John Cletheroe's
USA and Canada Holiday Hints

American English to British English Dictionary - C

C of C

Chamber of Commerce.

C-Store

See Convenience Store.

CA

  1. Normally, California.

  2. Occasionally, and particularly in Internet domain names, Canada.

CAA

Canadian Automobile Association.

Cable Cars

In San Francisco, the cable cars are the street trolleys pulled by moving underground cables. Elsewhere in the USA and Canada the term has the same meaning as in British English, namely gondolas suspended from overhead cables climbing up a mountainside for use mainly by skiers, or suspended across a chasm.

Caboose

  1. Guardsvan (on a railway train).

  2. Backside (reasonably polite slang, sometimes used by older people).

Cadillac Ranch

Major Jim Collins of the USAF sent me this reply in response to my question asking what the Cadillac Ranch is:
As best as I remember, the original "Cadillac Ranch" is a fenceline of 1950 Cadillacs dug in nose first, near Amarillo Texas. That's it. Personally, it's not something I would drive out of my way to see.

Cafe

According to one source, in American English the word cafe is reserved for French-style cafes and is never applied to ordinary diners, fast food restaurants or chains such as Denny's.

Caffeine Free

See Regular or Decaff?

Cajuns

See separate article.

Call Collect

Reverse Charges (telephone call).

CalTrans

The California Department Of Transportation - the organisation which is responsible for, amongst other things, the upkeep of highways and bridges in California. The excellent CalTrans web site offers extremely useful status reports on the current conditions on all roads in California, plus a wealth of other information. External link verified Nov-02.

Camper, Campervan

A type of RV (recreational vehicle, i.e. motorhome) - see RV America's RV Types (external link checked May-00).

Canada's Breadbasket

Saskatchewan.

Canada's Ocean Playground

Nova Scotia.

Canadian Bacon

Ham. Bacon can mean either bacon or ham in the USA and Canada.

Canadian Funds

An amount of money expressed in Canadian currency or a payment made in Canadian currency.

Canadian Shield

See separate article.

Cancha

See Jai Alai.

Candy

What the British would call sweets, of any type. Also a girl's name.

Canine Cookie

Dog Biscuit.

Canker

 According to one source the word canker is used in the USA and Canada to refer to what would be called an ulcer in Britain. The same source said that the word ulcer is not understood in the USA or Canada.

However, Melissa Hutchins who lives in New England emailed me to say:

The word ulcer is understood in America but is not the same thing is a canker. A canker is usually called a "canker sore" and is an irritation in the mouth usually caused by citrus fruits and the like. An ulcer is a sore caused by stress or spicy food usually, lining your stomach or some part of your gastrointestinal system.
Many other visitors to this site have emailed me to confirm what Melissa says.

Canuck

According to Chambers Twentieth Century Dictionary, in the United States a Canuck refers to any Canadian while in Canada it refers to a French Canadian.

Capitol

The building where the US Congress meets in Washington DC. The word is also used to refer to buildings where various state legislatures meet.

Capitol Hill, Hill or The Hill

Phrases used by the media for the United States Congress.

Car

As well as its normal British meaning, in the USA and Canada the word "car" can also refer to a railway carriage ("passenger car") or truck ("freight car").

Car Pool
  1. The use of a single car by a group of commuters. Signs are sometimes seen on highways indicating phone numbers to ring to participate in car pool schemes, also called ride sharing.

  2. In some large cities some lanes on freeways, marked with an outline diamond shape, are restricted for use by RTD, rapid transit department vehicles (i.e. buses) and/or car pools. Also, car pools are sometimes exempt from tolls at bridges, tunnels, etc. In this sense, a car pool is a car with at least a certain specified number of passengers, and need not be part of an actual official car pool or ride sharing scheme. Carpool lanes are also sometimes called HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) lanes.

Carousel

Merry-go-round, the fairground ride.

Cart

A shopping cart is a supermarket trolley.

Cascades

See separate article.

Cascadia

See separate article.

Casket

Coffin.

Catercorner

 Diagonally opposite. For example a building on the southeast corner of a road intersection is catercorner to a building on the northwest corner. Also spelt cattycorner, kittycorner and kitty-corner. I suspect that these words might only be understood in some regions of the USA. Idiom Site offers an explanation of how the term came to be used (external link verified Dec-02).

Cattle Guard

Cattle grid.

Cattycorner

See Catercorner.

Caucasian

White, European. A term sometimes used by the police when describing a murder victim or a suspect, etc. From the Caucasus region of Russia between the Black and the Caspian Seas, which some anthropologists believe was the cradle of the white race. I'm told that the term "Caucasian" is used on almost all forms that ask for race to indicate white European ancestry and that it is often indicated as "white/Caucasian" to avoid confusion.

Cayuse

  1. A Native American tribe, originally of eastern Oregon and Washington State.

  2. A small, semi-wild horse. Also called a bronco or a mustang. So-called because these horses were probably first tamed and used by the Cayuse people.

CBD

See Central Business District.

CC

  1. See Closed Captioned

  2. City Centre.

  3. Community College.

CCC

Civilian Conservation Corps.

CDF

California Department of Forestry.

CDG

Airport code for Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, France (included here for convenience).

CDT

Central Daylight Saving Time. A time zone in use in parts of the USA and Canada.

CDW

Collision Damage Waiver.

Cell Phone, Cellular Phone

Mobile phone. In the USA, road signs are often seen saying "In Emergency, Call Cellular..." (followed by a mobile phone number), replacing the old signs which stated the Citizens' Band channel that was monitored for emergency messages.

Centennial State

Colorado.

Central, Central Time, Central Standard Time, Central Daylight Saving Time, CST, CDT

A time zone in use in parts of the USA and Canada.

Central Business District

 Town or city centre.

Central Office

Additional meaning in US English: telephone exchange.

Central Pivot Irrigation (or Centre Pivot Irrigation)

The method of irrigation where the water is distributed from a central source by means of a slowly rotating arm, giving rise to the large circles of crops inside square fields, often seen from the air when flying over the Great Plains of the USA and Canada.

Century 21

A nationwide chain of what the British would call estate agents and what people in the USA would call real estate agents or realtors.

Cesta

See Jai Alai.

CF

If you see a truck in the USA or Canada marked "CF" it means it belongs to Consolidated Freightways, not that it was made by Crane Fruehauf as visitors from Britain might perhaps guess.

CFL

Canadian Football League (American Football, not soccer).

CGN

Airport code for Konrad Adenauer Airport, Cologne, Germany (included here for convenience).

CH

Courthouse. This abbreviation is often used on maps.

Chalupa

 A Mexican food item, very similar to a Gordita.

Chamber of Commerce

 In the UK a Chamber of Commerce is a club for local businessmen. The phrase has a very different meaning in the USA and Canada, where a Chamber of Commerce is a local tourist information office, where in the vast majority of cases a wealth of useful information about the local area can be obtained. You can just stroll into the Chamber of Commerce in an American or Canadian town and browse around - they are nearly always well worth a visit.

A Chamber of Commerce in the USA or Canada is almost identical to a V V V in the Netherlands.

Channel Islands

A group of islands off the coast of California near Los Angeles, including Anacapa Island, San Clemente Island, San Miguel Island, San Nicolas Island, Santa Barbara Island, Santa Catalina Island, Santa Cruz Island and Santa Rosa Island. Some of the islands form the Channel Islands National Park.

Chapter 11

A state of near-bankruptcy. A company in Chapter 11 is in a financially perilous condition and on the point of ceasing to trade. However, some such companies have been known to recover. I do not know what the precise legal definition of the term is but Tim Showalter emailed me to say that it implies liquidation of assets. Tim says the terms Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 are also sometimes used. I have also received a comment that Chapter 11 means the company has filed for protection from creditors under chapter 11 of the US bankruptcy laws. This gives the company temporary protection from creditors and uses a judge to confirm a plan to allow the company to restructure and pay off creditors as best as possible.

Charley Horse

Lame, or suffering from a pulled muscle. Idiom Site offers some explanations of how the term might have came to be used (external link verified Dec-02).

Charger Plate

At very up-market restaurants, a large dish that is already on the table when you are seated and on which other plates and dishes are placed, or "loaded".

Charter Member

Founder member (of an organisation). Presumably from the concept that the founder members of an organisation draw up its charter (i.e. its constitution), although the term is commonly used to refer to anyone who joins an organisation when it is first created, whether they are involved with setting it up or just as a normal fee-paying member.

Charter Schools

See separate article.

Cheap

To many people in the USA, the word "cheap" always means "cheap and nasty", in other words shoddy. Other people, however, seem to use the word as the British do, in some contexts to merely to mean inexpensive, in other situations to mean cheap and nasty.

Check

  1. Bill (in a waitress-served restaurant, etc).

  2. US spelling of cheque, the means of payment from one bank account to another.

Checked Baggage

The suitcases (etc.) which you hand over when you check in for a flight, and which go in the aircraft's hold.

Checkers

Draughts (the board game).

Checking Account

A current bank account, with a cheque book.

Cheeseburger

 See Hamburger.

Chesterfield

Settee (perhaps only a certain type of settee).

Chicago Style Pizza

See Pizza Styles.

Chicano

A Mexican American. This word is never used to refer to Mexicans living in Mexico. Hispanic and Latino are closely related words. All three words can be considered as insulting by some and are therefore best avoided unless you fully understand their implications, which vary depending on region.

Chicken In A Basket

 Several pieces of fried chicken, served with fries and an accompanying dip (sauce or gravy). The dip is usually supplied in a separate pot. Several of the fast food chains offer Chicken In A Basket. We find that one order is sufficient for two people unless they are extremely hungry - in which case an extra portion of fries might be appropriate.

Chicory

Endive.

Chifforobe

A man's wardrobe with shelves on one side and space to hang clothes on the other.

Chihuahuan Desert

See separate article.

Chili Dog

See Hot Dog.

Chimichanga

See Burrito.

Chinook

  1. A warm, dry wind which occurs in some parts of western Canada and the USA to the east of the Rockies, usually in spring I believe. A chinook can increase the air temperature by as much as 25 degrees Celsius in an hour. The painting "Waiting For a Chinook - The Last of 5000" by Charles M Russell, on display at the Montana Historical Society museum in Helena, Montana, depicts an emaciated cow, the last survivor of a herd, in a winter blizzard.

  2. I'm told that in Portland Oregon a chinook can also refer to a type of salmon, the name coming that of a river.

Chips

 Potato crisps. However, Nacho chips are corn chips, not potato chips.

Tim Showalter kindly sent me this note:

To confound the issue, several companies are now selling "potato crisps" which are typically baked potato chips. Since "potato chips" implies frying, certain potato chip makers apparently potato crisp makers and made them stop calling their chips chips. The potato chip makers have since gotten into the potato crisp market.

Chiropractor

A person who claims to reduce back pain by manipulation of the spine. I suspect that no medical qualifications are required in order to set oneself up as a chiropractor.

Chopped Beef

Minced beef.

Chow

Food. To "chow down" is to sit down to eat. "Dog chow" is dog food.

Chowder

A thick fish or seafood based stew.

CHP

California Highway Patrol.

Church Key

A slang term for a bottle opener.

CIA

Central Intelligence Agency (USA).

Cicada

An insect which makes a buzzing or chirping noise similar to that of a cricket. However, as far as I have been able to discover, cicadas and crickets are different species.

Cilantro

Coriander.

City

Even a very small American town can be referred to as a city. It certainly doesn't need to have a cathedral.

City Manager

A person responsible for the running of the municipal functions of a city (i.e. a town). The position is somewhat analogous to a mayor, but with more of a clerical and less of a ceremonial role. I don't know if city managers are appointed or elected. Many other city officers such as the sheriff and heads of various other departments may be elected. Not all towns have city managers, many have mayors.

Civilian Conservation Corps

See separate article.

Class

Sometimes used to mean an educational course, for example "He's doing a class in biology".

Class A, Class B, Class C

Types of RV's (recreational vehicles, i.e. motorhomes) - see RV America's RV Types (external link checked May-00).

Class Action

The bringing of a court action by a group of people who have similar grievances. Typically class actions are brought by a group of consumers against manufacturers of defective or dangerous products, or who have failed to properly supply a service. If the class action succeeds then all the consumers will receive compensation from the guilty company. The concept of a class action is a good example of American law giving consumers a much fairer deal against defaulting companies than British law.

CLE

Airport code for Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, Cleveland, Ohio.

Clear Channel

A company which owns about 1250 radio stations and 40 television stations in the USA. The radio stations are often accused of being extremely bland, very similar to each other, and with very tightly restricted playlists.

Click

Commonly used slang term for kilometre, especially when describing driving distances. Probably far more common in Canada, where road signs state distances in kilometres and speed limits in kilometres per hour. The same term is used in Australia, I believe.

Close But No Cigar

To come frustratingly close to success. Idiom Site offers an explanation of how the term came to be used (external link verified Dec-02).

Closed Captioned (CC)

 Television subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing, transmitted by a system very similar to teletext.

Closeout Sale

Closing down sale.

Closet

A walk-in cupboard, usually for storing clothes, bed linen, etc.

Clothes Pin

Clothes peg, the device used to hold clothes on a clothes line.

CLT

Airport code for Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, Charlotte, North Carolina.

Club Sandwich

A sandwich with two types of meat, for example chicken and ham.

According to one source a club sandwich can be of any type, for example traditional, submarine sandwich or hamburger, provided it meats the condition of having two types of meat. This seems to be confirmed by the Subway submarine sandwich fast food chain selling a "club" sub.

However, Jason Salisbury emailed me to say:

A club sandwich is not the same as a submarine sandwich (sub) or a hamburger. A club sandwich uses three slices of toast (two with mayo), with one layer typically containing bacon, lettuce, and tomato within one layer, and the other layer containing the choice of meat (ham, turkey breast, or chicken breast). Next, four cocktail toothpicks are inserted into each corner of the sandwich and its given two diagonal cuts, creating four little sandwiches. Without the toothpicks the layers won't hold together and the sandwich will fall apart.

Cluster Head

In US highway traffic engineering terminology, a set of traffic lights on the same physical backplate mounting. This term is not used on road signs and is probably not understood by the general public.

CMH

Airport code for Port Columbus International Airport, Columbus, Ohio.

CNN

Cable News Network. A television channel. Most of their output is talk and discussion programmes. For news try the associated "Headline News" channel.

CO

  1. Colorado (the state).

  2. Company.

Co-ed

  1. A female university student (from "co-educational").

  2. Activities that have mixed male-female participation where this is not normally assumed. For example, co-ed volleyball would refer to volleyball played by teams composed of both male and female players.

Co-Worker

Colleague.

Coach

Team manager (of a sports team).

Coach Class

The least expensive seats on a train or plane.

Coaster

  1. Beer mat; a mat to put under a glass. The word "coaster" is now fairly generally understood with this meaning in Britain.

  2. Roller-coaster.

Cobbler

A sweet dish consisting of pieces of pastry and fruit.

Coconino Plateau

See separate article.

Coke
  1. Coca-Cola (trade name). This interpretation is the most likely in most parts of Canada, apparently.

  2. Loosely, any brand of cola.

  3. Very loosely, any brand of carbonated soft drink. Major Jim Collins of the USAF kindly tells me that this usage is quite common in the Deep South. Ben Carter of Memphis, Tennessee sent me an email confirming this:
    So a sample conversation at a restaurant would go as follows: Waitress: "What would you like to drink?" Customer: "A coke." Waitress: "What kind?" Customer: "7-Up."
    Gene Johannsen sent me an email saying that this usage is also fairly common in California.

    See also Soda Pop.

  4. Cocaine (slang).

  5. Certain types of heat-treated coal (this usage is now largely obsolete).

Cold Turkey

To suddenly cease taking an addictive drug (or, by association, to suddenly cease any habit). Idiom Site offers an explanation of how the term came to be used (external link verified Dec-02).

Collect Call

Reverse charge telephone call.

College

  1. In the USA, a university which can only grant bachelors' degrees.

  2. In Canada, an educational institution roughly half way between a high school and a university. Presumably, therefore, something similar to a technical college or polytechnic in Britain.

Collision Damage Waiver

See separate article.

Colonial Period

The period of time between the founding of the American colonies and the Declaration of Independence.

Colour Country

See separate article.

Combo

In fast food restaurants, a "combo" consists of a main item such as a hamburger, together with fries (or similar side-order item) and a soft drink. The combo sells for considerably less than the total cost of the individual items. In the UK, the same concept is often called a "meal" or "meal deal".

In fast food restaurants which don't issue receipts it can be difficult to check whether you have been charged the correct price for a combo. Even if you do get a receipt, it can still be difficult to check since combo's are often entered as individual items, possibly together with a negative discount item.

In most fast food restaurants the combo's are intended as complete meals (excluding a dessert) for a single person. In Taco Bell and Kentucky Fried Chicken some combo's are designed for consumption by a party of people.

Comfort Station

Toilet.

Comforter

An eiderdown or a quilt.

Commencement

A graduation ceremony at a school. The name is from the idea that the students are leaving school to commence the rest of their lives.

Commonwealth

See separate article.

Comstock Lode

See separate article.

Concert Master

Orchestra leader, leading violin.

Concession

A business operating on the property of another business or organisation. Frequently used to refer to a snack food stand operating in a National Park or similar area, or in a sports stadium.

Concourse

In general terms, an airport terminal. Some airports have concourses, others have terminals. In some cases a set of gates lead off each concourse. Some airports have separate terminals and some airports have gates located along separate spurs. The exact terminology varies between airports.

Condo

Condominium. A block of flats.

Tom Wrona kindly EMailed me this description:

In a condo you own your apartment but not the land it sits on. That's usually owned by a 'condo association' which was created by the developer at the time of construction.

Conductor

A guard or ticket inspector on a train.

Coney

The Sonic drive-in fast food chain call their hot dogs "Coneys". I imagine that the term is generally understood, and probably comes from Coney Island, the amusement park area in Brooklyn, New York City. I seem to recollect a scene in the film "Paper Moon" which includes the lines "You owe me five hundred dollars!" - "Eat your Coney Island!".

Confectioner's Sugar

Icing sugar. Also called powdered sugar in the USA.

Confederacy

See separate article.

Consolidator

Bucket Shop - an organisation which sells air flights at low cost, usually but not necessarily at the last minute.

Constitution State

Connecticut.

Construction

  1. Road works.

  2. Building construction.

Conterminous States

See separate article.

Contiguous States

See separate article.

Continental Army

The army formed by the colonists during the American War of Independence, commanded by George Washington.

Continental Congress

The assembly of delegates from almost all the American colonies, formed in Philadelphia in 1774 prior to the Declaration of Independence. The Continental Congress evolved into the government which directed the Continental Army during the American War of Independence and later into the US Congress. Delegates to the Continental Congress included John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington.

Continental Divide

A line, often marked on maps, to the west of which water flows to the Pacific and to the east of which water flows to the Atlantic or the Gulf of Mexico.

Continental USA

The USA, excluding Alaska and Hawaii.

CONUS

The continental USA, i.e. excluding Alaska and Hawaii.

Major Jim Collins of the USAF kindly sent me this comment:

"CONUS" is actually more of a military expression. US troops overseas, for example in the UK, would use it to refer to the Continental US. Not in normal civilian use. In fact, they probably wouldn't understand what you were talking about, unless the person is former military.

Convenience Store

 A relatively small shop, but with a wide range of items including food, soft drinks, coffee, magazines, etc. A convenience store will have its own relatively small parking lot outside. Many convenience stores have petrol pumps, and are typically open for long hours or possibly twenty-four hours a day. Examples of national convenience store chains are 7-Eleven and Circle K, and there are many other regional chains. Prices for food items in convenience stores tend to be considerably higher than in supermarkets, but soft drinks and coffee can be inexpensive, and petrol prices are often lower than at normal gas stations. Also called a C-Store.

Conventional Motorhome

A type of RV (recreational vehicle) - see RV America's RV Types (external link checked May-00).

Cookie

What the British would call a biscuit. Major Jim Collins of the USAF informs me that the word cookie comes from the Dutch word "koekje" (pronounced kook-yer) meaning a small cake. Jim suspects that it entered the language through the Dutch settlers in New Amsterdam (New York) and upstate New York.

Cooler

Cool box, ice box. An insulated box for keeping food cold.

Cooperative Bank

The name given in New England to what is generally known elsewhere as a Savings and Loan Association.

Cord

Electrical cable, lead or flex connecting an appliance to a wall socket.

Corn

Corn-on-the-cob, sweet corn, maize. In American English the word corn is not used to refer to other cereal crops such as oats or wheat.

Corn Flour

The flour used to make corn tortillas and some other Mexican foods, particularly tamales. (My thanks to Tom Sackett of Seattle for this definition.)

Corn Meal

Coarsely ground corn used most often in corn bread, and in breading for fried fish. (My thanks to Tom Sackett of Seattle for this definition.)

Corn Starch

What the British could call cornflour. Tom Sackett of Seattle describes it thus:
A fine, pure white powder virtually identical to potato starch or arrowroot, used to thicken sauces or even starch collars.

Cornhusker State

Nebraska.

Corps of Discovery

See separate article.

Correctional Institution

Prison.

Costume Party

Fancy dress party.

Cotton Candy

Candy floss.

Cottonwood

A type of tree. A member of the poplar family.

Couch

Settee.

Counter-clockwise

Anti-clockwise.

County

See separate article.

County Line

The border between two counties.

County Road

See separate article.

Coureurs de Bois

A historical term, French for "runners of the woods". Coureurs de Bois were unlicensed trappers and traders in Canada during the seventeenth century, when that country was held by the French.

Coverall

Overalls, boiler suit or similar workman's clothing.

Cow Pie

Cow pat.

Cowboy State

Wyoming.

Coyote State

South Dakota.

Cracker

  1. A biscuit (in the British sense of the word), of any type it seems.

  2. In the South, a derogatory term for a poor white person, sometimes also referred to as "white trash".

Crane Fly

According to one source, some people in the USA use the name crane fly to refer to what would be called Daddy Long Legs in Britain. However, Stonie Cooper sent me the following comment:
A "crane fly" is simply a large fly, slender like a mosquito, but having no "sucker" to draw blood. People in the USA call a very leggy spider "Daddy Long Legs." I suppose they look similar, but the "crane fly" is an insect, and the "daddy long legs" - in American terms - is a spider.

Crawl Space

A void under a floor or above a ceiling.

Crazy Bone

Funny bone.

Cream

 Milk in coffee is always called cream in the USA. Usually milk is used, occasionally thin cream. You may also be offered "Half and Half", which is half cream, half milk. In the USA nobody will ask if you want "milk and sugar", always if you want "cream and sugar".

Cream Of Wheat

Semolina.

Credit Union

 A non-profit financial institution run for the benefit of its members. Credit Unions provide much lower interest rates for loans than would be available elsewhere. Loans provided by Credit Unions tend to be for relatively small purchases, not for buying houses. Some thirteen thousand Credit Unions operate in the USA with fifty-five million members between them. Credit Unions also operate in Canada (and in many European countries). In the USA a Savings and Loan Association performs a somewhat similar role to a British building society.

Creek

Brook, stream or small river.

Creole

 In the American state of Louisiana, the word Creole refers to the white, French-speaking descendants of the early French or Spanish settlers, or to a person of mixed European and African blood. The word also refers to a style of cooking and even to a style of architecture.

The word has different meanings in other regions, for example in Latin America and in the West Indies.

Crib

Cot. What a baby sleeps in.

Cross

Confuse. For example "Don't cross Steven James with James Stevens", meaning don't confuse the two. I've only seen this usage in a book written by CJ Cherryh and I don't know how common it is; it may be the writer's own peculiarity. Several people have emailed me to say that they've never heard the word used in this sense.

Cross also has all its usual British English meanings in the USA.

Crossbuck

The sign seen at railroad crossings with two diagonal arms, one arm bearing the word "Railroad", the other arm the word "Crossing".

Crossover
  1. A place where a U-turn can be performed on a divided highway (dual carriageway). However, in most cases the use of crossovers is restricted to police and other emergency service vehicles. Also sometimes called turnarounds, I'm informed. These gaps are also used to route traffic on and off a two-way section on a single carriageway during road construction work.

  2. A type of music or musical artist. I think the term refers to a artist who starts their musical career working in a specific genre such as jazz and then later develops their style so as to become more widely popular. If so, then an artist such as George Benson might be a good example.

Crosstie

A railway sleeper - a transverse block of wood or concrete on which the rails rest. Also called a tie.

Crosswalk

Pedestrian crossing. At road junctions controlled by traffic lights crosswalks are marked by two parallel solid white lines. Cars stop at the first white line when the traffic lights are red. Cars making turns at junctions must yield to pedestrians on crosswalks.

At crosswalks between junctions cars should also yield to pedestrians although in many cases they fail to do so.

Crow

To "eat crow" is to eat humble pie, in other words to admit that you were wrong.

CST

Central Standard Time. A time zone in use in parts of the USA and Canada.

CT

Connecticut.

CTA

Chicago (Illinois) Transit Authority.

CTC

Centralised Traffic Control. The system, widely used in the USA and Canada, of controlling railway points and signals from a central room, often hundreds of miles away.

Cuffs

Turn-ups at the bottom of trouser legs.

Cummerbund

According to dictionary definitions a cummerbund is a waist belt or waist sash, so I think this is the name given to the wide belt sometimes seen worn around the waist by men at formal occasions in old American films.

Cup

A unit of measure officially defined as one sixteenth of a US gallon.

Cupcake

Fairy cake.

Custom Made

Bespoke, made-to-measure clothing.

Cut

A cutting through which a railway line runs.

Cut To The Chase

Get to the point. From Hollywood films, where the chase (a car chase, or in westerns a chase on horseback) is the most exiting part.

CVG

Airport code for Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, Cincinnati, Ohio.
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