Screaming at this list of “most American” and “most British” words (“Pus” is percent of US people who recognize the word, “Puk” is percent of UK people)
@prehensile what on our green earth is that jesus x3
@prehensile I regret to inform you all the words on the right are real
@prehensile not heard of "gazump", "pelmet"
@avie @prehensile to gazump is when you make a higher offer on a house than somebody else that had already been accepted and get it and a pelmet is the frilly thing for your curtains that covers the curtain rail
@prehensile oh yeah. "quango" also. that one is definitely some Dr Seuss bs
@avie @prehensile Quango is a contraction. In full, it's quasi non governmental organisation. Those are organisations that the government controls and has delegated power to, but can hide behind to avoid responsibility.
@terrana @prehensile ahhhhh i see
@prehensile Kabob Chaffinch here uwu
@prehensile why does this work so well
Yob Acetaminphen
@prehensile Pus Puk, standing by
@prehensile im tamale brolly
@prehensile Goober Biro, here.
@prehensile chigger korma, reporting in
@prehensile Call me Albuterol Judder
@prehensile tomatillo naff signing in!
LB it's me, Albuterol Yob
@prehensile Sandlot Escalope 
@prehensile Pleased to meet you, I'm Sandlot Naff. Respectable used starship salesperson from Nar Shaddaa
@prehensile fascinating how this breaks down on a “where did you take this word from” axis. Lots of Italian and Latin American words on the left side, and bolshy right in the middle of the right side.
American here, I knew bolshy, yob and korma. Thank you clockwork orange, Indian restaurants, and Slade.
@prehensile They just got lazy when they made up "plaice".
@prehensile Puk that recognizes "hibachi": 26%
Do ~74% of British simply not know of good food that comes from not-France???
@prehensile Seriously, like, half the items on the left column are food-related, and many of them I'd consider part of a *good* dinner.
@prehensile It's pretty funny that most of the words on the left are loanwords from other languages, and most of the words on the right are English slang. (And I bet more people in the US would recognize 'kerbside' if they'd spelled it 'curbside', pronounced the same.)
@prehensile is an escalope what you get when you cross escarole with an antelope?
also now I want korma
@prehensile Thanks; the challenge is to get as pany of the +Puk words as possible into your next conference call with Americans. Bonus points for phrases that are entirely harmless in the UK and offensive in the US.
@prehensile 99% of brits know what a "biro" is. what the fuck is a "biro"
@xnx38h @prehensile Writing on paper with biro's. And when it rains you need a brolly!
That's very naff, this linguistic soup with chipolata sausage.
You would rather not be called a yob.
I love the birdsong of a chaffinch.
Etc..
Funny I'm Belgian and I know words of both columns! The left column has quite a lot of food related words, from Italian and Spanish.
@xnx38h @prehensile Genericised trademark - a biro is a ball-point pen.
@prehensile It's interesting that most of the words on the left are a) foods, and b) not English.
@prehensile @kai *chef’s kiss* for image caption
@prehensile because I can’t convincingly fake any British accents at all I’m now amusing myself by alternating my native accent and my grandparents’ Brooklyn accents for *all* of these.
@prehensile here's another list, but where's that one from? https://www.adducation.info/lifestyle/british-vs-american-words/
@cosullivan
@gemlog At my advanced age I learn endive = chicory And now I know why I can't find treacle in supermarkets
Think I'll write to the Brits tonight
@cosullivan
You didn't like my story? :-( i tried...
@gemlog I didn't read it yet. Is it enough to hold you for the next 4 hours that I like that you sent one?
My kid says his story is going to have CC pummel Senator Joseph McCarthy to save me from wingnut extremist you-know-whats
@cosullivan Oh, no :-( mine's not that exciting :-(
@gemlog Maybe you need some inspiration. This was my son's inspiration https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bq2fWv3Va-U
@prehensile dodgem is a real UK word it means 'bumper car'
you know like the fair attraction?
yeah
they're the dodgems.
@prehensile omg they're all real words I have been baited
@prehensile I'm a Brit married to an American. This is my life!
@prehensile
new autechre album tracklist
@prehensile
I'm Kielbasa Dodgem
(dodgems are bumper cars, right?)
@prehensile
us: words adopted from other languages
uk: absolute nonsense
@prehensile I don't know a single one of those UK words, but I'm having a fun time looking guessing them and then looking them up
@prehensile what language are the words on the left?/s
Actually quite shocked at how many of the left words are genuinely totally new to me, despite the usual English-language pervasiveness of US culture.
@prehensile
Conniption Chaffinch.
(as a USian who's been in the UK a decade, I now recognise nearly every word on this list, and I'm not sure how to feel about that)
@prehensile As a Canadian it is safe to say I cannot recognize all these words
I grew up 1500 km from London and I live in an ex-British-colony. I have heard and know 7 words on the left, there are several words on the right that I've heard and can't say for sure what they are, but I know for sure 5. I'm surprised Brits watch so much less US TV than I did growing up.
Take one word from each side to find your Star Wars name. I’m Quango Garbanzo