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American English to British English Dictionary - F

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FAA

Facecloth

Outlet Shops usually only sell the most expensive television advertised "designer" brands and their prices are usually far higher than those found in the discount department stores such as K-Mart and Wal-Mart even for the same brands. As in the UK, non television advertised brands of identical quality are widely available at much lower prices. In my humble opinion, Outlet Shops and the whole "designer" brand concept exploits the gullible and is best avoided.

Faculty

Fag

Fair

FAIR Lanes

The fajitas that I've seen, as sold in McDonald's and Taco Bell, are very similar to burritos or enchiladas, in that they consist of a soft flour tortilla wrapped around its contents. The difference lies in the contents and the flavour of the sauce.

However, I have received an email message from Jon Harrison who lives in the town of Harlingen near Brownsville in the southernmost part of Texas. Jon tells me that the dish originated in southern Texas, and that the Spanish word fajita means "beef skirts". He says that the word refers to the cut of beef, which he describes as being a thin, tough cut of beef which was inexpensive until it recently became popular. To make it edible, it is tenderised by marinating in a highly-spiced sauce. It is then barbecued (usually cooked over an open fire) and served with more hot sauce or "pico de gallo" (a fresh mixture of chopped peppers, onions, garlic, tomato and as Jon nicely puts it, other quasi-secret ingredients). Jon says it makes truly excellent eating, but is nothing like a burrito. Jon goes on to stress that a fajita is a piece of meat, like a steak is a piece of meat. He says you could eat a fajita by wrapping it in a tortilla, and most people do, but the tortilla is not part of the fajita.

Another source says: Fajitas are a dish of meat and vegetables that come still sizzling to your table. You then take a tortilla (either corn or flour, served on the side) and put some of the meat/vegetables in the tortilla and eat.

I also received a message saying:

If you order a fajita at a restaurant what you usually get is grilled meat in thin strips served on the iron dish (hot) on which it was (presumably) cooked along with grilled onions and green peppers. Cheese, pico de gallo, sour cream, and (sometimes) pesto are usually provided on the side along with flour or corn tortillas (flour unless they give you a choice). Pico de gallo, as near as I can determine, is just salsa without any chili peppers mostly consisting of diced tomatoes, scallions, and onion. You usually (but not always) are expected to put the components together yourself.

Fall

Fall Line

Family

FAS

Faucet

Fava Bean

FBI

FCC

FDA

FDR

A feedlot is a facility for "feeding out" or finishing fat cattle for slaughter. The facility is comprised of several pens, or "lots" where the cattle are concentrated and feed high carbohydrate feed - such as corn. When one travels through the Midwest or the Plains, you can often smell a feedlot before you see it - and that fact is responsible for an economically charged statement from anyone local to the area: "Smells like money!"

Felony

FEMA

Fender

FHWA

Field

1. As in Britain, a field is an area of land used for farming.

2. Some baseball grounds include the word "field" in their names, for example Wrigley Field in Chicago. I'm not sure if the same applies to some venues for other sports.

3. Some airports include the word "field" in their names, for example New Orleans International Airport is also known as Moisant Field and San Diego International Airport is also known as Lindbergh Field.

Field Day

1. School fete.

2. As in Britain, an expression such as "he was having a field day" means that someone was having a good time, enjoying themselves, participating enthusiastically, meeting with great success, etc. Idiom Site offers an explanation of how the term came to be used (external link verified Dec-02).

Field Hand

Field Hockey

Field Worker

FIL

File Tape

Filet, Fillet

Fill

Fire Apparatus

Fire Hall or Fire House

Fire Lane

Fire Starter

Fire Truck

First Floor

First Nation

First State

FL

Flagger or Flagman

Flash Flood

Flashlight

Flatware

Tom Wrona EMailed me to say:

The term flea market is used mostly in the Eastern part of the US. In the West they're called Swap Meets.

FLL

Float Home

Float Plane

Floor Lamp

Floors

Flyway

Fog Lights

Foggy Bottom

Folding Tent Camper

Food Stamps

Football

Fortnight

Forty-Niner

1. A participant in the California goldrush of 1849.

2. A player in the San Francisco Forty-Niners American Football team, or one of the team's fans.

Forty-Ninth Parallel

Four Corners

Four Way Stop

Francophone

Frappe

Melissa Hutchins kindly emailed me this more detailed explanation:

Frappe is a term only used in New England but it is not quite the same as a milkshake. A milk shake is made with just ice cream and flavouring blended, whereas a frappe also contains chipped ice.

Fraternity

Free State

Freeway

Freight Car

Freight Train

French Fries

French Toast

French toast in its simplest form is prepared by dipping slices of bread into an egg and milk mixture before frying them. French toast is most often eaten for breakfast and is usually served with butter and maple syrup, powdered sugar, or jam. An online culinary dictionary that I often use says that in England, French toast is called "poor knights of Windsor." I have no idea if that's an accurate statement.

By the way, Texas toast is very different to French Toast.

Freshman

Fried Mush

Fries, or French Fries

Frijoles

Frontage Road

Frontier Status

Fronton

Frozen Yoghurt (US spelling Yogurt)

FSU

FTC

Funds

Funeral Director

Furnace

FWS

American English to British English Dictionary

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Most recently modified 15-Jan-06