Use of English on The Open Road Web Site
Oscar Wilde wrote: ‘We have really everything in common with America nowadays except, of course, language’.
That is particularly true when it comes to technical terms used for our cars, so the table below translates from the Queen's English used throughout this web site, into what is now called American English.
|
The Queen's English |
American English |
| 999 (emergency number) | 911 (emergency number) |
| Accelerator | Gas pedal |
| Aerial | Antenna |
| Anti-roll bar | Stabiliser or sway bar |
| Big end bearing | Rod bearing |
| Bonnet (engine cover) | Hood |
| Boot (luggage compartment) | Trunk |
| Bulkhead | Firewall |
| Bush | Bushing |
| Cam follower or tappet | Valve lifter or tappet |
| Car | Automobile |
| Carburettor | Carburetor |
| Catch | Latch |
| Choke/venturi | Barrel |
| Circlip | Snap ring |
| Clearance | Lash |
| Crownwheel | Ring gear (of differential) |
| Damper | Shock absorber |
| Disc (Brake) | Rotor |
| Dipped beam | Low beam |
| Distance piece | Spacer |
| Drop arm | Pitman arm |
| Drop head coupe | Convertible |
| Dual carriageway | Divided highway |
| Dynamo | Generator (DC) |
| Earth (electrical) | Ground |
| Engine mount | Motor mount |
| Estate Car | Station wagon |
| Exhaust manifold | Header |
| Fault finding (diagnosis) | Troubleshooting |
| Float chamber | Float bowl |
| Free play | Lash |
| Freewheel | Coast |
| Gearbox | Transmission |
| Gearchange | Shift |
| Give Way (on road sign) | Yield |
| Grub screw | Setscrew, Allen screw |
| Gudgeon pin | Piston pin or wrist pin |
| Halfshaft | Axleshaft |
| Handbrake | Parking brake |
| Hood | Soft top |
| Hot spot | Heat riser |
| Indicator | Turn signal |
| Interior light | Dome lamp |
| Layby | Turnout |
| Layshaft (of gearbox) | Countershaft |
| Leading shoe (of drum brake) | Primary shoe |
| Level crossing | Railroad crossing |
| Locks | Latches |
| Main beam | High beam |
| Manual gearbox | Stick shift |
| Methylated spirit | Denatured alcohol |
| Motorway | Freeway, turnpike |
| Number Plate | License plate |
| Paraffin | Kerosene |
| Pavement | Sidewalk |
| Petrol | Gasoline (gas) |
| Petrol station | Gas station |
| Petrol tank | Gas tank |
| Pinking | Pinging |
| Prise (force apart) | Pry |
| Propellor shaft | Driveshaft |
| Quarterlight | Quarter window |
| Retread | Recap |
| Reverse | Back up |
| Rocker cover | Valve cover |
| Roundabout | Traffic circle |
| Saloon | Sedan |
| Scamera | See Speed Camera (colloquial term as the general public do not believe they are there for safety reasons but pureful for raising revenue) |
| Seized | Frozen |
| Sidelight | Parking light |
| Silencer | Muffler |
| Sill (panel beneath doors) | Rocker panel |
| Slip road (motorway exit) | On ramp or Off ramp (Freeway) |
| Small end - little end | Piston pin - wrist pin |
| Spanner | Wrench |
| Speed Camera | Radar operated speed trap either fixed or operated from white vans with black windows |
| Split pin | Cotter pin |
| Steering arm | Spindle arm |
| Sump | Oil pan |
| Swarf | Metal chips or debris |
| Tab washer | Tang or lock |
| Tappet | Valve lifter |
| Thrust bearing | Throw out bearing |
| Top gear | High |
| Torch | Flashlight |
|
Trackrod (of steering) |
Tie rod |
| Trailing shoe (brake) | Secondary shoe |
| Transmission | Whole drive line |
| Tyre | Tire |
| Van | Panel wagon/ van |
| Vice | Vise |
| Wheel nut | Lug nut |
| White Van Man |
Driver of company van (normally white) who pays little attention to speed limits or general courtesy |
| Windscreen | Windshield |
| Wing (mudguard) | Fender |
