Spend five minutes with Chris and Jay and you’ll discover that sharing a language does absolutely nothing to prevent two people from staring at each other as though the other has just made up a word.
So, in the interests of transatlantic relations, we’ve put together 15 perfectly ordinary British words and expressions that have a habit of leaving Americans wondering what on earth is going on.
Jay insists they’re all perfectly sensible.
Chris has thoughts.
1. Pants vs. Trousers
🇺🇸 Chris: Pants. You put them on your legs. Simple.
🇬🇧 Jay: Those are trousers.
🇺🇸 Chris: No. Those are pants.
🇬🇧 Jay: Pants are underwear.
And this is how international incidents begin.
Tell an American, “Nice pants!” and they’ll probably say thank you.
Say it to a Brit and you’ve just complimented their underwear.
Advantage: Nobody. We’re already confused.
2. Biscuits vs. Cookies
This one causes Chris actual pain.
In Britain, a biscuit is the sweet, crunchy thing you dunk into a cup of tea.
In America, that’s a cookie.
Meanwhile, an American biscuit is a soft, savory baked creation that Brits look at suspiciously — particularly when someone pours gravy over it.
🇺🇸 Chris: Biscuits and gravy are delicious.
🇬🇧 Jay: Those aren’t biscuits and that isn’t gravy.
🇺🇸 Chris: Bless your heart.
Moving swiftly on.
3. Chips vs. Crisps
Open a bag of Lay’s in America and you’re eating chips.
Open the same sort of bag in Britain and you’re eating crisps.
Ask for chips in Britain and you’ll get hot pieces of potato.
🇺🇸 Chris: Fries.
🇬🇧 Jay: Chips.
🇺🇸 Chris: No.
🇬🇧 Jay: Excellent argument.
4. Fries vs. Chips
Unfortunately, we’re not finished with potatoes.
Americans have fries. Brits have chips.
Except Britain also has fries, because thin chips can be fries while thicker fries are chips.
Got it?
Neither do we.
The important thing is that whichever country you’re in, somebody will eventually cover them in something the other country finds deeply suspicious.
5. Trainers vs. Sneakers
🇬🇧 Jay: Trainers.
🇺🇸 Chris: Sneakers.
🇬🇧 Jay: Why are they sneaking?
🇺🇸 Chris: What exactly are yours training for?
Fair point on both sides.
Some Americans also call them tennis shoes, regardless of whether the wearer has been within 50 feet of a tennis court.
We may have to declare this one a draw.
6. Trash Can vs. Rubbish Bin
Americans throw their trash in the trash can.
Brits put their rubbish in the bin.
But Britain gets a bonus point because rubbish can also be used to dismiss almost anything.
Bad movie?
“Rubbish.”
Terrible idea?
“Absolute rubbish.”
Chris’s opinion on British chocolate?
🇬🇧 Jay: Rubbish.
🇺🇸 Chris: Nobody asked you.
7. Trunk vs. Boot
The storage area at the back of a car is a trunk in America and a boot in Britain.
🇺🇸 Chris: Why would you put groceries in a boot?
🇬🇧 Jay: Why would you put them in a trunk?
And annoyingly, both questions are completely reasonable.
8. Hood vs. Bonnet
And at the other end of the car…
Americans open the hood.
Brits open the bonnet.
So apparently American cars wear hoodies while British cars dress like Victorian babies.
We’re beginning to understand why the automotive industry went international.
9. Gas vs. Petrol
🇺🇸 Chris: I’m stopping for gas.
🇬🇧 Jay: Petrol.
🇺🇸 Chris: Gas.
🇬🇧 Jay: It’s a liquid.
🇺🇸 Chris: Fine. You can push.
Technically Americans are shortening gasoline, while Brits use petrol.
Technically nobody cares what you call it when the fuel light comes on.
10. Elevator vs. Lift
This may be the rare occasion when both countries have chosen words that actually make sense.
An American elevator elevates you.
A British lift lifts you.
Beautiful.
Simple.
International harmony at last.
Don’t worry. It won’t last.
11. Flashlight vs. Torch
Americans use a flashlight.
Brits use a torch.
Mention carrying a torch to an American and it sounds as though you’re about to join an angry mob outside Frankenstein’s castle.
🇺🇸 Chris: That’s a flashlight.
🇬🇧 Jay: Does it flash?
🇺🇸 Chris: …I don’t like where this is going.
One point to Britain.
12. Sidewalk vs. Pavement
Americans walk on the sidewalk.
Brits walk on the pavement.
The problem is that Americans also use pavement to describe the hard surface of a road.
So when a Brit casually says, “Just walk along the pavement,” an American may reasonably wonder why they’re being instructed to wander into traffic.
13. Cheers
This one isn’t confusing because Americans don’t know the word.
It’s confusing because British people use it for everything.
A drink: “Cheers!”
Thank you: “Cheers.”
Goodbye: “Cheers.”
Someone holds a door: “Cheers.”
Someone gives you change: “Cheers.”
You accidentally bump into someone and somehow both apologize: probably “Cheers” somewhere in there too.
🇺🇸 Chris: Does it actually mean anything?
🇬🇧 Jay: Cheers.
14. Coriander vs. Cilantro
Americans call the leafy herb cilantro.
Brits call it coriander.
Britain also calls the seeds coriander.
🇺🇸 Chris: So the leaves and seeds have the same name?
🇬🇧 Jay: Yes.
🇺🇸 Chris: And you think we’re the confusing ones?
Jay has declined to comment.
15. Tap vs. Faucet
Britain has taps.
America has faucets.
🇬🇧 Jay: Faucet sounds like a plumbing spell from Harry Potter.
🇺🇸 Chris: And “tap” sounds like something you do with your finger.
🇬🇧 Jay: You turn on the tap.
🇺🇸 Chris: You turn on the faucet.
🇬🇧 Jay: That’s ridiculous.
🇺🇸 Chris: And y’all call us strange?
So… Who’s Right?
Obviously, Chris says America.
Obviously, Jay says Britain.
And obviously, neither one of them is going to convince the other.
That’s really the fun of British and American English. Neither version is inherently “wrong.” We’ve simply spent a few hundred years taking the same language in slightly different directions — and then acting surprised when the other side doesn’t understand us.
Cookies or biscuits.
Fries or chips.
Trunk or boot.
Faucet or tap.
Somehow we still manage to communicate.
Mostly.
And if this kind of transatlantic confusion sounds familiar, that’s pretty much what happens every time Chris and Jay switch on the microphones for Grits & a Brit.
Two Nations. One Language. Endless Confusion.