International AutoSource

How to decipher British to American English from car parts to rules of the road and other terminology from A to Zed.

Part 3 of 3: Workplace Phrases



Brownie points” – to get praise or approval for something you have done.

“Call it a day” – to quit working for the day and go home.

“Stay on your toes” – always be ready for whatever is thrown your way.

“Think outside the box” – think creatively and not follow the crowd.

“Throw in the towel” – admit defeat and move on.

Click here to learn more workplace phrases.

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MidAtlantic

Are you kidding? You could use any one of those in England and be understood without question.

spouse of scouse

Yep. And in Australia too.

International AutoSource

MidAtlantic spouse of scouse Thank you for letting us know! Our understanding is that these are not commonly used phrases in other countries. If you know of American phrases that you've heard that aren't used in your home country let us know!

Pulaski

Agreed, all of those are common currency in the UK, and in most if not all cases have been in common usage for a number of decades, with "think outside the box" being the only possible exception that may have appeared towards the end of the twentieth century. And given that the US doesn't seem to have "brownies", I suspect that "brownie points" was probably a phrase that started in the UK.

Pulaski

You won't find many "American" phrases that are not generally understood in the UK, thanks mostly to TV shows and films (movies ). In my experience Americans are much more likely to be confused by quintessentially British phrases than the other way around.

BEVS

Yup. This Brownie of old earned Brownie Points back in the day. Think outside the Box is attributed to a UK academic. Throw in the towel was first used during a USA boxing bout early 1900's but the original phrase was throw up the sponge which did not originate in the USA.

None of the above phrases are Americanisms. Most have their origins elsewhere, from other countries, from times past. Most are freely used and commonly understood everywhere .

One that does seem to be quintessentially american not commonly used in the UK or around the globe but likely has fallen out of use there is " I'm your huckleberry. "

The irritating 'Have a nice day' may be american in origin.

Using 'best' instead of 'best wishes' or 'all the best' may be an american shortcut thing.

The use of 'going forward' rather than 'in the future' or 'from now on' may also have evolved in america. I don't know. Going forward to me means just that = a physical forward motion.

Pulaski

The English language is littered with idiomatic phrases, and many of them spread around the world from wherever they started, but not all do and I am not aware of "bought the farm" being used in the UK. I first heard it in the lyrics of Alice Cooper's "Hey Stoopid", where the context makes the meaning fairly clear, but Simon Whistler did Today I Found YouTube video on the phrase and whether it has any historic validity.

BEVS

Tiz true.

It is a slow Sunday for me so I may browse the other phrases in the link .

I had not heard of 'bought the farm' and had to look it up. Seems to mean someone 'karked it' & 'popped one's clogs'

Kooky.

Here's another one for you: Clickbait.

kimilseung

Agreed, ridiculous OP post.