British to Canadian Lexicon

British to Canadian Lexicon

This page was last updated on July 1, 2005.

The following charts are an unofficial comparison of British and Canadian, or North American, terminology.

Automotive Terms

British	Canadian
Adjustable spanner	Crescent wrench
Bonnet	Hood
Boot	Trunk
Damper	Shock Absorber
Derv	Diesel fuel Diesel-Engined Road Vehicle (acronym)
Dickie Seat	Rumble Seat
Earth (Electricity)	Ground
Estate Car	Station Wagon
Far Side	Passenger's Side
Gearbox	Transmission
Headlamp	Headlight
Juggernaut	Semi-Trailer
Lorry	Truck
Merc	Mercedes Benz
Milometer	Odometer
Near Side	Driver's Side
Petrol	Gasoline
Saloon	Sedan or Four-door car
Silencer	Muffler
Snipe-nosed pliers	Needle-nosed pliers
Spanner	Wrench
Sparking Plugs	Sparkplugs
Tyre	Tire
Windscreen	Windshield

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Railway Terms

British	Canadian
Bogie	Truck
Carriage	Passenger Car
Coupling	Coupler
Driver	Engineer
Footplate	Locomotive Cab
Guard	Brakeman or Conductor
Guard's Van	Caboose
Points	Switch (noun)
Regulator	Throttle
Shunt	Switch (verb)
Sleeper	Tie
Tram	Streetcar
Tube (London Undergound)	Subway
Wagon	Car

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General

British	Canadian
Alsatian (dog)	German Shepherd
Aluminium	Aluminum
Banger	Sausage
Billion (1,000,000,000,000)	Trillion
Biro	Ballpoint Pen
Bloke	Fellow
Bob	Shilling (currency, now 5P)
Bobbie	London Policeman
Bog	Toilet
Bollocks	Nonsense (interjection), Testicles (noun)
Bottom	Bum
Bubble and Squeek	Previously cooked vegetables re-fried
Cheek	Shameless Audacity, Unblushing insolence
Cheeky	To act with Cheek (see above)
Chemist	Pharmacist
Cinema	Movie theatre
Clippie	Bus Conductor
Clot	Clumsy or inept person
Coach	Bus (especially inter-city)
Coloured Television	Colour Television
Crown	5 Shilling coin, now 25P
Cuppa, Cupper	Cup of Tea
Cwt.	Abbreviation for hundredweight
Dodgem Cars	Bumper Cars
Dodgy	Evasive, unreliable
Draughts	Checkers
Dust Bin	Garbage Can
Dustman	Garbage man
Fag	Cigarette, especially the butt-end
Father Christmas	Santa Claus
Farthing Fire Service	Coin worth 1/4 pence (no decimal equivalent) Fire Department or Fire Brigade
Flat	Apartment
Florin	Coin worth 2 shillings (now 10p)
Football	Soccer
Footballer	Football Player
Fortnight	Two Weeks
Governor	Vulgar form of address for a man
Gov, Gov'nor, govnor, guv, guvnor, guv'nor	Various abbreviations for Governor
Grass (verb)	Squeal
Guinea	Gold coin worth 21 shillings
Half-Crown	Coin worth 2 shillings, sixpence. Now 12 1/2 P
Half-Six, Half-Eight, etc.	Six-Thirty, Eight-Thirty (time)
Heath Robinson device	Rube Goldberg device
High Street	Main Street
Hire-Purchase	Rent-to-own
Hockey	Field Hockey
Hole-in-the-Wall	Automated Banking Machine
Hundredweight	Unit of weight equivalent to 112 pounds
Ice hockey	Hockey
Jammy	Lucky
Jumper	Sweater
Knickers	Panties
Knock you up	Call on you
Ladybird	Ladybug
Laundrette	Laundromat
Lift	Elevator
Loo	Toilet
Ludo	Parcheesi
Mack or Mac	Raincoat (short for Macintosh)
Mate	A fellow worker or partner
Nappy	Diaper
Naughts & Crosses	X's & O's or Tic-Tac-Toe
Nick (verb)	Steal
Nissen Hut	Quonset
Nosh (verb and noun)	Meal or to eat
Off-Licence	Liquor Store
Old Bill	Policeman
Patience	Solitaire
Paraffin	Kerosene
Pictures	Movies
Pie	Tart
Pinch (verb)	Steal
Postman	Mailman
Potato crisps	Potato chips
Pram (perambulator)	Baby carriage
Punter	Customer or client
Pushchair	Stroller
Queue (verb and noun)	Line-up
Quid	Pound (British Currency)
Rediffusion	Cable TV
Sacked	Fired
Scenic Railway	Roller Coaster
Short (drink)	Shot
Shuttlecock (badminton)	Bird or Birdie
Skittles	Bowling
Slowcoach	Slowpoke
Snogging	Kissing or Necking
Sovereign	Gold coin worth 1 pound
Spend a penny	Use the washroom
Stone	Unit of weight equivalent to 14 pounds
Stopping at	Staying at
Substantive	Noun
Sweets	Candies
Sweetshop	Candy Store
Takeaway (food)	Takeout
Tanner	Sixpence (currency, now 2 1/2 P)
Tannoy	P.A. (Public Address)
Tart	Pie
Telly	Television
Ten a penny	Dime a dozen
Thousand Million (1,000,000,000)	Billion
Thruppence	Three Pence (currency, no direct decimal equivalent)
Torch	Flashlight
Trainers	Sneakers
Tuppence	Two Pence (currency, no direct decimal equivalent)
Verey Pistol	Flare gun
Way Out	Exit
W.C. (water closet)	Toilet
Wednesday Week	Next Wednesday
Wireless	Radio
2/-	2 shillings, now 10P
2/6	"2 and 6", 2 shillings and 6 pence, now 12 1/2 P

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Rhyming Slang

A cockney is technically someone who is born within the sound of the bells of Bow Church in east London, although usually this definition is not strictly applied. Nonetheless, the cockneys have developed a unique slang in which one or more words, the last of which rhymes with the word for which it is substituting. Although I am not a cockney by birth, I have travelled by Tube underneath the area. Furthermore, I know some of the slang as much of it has entered common parlance in Britain.

Apple and Pears	Stairs
Brahms and Liszt	Pissed (drunk)
Half-inch	Pinch (steal)
Marks and Sparks	Marks and Spencer, A British department store chain.
Old Joanna	Piano
Raspberry Tart	Fart
Skin and Blister	Sister
Storm and Strife	Wife

Click here for a Rhyming Slang Dictionary.

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