"that old Madonna number Hanky Panky" The use of "number" in that particular way - from which country does it come, MgM ?

I don't think the problem that most people have is with Americanisms (or Britishisms). It's the fact that you so often first comes across the new words or phrases when speaking to followers of naff TV shows and ads that bothers most people. Guardian readers resent hearing buzzwords that they suspect must have originated with somebody like Ruby Wax - especially when they know that they will have to use such words sooner or later to make themselves understood in the modern world. I'm sure many Americans must fear that the use of British English would make them sound pretentious .


Here are some words and phrases from wiki's entry on the American lexicon:

strike it rich. The word blizzard probably originated in the West. A couple of notable late 18th century additions are the verb belittle and the noun bid, both first used in writing by Thomas Jefferson.

caucus, gerrymander, filibuster,exit poll).

commuter (from commutation ticket), concourse, to board (a vehicle), to park, double-park and parallel park (a car), double decker or the noun terminal
breakeven, merger, delisting, downsize, disintermediation, bottom line;
hobo, bouncer, bellhop, roustabout, white collar, blue collar, employee, boss [from Dutch], intern,busboy, mortician, senior citizen), businesses and workplaces (department store, supermarket, thrift store, gift shop, drugstore,motel, main street, gas station, hardware store, savings and loan, hock [also from Dutch]), as well as general concepts and innovations (automated teller machine, smart card, cash register, dishwasher, reservation [as at hotels], pay envelope, movie, mileage, shortage, outage, blood bank

, disc jockey, boost, bulldoze and jazz, originated as American slang. Among the many English idioms of U.S. origin are get the hang of, bark up the wrong tree, keep tabs, run scared, take a backseat, have an edge over, stake a claim, take a shine to, in on the ground floor, bite off more than one can chew, off/on the wagon, stay put, inside track, stiff upper lip, bad hair day, throw a monkey wrench, under the weather, jump bail, come clean, come again?, it ain't over till it's over, what goes around comes around, and will the real x please stand