Q 01/05

'Soccer', mocked in Britain as an Americanism, began as English student slang shortened from which word?

A) Sociable

B) Association

C) Socialist

D) Society

Answer · why

B) Association

Association football was clipped to 'assoc.' and then, with the jokey '-er' ending that university students also used to turn rugby into 'rugger', bec...

Q 02/05

Which garment does a Briton mean by 'pants', the word Americans use for trousers?

A) Underpants

B) Tights

C) Shorts

D) Yoga pants

Answer · why

A) Underpants

Underpants are what a Briton hears in 'pants', so an American who praises someone's pants in London is admiring their underwear; the word is also Brit...

Q 03/05

In Britain, what is a centuries-old fee-charging boarding school such as Eton or Harrow traditionally called?

A) A grammar school

B) A public school

C) A comprehensive

D) A prep school

Answer · why

B) A public school

A public school earned the name by taking paying boarders from anywhere rather than only local boys, the opposite of the American sense of a free scho...

Q 04/05

Which Commonwealth country sides with the Americans in saying 'elevator' rather than the British 'lift'?

A) Canada

B) Australia

C) India

D) New Zealand

Answer · why

A) Canada

Canada says 'elevator' like its neighbour, yet it mostly spells the British way, writing 'colour' and 'centre' while siding with America again on 'tir...

Q 05/05

A British pint is roughly how much bigger than an American one, thanks to Britain's 1824 overhaul of its measures?

A) About 2%

B) About 6%

C) About 20%

D) About 60%

Answer · why

C) About 20%

About 20% bigger: the British pint is 568 ml against the American liquid pint's 473 ml, because Britain redefined its gallon in 1824 while the United ...