Q 01/05

'Soccer', mocked in Britain as an Americanism, first appeared as slang in English public schools in which decade?

A) The 1920s

B) The 1950s

C) The 1880s

D) The 1900s

Answer · why

C) The 1880s

The 1880s produced 'soccer' as public-school slang, a clipping of 'associationer' used to tell association football from other codes, and only later d...

Q 02/05

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

A) Underpants

B) Tights

C) Shorts

D) Socks

Answer · why

A) Underpants

Underpants are what most British speakers picture when they hear 'pants', so an American complaining of muddy pants sounds oddly intimate in London.

Q 03/05

In Britain, what kind of institution is a 'public school' such as Eton, the reverse of the American meaning?

A) State-funded and free

B) Fee-charging and private

C) Church-run and free

D) Run by the armed forces

Answer · why

B) Fee-charging and private

Fee-charging and private describes an English 'public school', a usage formalised by the Public Schools Act 1868, while Americans use the phrase for t...

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 is the lone Commonwealth exception: 'lift' is Commonwealth English everywhere else, while 'elevator' is North American and Philippine usage.

Q 05/05

A British pint is roughly how much bigger than an American one, thanks to the imperial system of 1824?

A) About 5%

B) About 20%

C) About 35%

D) About 50%

Answer · why

B) About 20%

About 20% bigger is right: the imperial pint is 568 ml against the US liquid pint's 473 ml, because Britain redefined its measures in 1824 while Ameri...