US Lexicon

Last update:
27-Dec-2010
©1996-2009
Mike Todd

Where it's not obvious: BE = British English, AE=American English and

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Salisbury Steak
	Steak, minced (ground) and shaped into a patty and served with gravy
Saran Wrap (trade name)
	Cling film
Sawbuck
	$10 bill Although it's an old-fashioned term.
Scotch Tape (trade name)
	Sellotape
Seltzer water
	Pure carbonated water This is not quite the same as soda water, which has various potassium salts in it, and which is club soda
Semester
	Half a school year Many British think that semester means a term. In a way, it does, but only when that term consists of half-a-year, since semester literally means six months. Some schools divide their academic year into four, three month terms, and these are known as trimesters.
Senior
	4th year student A 1st-year student is a freshman, a 2nd-year student is a sophomore and a 3rd-year student is a junior
7-Eleven
	A chain of round-the-clock convenience stores. They weren't always open 24-hours a day; they used to run from 7am to 11pm, and that's where they got their name
Seven Sisters
	A formal group of seven of the most prestigous private colleges in the north-eastern US. It started as a conference of four colleges (Vassar, Mount Holyoke, Wellesley and Smith) which got together in 1915 to find ways of improving their fund-raising. A second conference, with the addition of Bryn Mawr college, was held ten years later; and further conferences added Barnard and Radcliffe. These seven colleges were originally all female and the name Seven Sisters soon got applied to the group. These days they discuss much broader matters than funding, such as academic standards and admissions policy - and only three of them remain single sex.
7-Up
	Lemonade (brand name) It started life as Howdy, made by a Mr Griggs back in 1920. However, it iddn't sell well so the name was changed to Bib Label Lithiated Lemon Lime Soda. This too failed to attract the customers, and Mr Griggs tried a number of other names. After six attempts, he was running out of ideas and chose Seven-Up for his seventh name (possibly prompted by the card game of the same name), and suddenly sales started to rise!
Shag
	A dance; to chase If an American girl comes up to you and asks if you'd like "to shag", she probably wants to dance. If an American boy has just "shagged you" he probably chased you away. The British use of the word to mean to have sex with was once unknown in the US, but with the advent of the Austin Power movies, it is now understood, particularly by the younger generation.
Sherbet
	Sorbet
Shingle
	Building material for covering roof or side of building
Sidewalk
	Pavement The Americans use pavement for the paved part of the road (i.e. the road surface).
Show and tell
	Something that isn't really known in British schools is the practice of show and tell. It is limited to the first few grades, and is where the students are encouraged to bring something to class that is of particular interest, and to tell the class something about it.
Shortening
	An oil or fat use to make pastry, cakes and so on. It is used to make the mixture short, a word rarely used in BE, but which still exists in words like shortbread. Although a brand name, Crisco is often used as a generic term for shortening in AE
Skycap
	Porter in an airport
Sloppy Joe
	An open bread bun or roll, with barbecued beef
Snatch
	Female genitalia Although the Americans do use the word snatch in the sense of seizing something, or something brief, it is very easy to use it in the wrong context and cause great offence
Sneakers
	Trainers The Americans call them sneakers because they have soft soles and are good for sneaking around in. The British call them trainers because they're worn during sports training. If you use the word trainers, Americans would probably think you were referring to the training wheels on a child's bicycle.
Soda
	Fizzy drink or Pop Basically any carbonated soft drink is a soda. It is short for soda pop, and exactly what you'd get if you simply asked for a soda would depend on where you were.
Sophomore
	2nd year student A 1st-year student is a freshman, a 3rd-year student is a junior and a 4th-year student is a senior
Spackle (trade name)
	Polyfilla Spackle is the trade name for a filler paste, very similar to British Polyfilla. It hass been around so long that it is now part of the language (like hoover) and to spackle means to appply Spackle to a surface before painting.
Speed zone
	Speed limited area Americans generally have an upper speed limit of between 65 and 75mph these days, and anything lower is referred to a speed zone. If you see a sign saying Speed Zone Ahead, it is the same as Reduced Speed Ahead
Speedos
	Swimming trunks (or swimming costume) Speedo is the name of a company making a wide variety of swimming clothes. However, the term is now generically applied to any skin-tight swimming costume.
Spigot
	Outdoor tap, or stopcock This is slightly different to a faucet, which is just an ordinary tap. A spigot is specifically a tap outdoors, or for turning off the main supply
Spunk
	Spirited, "get-up-and-go" In the US, it is quite common to get up in the morning "full of spunk". In the UK, the word is common slang for semen, although it may also be used about a boy who is particular attractive, as in the US "hunk"
Squash
	Vegetable marrow There are many varieties of squash in the US, but they're all varieties of marrow. The UK use of squash, meaning a fruit drink or cordial is not known in the US.
Star Spangled Banner
	US National Anthem See History of the National Anthem, and also National Anthem
Stick (butter)
	Butter is sold in sticks in the US. There are usually four individually wrapped 4oz sticks in a box, and the wrapping on each stick is usually marked out in 1oz, or half-ounce sections
Stick shift
	Manual gear change There are far more automatics in the US, and if you rent a car it is almost guaranteed to be an automatic. If you really do want a manual, then you'll need to specifically ask for a stick shift, but the chances of getting one are not great.
Stone BE
	14 pounds In the US, a stone is only a rock - as a unit of weight it is unknown. People weigh themselves in pounds, and it takes only a small feat of mental arithmetic to know that someone who says they are "160 pounds" means they are really "11-stone-6"
Straight up
	Neat Drinks with no mixer added are straight up, although the term is old-fashioned, and more commonly abbreviated to just straight
Styrofoam
	Expanded Polystyrene The trade name for expanded polystyrene, and invented by the Dow Chemical Company in the USA in 1950. Used for packaging and for disposable coffee cups and so on.
Sub or Submarine Sandwich
	Take a long bread roll, slice it in half, and fill it with ham, seafood, cheese, salad, turkey, or just about anything else, and you have a sub. It is so-called simply because it looks like a submarine. In New Orleans it is called a po'boy (from poor boy) - in some areas it is a grinder, in others it is a hoagie - and it is also called a hero or torpedo.
Succotash
	Mixture of corn and butter (lima) beans There are various recipes in modern recipe books, but the original succotash comes from Algonquian dialect which was for a mixture of corn and lima beans.
Suspenders
	Braces These are what hold up your pants are normally suspenders, although the use of braces in this sense is not unknown in the US, it is usually used to mean the orthodontic contraption.
Sweater-vest
	Cardigan Also a sleeveless pullover