ICE
ICE. But don’t expect your soda or mixed drink to be served in quite the same way that it is in the US. Unless you specifically ask for ice you may well not get any at all! At best you are likely to get only one cube. (See also MALT WHISKY)
ICE LOLLY
POPSICLE.
ICING
FROSTING. For special occasions like birthdays or weddings, the cake is usually a fruit cake with layers of marzipan and hard, ROYAL ICING. (See MARZIPAN)
ICING SUGAR
POWDERED or CONFECTIONER’S SUGAR.
INDICATOR (Car)
TURN SIGNAL. (See also TRAFFICATOR and WINKER)
INLAND REVENUE
British equivalent to the IRS.
INNINGS (Cricket)
INNING. In cricket the word INNINGS is used for both the singular and plural.
INTERFLORA
FTD, the inter-florist network.
INTERVAL (Theatre)
INTERMISSION. Note the spelling of theater.
INVERTED COMMAS
QUOTATION MARKS or QUOTES.
IRONMONGER’S [SHOP]
HARDWARE STORE.
IT
TAG. The children’s game of “catch”.
J
JAM
JELLY -- or close to it. A few fruits are truly made into JELLY, usually those with lots of seeds (see PIPS). Most are made into JAM, which usually contains the whole fruit (See JELLY). MARMALADE, the more bitter the better, is usually the choice with toast at breakfast.
JAR (Slang)
Colloquial term for a beer, as in “Let’s go and have a couple of jars”.
JCB
BACK-HOE, or earth mover.
JELLY
JELL-O. There are numerous proprietary brands of JELLY -- none of which is called Jell-O. JELLY is rarely used to mean a spread for bread. (See JAM)
JERRY (Slang)
CHAMBERPOT.
JERRY-BUILT
Shoddily built with poor quality materials.
JERSEY
See JUMPER.
JOHN BULL
The personification of England or Britain in the same way that Uncle Sam represents the US.
JOHN THOMAS (Slang)
PENIS.
JOINT
ROAST. Do not be surprised if a Briton tells you that he has a joint every Sunday!
JUGGERNAUT
Large truck. (See LORRY and ARTIC)
JUMP
START. As in “Oh! You made me jump!”.
JUMPER
SWEATER. In addition to the words SWEATER and JUMPER, which tend to be generic, some specific terms exist.
A PULLOVER is a sleeveless, V-necked sweater.
A CARDIGAN has long sleeves and buttons all the way down the front.
A woman’s close fitting, knitted cardigan is known as a JERSEY.
A TWIN-SET is a woman’s matching short-sleeved, round-necked jumper, and long-sleeved cardigan. (The strand of pearls is optional with these, although you would not think so judging by the frequency with which they show up)
(See also POLO NECK and TURTLE NECK)
[ROAD] JUNCTION
INTERSECTION. Look out for T-JUNCTION, especially.
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