|
English UK
(UK to US in yellow) |
English US
(US to UK in blue) |
| Afters |
Dessert- can be fruit, cheese, jelly (see Jelly), etc. |
| Aga (brand name, has become generic) |
Kitchen stove/ range |
| Topped with ice cream,
usu. pie |
A la mode |
| Generic term for any kind
of alcoholic drink |
Alcohol |
| Processed cheese (Ok as
toasted cheese sandwiches, but it's not much good for anything else) |
American cheese |
| American Muffins |
Cake-like, probably fairly close to a US muffin
which is leavened with eggs & baking powder & may be sweet (Blueberry,
etc) or not (Corn{see Maize} Bran, Poppyseed etc.) |
| Fancy kind of sponge cake |
Angelfood Cake |
| Apollos |
Cupcakes |
| Apple cooked down to thick,
spreadable paste |
Apple Butter |
| Liquor from fermented
cider |
Applejack |
| Aubergine |
Eggplant |
| Baby Marrow | Zucchini |
| Similar to Lion bar |
Baby Ruth |
| Baby’s arm (leg) AKA Dead man’s arm |
Strawberry filled pastry |
| Bakewell tart |
A jam tart filled with almond paste. |
| Bangers |
Sausages |
| Bangers and Mash |
Sausages and mashed potatoes |
| Bap |
(Regional) hamburger buns, roll, bun,
cob, bannock.(see Muffin) |
| Pub-typically open from
noon til 2am. Tends to be a pick-up joint rather than social. |
Bar |
| Barbecue likely to include sausages |
More likely to have hot dogs and/or hamburgers |
| Bar of chocolate |
Candy bar (bar of chocolate is also used but
less colloquially) |
| Barley Water |
Drink given to sick people, esp. children |
| Basin |
Cooking bowl (can be used generally, but usu.
means a basin for steaming food- as in tightly covered dish inside the basin
put in oven to make a steamed pudding or the like) |
| Bath bun (from the town of Bath?) |
Spiced currant (Raisin) bun, often frosted. |
| Battenberg cake (from the German town) | Square four-checkered pink and yellow sponge
cake frosted entirely in marzipan (Sounds like 'sweet death') |
| Cheap restaurant, coffee
shop |
Beanery (uncommon word) |
| Natural enzyme supplement
to help digest things that otherwise give you gas (wind) |
Beano |
| Beans (Usually Heinz Baked Beans) |
Campbell's Baked Beans is probably the most
popular US brand, although there are other varieties, including B&M
Beans |
| Beans on toast |
Warmed beans poured over hot (buttered) toast.
(May not be common in the US, but I've made this.) |
| Beefburger |
Hamburger (from the German town of Hamburg,
originally called Hamburg Steak) |
| Dried beef strips |
Beef Jerky |
| Beer |
Light ale, bitter ale, brown ale, mild ale,
stout ale, and lager, served in pubs singly or mixed, such as light
and bitter, brown and mild, shandy, lager top, lager shandy, and lager
and lime. Most pubs are owned by a brewery, and they'll serve their own
brand. |
| Beetroot |
Beet |
| Belgian chicory |
Endive, Belgian endive, witloof (I've never
heard of witloof) There is a chicory used as a coffee substitute in
some parts of the South. I don't know if it's the identical plant. |
| Capsicum |
Bell pepper (also green
or red pepper) |
| Drinking binge |
Bender |
| Bevvy (cockney rhyming slang) |
Drink (I think it's an abbreviation for beverage) |
| Biffin |
A deep red cooking apple. |
| Soft, flaky savoury pastry
usu. eaten with gravy or butter (Buttermilk Biscuits are lovely.) |
Biscuit |
| Biscuits (Biccies) |
Cookies (texture similar to the cookie part
of an Oreo) |
| Biscuit (unsweetened or savoury) |
Cracker |
| Bisto |
Hot drink similar to a thin bouillon, likely
to be in your thermos if you're out on a cold day |
| Bitter |
Beer, but not the same as US beer. It's made
with hops and served at room temperature |
| Black Currant |
Can mean a jelly, jam, preserve, or a juice
drink |
| Black or white |
Coffee with or without milk (in the US, you'd
be more likely asked 'Do you take it black?') |
| Black pudding | Spiced blood sausage (If there's a US equivalent,
I don't want to know about it.) |
| Blackeye beans |
Blackeyed peas (possibly called cowpeas, but
I'd think that would be regional) |
| Blaeberry |
Bilberry, whortleberry ( some European blueberries).
Blueberry would be the closest US equivalent. |
| Boiled sweets |
Hard candy |
| Bortsch |
Borscht |
| Bovril |
Savory hot drink (sounds like it tastes of
beef bouillon?) |
| Box of sweets, or chocolates,
or name the particular variety of sweet |
Box of Candy |
| Boxty |
An Irish flour and potato pancake (There are
mixes for Potato Pancakes in the US- these have onion in them &
are usually served with chilled applesauce on top.) |
| Bread buns |
Rolls |
| Bread pudding |
Not to be confused with bread & butter
pudding. Bread pudding is made with stale bread, dried, fruit, spices, etc.
It's dark, light-textured and flavorful. |
| Brekkers (slang, I presume) |
Breakfast. |
| Bridge roll | Hot dog roll. |
| Small rich chocolate cake,
usu unfrosted & served in rectangular pieces |
Brownie/ Fudge Brownie |
| Brown Loaf |
Brown bread, generally 'loaf' used in descriptions
where US uses bread. |
| A late breakfast, usually
at mid-morning, especially on Sundays and public holidays. |
Brunch |
| Brown and mild |
Usu. a pint of half brown ale and half mild
ale |
| Bubble and squeak | Fried leftover cabbage and potatoes (we make
that in my house, but just call it 'cabbage and potatoes') |
| Burpers (slang) |
Radishes. |
| Clear off & reset
tables in a restaurant/ the person who does this |
Bus/ Busboy |
| Orig. Mexican beans &
salsa rolled in a tortilla |
Burrito (more common in
Southwest states) |
| Butter bean |
Lima bean. |
| Butterfly Cakes |
No direct substitution. UK 'Cupcake' with a
bit out of the top, filled with butter icing and the removed bit replaced
cut in two to resemble butterfly wings |
| Butty |
Sandwich- most commonly a chip butty but
bacon & fish butties & others are possible. |
| Bar of Chocolate usu (can
be other type of candy, but not likely) |
Candy Bar |
| Candy Floss | Cotton Candy |
| Sheep's testicles (Prairie
Oysters likely to be bull's) |
Cape Cod Turkey/ Mountain
Oysters |
| Tomato Ketchup |
Catsup / Ketchup (regional
usage, but both understood) |
| Carob |
(Non-chocolate 'chocolate') Not common, but
not unreasonable for a US Vegan to have. |
| Carrageen |
Irish moss prepared in Ireland as a porridge,
stew or (by stewing in milk) extract (which sets like jello), and eaten
as food or to soothe the stomach (especially the morning after). (In the
US it's only an invisible ingredient in many packaged foods as a thickener) |
| Caster sugar |
Powdered sugar, confectioner’s sugar (confectioner's
is more finely ground than powdered sugar) |
| Champers (pronounced shampers) or Shampers |
Champagne |
| Cheese on toast |
Open-face grilled cheese sandwich, not as common
as a two-slice grilled cheese, but not unknown |
| Cheese Straws |
Skinny dry cheese crackers |
| Chelsea bun/ Chelsea unwinder |
sweet cinnamon bun with currants/ cinnamon
roll (poss. same thing) |
| Cherryade |
cherry juice drink? or cherry soda? |
| Breakfast cereals similar
to Shreddies |
Chex / Kellogg's Crispix |
| Chickpea or Common or yellow gram | Garbanzo (Chickpea is rarely used) |
| Chinese Gooseberry | Kiwi fruit |
| Chip Butty |
Buttered sandwich filled with Chips (Fries) |
| Chips | French fries aren't really the same, but Home
Fries are closer. Thick slices of potato fried so the inside is light &
the outside is crispy. |
| Chippie |
A fish-and-chip shop. |
| Pig intestines prepared
as food |
Chitlins/ Chitterlings
(Southern) |
| Choccy biccies |
These are equivalent to chocolate chip cookies
(Really? I thought they were chocolate cookies.) |
| Choc-ice | Chocolate over vanilla ice cream bar |
| One of most popular kinds
of cookie in the US, light brown with chocolate bits throughout |
Chocolate Chip Cookies/
Toll House Cookies |
| Chocolate : Milk, Plain and White, |
Milk Chocolate, Dark and White |
| Chocolate Drops |
if small, Chocolate Chips, if larger, Hershey's
Kisses |
| Variable dish Chinese
restaurants make of assorted veg & meat bits in sauce with mung
bean sprouts, etc. |
Chop Suey |
| Thick soup generally
containing seafood and potato, such as clam chowder, NY clam chowder
adds tomatoes & is red. |
Chowder |
| Eat voraciously-
scoff |
Chow down |
| Chop Suey with fried flour
noodles |
Chow Mein |
| Christmas Pudding |
Made with dried fruits, breadcrumbs and brandy
generally as a once-a-year delicacy |
| Cling film |
Saranwrap, plastic wrap (plastic foil in
Australia) |
| Clotted cream |
Thick rich cream used like butter on pastries,
scones, etc. (nothing similar, heavy whipping cream is still too light
to use as butter.) |
| Fruit pie with thick rich
crust, usu. served hot with ice cream, reminiscent of a crumble, Apple,
Blueberry , Cherry, etc. |
Cobbler |
| Cockles |
Mollusk popular in seaside towns as a snack
(served raw with vinegar, and a bit of bread and butter), especially
in the pubs. (Possibly in Maine there's something similar?) |
| Continental breakfast |
Coffee/tea and rolls/croissants (usu. jam &
butter included at no extra charge) |
| Cooker (or electric cooker, gas cooker) |
Kitchen range/ stove, but oven has the same
meaning in the UK as in the US. |
| Cookery |
Cooking |
| Festive meal outside (often a barbecue) | Cook out |
| Coriander |
Cilantro (Coriander is also rarely used) |
| Corn |
Any small grain cereals (barley, wheat, oats,
rye, etc.), English / Welsh field of corn is usually wheat, oats in
Scotland Corn to a US citizen means Maize (but few people know it by that
name) |
| Dry, semi-sweet heavy
cake made from coarse maize flour (cornmeal) originally from the
south- corn pone, pone bread. |
Corn bread |
| Cornet (Ice cream cornet) | Ice cream cone. |
| Cornflour |
Cornstarch |
| Cornish pasties |
Seasoned meat and vegetables baked in pastry
shell that’s pinched closed. |
| Cos lettuce |
Romaine lettuce. |
| Cottage pie/ Shepherd's Pie |
A baked dish of minced meat topped with
mashed potato. (I've not seen them in the US) |
| Courgette |
Zucchini |
| Crayfish |
Crawfish, crawdad (Probably crayfish would
work, too) |
| Generally means half&half,
which is milk & cream. |
Cream |
| Non-dairy white powder
cream substitute for coffee |
Creamer / Non-dairy creamer |
| Small milk jug |
Creamer |
| Cream cracker |
Soda cracker -Includes Ritz (tastes buttery),
Saltine & Wheat thin cracker |
| Créme caramel |
Dessert (possibly something like a flan?) |
| Crisps | Chips, Potato chips, also corn chips (I doubt
tortilla chips are called crisps in UK even if they exist) |
| Crumpets |
No direct substitute for this flattish, holey
muffin. In the singular it has a sexy connotation, therefore never send
your hero out to the store for 'Crumpet' unless he's looking for sex. |
| Crunchie (candy bar) |
Similar to Butterfingers. |
| 8 fluid oz, or 2 cups
to a pint (see Pint) |
Cup (as a measure) |
| Cupcakes |
A spongecake in a paper case with a hard/thick
covering of icing on the top. |
| Cuppa (colloquial) |
A cup of tea |
| Currant bread | Raisin bread. |
| Currants |
Raisins |
| Custard |
Pudding made with milk and fine corn flour,
this popular thin, yellow, sweet dessert is eaten hot like soup, or over
other desserts (cake or pie), or chilled so that it sets.(Not at all
like a US custard). |
| Custard apple/ Sweetsop |
Cherimoya, sweetsop, sugar apple (Have heard
of it, but its not common) |
| Dabs |
Small fish sautéed whole. |
| Dandelion wine |
I've never seen it for sale in the US |
| Danish Loaf |
Rye bread? |
| Damson | Plum |
| Sandwich shop/ grocery |
Deli /Delicatessen |
| Demerara |
Demerara sugar is a golden brown crystal sugar,
popular in cakes and biscuits, and can be substituted with turbinado sugar.
(It's not the same as brown sugar, which is sticky) |
| Devonshire cream |
Clotted cream from Devon (and Cornwall) (nothing
like it in the US) |
| Digestive Biscuit |
A round cookie suitable for dunking in tea. |
| Inexpensive restaurant/
greasy spoon, coffee shop |
Diner |
| (Only heard it referring
to calling the pets to eat) |
Din-Din |
| Din-dins (jocular) |
Dinner |
| Dinner |
Usu. dinner but sometimes lunch; normally folks
have breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but some folks have breakfast, dinner,
and tea (see tea and high tea). In the US dinner & supper are often
synonymous for the main meal of the day (but some areas do difference
between them). |
| Mainly guacamole or bean
dip (mashed beans with seasonings) or sour cream dip (sour cream with seasonings)
eaten by dipping in chips or sliced vegetables. |
Dip |
| Dripping | Fat saved from roast used as savory butter-
toast and dripping as a snack |
| Drunk (Alcohol over-indulgence) |
Blitzed, tanked, three sheets to the wind,
canned*, squiffy*, squiffed*, jagged*, smashed, tie one on, stewed,
fried to the eyes, boiled*, *less commonly heard |
| Food/ Grub |
Eats (colloquial) |
| Eccles cakes (Eccles, town in Lancashire) |
Fancy raisin cakes. |
| Egg custard |
Custard. |
| Egg flip | Eggnog |
| Elevenses |
Morning tea break, taken at 11 AM |
| Baked tortilla stuffed
with beans, rice, meat and spicy seasonings, a staple of Mexican fast food
joints. |
Enchilada (more common
in Southwest states) |
| Originally food
for extreme athletes, but now popular ‘power’ food (Cliff bar, Power
bar etc). |
Energy bar |
| English breakfast (as served in B&Bs, hotels,
etc.) |
May contain: beans, (fried stuff- tomatoes,
eggs, potatoes), sausages, bacon, black pudding, toast and marmalade,
juices and tea, etc. |
| Main course (generally
only said in restaurants) |
Entrée |
| Expiry date /Sell by |
Expiration date |