Idioms

British idioms Americans don’t understand make sense once you know cricket, class and tea. Get the meaning, register and a US equivalent for each.

American idioms British don’t understand usually come from baseball and football. Learn the sport behind each one and what to say instead.

Blow your own trumpet or toot your own horn? Same boast, two regions. See which to use where and what the dated sources say about each form.

Skeleton in the closet origin, dated: in print by 1816, closet in the US, cupboard in the UK from 1858. See the real story and which to use.

Put in my two cents origin, sourced: the US form is in print by 1926, after Britain’s two penn’orth. Learn which version to use and where.

Wouldn’t touch it with a ten foot pole origin, dated: the US phrase is in print by 1839, Britain’s barge pole by 1893. See which to use where.

Touch wood or knock on wood? Britain mostly says one, America the other. See which to use where, and why the origin is still unsettled.

Table a motion meaning, UK vs US: in Britain it starts debate, in America it shelves it. See the dated sources and what to say in mixed meetings.

British vs American idioms in four tables: one-word swaps, different images, the pairs that mean opposite things, and the forms that crossed the Atlantic.

Misused phrases in business writing, sorted by what the reader concludes: clear errors, contested usages and regional traps, with a fix table.