Though America is essentially the brainchild of Great Britain, there are some significant cultural differences. On a basic level, there are the linguistic differences. In England, a “chip” is a french fry rather than a thinly-sliced and deep-fried potato—those are called “crisps.”
If you want to clean your house, you would “hoover” the carpets rather than “vacuum” them. Though these kinds of examples are virtually endless, there are some more nuanced areas of culture that internet denizens—particularly those on Tumblr—are quick to point out. Without further ado, here are 30 of the best British/American cultural mix-ups.
1. Fun fact: in some places, ‘cheerio’ is not one piece of a popular cereal.
Do you start your days with a big bowl of Cheerios? If you do, keep in mind that cheerio means something a little bit different in Britain than it does here. As it turns out, it’s always the little things that give you away when you’re in a foreign country.
2. Never mind what we said earlier about language precision.
Everyone has their own preferences when it comes to orange juice. Some of us like it as pulpy as can be, some of us like a little pulp, some of us like no pulp at all. Still, we’re not exactly sure how we feel about pulp being referred to as “juicy bits.” Talk amongst yourselves.
3. How did no one ever tell us this?
Generally speaking, Americans associate British accents with refinement and classiness. As it turns out, though, the truth about the British accent is a little bit more complicated. Though the meme here isn’t quite right,
it’s not too far off, either.
4. Tea is the national drink of choice—no alternatives.
Although Americans have some history with tea (Boston Tea Party, anyone?), it pales in comparison to the British. In Britain, tea as a tradition dates all the way back to the early 17th century and has been a cultural mainstay ever since. As it turns out, it has also informed the Brits’ sense of humor as well…
5. Precise language is paramount.
We all know that English comes from Britain before it comes from America. As such, it’s important to the originators of the language that those who use it be as precise as possible when doing so. If you don’t believe us, just consider the text exchange below.
6. There’s nothing quite like state-sponsored news programming.
In the USA, most people get their news from either CNN, MSNBC or Fox News. In Britain, on the other hand, the BBC rules everything—and they have many, many different outlets. We’re sure they’re all very different.
7. Seems like a pretty tough thing to miss.
Being a ship captain is a demanding job that not everyone can do. You have to be good under pressure and have a great knowledge of geography… so I guess in some sense this is understandable. Besides, England has definitely pulled off their fair share of naval surprises if history is any indicator…
8. Though Americans have their own slang, it’s something of an art form in the UK.
Slang changes from time period to time period and region to region. Each country has its own versions of it that are being constantly updated all the time. Still, usually we can at least get a slight handle on what’s being said for context clues… but here we have no idea. Consult your slang dictionaries for this one, guys.
9. Tea isn’t just a drink, it’s a way of life.
If you read this and thought it was a joke, think again. The phenomenon they’re referring to is “TV pickup” for those interested in Googling it, and it is not limited to tea consumption! You couldn’t make this stuff up, folks.
10. Remember, remember the 5th of November…
The stereotype is that British people are overly proper, buttoned-up and generally conservative. Still, consider how different our two main firework-oriented holidays are. Maybe the British are a little more subversive than we Americans might think.
11. Stereotypes won’t get you far, my friend.
Though we’ve all got our own preconceived notions about one another, there’s no substitute for actually getting to know another person’s culture before judging it. And in some cases, it’s best to just not say anything if you’re unsure about it.
12. Petition to make this a thing in the United States as well.
Whatever you may think about the different language quirks between British and American English, the Brits invented the language so it’s no wonder they come up with things as ingenious as this. We’re starting petition to start saying this all the time in America as well so tell your friends.
13. Sometimes life is just about getting there first.
Getting a tattoo is a serious decision. Although we don’t discourage people from getting one after putting some thought into it, we do recommend doing a fair amount of research so that you know what phrase you’re inking on yourself—particularly if it’s in another language. Let’s be honest though—most basic phrases sound cooler in Latin.
14. This is… embarrassing.
We’re not sure how many times we have to say it: people aren’t always like the way they’re portrayed on television. Not all British people are cheerful, old-timey detectives, guys. Still, you can lead a horse to water but you can’t stop it from making a fool of itself on an internet message board.
15. Filing this factoid away for a rainy day.
[slideshow_type=desc num=15]We thought long and hard about looking this one up, but considering the context here, we avoided it. Anything that keeps us out of a pub fight is good in our book—best not to question this one too much. If you’re curious and you do look it up, report back with details.
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16. We’ve actually never thought about this one before.
There are a bunch of letters in American pronunciation that don’t get pronounced, particularly. Still, these vary from dialect to dialect—and they also vary pretty dramatically from country to country. As it turns out, Britain does pronounce some of them… though this doesn’t go very far in clearing up that confusion.
17. Make sure to brush up before you visit, gents.
When visiting any new country, it’s important to brush up on the basics of the language before you go. Still, if you thought you would get out of those duties by going to Britain, you’re sadly mistaken. Still, take this with a grain of salt: not all British people are Cockney gangsters
18. Harry is a very popular name, as it turns out.
Who knew that this name had so much popularity in Britain? Although we know most of the characters pictured in the square here, one of these famous Harry’s may be unfamiliar to you. Though this character’s technical name is “Red Guy,” British fans have
their own nickname for him.
It can be fun to pick at each other over language and cultural differences, provided there’s a baseline of respect there. Still, sometimes people can get pretty heated defending their own line of thinking. To each their own, I guess.
20. Gordon Ramsay has really gotten more aggressive over time.
We’re all familiar with Gordon Ramsay’s rants on American TV by now. As it turns out, though, he wasn’t always quite as intense as he is today. This phenomenon is pretty true of Simon Cowell on British vs. American TV too, now that we think about it…
21. This really puts Harry Potter in an entirely new light.
When a piece of writing or a movie becomes a worldwide phenomenon, it becomes a little bit easier to overlook plot holes or other technical issues with it. As a case-in-point, did anybody stop to consider the security concerns at Hogwarts? At least one person did.
Although history is technically over, it’s never completely forgotten. While America has plenty of ugly things in its past to contend with, this factoid about Britain’s image in the world stings a little bit. Pretty tough to come back from this one.
23. Differences in communication can be pretty subtle sometimes.
America’s current president is proving to be one of the most controversial of all time. Still, we’re not alone in hurling criticism at our political officials—just consider this hilarious factoid from across the pond. For those who don’t know, this was in reference to the late Margaret Thatcher.
24. Most language mix-ups are harmless but this is a good one to make note of.
People are generally pretty forgiving when you don’t know the local slang. Still, there are cases where two languages will have similar sets of words that mean different things. For anyone who didn’t know, this is a good one to keep track of. Also a pro-tip: don’t bring condoms to school no matter what country you live in.
25. When it comes to language, it can’t all be graceful and accurate.
Though we can debate the pros and cons of different dialects ad infinitum, there are some cases where there are clear advantages of one over the other. In this case, we’re going to go out on a limb and say that Americans have the upper hand. Memory stick holder-place is a lot more fun to say than USB port, though.
26. This is one of the more overlooked Brexit-related issues.
It’s hard to be an international spy when you have to show so much documentation. Among the many different issues that Brexit seems to have created, this is one of the more overlooked ones that we’ve come across. At least it’ll make the James Bond character more relatable, right?
27. Deep down, we may all be more similar than we think we are.
Though we’ve said it once, we’ll say it again: don’t judge people before you actually know what they’re like. Although we have our own image of British people in the United States, they have their own view of us as well. Above all, it’s pretty clear you can make dumb mistakes no matter what country you’re in.
28. You’d think this would be an easier point to get across.
How hard it is to get directions to a good burger place? Though you’d think it would be simple, posts like this one make us doubt ourselves just a little bit. One thing is clear, though: you really don’t want communication to break down when you’re really hungry.
29. Never take good city planning for granted.
Because America is a relatively new place compared to Europe, many of our biggest cities still exist on a grid with clearly demarcated signs (except you, Boston). The older cities, as the post below shows, were organized a little bit differently. At least they have character, right?
30. This one is a real head-scratcher.
Within any system of laws there are bound to be a few confusing contradictions. For example, in America you can vote and join the military before you drink a beer. Still, we’re definitely allowed to buy scissors at a much younger age than the British are, apparently.
31. British cuisine remains divisive to this day, to say the least.
Have you ever heard people say that British food is kind of bland? The reputation is changing with shows like
The Great British Bake Off and Gordon Ramsay’s numerous television appearances. Still, this is a pretty good argument for why some things never change.
32. This is so confusing for most Americans.
We’re not totally sure why but this is apparently a common practice in Britain. Doesn’t the sink already serve as a container for water and a sponge? Couldn’t you just skip this step? We’re scratching our heads here.
33. We can’t stress this enough: tea is very, very important.
Making tea is apparently a very sacred process in England, one that absolutely can’t be sullied by using a microwave instead of a tea kettle. I’ll be the first to admit it: I’ve made all of my tea the American way. The water still gets hot either way, what’s the problem?
Not many people know this fact about America, but it was a pretty big deal to get mandatory public education to be a thing here. Farmers’ kids would learn everything they needed to know at home and by working on the farm rather than having the state force their kids into learning certain subjects. Still, eventually the laws passed anyway—and the system remains the same to this day.
35. America usually goes its own way.
In broad strokes, the United Kingdom has quite a bit in common with Europe when it comes to cultures and traditions. On the other hand, Americans seem to do everything in their own strange, idiosyncratic way. As it turns out, one particular exception to both of these rules is driving. Who knew?
36. This is actually a great trick to help remember this.
It can be hard to keep all the different spelling differences between British and American English straight. One of the main offenders is the grey/gray distinction. As it turns out, you can remember the difference using the letters in both America and England! After that, though, things got creative…
37. Sometimes the biggest differences are the subtlest ones.
How do use the word “quite”? If you’re an American, it means that something is more than it normally is—a better version of something. In British English, it means the exact opposite! Who knew? Be sure to use this factoid to impress your friends.
38. Tipping is a very American phenomenon.
Imagine if we paid our waitstaff the right amount for the work they did instead of coming up with a complex system where we pass the burden down to the consumers? Sounds pretty great, doesn’t it? Well, the entire rest of the world is already doing it that way. We can fantasize about it at least.
39. We’re going to be honest: this makes absolutely no sense.
Everyone has had the experience of trying to get the shower temperature just right and failing over and over again. Still, how can you ever get the temperature right when the two inputs are completely separate? Are we just missing something here? If anyone understands this, please chime in on this issue.
Look, we know everyone takes pride in their own culture, but there are some things that quite simply cross the line. We’ll put up with all the jokes about tea and about our slang, but this is just too much. We’re going to go outside and take a walk to calm down.
41. This makes almost no sense.
[slideshow_type=desc num=41]Get this: you get two slices of bread. You get another slice of bread, toast it, and put it in-between the two slices of bread. We call it a toast sandwich. What do you think? Part of us thinks this is just an elaborate ruse and that no British people have ever actually eaten this so-called sandwich. Please let this not actually exist.
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42. The guy raises some good points…
Although America’s mascot or national animal is the Bald Eagle, there is something a little bit… arrogant about it upon closer inspection. We’re not sure how many people really identify with it but it definitely affects our image internationally. Just some food for thought.
43. We wish travel could be so easy over here.
Aside from the differing border laws in Europe, there’s also the much higher speed limits on the highways which can make travel quite a bit faster. Still, American traffic gets aggressive and angry enough without having people doing more than 100 miles per hour on the way to wherever they’re going.
44. Which one was your favorite as a kid?
We’ve gotta say, we were always puzzled by the phenomenon that Harry Potter had a different title here as well. Was it really so important to change that one word in the title of the first book? On the other hand, these new book titles really do catch the eye…
Not to end on a down note but living in modern-day America is packed full of these absurdities. Can you imagine a world where your government and healthcare systems weren’t irreparably broken and you weren’t constantly on the brink of financial peril? Yeah, we can’t either.
Sometimes you just want to have a quick glass of wine on the go, you know? And in England, you can do that. Apparently, they sell plastic wine glasses at their convenience stores. Amazing.
47. Absolutely terrifying
Mr. Blobby is a children’s show character and it’s quite possibly the scariest thing we’ve ever seen. We thought the Teletubbies were strange, but this just goes to the next level. What are you doing to your children over there?!
Are you ever satisfied, British people? And what, exactly, would be your ideal climate? Of course, you could move, but then you’d basically be a traitor to your prideful country.
As an American, I am seriously confused by this thread. Do they really think a regular milk chocolate Hershey’s bar is really bitter? And what the heck do chocolate bars taste like in Britain? I too would love to see a Brit eat some real dark chocolate.
50. I’d feel uncomfortable ordering this
Really, Britain? You couldn’t think of a better name for this supposedly popular pudding dish? Y’all are too strange over there.
I love cheese just as much as the next person but I’m not sure if I’d chase a rolling cheese wheel down a super steep hill with dozens of other people falling all over each other. I’ll just sit over here and watch.
52. For multi-tasking purposes
Doing laundry in the kitchen makes absolutely zero sense to Americans. We have entirely separate ‘laundry rooms’ for that purpose. It just doesn’t seem right to have dirty undies in the same place you cook your food.
53. Not a big ‘storm’ area
Maybe it’s because Britain rarely gets massive storms their way, but they aren’t very creative when it comes to naming them. Hurricane Frank doesn’t sound very threatening, it sounds like your uncle’s nickname.
54. They’re both awful, though
Britain, apparently, calls ‘fanny packs’ ‘bum bags’ but honestly, are either of them good, really? We should just stop calling them anything altogether, stop wearing them, and pretend they never happened in the first place.
Hey, Britain! Americans definitely don’t keep their hot dogs in jars soaked in brine. Just so ya know. What’s wrong with buying and cooking hot dogs the normal way?
Although we all speak English, the differences between Americans and British people are definitely pretty glaring. Still, it’s all in good fun. Despite our differences, we still have plenty to learn from one another and a lot of shared history. Don’t try to tell that to anybody arguing on the internet, though!
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