Lost in translation

This is a glossary of American English that I hope to grow while I’m in the USA (mostly for my own benefit).

‘Bless her/his heart…’: a phrase used commonly in the South, often followed with an endearing statement about someone. However, it is also apparently used as the start of a sentence by some people to enable them to say what they really think about someone!

Boondoggle: a term used to describe the additional benefits of something such as a work conference. You might go to a conference for 2 days and then the weekend spent in Paris on the back of the conference was a Boondoggle.

Hush puppies: to the Americans these are delicious balls of deep fried cornbread, to the Brits these are sensible shoes often worn by nurses.

Piece: to the Americans this is a gun, to the Scots this is a sandwich!

Tail-gating: to the Americans, this refers to when families and friends hang out around the ‘tailgate’ of a car to share food and drink and socialise, often at sports events. In the UK, this refers to the aggressive driving of a vehicle behind you, which is bumper-hugging/driving very close to the rear ‘tailgate’ of your car.

Ten-printing: the act of standing in a long queue at the US Embassy in London to get each of your digits scanned as biometric data for the US Department of Homeland Security.

Trunk or treating: where families gather in a car park, dress up and decorate the boots of their cars with all things Halloween, and then the kids go ‘trunk or treating’ around all the other cars.