Because English, as we would all agree, is a very funny language.
You thought that the Americans and British spoke the same language right? Wrong!
Fact is there are several words and phrases that mean completely different things on the other side of the Atlantic.
Rubber in the UK would mean an eraser (which explains why so many of us still call an eraser a rubber).
But ask for a rubber in the US and chances are you'll get handed this:
Shawn Latta/Creative Commons
To most Indians, this game is one of the greatest mysteries of American culture:
Johann Schwarz/Creative Commons
Why would you call a game that looks suspiciously similar to rugby, football?
And to think that the ball rarely ever touches the player's foot!
So why call it football?
American college campuses had their own set of football-type games that mostly involved kicking and rules varied from college to college.
It was in the 1870s that all of them agreed to standardise these rules.
Thanks to the insistence of the folks at Harvard, these rules came to be based on the English Rugby Football code.
Since it was being called football anyway up until then, the name stuck.
Of course it could have become American Rugby. But it didn't
And what is known as football in the UK came to be called, soccer.
You would imagine a lot of Brits would be rather pissed because of this strange renaming of the game wouldn't you?
Except that they wouldn't, or at least they wouldn't be depending on which side of the Atlantic they'd be on.
Because you see, a pissed man in the UK would look like this fellow below:
Marek Papala
And a pissed American would look somewhat like the fellow above him!
Pissed = drunk (UK)
Pissed = angry (US)
Now, a jumper in the US would look like this chap above!
But a jumper in the UK would be this piece of clothing to keep you warm in those winter months (below)!
So watch what you ask for!
Wojtek Gurak
Similarly, the first floor of a building in the UK is the ground floor in the US.
Can you imagine what horrible mix-ups that can lead to?
Talking of mix-ups, beware of what country you are in before you ask for a fag.
55Laney69/Creative Commons
Because the British (and the Australians) would kindly offer you a cigarette but the Americans would put you behind the bars for homophobia.
Fag = (colloquial) cigarette (UK)
Fag = slur for a homosexual (US)
Ditto for knob which can mean a doorknob in the UK and a penis in the US!
Howard Stanbury/Creative Commons
Potentially disastrous thing to say:
"I think I forgot to turn the knob on my way out this morning."
We imagine you're deadbeat by now?
Corey Seeman/Creative Commons
The British would empathise with your exhaustion.
But tell an American you're deadbeat and they'll probably not give you a second look.
Because:
Deadbeat = exhausted (UK)
Deadbeat = an idler or someone who's been evading their debts
Ian Murphy/Creative Commons
And we wind up with 'luck out', which can mean running out of luck in the UK and in the US mean its complete opposite: to have experienced great luck
I lucked out = I ran out of luck (UK)
I lucked out = I got lucky (US)
Care to contribute your own?
Please do post more quirks from the English language in the Discussion Board below and we will be happy to carry the most relevant responses soon!
