American English to British English Dictionary
K - O
K12 or K-12
I think this means a school which has classes from Kindergarten to twelfth
grade.
Kiva
A circular room of a consistent design found extensively in Anasazi
ruins throughout the Desert Southwest of the United States. It is thought
that kivas were used for ceremonial purposes.
KOA
Kampgrounds of America - an extensive chain of R.V. campgrounds.
Kwanzaa
An annual holiday celebrated by many Americans of African descent, which,
like Christmas and the Jewish Hanukkah festival, takes place near the winter
solstice.
LA
-
Los Angeles, California.
-
Louisiana (the state).
Labour Day (US spelling Labor)
A legal holiday throughout the USA and Canada, held on the first Monday
in September, in honour of the working class. Labour Day marks the end
of the summer season, when many seasonal tourist attractions close for
the winter.
See also Memorial Day
Landfill
Refuse dump. It would be interesting to know the derivation of the word
"landfill" - is the idea that the rubbish fills a hole in the ground?
Latam
Latin America, i.e. Mexico, Central America and South America.
Lay-Z
Lazy - from the American pronunciation of the name of the letter "Z" as
"zee".
"Leave it open or close it down?"
If a motel receptionist asks you this mysterious question, they are asking
if you want to leave payment until later, because you haven't yet decided
how many nights you'll be staying, or whether you would prefer to settle
up now.
Levee
An embankment built to keep a river from overflowing, as along long stretches
of the lower Mississippi River, or a landing stage on a river.
Licence Plate
A car's number plate. Each state, province and territory has its own design.
Limited Access Highway
A road, usually a dual carriageway, with slip roads at entrances and exits.
In other words, usually a motorway-like road.
Line
A queue. To "wait in line" is to wait in a queue.
Locator
-
A number which identifies a flight booking within an airline's computer
system. When booking through an intermediary, such as the fly/drive holiday
company associated with an airline, you normally cannot make plane seat
reservations until the holiday company releases the flight booking to the
actual airline, and a locator is created. The length of time before the
flight when this is done varies considerably between companies. Being able
to supply the locator number is a great help when making plane seat reservations.
The locator is usually printed on the air tickets, although it may not
be obviously marked as such.
-
A major component of the automatic landing system for aircraft at airports.
Loonie
A slang expression for a Canadian one-Dollar coin, from the drawing of
a loon (the bird) on one side. So when the two-Dollar coin was introduced,
it inevitably gained the nickname "toonie".
Loyalist
In the USA and Canada, the term "Loyalist" normally refers to those American
colonists who remained loyal to the British Government at the time of the
American War of Independence. Some of these people moved north into Canada.
The Loyalist Parkway on Quinte's Isle on
the north shore of Lake Ontario is so named because of the area's associations
with these Loyalists.
Luck Out
I think this expression means to be lucky, not to be unlucky or out of
luck. Perhaps somebody would be kind enough to confirm this? Please send
EMail using the link at the bottom of this page.
MD
-
Maryland (the state).
-
Medical Doctor.
Median
Central reservation of a divided highway (dual carriageway).
Mellow Yellow
A brand of soft drink.
Memorial Day
A legal holiday throughout most of the USA, held on the last Monday of
May, in honour of US armed service personnel killed in wartime. Memorial
Day marks the start of the summer season, when many seasonal tourist attractions
open after the winter.
See also Labour Day
MI
In driving directions, assuming a speed of around 55mph, it doesn't really
matter much whether MI means miles or minutes. But in the specification
of the length of a hiking trail the ambiguity is of course rather more
serious.
MIL
Mother-in-law.
Milkshake
If you think of a milkshake in its traditional British form, as whipped
flavoured milk to be drunk out of a glass, then you will be in for rather
a shock the first time you encounter a milkshake in a fast food restaurant
on either side of the Atlantic, because they are very thick, almost soft
ice cream, and sucked up with a straw. On a hot summer day they are highly
recommended.
MLB
Major League Baseball.
MLS
Major League Soccer.
Most Valuable Player
Man of the match (the player judged to have made most the greatest contribution
to a team game sporting contest).
Mountain Dew
A brand of soft drink.
Mr Pibb
A brand of soft drink, similar to Dr Pepper.
Muffler
Silencer (of a car).
MVP
Nachos
A Mexican food item.
Nachos are hard flour "crisps" sold in bags as snacks like crisps, or
served in Mexican restaurants with minced beef, sour cream, peppers, etc.
A nacho salad consists of nacho chips with lettuce, cheese, sour cream,
etc. Sometimes nacho salads have the nacho formed into a large edible bowl
which contains the other ingredients - and then you've got a large meal!
Most supermarkets sell nacho chips
(i.e. crisps) as well as potato chips, often in numerous flavours.
NASCAR
A form of motor racing popular in the USA.
Native American
"Native American" is the politically correct term for a North American
Indian, or "Red Indian". The word "Indian" is becoming increasingly ambiguous,
with a large number of immigrants from India to the USA - many of whom,
by the way, are involved in the motel, hotel and convenience store businesses.
"Nawlins"
This mysterious city, not found on any map, is in fact in Louisiana very
near the mouth of Mississippi River. (It's how many people pronounce "New
Orleans".)
NBA
National Basketball Association. The governing body for professional basketball.
"NBA" is also often used to refer to games which come under the jurisdiction
of the NBA.
NCAA
I think this is the National Collegiate Athletic Association, presumably
the body responsible for organising sporting events between different colleges
and universities. The Daily Brief sometimes includes a mention of some
NCAA results which have included football (presumably American Football),
basketball and soccer.
NF
National Forest.
NFL
National Football League. The governing body for professional American
football. "NFL" is also often used to refer to games which come under the
jurisdiction of the NFL.
NHL
National Hockey League. The governing body for professional ice hockey.
"NHL" is also often used to refer to games which come under the jurisdiction
of the NHL.
NHS
National Historic Site.
Nickel
A five cent coin, about the same size and colour as a quarter but with
a smooth edge.
NM
National Monument.
Nodding Donkey
A nickname for the type of pump often seen in oil and natural gas fields.
The circular motion of a rotating shaft is converted in the reciprocal
motion required for the pumping action by means of a horizontal beam which
swings up and down in a nodding manner. The pump mechanism is attached
to the beam with a large joint which resembles a donkey's head.
NP
National Park.
NPR
I think this is National Public Radio, a non-profit national radio network
in the USA.
NPS
National Park Service (US).
NRA
National Recreation Area.
NWR
National Wildlife Reserve.
NYC
New York City.
Old Glory
The flag of the United States of America - the Star and Stripes.
On
In directions, for example in the directions included in many motel chains'
directories, the word "on" means "onto". For example, "turn left on 34th
Street" means "turn left onto 34th Street", not "turn left while
on 34th Street".
On ramps and off ramps
Slip roads on controlled access highways (motorways).
Outage
Break in service. A power outage is a power cut, but the term can be applied
to a break in service from other utility and service companies.
Outlet
-
Mains wall socket. The design in the USA and Canada is different to that
of the UK or Europe.
-
See Factory Outlet. ("Outlet
Shop" and "Outlet Mall" have related meanings.)
Over Easy
One choice for specifying how you want eggs cooked. A fried egg turned
once (hence over easy) so as not to break the yoke, but cooked with the
white off the egg just a little bit more than sunny
side up.
[Many thanks to John Hayes (jnhayes@austin360.com) for contributing
this entry.]
Language Differences
Home | States/Provinces
| Subjects
