The BugShop: USA to UK/Australia Translator

This page last modified- 11/3/01


With the help of many on the aircooled newsgroup, I have compiled an "english to english" dictionary. I have always been intrigued by the differences in our languages. I still remember playing with the english kids in Europe where I lived as an "air force brat" and getting confused ("THAT is not a 'football'"). It has become more apparent with the technical "car stuff" that gets discussed on the newsgroup. And there is lots of representation of the UK and Australia there. With the help of Lotus, I was able to alphabetize and sort the translations into the two tables below.

 Please feel free to e-mail me if you think something important is omitted (car related terms only, please) or if something is incorrect. I know that there are some further differences between the UK (England/Ireland/Scotland) and Australia but I'm not getting into that here. I'll leave it to "you guys" to sort that out.

 Enjoy.


USA to UK/Australia
antenna aerial
bay-window van loaf
boot (as in axle boot) gaiter
boot (as in 'vert top down cover) hood bag
carburetor carburettor or carbie
convertable top hood
convertible cabriolet, cabrio or drop top
cotter pin split pin
dealer trader
denatured alcohol methylated spirit
distributor dizzy
driveshaft propeller shaft
engine lump
fender wing or mudgaurd
flashlight torch
freeway, turnpike etc motorway
gas or gasoiline petrol
gas tank petrol tank
generator(DC) dynamo
ground earth (elec.)
hard top fixed top
heat riser hot spot
hood bonnet
kerosene paraffin
license plate number plate
metal chips or debris swarf
muffler silencer (exhaust)
odometer mileometer or clock
parking light sidelight
parking/emergency brake handbrake
parts spares
pinging pinking
quarter window quarterlight
ring gear crown wheel
rod bearing big-end bearing
sedan saloon 
shift gearchange
shock damper
spacer distance piece
station wagon estate car
stolen nicked or pinched
thing trecker
throw-out bearing thrust bearing
tie-rod (or connecting rod) track rod (steering)
tire tyre
trailer caravan
transmission gearbox
trunk boot
turn signal indicator
windshield screen or windscreen
wrench spanner
wrist pin gudgeon pin

 
 
UK/Australia to USA
aerial antenna
big-end bearing rod bearing
bonnet hood
boot trunk
cabriolet, cabrio or drop top convertible
caravan trailer
carburettor or carbie carburetor
crown wheel ring gear
damper shock
distance piece spacer
dizzy distributor
dynamo generator(DC)
earth (elec.) ground
estate car station wagon
fixed top hard top
gaiter boot (as in axle boot)
gearbox transmission
gearchange shift
gudgeon pin wrist pin
handbrake parking/emergency brake
hood convertable top
hood bag boot (as in 'vert top down cover)
hot spot heat riser
indicator turn signal
loaf bay-window van
lump engine
methylated spirit denatured alcohol
mileometer or clock odometer
motorway freeway, turnpike etc
nicked or pinched stolen
number plate license plate
paraffin kerosene
petrol gas or gasoiline
petrol tank gas tank
pinking pinging
propeller shaft driveshaft
quarterlight quarter window
saloon  sedan
screen or windscreen windshield
sidelight parking light
silencer (exhaust) muffler
spanner wrench
spares parts
split pin cotter pin
swarf metal chips or debris
thrust bearing throw-out bearing
torch flashlight
track rod (steering) tie-rod (or connecting rod)
trader dealer
trecker thing
tyre tire
wing or mudgaurd fender