Lost in translation?

About the Author

Angie is co-founder of YLF and its resident fashion stylist.

Welcome! Read about what to wear and how to wear it on the YLF Blog. Join the YLF Forum to ask specific questions or just chat about fashion and personal style. Or check out the curated list of things we love in YLF Finds.

Outfits Ensembles Trends Advice

Lost in translation?

— by Angie

on September 14, 2007

Garments, shoes and accessories have different names in different parts of the English-speaking world. Here in the USA I have learned to either use the American English, or receive blank stares from my clients and retail store staff. Still, many British terms and colloquialisms slip through. The blog is no exception, so I thought I’d list the ones I can think of. Let me know if you discover others hidden in my posts.

American	British
Barrette	Hairclip
Button down shirt	Shirt
Gaucho	Culottes
Hose	Stockings
Gear	Togs
Jeans jacket	Denim jacket
Jumper	Pinafore
Panties	Knickers, or Undies
Pin	Brooch
Plaid	Check
Pumps	Winkle pickers
Sweater	(1) Jumper, jersey or pullover (2) Cardigan
Sweater vest	Sleeveless pullover
Sweats	Tracksuit
Sweatshirt	Sweater
Swimsuit	Bathing costume, or cozzie
Tall boots	Long boots
Tennis shoes	Trainers, plimsols or fashion sneakers
Thong	G-String
Turtle neck	Polo neck
Vest	(1) Waistcoat (part of a formal suit) (2) Bodywarmer (casual sleeveless jacket)

I’ve drawn the words above from memory so they almost certainly include some idiosyncrasies (the result of a British education in Hong Kong and many years living in South Africa).

There are some fab books on this topic. We find that British English A to Zed is hilarious (and great for proving to our American friends that we aren’t just making words up). Cassell’s Dictionary of English Idioms goes beyond individual words, explaining the many obscure expressions in the English language.

Global Shopping

17 comments · Add a comment

Christie

Winkle Pickers????

September 14, 2007 at 7:19 am

Christie

Many of these are both British and American, I think. Brooch, cardigan, and G-string are all common terms here. Culottes, I grew up thinking, were different than gauchos. When I was growing up culottes were the term for any knee-length short that were wide-legged enough to resemble a skirt.

I still haven’t stopped laughing about the winkle picker. What the heck is a winkle?

September 14, 2007 at 7:23 am

Katharine

Also, minor correction. A hair clip would be called a barette. “Beret” as far as I know refers to the kind of french-style hat that artists stereotypically wear.

Hose and stockings are interchangeable to me, and “denim jacket” actually sounds more familiar to me than “jean jacket”. I’m confused about the difference between plaid and check. To me, plaid is like a scottish tartan. Check is small, evenly spaced squares of different color. Is it different in England?

Here’s another one: pants/trousers. I believe that in some parts of the english-speaking world “pants” means underwear. When I had british readers of my personal blog I learned always to say “trousers” or risk being hilariously misunderstood.

September 14, 2007 at 7:34 am

Angie

(website)

Apologies for the spelling error – it’s been corrected.

Any plaid is a check. A Scottish tartan is a form of check.

Pants are slacks or jeans or anything else like that, that a women wears on the bottom. A gaucho could also be called a pair of pants. I see your point with trousers. A pair of trousers is usually a pair of men’s formal pants. You are right, this can be hilariously misunderstood!

September 14, 2007 at 7:51 am

Marianna

This is a great post. I have had many discussions with my American friends about what words mean and even how they are pronounced. I wish you could see the looks I get. One word I get teased a lot about is the pronounciation of the word “process”. I also had a hard time saying “zee” instead of “zed”

September 14, 2007 at 9:01 am

Maya

I always get so confused when my Australian friend uses the word “jumper.” Two totally different articles of clothing are both jumpers, according to her, except of course for the little dress things that I would refer to as a jumper.

I dont really know anyone who says jean jacket though. Maybe it’s more common elsewhere in the country (I’m on the east coast).

September 14, 2007 at 9:50 am

Christie

Maya, we say jean jacket in the midwest. Although in fashion mags and online I am seeing denim jacket more and more.

September 14, 2007 at 11:52 am

Meg

(website)

Yeah! Dialect fun! As a former linguistics student, I can’t help but give a report on the usage here in Florida.

G-string and thong are both words used here, but with different meanings. A g-string is considerably thinner in the back than a thong. Polo neck and turtle neck are also used here, but to describe different things. Same thing with gauchos and culottes. Culottes are shorter and of stiffer material.

I believe hairclip has become more popular than barrette, unless talking about those cutsey plastic clips that little girls wear. Undies vs. panties is a toss-up. I will say that brooch is rarely heard, but the connotation is that it’s more expensive or older than just “a pin’. I rarely if ever hear just “hose” here. They’re pantyhose or stockings. It’s I’d also say that denim jacket is more popular than jeans jacket, though I would say either jean skirt or denim skirt.

September 14, 2007 at 3:15 pm

Angie

(website)

It sounds like we can share war stories Marianna! I still say words like “zed”, “loo”, “lift”, “flat”, “pudding” and “pukka”. I continue to crack people up with the way I pronounce “water”, “status”, and “schedule”. And I seem to get the most reaction when I say “Bob’s your uncle”…which is often accompanied with a “who’s Bob?”

From to time I have to admit that I accidently drive on the wrong side of the road…but I’m relieved to say that has improved significantly.

September 14, 2007 at 5:29 pm

Therese

“Schedule” pronounced in the British fashion is found in varying places in the US as well, amongst older speakers. I got a lot of flack for being rasied by my grandparents with my “odd pronunciations” — all of which are completely valid here in Hong Kong. : )

I’ve no idea what either “gear” or “togs” are. A search brings up that it’s a bathing suit/outfit? Help?

September 14, 2007 at 9:49 pm

pam munro

(website)

FYI – In California – I hear both “jeans jacket” (which means a traditionally cut short jacket a la Levi Strauss) and “denim jacket” (which means any jacket cut our of denim – in a blazer patter, say…) And boots up to the knees are “knee-length boots” to me. And to me “gauchos” are the long loose pants, whereas “culottes” are shorter, and more skirt-like. And a “g-string”used to be what was worn by strippers!

September 15, 2007 at 11:27 am

Chic and Charming

(website)

Thats great! From a personal and slightly embarrassing experience in the UK:
US panties= UK pants
US pants= UK trousers

I studied abroad in the UK and told my flatmates the first night I was there that I had to go change my pants before going out the pub. So, they all though I was running upstairs to put on some sexy panties….when I came down in new “trousers” they corrected my mistake and told me they were happy I was not that kind of girl.

September 15, 2007 at 1:14 pm

Icy

(website)

Cozzies is very Australian actually.
Winkle pickers – hilarious. We call them high heels. (BTW a winkle is a small shell fish, a bit like a snail. You need something pointed to pull them out of the shell to eat, so I support Winkle pickers probably refer to heels with a pointed toe).
Thongs in Australia you wear on your feet! You might call them flip-flops.

September 16, 2007 at 11:18 pm

Rebecca

(website)

What fun!

Not so fun: with my background in menswear, the confusion about the term “button-down” is particular irritant. Button-down does not mean the front of the shirt has buttons down it, it means a particular collar style where the tips of the collar button onto the body of the shirt. I am wearing one here. If we think it is necessary to specify that the front of a shirt closes with buttons, how about we use the term “button-front” or “button-up”?

September 17, 2007 at 12:39 pm

Yvonne

I agree! Winkle pickers is hilarious. I grew up in Colorado and we wore “thongs” on our feet in the summer–now called flip flops. I remember jumpers being also called pinafores when I was young. It is amusing to find the language differences.

September 18, 2007 at 4:00 pm

Christine

As a Canadian raised in British schools, now living in the US, I have the worst time with my son’s teachers. The spelling differences drive me bonkers. And even after a few years here, most people think I’m British, Irish, or Scottish. Back in Canada, no one ever thought I was any of those! Of course, I use many Canadian phrases too, and my poor son is only finally getting around to speaking “American” and spelling “American” too.

September 25, 2007 at 11:50 am

GLENNE

Im canadian and many of the ‘british’ terms you said we use as variations of the american words. they are a different thing not the same thing

May 7, 2009 at 1:15 pm

About the Author

Share this Post

Recent Ensembles