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Yes, but...

Posted by Word Camel on February 13, 2005

In Reply to: Boot and trunk posted by Ward on February 09, 2005

: : : : : : : : Or, as our US friends would say, 'the check is in the mail'. It's struck me that these phrases are good examples of 'two countries divided by a common language', in that they include two words that we spell/use differently.

: : : : : : : : I can't think of any others. Any ideas?

: : : : : : : I can't either, not with two words anyway. So much for sleeping at night. Where is TheFallen when you need him? I'm sure he'd be able to think of some.

: : : : : : There are lists of such pairs: lift/elevator, bonnet/hood (of car), boot/trunk, pudding/dessert, fringe/bangs (hair combed down over forehead), and on and on.

: : : : : 'Hire an automobile' vs. 'rent a car.'

: : : : 'Hoover the carpet' vs. 'vacuum the rug'

: : : There are plenty:
: : : In this site:
: : : www.accomodata.co.uk/ amlish.htm

: : A while back I was reading the Lorraine Page mystery series by British author Lynda La Plante, creator of "Prime Suspect." Lorraine is an alcoholic ex-cop turned hooker turned detective. She is an American but the author slipped up a couple of times For example, if memory serves, one of the characters referred to a flashlight as a torch.

: : The big thing though was that people referred to Lorraine as "Mrs. Page." Her clients, police who arrested her, etc. In the U.S. everyone uses first names with few exceptions.

: put your slicker in the boot. vs put your jacket in the trunk of the car.

I've been thinking about this and the problems with most of the answers I've seen is that in the examples on offer, Americans use at least one of the words too. Slicker is a rain jacket in the US, or example

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