despite the same basic concept. XD

Alexface.:

I was trying to think of swear words that only we Brits use, the other day. I think I only came up with about four; arse, bugger, tosser, sod. Anymore?

Bollocks.

Is the term "taking the piss" (taking the mick/making fun of, basically) used in America? Because I've said it to an American friend online before and they didn't understand what I meant.