British Words that Baffle Americans 

Growing up in 1960's Southern California, 'Sun Tan Lotion' sounds perfectly normal.

“Suntan lotion” was used in US long ago, in the 50s or 60s. It may be unfamiliar to younger people. Nowadays we use sunscreen or sun block.

I'm honestly surprised you didn't mention the British use of "rubber" - we had an American exchange teacher at school, and she almost had a heart attack when she first heard "Miss, she's nicked my rubber!"

Because of my marriage into a British family I eventually began to look for a dictionary of British English. I couldn't find one that wasn't a big expensive tome. However, a cousin in Australia sent me a Macquarie dictionary (of Australian English?) This has been most useful. My wife's taste in colors/colours was very definite. When, again, she defined it for me, I asked if there were perhaps a group name for her tastes. She said, No. Not pastels, I ventured? Again she said, No. After the cousin sent the Macquarie I looked up pastel. It said, essentially, that everything my wife liked was a pastel. As we say un the US, go figure. Communication can be such an uncertain thing. She is gone now. But one thing she knew, and that was that I loved her.

In the US midwest, we said, "suntan lotion" back in the 1970's, when folks used lotion to encourage skin to tan. In the 80's it became sunscreen, which prevents sunburn.

Band Aid was (and might still be) a trade name in the UK for plasters. I think the signs at swimming pools saying no petting mean a bit more than kissing.

Back in the 70s & 80s, beach goers WANTED to get suntanned. So much so, they wanted a product that would help them get a deep, EVEN tan FASTER. That's what SUN TAN LOTION is for. Now, we want to PREVENT deep tans, so we use SUN BLOCK/SUN SCREEN.

Mardy is alive and well in the West Midlands where it's usually used to describe a child who is being awkward.

It'd be called a washcloth, but the cloth itself is called terry cloth.

When I was growing up in Cleveland, Ohio, I'm in my 60s now, we called suntan lotion. It became sunscreen when they started rating them on how well they protect you.

"Petting" is an old word (I don't think it's used this way any more) to describe a combination of kissing and sexual stimulation through the clothes.

"I'll knock you up in the morning." (I remember that one.)

I'm from Indianapolis too and I am pretty sure I use sunscreen, sunblock, and suntan lotion interchangeably. although sunscreen prob most often

Love your accent. First time I heard “Bob’s your uncle” I thought 💭 “do I have an uncle Bob?”

Oh no! Your accent seems to be fading, it’s THE most American I’ve ever hear you. Please don’t lose your accent!!!!

Rubbish was used to mean nonsense in the Harry Potter films. So Americans who have seen Harry Potter should know that meaning of the word rubbish.

“Band-Aid” was a play on the brand of adhesive bandages.

"That's rubbish!" doesn't confuse me, but it does make me giggle. It's just too soft sounding a word to be insulting. We say "That's garbage!" or "What garbage!" in my area all the time though, so I'm surprised people are confused by that one!

Ten year ago I was overseeing the install of a brewery in the US. It was to be delivered by road on 7 x 20ft shipping containers on semi trailers. I let the customer know that the first lorry was half an hour late but that the following lorries were on time. There were one or two more conversations referring to lorries. Eventually after some hesitation the customer asked "What's a lorry?"

Give the lady a microphone, one can not hear her, the music is too loud.

I'm American and I'm familiar with the term suntan lotion, and I would assume you meant what we call sunscreen. My parents and grandparents would probably say "suntan lotion" too, it is probably more of an old-fashioned term here. I usually say sunscreen and occasionally sunblock.

An American friend of mine made me laugh because he couldn't understand what going for a cheeky nando's meant. :D My explanation didn't help either lol

No, i`ve always known it as `sun tan lotion` because that`s what it`s called in the UK.

"Queing up" baffled me as a kid. I saw a great sign by the road somewhere in Wiltshire said, "Refuse Tip". My friend wanted to know why anyone would suggest that tipping out in the middle of a field was necessary. I told her it was a garbage dump. My mum, after being married to my Dad for a week, said in public, "Knock me up at 6." There was a long dead silence and my father had to explain she meant " wake me up" not get her pregnant. LMAO

Born and raised New Yorker who actually says "rubbish", "gone off" and "spanner" (wrench). Most of my co-workers think I've lost the plot....

I knew flannel meant washcloth because I was a Squeeze fan. "I bought a toothbrush, some toothpaste, a flannel for my face, pyjamas, a hairbrush, new shoes and a case". The "case" actually threw me. Sun tan lotion is a term I grew up with in America. It's not foreign at all to me. Sunblock or sun screen or whatever are much more recent terms in my experience. You are OK with petting your dog or cat as long as you don't engage in heavy petting. And try not to get past first base with your pet.

I have to admit ,beyond the local slang, none of these phase me but I read a LOT of British authors and watch a fair amount of UK tv. Though I do have to admit, anytime we watch uk tv, I do have to translate for my husband, especially if it’s a period piece!🤣

Laurence, I thoroughly enjoy your videos and I love your wife’s cute laugh! Keep it up and GOD bless 🙏🏻

Another one is jumper. Jumper in the US means a pinafore dress, not a sweater.

I’ve always called the whole lot sun tan lotion and I’m from Chicago.

Another good video. I'm always curious about the British experience in the U.S. Are there any stereotypically American things you have come to love, and would miss if you moved back to England? Enough to say, make a video about?

Mardy is used in Manchester and Lancashire too.

Is it me or does he sound a bit like Alan Partridge??

Nice. I picked up most of it over many years from British shows (Doctor Who, Sherlock, The IT Crowd, Fawlty Towers). I am somewhat curious about certain American words and phrases that baffle Britons.

Sun tan lotion is not your parents I can assure you

I call a 'pag' a 'croggy'... Im from Selby, North Yorkshire:)

What about...Boot (car trunk), Lorry (truck), Trolly (shopping cart), Mad (crazy), Biscut (cookie), Que (line), Pram (baby carriage), Car Park (parking lot), Loo (bathroom), Jumper (sweater).

we use mardy in the east midlands in leicester

People don't usually "french" kiss dogs. However dogs don't mind giving a lot of tongue. :-D

Looking back and seeing younger Laurence is quite the trip after watching mostly his newer content.

Can't beat Grimsby fish n chips. Married to an American myself and currently going through the nightmare that is the green card application process.

When growing up in Texas during the 50s/60s, the term for giving a friend a ride on the back of one's bicycle was "pumping". You might ask a friend to give you a pump.

The term “suntan lotion" was in common usage when I was growing up in New Mexico in the 1950’s-1970’s and I presume elsewhere in America. These lotions appear to have been superceeded by “sunscreen,” possibly a result of the ozone hole/skin cancer scare that seemed to panic fairer skin inhabitants across the globe in the 1980’s.

"Natty" was the first British term I'd heard. It was being used to describe the state of an old baseball glove, which is kind of cute. This was in 4th grade. I grew up in an area with a lot of diplomatic workers, and often their kids would go to public schools.

Being from Grimsby too good to hear the word 'pag'....definitely an expression for giving someone a ride on your bicycle and I am sure it is unique to Grimsby.

I've never heard the word "pet" to mean "kiss", might be a regional thing?

Sounds like you're doing a grand job of teaching your wife proper English! Keep up the good work!

"Bespoke". I THINK what you're saying there is what we call "Custom". As in: "Our bespoke [custom] all-electronic controls make the ElectriCopter a dream to fly."

Petting on means kissing and groping when it is "Heavy petting"

O.M.G. Never saw a video of yours this old. What a difference in snap and polish you have created over the years. This one was pretty much stream of consciousness.

I also grew up with "sun-tan lotion" in London in the sixties.

The word "Mardy" is also used in Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire too.

Mardy is used in the Black Country also.

Sun tan lotion used to be common in the US under that name. There was Coppertone and probably some others, that were meant to help give you a darker tan. Then the big thing about UV rays came out along the way, and it all became sunscreen to prevent burning, cancer and weathered skin. No more sun tan lotion! So sunscreen and suntan lotion would be opposites in that case.

One that has confused me is the term, "Pop your clogs," First time I heard that I thought someone wanted to drain the bath tub. lol.

"Petting" in the USA used to mean "making out" or UK snogging

Fancy Dress caught me unawares, but that was in Australia. You'd like New Hampshire, I think a lot of them say rubbish bin and elastic. Did you say you're from GRIMSBY? God bless ya, you must be dying for a decent piece of Cod out in Indiana! :)

We always used the term suntan lotion up until recently when we started using the term sun screen lotion or some variation of it.

Have to admit I do so enjoy your videos. This video covered a word I had just learned myself...flannels. In getting prepared to visit our friends in the UK for the first time this coming fall I had read somewhere that hotels didn't have washcloths, so I asked our friends if we should bring our own. The tables were turned as she had no idea what a washcloth was...and then suddenly realized what I was speaking of and told me they were called Flannels over there (much to my surprise). I just love how the Brits use the word brilliant so much..probably as much as we use awesome. lol Keep up the good work... and by the way, did you know you are now a official Hoosier?? ;-)

Flannel has another meaning, either a noun (praise to get someone to do a task for you) hence the verb *to* flannel meaning the action of giving praise or complements.

Sunblock...? I thought was what you were talking about.

We dont use flannel in america as a washcloth, we use terry. And a cook’s towel is oxford.

I call stroking an animal patting

Mardy is used in the Yorkshire/Derbyshire area too. Just wanted to clear that uncertainty. I want to go over to America when i am older for a holiday experience so thank you for providing the basic information on what phrases Americans may request for me to say. I appreciate it.

I’ve been American all my life and my dad used to always say “oh that’s rubbish” and I knew exactly what he meant. In fact it was scary; it meant he was in a bad mood or angry at somebody for having the wrong opinion. 🤭 Also suntan lotion is what we used to always called sunscreen (except that wasn’t the goal -to screen out the sun) then in the ‘90s I think it really started becoming a big thing to avoid sun at all cost. I say that with my eyes rolling

I had a British housemate in college. Some words I didn't get at first: uni, knackered, pissed, dustbin, "half-five" instead of five-thirty, cuppa, bog-roll, trainers, digestives

I always say rubbish.

You're right about Mardy. I live in Lincolnshire and we use it all the time

I’m British and I say sun cream but I’ve heard sun tan lotion a lot too

Petting is more sexual in Australia than just kissing.

In the 70s and 80s we might have understood "sun tan lotion" as a lotion for helping you get a tan. These would often give a somewhat fake looking tan. As the talk of the ozone layer and skin cancer became more prominent in the late 80s and 90s intentionally tanning became a sign of being extremely vain and unhealthy, even politically incorrect. Sunscreen or sunblock are the words for lotions used for skin protection.

Petting in a sexual sense and suntan lotion are words used by older people here.

Mardy and mardy arse are universal UK.

Why can't you kiss in the swimming pool?

you sound like David Mitchell

I'm an Aussie, so I guess I've been exposed to a lot more English regional slang through immigrants to this country, from the UK, than most people in the USA. So, I can usually work out what they're talking about in a pretty short time. But I still have a bit of a laugh about a story I read way back when the movie, The Full Monty was shown to test audiences in the US. Apparently members of the audience came out of the theaters saying things like, "Wow, great movie man, but which guy was Monty?"

I call my kids Mard Arses all the time. Still a common word in the Manchester area.

_What?_ "Petting" means _hand stuff._ You know...feeling someone up. It's not _kissing._

RUBBISH IS FAR SUPERIOR to the trash word.

I worked for years for a large British company here in the United States and one day we got an email from the Chief Financial Officer who was located in London. He was coming for a visit but we could not understand what he was saying. Someone remembered that they had seen a British English to American English translation book at the library. That saved the day and we went right out and bought a copy after that experience.

I realize I’m “late to this party”, but I was watching a British show and they kept talking about the client’s “Bespoke” dress. Never heard of that - I had to look it up. Means “custom” dress. 😊

"What do you mean they do? Whi kisses dogs in the French way" *Awkward Silence* "Alright"

I worked for a local college-owned public television station. Each year we would host about 20 young Irish students for 2 months and give them hands-on training in television production. I was the front desk receptionist and somehow became a sort of mother-hen to these young folk. They threw me a little when they asked for a "plaster" or a "rubber" and I would respond with a blank stare. They also referred to me as "Missus" as in "What's going on today, Missus?" So I felt a bit old. But I enjoyed their friendship so much and through a sort of sign-language we managed to navigate our verbal differences. Their most surprising statement to me, when I asked them if they had trouble understanding Americans, was that they said no, because we speak so "slowly". I was amazed. Do Americans speak slowly to you??

Why the hell could she not understand gone off?

In all honestly it doesn’t take much to baffle an American two words David Blaine every time they see a trick by him they do a little run and what did we do when he came to London we threw eggs at himone bloke attached a full English breakfast when he was in that glass box and flew it around him on a miniature helicopter

Now they call it Sun Block in the USA.

Plaster? Are you spackling the walls?

Sun Tan lotion used to be the stuff people used to promote a sun tan in the days before people realised sun tans were a stepping stone to getting skin cancer. Sun screen, or sun block, are used to prevent aforesaid skin cancer.

If someone asked me for plaster i would ask how big of a hole they made in a wall

When I first heard the British plaster I thought of the old plaster casts used on broken bones that were quite literally very loose gauze fabric coated with plaster of paris. I wondered if "flannel" ended up at some point meaning a piece of cloth and instead of morphing it into specifics like wash cloth equated to a cloth. Many words have long histories with multiple countries and flannel seems to be one of them--it's always interesting to see where something ends up in different languages.

mardy and mardybum are used in derbyshire too.

In the U.S., 'petting' is a synonym for 'making out'. It's kissing accompanied by groping. Usually welcomed groping, but sometimes not.

It's not British English.........It is just ENGLISH...........Americans We in England have been speaking English for over 1000 years...use it the correct way ...

Your wife understands you.

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Mingin’ (minging) is like one of the most common words that I can think of that no one else really understands... it’s a peng word

"School leaver". Encountered with no warning, the average Yank will assume it means "drop-out".

Pudding is a good one. When you Brits say it we have no idea what you're talking about. You can't define it But you all seem to know it when you see it.

I'm from the west Midlands and we say backie and mardy!

Why is the pound sterling referred to as "a quid"? Do I have that right?