A traveller who films his globetrotting adventures for YouTube has shared a series of UK words that would likely cause “confusion” in the US.
In January, Mark Wolters, who posts his travel videos on the Wolters World YouTube channel, shared a video titled ‘Weird British Words That Mean Something Totally Different in America’.
It featured a large range of words and terms that many people in the UK would probably know mean something slightly different across the pond, including chips, trainers and pavement.
However, Mark also shared a series of words that might cause “hilarious confusion” if you happened to blurt them out in the wrong context stateside, with three standing out in particular.
He said: “Now we’re going to move on to some of the ones that might cause some hilarious confusion if you’re making a TV show about Brits and Americans together.”
1. Knock up/wake up
Mark pointed out that when someone uses the term “knock” somebody up in the US, it innocently means to wake somebody up, but of course, in the UK, it’s a rather crude phrase that means getting someone pregnant.
He went on to say: “I can see a few laughs or two in terms of that in kind of comedy gold when you’re living with a British person or an American.
“So, continuing on with that knock up theme, I think it’s important for us to talk about contraception or correction of math problems – what? Well, let’s think of it this way.”
2. Rubber/condom
The YouTuber pointed out that the term “rubber” simply means eraser in the UK, something that we’d often find in a pencil case or at home on our desks.
However, Mark reminded his viewers that in the US, “rubber” is a slang term used for a condom, so they should bear that in mind if they ever travel to America.
He said if somebody asks for a rubber as an overseas student, they may get a “side-eye” and be told to “see the principal”, so he urged caution if they ever decide to study in the States.
3. Snogging/make out
Mark said: “And when I go on holidays, I might want to snog my wife and the thing is, snogging in the UK just means you’re making out; you’re kissing people a lot.”
Mark said that in the US, the word “snog” almost has a “pig-like connotation”, so it’s “not really good”. He cautioned people that it may be something they “want to think about”.
