just going back to the bit about >>
Either you're misquoting Mencken or he got it wrong. Trains here don't have "bumpers", they have "buffers".

And they aren't there to do the same job as "cowcatchers", largely because cows aren't too much of a hazard for trains over here.
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I would add,...,'leafcatchers', 'snowcatcher' to the modern British Railway system as they causes more flummox than cows ever did


'see you in a bit' (not said to horsey types)..bye'
'wind your neck in' (pronounced 'whine'd not win'd') .calm down and shut up

'hop out and take a shufty' this confused my american driving companion when checking the size of a parking space