By way of preliminary to an examination of the American of today, here is a list of terms in everyday use that differ in American and English:
| American | English | ||
| ash-can | dust-bin | ||
| ash-cart | dust-cart | ||
| ashman | dustman | ||
| backyard | garden | ||
| baggage | luggage | ||
| baggage-car | luggage-van | ||
| ballast (railroad) | metal | ||
| barbershop | barber’s-shop | ||
| bath-robe | dressing-gown | ||
| bath-tub | bath | ||
| beet | beet-root | ||
| bid (noun) | tender | ||
| bill-board | hoarding | ||
| boarder | paying-guest | ||
| boardwalk (seaside) | promenade | ||
| boot | high-boot | ||
| brakeman | brakesman | ||
| 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 | ||
| chief-of-police | chief-constable | ||
| city-editor | chief-reporter | ||
| city-ordinance | by-law | ||
| clipping (newspaper) | cutting | ||
| closed-season | close-season | ||
| coal | coals | ||
| coal-oil | paraffin | ||
| collar-button | stud | ||
| commission-merchant | factor, or commission-agent | ||
| commutation-ticket | season-ticket | ||
| conductor (of a train) | guard | ||
| corn | maize, or Indian corn | ||
| corner (of a street) | crossing | ||
| corn-meal | Indian meal | ||
| counterfeiter | coiner | ||
| cow-catcher | plough | ||
| cracker | biscuit | ||
| crazy-bone | funny-bone | ||
| cross-tie | sleeper | ||
| crystal (watch) | watch-glass | ||
| department-store | stores | ||
| derby (hat) | bowler | ||
| dime-novel | penny-dreadful | ||
| district (political) | division | ||
| druggist | chemist | ||
| drug-store | chemist’s shop | ||
| drummer | bagman | ||
| dry-goods-store | draper’s-shop | ||
| editorial (noun) | leader, or leading-article | ||
| elevator | lift | ||
| elevator-boy | lift-man | ||
| enlisted-man | private-soldier | ||
| excursionist | tripper | ||
| ferns | bracken | ||
| 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 | ||
| freight-elevator | hoist | ||
| frog (railway) | crossing-plate | ||
| garters (men’s) | sock-suspenders | ||
| gasoline | petrol | ||
| grade (railroad) | gradient | ||
| grain | corn | ||
| grain-broker | corn-factor | ||
| groceries | stores | ||
| hardware-dealer | ironmonger | ||
| headliner | topliner | ||
| hod-carrier | hodman | ||
| hog-pen | piggery | ||
| hood (automobile) | bonnet | ||
| 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 | ||
| internal-revenue | inland-revenue | ||
| janitor | caretaker, or porter | ||
| laborer | navvy | ||
| legal-holiday | bank-holiday | ||
| letter-box | pillar-box | ||
| letter-carrier | postman | ||
| locomotive engineer | engine-driver | ||
| long-distance-call | trunk-call | ||
| lumber | deals | ||
| lumber-yard | timber-yard | ||
| mad | angry | ||
| mantelpiece | chimney-piece | ||
| Methodist | Wesleyan | ||
| molasses | treacle | ||
| monkey-wrench | spanner | ||
| moving-picture-theatre | cinema, or picture-palace | ||
| necktie | tie | ||
| news-dealer | news-agent | ||
| newspaper-man | pressman, or journalist | ||
| notions | small-wares | ||
| oatmeal | porridge | ||
| officeholder | public-servant | ||
| orchestra (seats in a theatre) | stalls | ||
| outbuildings (farm) | offices | ||
| overcoat | great-coat | ||
| package | parcel | ||
| parlor | drawing-room | ||
| parlor-car | saloon-carriage | ||
| patrolman (police) | constable | ||
| pay-day | wage-day | ||
| peanut | monkey-nut | ||
| pen-point | nib | ||
| period (punctuation) | full-stop | ||
| pitcher | jug | ||
| plant (industrial) | works | ||
| poorhouse | workhouse | ||
| post-paid | post-free | ||
| potpie | pie | ||
| prepaid | carriage-paid | ||
| press (printing) | machine | ||
| program (of a meeting) | agenda | ||
| public-school | board-school | ||
| quotation-marks | inverted-commas | ||
| railroad | railway[1] | ||
| 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 (of films) | spool | ||
| roll-call | division | ||
| rooster | cock | ||
| round-trip-ticket | return-ticket | ||
| saleswoman | shop-assistant | ||
| saloon | public-house | ||
| scarf-pin | tie-pin | ||
| scow | lighter | ||
| sewerage | drains | ||
| shirtwaist | blouse | ||
| shoe | boot | ||
| shoemaker | bootmaker | ||
| shoe-shine | boot-polish | ||
| shoestring | bootlace | ||
| shoe-tree | boot-tree | ||
| sick | ill | ||
| sidewalk | footpath, or pavement | ||
| silver (collectively) | plate | ||
| sled | sledge | ||
| sleigh | sledge | ||
| soft-drinks | minerals | ||
| smoking-room | smoke-room | ||
| spigot (or faucet) | tap | ||
| sponge (surgical) | tap | ||
| 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, or fillet | ||
| ten-pins | nine-pins | ||
| terminal (railroad) | terminus | ||
| thumb-tack | drawing-office | ||
| 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 | ||
| typewriter (operator) | typist | ||
| typhoid-fever | enteric | ||
| undershirt | vest | ||
| vaudeville-theatre | music-hall | ||
| vest | waistcoat | ||
| warden (of a prison) | governor | ||
| warehouse | stores | ||
| wash-rag | face-cloth | ||
| wash-stand | wash-hand-stand | ||
| waste-basket | waste-paper-basket | ||
| whippletree | splinter-bar | ||
| witness-stand | witness-box |
Notes
edit- ↑ Railway, of course, is sometimes used in the United States. But all the English dictionaries call railroad an Americanism.