British and American Culture-Specific Lexical Items Compared
BrE AmE Russian equivalent
OALD, 9th ed. access /ˈæk.ses/ visitation [U] the right of a parentНБАРС visitation n.
noun [U] 2 ~ (to sth)the who is divorced or separated from 1. 2) юр. право посещения
opportunity orright to use sth his or her partnerto visit a (ребёнка, оставленного
or to see sb/sth: Many divorced who is living with the partner: судом у одного из супругов)
fathers only have access to their She is seeking more liberal
children at weekends (= they visitation with her daughter.
areallowed by law to see them
only at weekends)
Access visitation
“Term used in matrimonial law
referring to the right of the parent without custody (OALD 9th ed.
custody noun 1 the legal right or duty to take care of or keep sb/sth)
to visit the children of the marriage... Staying access means ‘temporary
custody’, as when the party with visitation rights is authorized to have
the minor child (OALD 9th ed. minor noun a person who is under the age at which
you legally become an adult and are responsible for your actions) stay with him or her
for limited periods, e.g., during every other weekend or on certain
holidays (BE, A to Zed, P.9)
accomodation 1 [U] n. (BrE) a place accomodations 2 ~ [pl.] (AmE) НБАРС accomodation n
to live, work or stay in: rented / somewhere to live or stay, 2. 1) амер. часто pl.
temporary / furnished accomodation often also providing food or приют, пристанище; стол
◇ Hotel accomodation is included other services: More and и ночлег; помещение;
in the price of your holiday. ◇ The more travelers are looking furnished ~s меблированные
building plans include much needed for bed and breakfast комнаты; hotel ~
new office accomodation. ◇ First accomodations in private номер в гостинице;
class accomodation is available on homes. ~ allowance квартирное
all flights. пособие, квартирные…;
“In the sense of ‘food and lodgings’, the British use the singular. hotel ~ was scarce в
They seem not to use the word at all as the Americans to include гостиницах свободных
travel facilities, such as train and ship staterooms, plane seats, etc.” мест не было
(BE, A to Zed, 3rd ed., P.6) As we can see from the last example 3. pl. амер. место (в
in the left-hand OALD entry, at present BrE usage does include plane поезде, на пароходе
seats, so the verb ‘seem’ in the sentence ‘They seem not to use и т.п.)
the word at all as the Americans…” is appropriate, though the
noun ‘accomodation in the example sentence is in the singular.
aga (Aga) /ˈɑ:gə/, n. kitchen stove DGB Aga... «Ага»
“The full name is Aga cooker (see cooker), a proprietary name (фирменное название
Glynwed Group Services company) of a kitchen stove. Aga кухонной плиты компании
seems well on the way to achieving the same generic status that «Глинуэд груп сервисез»
hoover and li-lo enjoy in Britain.” (BE, A to Zed, 1st ed., P.11) [Glynwed Group Services]
anorak / ˈænəræk/ 1. light waterproof jacket НБАРС anorak n. анора́к;
OALD, 9th ed. noun 1 (especially BrE) (BE, A to Z, p.12) тёплая куртка на молнии с
a short coat with a hood that is worn as AHD, 5th ed.: A heavy jacket капюшоном
protection against rain, wind and cold with a hood; a parka DGB: анорак (водо-
[GreenlandicEskimo непроницаемаятёплая
annoraaq ] куртка с капюшоном;
первоначально
There is some disagreement between N. Schur’s and E. and R. Ehrlich’s использовалась для
definition of anorak as ‘light’ and AHD’s ‘heavy’ (as well as ‘тёплая’ работы в Арктике).
in DGB and НБАРС). The solution seems to be the development of the
original heavy anorak into a lighter modification.
OALD, 9th ed. noun НБАРС: au pair фр.
au pair / ˌəʊˈpeər ‖ ˌoʊˈper/ 1. SEE COMMENTпомощница по
A young person, usually a woman, 2. giving services for board хозяйству (иностранка;
who lives with a family in a foreign and lodging обыкн. работает за
country in order to learn the language. квартиру, стол, обучаясь
An au pair helps in the house and одновременно языку; тж.
takes care of children and receives ∼ girl)
a small wage.
‘1. This term from French applies generically to service bartering arrangements between two parties, with little or no money changing hands. Two professionals might thus make an au pair arrangement. British families also exchange children with foreign families in order to broaden the children’s experience, this being another type of au pair arrangement.
2. The term is heard most often in the expression au pair girl (often called just an au pair) and refers to
the common British custom of a family giving a home to a girl from abroad who helps with the children and the housekeeping. Becoming common in the United States.’ (BE, A to Zed, P.17)
bags I! Slang. Dibs on…! I dibsy! НБАРС bags
OALD, 9th ed. IDM bags (I)…(BrE) I claim! int школь.
(NAmE ˈ dibs on…) (informal) used LDOELC, 2nd ed. dibs n AmE разг. чур! (тж.
sth as yours before sb else can infml have dibs on something ∼ it!); ∼ I! чур, моё
claim it: Bags I sit in the front seat! to claim something as yours: (не трогать)!; ∼, I
LDOCE 3rd ed. bags spoken BrE I’ve got dibs on playing second go first! чур, я
Bags I! Used by children to claim something base. первый!
that they want: Bags I the biggest cake!
LDOELC 2nd ed. bags 3 interj BrE slang
Bags I! (used by children) a Let me have it,
not you: Bags I the biggest one!
b I’ll do it, not you: Bags I sleep in the bathroom!
“ Bags I! Schoolboy slang. Sometimes, I bag! or I bags! or baggy! or bagsy!
Bags, first innings! is another variant. First innings in this context a first crack (attempt) at something.
Examples: Baggy, no washing up!, which would be shouted by a youngster trying to get out of doing
the dishes, or I bag the baggest one! proclaimed by one of a group of children offered a number of apples or candies of unequal size. Fains I! is the opposite of Bags I! ”(BE, A to Zed, P.19)
OALD 9th ed.
bath /bɑ:θ, NAmE bæθ noun, verb 1. bathtub 2. bathe НБАРС bath II v
noun (pl. baths /bɑ:ðz; NAmE bæðz/ 1. In Britain, as in America, one 1) мыть, купать; to
1 [C] (BrE) (also bathtub, informal can take a bath, although in ∼ the baby купать
tub NAmE, BrE) a large, long Britain one usually has, rather ребёнка 2) мыться,
container that you put water in than takes, a bath. One sits or soaks купаться (в ванне)
and then get into to wash your in the bath in Britain rather than in
whole body the bathtub, as in America.
2 [C] (BrE) the water in a bath / 2. As a verb, bath is used like bathe
bathtub, ready to use: a long soak inAmerica:one can bath the baby
in a hot bath ◊ Please run a bath (give it a bath) or, simply bath (take
for me (= fill the bath with water). a bath). See also bathe.
IDM take a bath (NAmE) to lose (BE, A to Zed 3rd ed., P.24)
money on a business agreement
verb (BrE) (NAmE bathe)
1 [T] ~sb to give a bath to sb:
It’s your turn to bath the baby.
2 [T] (old-fashioned) to have a bath
▼WHICH WORD? bath / bathe / swim / sunbathe
• When you wash yourself you can say НБАРС bathe I n
bath (BrE) or bathe (NAmE), but it купание (в море,
is much more common to say have реке); to have a ∼
a bath (BrE) or take a bath (NAmE).выкупаться,
• You can also bath (BrE) or bathe искупаться.
(NAmE) another person, for example bathe II v
a baby. 1. 1) купаться
• You bathe a part of your body, реке); плавать; it
especially to clean a wound. was too cold to ∼
• When you go swimming it is для купания было
old-fashioned to say that you слишком холодно
bathe, and you cannot say that 2. мыть, обмывать,
thatyou bath or take a bath. Itотмачивать;…
ismorecommonto use swim, to ∼ one’s eyes [a
go for a swim, have a swim or wound] промывать
go swimming: глаза [рану]
Let’s go for a quick swim in the pool.
◊ She goes swimming every morning
before breakfast.
What you wear for this activity is
called a swimsuit or swimming trunks.
• When you lie in the sun in order to
go brown you ꞌ sunbathe.
Black or white? Black or regular?
“How do you take your coffee? Black needs no explanation; white in Britain means ‘mixed with milk’. Americans who don’t want it black add cream or milk (cold in either case) to their coffee.The British hostess or waitress usually holds the pot of coffee in one hand and the pitcher (jug, in Britain) of milk in the other, and inquires, Black or white? The British system would appear to be universal outside North America. An American hostess might ask, With or without? instead of, Black or regular?”
(BE, A to Zed, P.32-33)
OALD 9th ed. block noun 2 [C] block (large building) НБАРС block1 I n
(BrE) a tall building that contains 4 [C] (NAmE) the length of one 3. 1) жилищный массив
flats or offices; buildings that side of a piece of land or group2) преим. амер. квартал;
form part of aschool, hospital,of buildings where one street walk three ~s пройдите
etc.which are used for a particular crosses it to the next: His три квартала; he lives
purpose: a tower block ◊ a block apartment is three blocks away two ~ from us он живёт
of flats ◊ an office block ◊ the from the police station в двух кварталах от нас;
university science block 5 [C] (especially NAmE) a largeto do the ~s австрал.
area of land прогуливаться
4) многоквартирный
дом (тж. ~ of flats)
“A block of flats is an apartment house; an office block is an office building; a tower block is a high
rise. In America, block is used to describe an area, usually rectangular, bounded by four streets. In the next block, to a Briton, would mean in the next apartment house or office building. In giving directions, the British equivalent would be beyond the next turning. It appears, however, that the influence of American visitors is having an increasing effect in bringing block, in the American sense, into British usage. See also apartment, flat. ” (BE, A to Z 3rd ed., P.34-35)
BrE AmE Russian
OALD, 9th ed. boot1. shoe 2. trunk (of an НБАРС boot1 n I 1.
noun 1 a strong shoe that covers the automobile). 3. SEE COMMENT bootblack n преим.
foot and ankle and often the lower 4. LDOCE, 6th ed. boot амер. чи́стильщик сапог
part of the leg: (BrE) walking boots 7 AmE a metal object that the boot hill амер. ист.
◊ (NAmE) hiking boots ◊ cowboy police attach to one of the кладбище в
boots 2 (BrE) (NAmE trunk) thewheels of an illegally parked пограничном городке
space at the back of a car that you car so that it cannot be moved на За́паде
put bags, cases etc. in: I’ll put = (wheel) clamp BrE
the luggage in the boot. – see also OALD 9th ed. ˌ Boot ˈ Hill noun
CAR BOOT SALE (US, informal, humorous) (in
the Wild West) a place where
people are buried
“2. The British use boot to include all leather footwear; but shoe, as in America, normally excludes that which comes above the ankle. If a farmhand or a countryman generally wanted to talk about his rubber boots, he would refer to his Wellingtons, standard country footwear even in dry weather. A British boot reaching barely above the ankle would be called a shoe in America. An American who would never refer to his shoes as his boots or to the process of shining them as
blacking them nonetheless usually refers to the person who shines his shoes as a bootblack,
although he sometimes calls him a shoeshine boy. A shoe clerk in America is a bootmaker’s assistant in Britain even if the boots are not made in that shop.
3. The word boot is used in a variety of British expressions: See another pair of shoes (boots);
(the) boot is on the other leg (foot); like old boots; put the boot in ’. (BE, A to Zed 3rd ed, P.41)
OALD 9th ed. boot noun IDM the boot is on the other ˈ foot (BrE)(NAmE the shoe is on the other ˈ foot) used to say that the situation has changed so that sb now has power or authority over the person who used to have power or authority over them; shoe noun IDM if the shoe fits (, wear it) (NAmE) (BrE if the cap fits (, wear it) if you feel that a remark applies to you, you should accept it and take it
as a warning or criticism
(car) boot sale ˈ garage sale SEE COMMENT
OALD, 9th ed.: car ˈ boot sale noun OALD 9th ed. ˈ garage sale noun
(BrE) an outdoor sale where people a sale of used clothes, furniture etc,
sell things that they no longer want, held in the garage of sb’s house
using tables or the backs of their
cars to put the goods on
“An automobile boot sale offers for sale all those things one has no further use for. It is called a boot sale because you fill the boot of your car with articles to dispose of, drive to an appointed place where others are engaging in the same operation, open the boot, strew some of the things around your car, leave some stuff in the boot, and hope to pick up a few pounds while ridding yourself of the stuff you can’t stand having around any longer” Also called car boot sale. ” (BE, A to Zed, P.41)
break n recess /rɪˈses; ˈri:.ses ‖ ˈri:.ses; rɪˈses/ break I n 2. 1)
OALD, 9th ed.: 1 a short period of “School term. Break is used in both перерыв; пауза;
time when you stop what you are countries to mean a ‘temporary перемена (в школе);
doing and rest, eat, etc.: a coffee / suspension of activities’ generally. a ~ in the song пауза
lunch / tea break ◊ Let’s take a Recess usually refers to Parliament в песне или пении;
break. ◊ a break for lunch ◊ in Britain, and the term is not used without a ~
She worked all day without to refer to the daily pause at school.” беспрерывно; a ~ for
a break. 2 (also ˈ break time) (both (BE, A to Zed, P.45) commercial перерыв
BrE)(NAmE recess) [U] a period в программе для
of time between lessons at school: передачи рекламы
Come and see me at break. recess I /rɪˈses; ˈri:.ses
‖ˈri:.ses; rɪˈses/
1. 1) перерыв в работе
или в заседаниях
(парламента, между-
народных организаций
и т. п.; 2) амер.
каникулы (в школе,
университете) 3)
амер. перемена в
школе; noon [little] ~
большая [маленькая]
перемена
BrE AmE Russian
caravan n /ˈkær.ə.væn/ house trailer НБАРС caravan n I 3. 1)
OALD, 9th ed. noun 1 (BrE) “As an automobile term. фургон; ~ bookshop
(NAmE camper)a road vehicle It is also used in the more книжный киоск на колёсах
without an engine that is pulled original romantic sense. 2) крытая цыганская
by a car, designed for people A caravan park is a trailer повозка; кибитка
to live and sleep in, especially court. ” (BE, A to Zed, P.58) 4. жилой автоприцеп; дом- holiday/vacation: фургон (часто летний;
a caravan site / park тж. ~home)… ~ site место
LDOCE, 6th ed. caravan n AHD camper n. 2a. A motor стоянки домов-фургонов;
1 BrE a vehicle that a car can pull vehicle with space and посёлок из домов-фургонов
and in which people can live and equipment, either in a rear caravan II v путешествовать
sleep when they are on holiday/ compartment or in an attached в жилом автоприцепе, в
vacation: caravan site/park trailer, for sleeping and simple доме-фургоне
(=area of land where people can housekeeping, used for camping
park their caravans)and recreational travel b. the
2. BrE a covered vehicle that is rear compartment or attached
pulled by a horse, and in which trailer of such a vehicle
people can live SYN wagon AmE:
a Gipsy caravan
caravanning n [U] BrE the caravanning n автотуризм с
activity of taking holiday in a проживанием в автофургонах
caravan: a caravanning holiday или автоприцепах
OALD, 9th ed. camper noun RV, recreational vehicle, НБАРС camper1 n 3. авт.
2 (also ˈ camper van) (both BrE) motorhome жилой автофургон; дача-
(NAmE RV, recreational vehicle) прицеп
(also ˈ motorhome NAmE, BrE) a motor home авт. жилой
large vehicle designed for people автофургон, дом на колёсах
to live and sleep in when they are (смонтированный на шасси
travelling грузового автомобиля или
ˈ motor home LDOCE, 6th ed. автобуса)
a large vehicle with beds, a kitchen, As we can see, in dealing with the lexical-semantic variant
a toilet etc, used for traveling and camper 2 OALD cites its synonym camper van and labels
holidays both of them (BrE). Unlike OALD, LDOCE does nor mark the
camper LDOCE, 6th ed. n lexical-semantic variant camper 2 for national variation,
2 (also camper van BrE) a vehicle but does this only for its synonym camper van, thus
that has cooking equipment and agreeing with the definition in AHD 5th ed. Besides,
beds in it LDOCE’s definition contains details which are not found
3 AmE a special type of tent on wheels in either source but seem to overlap with those in the
that has cooking equipment and beds in it entry below.
4 AmE a child who is taking part in a camp DUSA camper домик,
5 happy camper spoken someone who смонтированный на пикапе
seems to be happy with their situation (с плиткой, кухонными
camp LDOCE, 6th ed. принадлежностями и
3 [C,U] a place where young people go кроватями)
to take part in activities, and where they
usually stay for several days or weeks:
The camp offers hiking fishing, canoeing,
and boating.
cat’s-eyes n pl. road reflectors НБАРС cat’s-eye /ˈkætsaɪ/ n
OALD, 9th ed. Cat’s-eyeTM /ˈkætsaɪ/ “Reflector studs, set at close 3. авт., дор. катафот,
noun (BrE)one of a line of small intervals into road surfaces световозвращатель
objects along the white lines that along the white lines marking DGB cat’s-eyes /ˈkætsaɪz/
are fixed into a road and that reflect the lanes. Enormously helpful «кошачьи глаза»
a car’s lights in order to guide on unlighted roads and foggy (утопленные в резиновые
traffic at night nights, they are mounted in подушки зеркальные
depressible rubber frames so рефлекторы на дорогах;
that they can be driven over обеспечивают видимость
without harm.” разметки при свете фар)
(BE, A to Zed, P.62)
council n CEPD, 18th ed. /kaʊn t. səl/ council n. approx. town НБАРС council n
OALD, 9th ed. council noun /ˈkaʊnsl/ “Literally, a local administrative 1. 2) орган местного
2 (BrE) the organization that provides body of a village, town, borough, самоуправления;
services in a city or county, for city, county, etc. But the word is местный совет; city /
example, education, houses, libraries, used, particularly in the country, town/ ~ городской
etc: council workers/services exactly as Americans use town, совет, муниципалитет;
LDOCE, 6th ed. /ˈkaʊnsəl/ in the sense that it is the council county ~ совет
2 the organization that is responsible to which you apply where there графства (в Велико -
for local government in a particular is a problem about schools, британии); Greater
area in Britain: local council elections | sewage, roads, and the like.” London C. Совет
He sent a letter to the council to (BE, A to Zed, P.89) Большого Лондона
complain about the noise. | County/ (лондонский
District/City etc Council муниципалитет)
Northampton Borough Council |
council leader/officer/worker etc |
Council chamber/offices
3 a group of people elected to the
government of a city in the US:
the Los Angeles city council НБАРС
OALD, 9th ed. council estate
ˈcouncil estate noun (BrE) микрорайон,
a large group of houses built by застроенный
a local council муниципальными
ˈcouncil house, ˈcouncil flat noun municipal or public housing unit домами (в Велико -
(BrE) a house or flat rented from So called because the government британии)
the local council agency regulating housing is council house
known as a council, whether 1. жилой дом,
district council, county council, принадлежащий
or other. The rent in council houses муниципальному
is extremely low. A multi-family совету; council-
unit of this sort in America is house flats квартиры
called,generically, a public housing в муниципальных
project. The equivalent in America домах
would be a council house estate or
council housing estate. ” (BE, A to Zed, P.89)