Sound English

A guide to some English words and expressions which are often wrong, or wrongly used, in Britain

Many of the words and expressions listed are wrong in the sense that they are inappropriately used. The use of American words in Britain, and of slang in formal articles and speech, is part of the decline in the use of English generally. An asterisk against a word or expression indicates that there are circumstances in which it can be correct. For example, the words 'anticipate' and 'substitute' are perfectly sound when correctly used. Such words are included here not because they are wrong in themselves but because they are often used incorrectly.

Wrong	Right	Comment on why the word or expression in the first column is, or can be, wrong

aging	ageing	American spelling.
airplane	aeroplane	American.
alongside of	alongside	American.
to anticipate*	to expect	Misused. The word 'anticipate' is often used, misleadingly, when 'expect' is meant
antsy	excited, eager	Slang.
ass*	buttocks, 'arse'	American slang. An ass is a mammal similar to a horse or, colloquially, a fool
attendee	attender	American error. Someone who attends is an attender, just as someone who sings is a singer, and someone who challenges is a challenger. The suffix 'ee' is not for someone who does something but for someone who is a recipient of something or to whom something is done (e.g. evacuee, interviewee)
to bankroll	to finance	American slang.
to be done*	to have finished	American. When the labourer has finished his work, it is wrong to say that he 'is done'. It is his work that is done; he has finished
to be finished*	to have finished	American.
billion*	milliard, thousand million	American meaning. It might well be hopeless to seek correction of this modern error, but for the record a British billion, like its equivalent in France, Germany, Hungary and Spain, is a million million
binoculars*	binocular	Misused. A binocular is to a monocular what a bicycle is to a monocycle. As in words such as 'bicentenary', 'bicycle', 'biped' and 'biplane', the initial element 'bi' means 'two' or 'double'. It is a common mistake to use 'binoculars' or 'pair of binoculars' when referring to a single binocular
bling	(flashy) jewellery	American slang.
to bomb*	to flop, fail, fail badly	American slang.
breeze*	something easy (to do)	American slang. Typically used in the expression 'it's a breeze' which means 'it's easy'.
butt	(the) buttocks	American casual.
cell phone, cellphone	mobile telephone	American.
to check out*	to check, look into, investigate, inspect	American.
to chill out	to stop behaving stupidly; spend time relaxing	American slang.
cinch*	something easy; certainty	American slang.
to commit [intransitive]*	to commit [transitive]	American. The verb 'commit' is transitive. It requires a direct object. For example, 'he committed himself to finishing the task'
to compliment*	to complement	Wrong spelling. The verbs 'complement' and 'compliment' are often confused
to comprise of	to comprise	Error. To comprise means to include; consist of; constitute. For example: it comprises everything we need; all are comprised in this list
condominium*	freehold flat; block of freehold flats	American meaning.
cool*	excellent, admirable	American slang. Now very widely used, particularly by the young. Potentially ambiguous, as in 'cool garment' or 'cool swimming pool'
corn*	maize	American meaning. Corn is wheat, or (seeds of) cereal plants
to debate	to debate with	American. A topic or assertion is debated, not a person (unless the person is the topic)
defense	defence	American spelling.
diner*	small, inexpensive restaurant	American. A diner is someone who dines
to diss, dis	to disrespect; criticise	American slang.
downbeat*	unemphatic; depressed, depressing, gloomy	Misused. Misunderstanding and consequent misuse of a musical term. See also 'upbeat'
downstate [adj. or adv.]	in or to the southern part of a state; away from the big cities of a state	American.
downtown [adj. & adv.]	of, in or to the centre (especially the commercial centre) of a town	American.
downtown [noun]	centre (especially the commercial centre) of a town	American.
to effect*	to affect	Misused. The words 'affect' and 'effect' are often confused
to envision	to envisage	American.
epicentre*	centre	Misused. An epicentre is neither a centre nor part of a centre. This specialist term is often misused
escapee	escaper	Error. See 'attendee'
every which way	in all directions; in every way possible; in disorder	American colloquial.
to faze	to disconcert, disturb, discompose	American.
feisty	irritable; excitable	American.
to fess up	to confess [intr.]	American slang.
to figure out	to work out; understand	American.
to flaunt*	to flout	Misused. The words 'flaunt' and 'flout' are often confused
flier*	leaflet	American. The word 'flier' already has plenty of meanings and there is no need to use it instead of 'leaflet'. See also 'flyer'
to flout*	to flaunt	Misused. See 'flaunt'
flyer*	leaflet	See 'flier'
for free	free, for nothing	American. In recent years this Americanism has become very widespread
for real	serious, real, in reality	Error.
for sure	sure, certain; surely, certainly	American.
to freak out	to be very anxious	American slang.
to freak-out	to drug-induced hallucination	American slang.
funky*	trendy; odd; kinky	American slang.
gangsta	gangster	American slang.
gay*	homosexual	Slang.
gender*	sex	American error. The word 'gender' is a grammatical term. For example, there are two genders in French but three genders in German. A modern meaning is sociological. It has recently become widely misused
to get real	to take notice, wake up to reality	American slang.
gonna	going to	American slang.
gotta	got to	Slang.
hardball	tough or ruthless behaviour; baseball	American casual.
hassle [noun]	bother, nuisance, trouble	American slang.
to hassle	to annoy, bother, trouble	American slang.
to head up	to head, be (at) the head of	American.
headed*	heading	American. 'She is headed for ...' should be 'She is heading for ...'
heist	robbery	American slang.
hike*	increase, rise; jump (in price)	American.
to hike (up)	to increase, raise (sharply)	American.
hip [adj.]	consciously fashionable, 'trendy'	Slang.
I*	me	Error.
in there pitching*	taking an active part	American colloquial. See also 'pitch'
in-your-face	aggressive; direct and provocative	Slang.
inside of	inside	American.
issue*	problem	Misused. Politicians and bureaucrats seem particularly fond of not acknowledging that something is a problem by the dodge of referring to it as an issue
keks, kecks	trousers	Casual.
kerosene, kerosine*	paraffin	Kerosene and paraffin are not the same. Paraffin is used as an aircraft fuel and for domestic heating
to kick ass	to be aggressive or domineering	American slang. See also 'ass'
kick-ass	aggressive, domineering	American slang. See also 'ass'
kind of*	[used meaninglessly]	American colloquial.
to lay*	to lie	Misused. The verb 'to lay' is transitive: lay it on the ground; the hen lays an egg; we laid it down gently. The verb 'to lie' is intransitive: she lies down and sleeps; the book lies on the table; he is lying on the ground; it lay there undisturbed
liberal*	socialist; egalitarian	American. The British and Continental meaning of the word (in its political sense) relates to a belief in liberty and differs markedly from the American meaning that is increasingly misused here
license [noun]	licence	American spelling. The verb is 'license' whereas the noun is 'licence'
like*	[used meaninglessly]	American colloquial.
to lose it*	to cease to be rational; lose control of one's temper or emotions	American slang.
to meet up with	to meet	American. The verb 'meet' is transitive: she met her friend yesterday; he was met at the entrance
to meet with*	to meet	American. See 'to meet up with'
military [noun]	armed forces; army	American. The word 'military' is an adjective. Only recently have the media widely adopted the American practice of using it as also a noun
monkey wrench	adjustable spanner	American.
myself*	me	Error. The word 'myself' is used reflexively or for emphasis
naff	inferior; worthless; vulgar	Slang.
next up	next	American. See also 'coming up'
no sweat	easily done	American casual.
no-brainer	something very easy	American slang. This could just as easily be taken to mean 'idiot'
normalcy	normality	American.
offense	offence	American spelling.
out [prep.]*	out of	American. The word 'out' is not a preposition: he ran out of the house and into the garden
outside of [prep.]	outside	American. As a preposition, the word 'outside' needs no 'of': the ruin lies just outside the village; the ship is outside the harbour
overly	over	American. This Americanism has recently spread quickly, replacing British usage: an over-hasty reaction; the over-enthusiastic player
pair of binoculars*	binocular	A pair of binoculars consists of two binoculars, not one as is widely supposed. See 'binoculars'
to pan out	to turn out, result; turn out well	American slang.
patsy	easy victim, dupe, sucker; scapegoat	American slang.
pence*	penny	Misused. The word 'pence' is the plural of 'penny'
per capita*	per caput, for each person	Error. This Latin expression is most often used to refer to the amount of something on average for an individual, and 'caput' (singular) is then correct, not 'capita' (plural)
period*	full stop	American.
pillock	fool, stupid person	Slang.
to pitch*	to promote, try to sell	American colloquial.
to pitch*	to throw away, discard	American colloquial.
preppy	neatly and traditionally dressed, respectably groomed	American casual. This word is particularly inappropriate here, since it refers to American (secondary) 'preparatory schools' which differ from British (primary) 'prep' schools
to pressure	to press	American error. The word 'pressure' is a noun. Pressure is produced by the action of pressing, as sculpture is produced by activity of sculpting
to pressurise, pressurize*	to press	Misused. The technical term 'pressurise' does not mean the same as 'press'
principle*	principal	Misused. The word 'principle' is a noun, whereas 'principal' can be either an adjective or a noun. The two words also have different meanings
protest [transitive verb]*	protest about, protest against	American.
raft of*	swathe of, host of, load of, quantity of	American. In recent years many journalists have acquired the habit of nearly always using this American expression
raise [noun]	rise	American. The word 'raise' is a verb; the noun is 'rise'
regular*	normal, standard, usual, average	American. The word 'regular' means the opposite of 'irregular'. Its thoughtless use can lead to ambiguity (what is a 'regular' service or a 'regular' ship?)
right now	now, at present	American. Many Americans, and increasingly their imitators in Britain, seem almost incapable of saying the word 'now' without first saying 'right'. Similarly, Al Gore says 'right next door' and 'right back into space'
to rip off	to cheat, defraud, steal from	Slang.
rip-off	swindle, confidence trick, cheating; theft; stolen article	Slang.
to roil	to stir [a liquid and sediment]; rile, annoy, irritate	American.
sarnie	sandwich	Colloquial. Probably a dialect word, but not standard English
sassy	impudent, impertinent	American casual.
to scam	to swindle, defraud	American slang.
scam [noun]	swindle, fraud	American slang.
schlock, shlock	shoddy, inferior; something inferior	American slang.
to screw up	to spoil, ruin, disrupt	Slang.
to ship*	to despatch, dispatch, post	American.
to show up*	to appear, turn up	American.
slam-dunk	[noun] something done easily; [adj.] certain of success; done easily	American slang.
to slate*	to propose, put forward, include as a candidate	American.
slew, slue	large amount, large number, lot	American casual.
snap*	something easy (to do)	American casual.
snip*	bargain	Colloquial.
snip*	certainty; something done easily	Colloquial.
spell checker	spelling checker	Error. Something that checks spelling is a spelling checker. If anything exists for checking spells, it's another thing altogether
spook*	spy, secret agent	American slang.
staffer	employee	American casual.
stand-off, standoff*	draw, tie; confrontation	American. To stand off is to keep at a distance (from someone or something). A stand-off is the keeping of a distance, but the American meaning is draw or tie. British journalists now frequently seem to use the word as though it means 'confrontation'
standee	stander	American error. See 'attendee'
steal [noun]	theft; something stolen; bargain	Slang.
to stress out	to tire (with stress)	American casual.
to substitute*	to replace	Misused. The words 'substitute' and 'replace' are not synonyms. If A is replaced by B, then B is substituted for A. To substitute water for wine is to replace wine with water
subway*	underground railway, 'the tube'	American. A subway is an underground passage or tunnel beneath a road, railway or the like, for pedestrians or vehicles
to suck*	to be very bad, be inferior; be repellent, be contemptible	American slang.
to sucker*	to dupe	American casual.
to tank	to defeat, thrash; drop sharply in price	American colloquial.
tax break	tax relief, tax incentive	American.
think-tank, thinktank	research institute	Colloquial.
to throw up*	to vomit, 'be sick'	American casual.
trillion*	billion	American. See 'billion'
truck*	lorry	American.
to underscore	to underline	American.
up front*	frankly, openly; in advance	American casual.
up-front, upfront*	frank, open; paid in advance	American casual.
upbeat*	optimistic	Misused. Misunderstanding and consequent misuse of a musical term. See also 'downbeat'
upcoming	coming	American.
upstate [adj. or adv.]	in, of or towards an outlying or northern part of a state or away from the main city	American.
upstate [noun]	an outlying or northern part of a state	American.
uptown [adj. & adv.]	in, towards or relating to part of a town away from the centre	American.
uptown [noun]	part of a town away from the centre	American.
wanna	want to	Slang.
to wind up*	to end up	American.
wonk	studious person, 'swot'; policy expert	American colloquial.
to work out*	to exercise	American.
workout [noun]	exercise	American.
wrench*	spanner	American. See also 'monkey wrench'
wuss*	weakling, useless person	American slang. This is an offensive term, unlike 'wus' or 'wuss' in the English dialect of south Wales, which is a friendly term similar to 'mate' or 'pal'
yeah	yes	Colloquial.
zinger	surprise; witticism; astonishing development	American casual.
zipper	zip	American.

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12th August 2007