*Comments: I seem to be leaving a lot of posts today...shows how interested I am in words.
I like some of your asides on the site and I think the AE use of the word gas (for BE petrol) deserves a comment. I'm guessing it derives from 'gasoline', but it does conjure up a strange idea of how the US fuels vehicles!
*Comments: About pedestrian crossings in the UK: we do have a variety of technical names specifying crossings with different features...but really just use the terms 'pedestrian crossing' or 'zebra crossing'. Zebra crossings are probably the oldest and simplest type of crossing and they get their name from the black and white stripes across the road.
Interesting site.
Added: May 22, 2013
Submitted by: Name: Elin Partridge From: uk E-mail: Contact
*Comments: i've never hear the term gear 'lever' for a car, although it is a dictionary term. Everyone I know calls it a gear 'stick'. Gear lever is used for a bicycle or piece of machinery.
Added: May 22, 2013
Submitted by: Name: Elin Partridge From: UK E-mail: Contact
*Comments: I wanted to reply to darara who correctly pointed out that some government departments in UK are called use the title Ministry.... but it's Ministry of Defence - with a c
Added: May 22, 2013
Submitted by: Name: Ann Sonya From: UK E-mail: Contact
*Comments: Americans are mistaken in thinking British use of 'my' is sometimes 'ungrammatically' realized as 'me' by British native speakers, especially those from the North of England (example: 'They stole me bike.') The intended pronoun is still 'my' but like 'I' is vocalized unstressed and is therefore heard as 'mi' as 'I' is heard as 'a' (=A can't go to school today). Thanks for posting this - it relates to an entry in the dictionary under 'M' I think...
Added: March 31, 2013
Submitted by: Name: Elaine From: North East UK E-mail: Contact
*Comments: Hi, I love these dictionaries but I do have a quick question, regarding fireplaces, the stone on the floor at the front that sticks out a bit, here in the UK we would call it a hearth.
Would that be the same in the USA or something else?
thanks
Added: March 16, 2013
Submitted by: Name: Elaine From: North East UK E-mail: Contact
*Comments: just replying to a previous comment where someone asked what it means to "deliver a rocket to the forensic department" Which basically means give them a stern talking to to make them get on with the job!
Added: March 16, 2013
Submitted by: Name: Kathy From: California USA E-mail: Contact
*Comments: i'm reading a book written by an English author. I need help with certain phrases. 1. You'd better off having a talk with her factor, George. What exactly is a factor? 2 The top brass are coming to deliver a rocket to the forensic team. What does rocket imply?
CJaMs reply: I've never heard of either of those phrases myself, but the factor query might have an answer here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Factor
Name: Simon
From: South, UK
E-mail: Contact
Interesting site, and I'll share it with my colleagues from the US.
I wanted to comment on million, billion and trillion.
The accepted usage outside of the USA is:
million - a thousand thousands
billion - a million millions
trillion - a billion billions
Also, I wanted to comment on the convention in speaking numbers:
484 = four-hundered and eighty-four (UK)
484 = four-hundred eight-four (US)