Is the speaker of each sentence English or American? Answers below.
| 1 | The corpse was put in the boot | US UK |
| 2 | Ginger, you’re barmy | US UK |
| 3 | She was digging in the dirt | US UK |
| 4 | The room contained a large credenza | US UK |
| 5 | My car’s muffler was faulty | US UK |
| 6 | The man was sitting in the bleachers | US UK |
| 7 | She received a postcard in the post | US UK |
| 8 | The baby was wearing a diaper | US UK |
| 9 | I called him on my mobile | US UK |
| 10 | He was busking loudly in the street | US UK |
| 11 | The pylon towered above the house | US UK |
| 12 | They were mowing their yard | US UK |
| 13 | I had grits for breakfast | US UK |
| 14 | Under his shirt he wore a vest | US UK |
| 15 | This garage has the best price for gas | US UK |
| 16 | My wife is visiting Paris in the fall | US UK |
| 17 | I’ve lost the pants from this suit | US UK |
| 18 | The rocket salad was very tasty | US UK |
| 19 | The baby had a dummy in its mouth | US UK |
| 20 | They carried him on a gurney | US UK |
Different words for (approximately) the same meaning (UK one first)
waistcoat/vest, exhaust/muffler, autumn/ fall, rocket/arugula, mobile/cellphone, terrace/bleachers, crisps/chips, earth/dirt, dummy/pacifier, nappy/diaper
Same word, different meaning
braces, suspenders, gravy, pants, gas, rubber, biscuit, diner, hood, trunk, pylon, bugger, pants, vest, yard, post, pavement, dirt, muffin, boot, fag
Words unique to one language
UK barmy, busk, stroppy
US gurney, grits, credenza, arugula, pacifier, bleachers
Answers
Note: this does not mean that the other meaning never occurs, given the invasion of both countris by media from the other
1. boot UK (US trunk)
2. barmy UK (US crazy)
3. dirt US (UK earth)
4. credenza US (UK sideboard)
5. muffler US (UK exhaust)
6. bleachers US (UK terraces of a stadium)
7. post UK (US mail)
8. diaper US (UK nappy)
9. mobile UK (US cellphone)
10. busking UK (US ???)
11. pylon UK (US ????)
12. yard US (UK garden)
13. grits US (UK coarsely ground maize)
14. vest UK (US undershirt
15. gas US (UK petrol)
16. fall US (UK autumn)
17. pants US (UK trousers)
18. rocket UK (US arugula)
19. dummy UK (US pacifiers)
20. gurney US (UK ?wheeled stretcher)