IV — American and English Today
§ 1 The Two Vocabularies
—By way of preliminary to an examination of the American of today I offer a brief list of terms in common use that differ in American and English. Here are 200 of them, all chosen from the simplest colloquial vocabularies and without any attempt at plan or completeness:
| American | English |
|---|---|
| ash-can | dust-bin |
| baby-carriage | pram |
| backyard | garden |
| baggage | luggage |
| baggage-car | luggage-van |
| ballast (railroad) | metals |
| bath-tub | bath |
| beet | beet-root |
| bid (noun) | tender |
| bill-board | hoarding |
| boarder | paying-guest |
| boardwalk (seaside) | promenade |
| bond (finance) | debenture |
| boot | Blucher, or Wellington |
| brakeman | brakesman |
| bucket | pail |
| bumper (car) | buffer |
| bureau | chest of drawers |
| calendar (court) | cause-list |
| campaign (political) | canvass |
| can (noun) | tin |
| candy | sweets |
| cane | stick |
| canned-goods | tinned-goods |
| car (railroad) | carriage, van or waggon |
| checkers (game) | draughts |
| chicken-yard | fowl-run |
| chief-clerk | head-clerk |
| city-editor | chief-reporter |
| city-ordinance | by-law |
| clipping (newspaper) | cutting |
| coal-oil | paraffin |
| coal-scuttle | coal-hod |
| commission-merchant | factor |
| conductor (of a train) | guard |
| corn | maize, or Indian corn |
| corner (of a street) | crossing |
| corset | stays |
| counterfeiter | coiner |
| cow-catcher | plough |
| cracker | biscuit |
| cross-tie | sleeper |
| delicatessen-store | Italian-warehouse |
| department-store | stores |
| Derby (hat) | bowler |
| dime-novel | shilling-shocker |
| druggist | chemist |
| drug-store | chemist’s-shop |
| drummer | bagman |
| dry-goods-store | draper’s-shop |
| editorial | leader, or leading-article |
| elevator | lift |
| elevator-boy | lift-man |
| excursionist | tripper |
| express-company | carrier |
| filing-cabinet | nest-of-drawers |
| fire-department | fire-brigade |
| fish-dealer | fishmonger |
| floor-walker | shop-walker |
| fraternal-order | friendly-society |
| freight | goods |
| freight-agent | goods-manager |
| freight-car | goods-waggon |
| frog (railway) | crossing-plate |
| garters (men’s) | sock-suspenders |
| gasoline | petrol |
| grade (railroad) | gradient |
| grain | corn |
| grain-broker | corn-factor |
| grip | hold-all |
| groceries | stores |
| hardware-dealer | ironmonger |
| haystack | haycock |
| headliner | topliner |
| hod-carrier | hodman |
| hog-pen | piggery |
| hospital (private) | nursing-home |
| huckster | coster (monger) |
| hunting | shooting |
| Indian | Red Indian |
| Indian Summer | St. Martin’s Summer |
| instalment-business | credit-trade |
| instalment-plan | hire-purchase plan |
| janitor | caretaker |
| legal-holiday | bank-holiday |
| letter-box | pillar-box |
| letter-carrier | postman |
| livery-stable | mews1 |
| locomotive engineer | engine-driver |
| lumber | deals |
| mad | angry |
| Methodist | Wesleyan |
| molasses | treacle |
| monkey-wrench | spanner |
| moving-picture-theatre | cinema |
| napkin (dinner) | serviette |
| necktie | tie, or cravat |
| news-dealer | news-agent |
| newspaper-man | pressman, or journalist |
| oatmeal | porridge |
| officeholder | public-servant |
| orchestra (seats in a theatre) | stalls |
| overcoat | great-coat |
| package | parcel |
| parlor | drawing-room |
| parlor-car | saloon-carriage |
| patrolman (police) | constable |
| pay-day | wage-day |
| peanut | monkey-nut |
| pie (fruit) | tart |
| pitcher | jug |
| poorhouse | workhouse |
| post-paid | post-free |
| potpie | pie |
| prepaid | carriage-paid |
| press (printing) | machine |
| program (of a meeting) | agenda |
| proof-reader | corrector-of-the-press |
| public-school | board-school |
| quotation-marks | inverted-commas |
| railroad | railway |
| railroad-man | railway-servant |
| rails | line |
| rare (of meat) | underdone |
| receipts (in business) | takings |
| Rhine-wine | Hock |
| road-bed (railroad) | permanent-way |
| road-repairer | road-mender |
| roast | joint |
| roll-call | division |
| rooster | cock |
| round-trip-ticket | return-ticket |
| rutabaga | mangel-wurzel |
| saleswoman | shop-assistant |
| saloon | public-house |
| scarf-pin | tie-pin |
| scow | lighter |
| sewer | drain |
| shirtwaist | blouse |
| shoe | boot |
| shoemaker | bootmaker |
| shoestring | bootlace |
| shoe-tree | boot-form |
| sick | ill |
| sidewalk | pavement |
| silver (collectively) | plate |
| sled | sledge |
| sleigh | sledge |
| soft-drinks | minerals |
| spigot | tap |
| squash | vegetable-marrow |
| stem-winder | keyless-watch |
| stockholder | shareholder |
| stocks | shares |
| store-fixtures | shop-fittings |
| street-cleaner | crossing-sweeper |
| street-railway | tramway |
| subway | tube, or underground |
| suspenders (men’s) | braces |
| sweater | jersey |
| switch (noun, railway) | points |
| switch (verb, railway) | shunt |
| taxes (municipal) | rates |
| taxpayer (local) | ratepayer |
| tenderloin (of beef) | under-cut |
| ten-pins | nine-pins |
| thumb-tack | drawing-pin |
| ticket-office | booking-office |
| tinner | tinker |
| tin-roof | leads |
| track (railroad) | line |
| trained-nurse | hospital-nurse |
| transom (of door) | fanlight |
| trolley-car | tramcar |
| truck (vehicle) | lorry |
| truck (of a railroad car) | bogie |
| trunk | box |
| typewriter (operator) | typist |
| typhoid-fever | enteric |
| undershirt | vest |
| vaudeville-theatre | music-hall |
| vegetables | greens |
| vest | waistcoat |
| warden (of a prison) | governor |
| warehouse | stores |
| wash-rag | face-cloth |
| wash-stand | wash-hand-stand |
| wash-wringer | mangle |
| waste-basket | waste-paper-basket |
| whipple-tree2 | splinter-bar |
| witness-stand | witness-box |
| wood-alcohol | methylated-spirits |