It was Winston Churchill who once referred to the British/American relationship as being a people divided by a common language. The more I have journeyed the world, the more I am convinced he was right.

To make it even more complicated, the Americans THINK they speak English. We, of course, do not THINK we speak English, we KNOW we speak English. Indeed, we will use the language well as we seek to be extremely civil to each other. After all, if I was visiting a family here in Scotland I know it is right and proper to say to my hostess that she was very homely. She, in turn, would smile and politely respond, "thank you". She would appreciate that in that phrase the guest was complimenting her because she had made  him feel at home. Strange that when complimenting an American hostess in such a way does not get met with such civil appreciation.

There are, of course, many other examples where our American cousins can easily become very confused.

The American says "chips", but a Brit knows he should have said "crisps".

The American says "fries", but a Brit knows he should have said "chips".

The American refers to a cot, when the Brit would bring his camp bed, after all, a Brit knows that a cot is a baby's crib.

Wow! Theres just a few examples. No wonder there is so much confusion on the internet.

Now here is a challenge for y'all. Lets see if we can come up with a dictionary of American and English words. Maybe we might come to understand each other a bit better.

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