John Cletheroe's
USA and Canada Holiday Hints

American English to British English Dictionary - O

OAK

Airport code for Metropolitan Oakland International Airport, Oakland, California.

Oatmeal

Porridge.

Ocean State

Rhode Island.

Off Broadway

Fringe (theatre).

Off Ramp

See On Ramp and Off Ramp

Offense

The attacking players in a sports team.

OH

Ohio (the state).

OHV

Off Highway Vehicle.

Oil Pan

Oil sump of a car or other motor vehicle.

OJ

  1. Orange juice.

  2. O.J. Simpson, the famous American football player, actor and alleged wife murderer.

OJJDP

(United States) Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

OK

Oklahoma.

OKC

Airport code for Will Rogers World Airport, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Old Dominion

Virginia.

Old Glory

The flag of the United States of America - the Star and Stripes.

Old Line State

Maryland.

Old North State

North Carolina.

Ole Miss

The nickname of the University Of Mississippi.

OLF

See Language Police.

On

In directions, for example in the directions included in many motel chains' directories, the word "on" means "onto". For example, "turn left on 34th Street" means "turn left onto 34th Street", not "turn left while on 34th Street".

ON

Ontario.

On Ramp and Off Ramp
  1. Entry and exit slip roads on controlled access divided highways (motorways).

  2. Approach roads to bridges and similar structures.

On The Money

A colloquial expression meaning "you are totally correct".

Onion Roll

See separate article.

Operating Room

Operating theatre in a hospital.

OPF

Orbiter Processing Facility. The building at NASA's Kennedy Space Centre where space shuttles ("orbiters") are serviced between flights.

OR

Oregon.

Orchestra Seats

The stalls in a theatre, the seats on the floor of the auditorium.

ORD

Airport code for Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois.

ORY

Airport code for Orly Airport, Paris, France (included here for convenience).

Osage Plains

See separate article.

OSM

The United States Office Of Surface Mining, Reclamation And Enforcement, an agency of the Department Of The Interior.

OTC

Over the counter. A term sometimes used to describe non-prescription medicines.

OTR

Old Time Radio. Recordings of old radio programmes. I don't know if this abbreviation is generally understood or not.

Ouachitas (Ouachita Mountains)

See separate article. (very brief mention)

Out Of

An expression commonly used by shop assistants when giving change, for example if you buy an item costing $1.50 and tender a $10 note, the assistant might say: "Dollar fifty, out of ten, eight Dollars and fifty cents" as your change is handed to you. This makes it obvious what denomination of note you have tendered, always a potential source of problems due to different US banknotes all looking so similar to each other.

Outage

Break in service. A power outage is a power cut, but the term can be applied to a break in service from other utility and service companies.

Outer Road

See separate article.

Outhouse

Privy, outside toilet.

Outlet

  1. Mains wall socket. The design in the USA and Canada is very different to that of the UK or Europe.

  2. Telephone wall socket. I think the design in the USA and Canada is probably different to that of the UK but I am not sure.

  3. See Factory Outlet. ("Outlet Shop" and "Outlet Mall" have related meanings.)

Outside The Box

 Unconventional, innovative, original or eccentric. Word Origins (external link verified Mar-04) offers this explanation of the term:
The phrase "Think outside the box" is an allusion to a well-known puzzle where one has to connect nine dots, arranged in a square grid, with four straight lines drawn continuously without pen leaving paper. The only solution to this puzzle is one where some of the lines extend beyond the border of the grid (or box). This puzzle was a popular gimmick among management consultants in the 1970's and 80's as a demonstration of the need to discard unwarranted assumptions (such as the assumption that the lines must remain within the grid). The term dates to at least to 1975."
My thanks to Chris Robinson in Spain for telling me about this explanation.

Over Easy

 One choice for specifying how you want eggs cooked. A fried egg turned once (hence over easy) so as not to break the yoke, but cooked with the white off the egg just a little bit more than sunny side up. [Many thanks to John Hayes (jnhayes@austin360.com) for contributing this entry.]

An alternative definition is fried on one side then turned and fried lightly on the other side.

Overpass

Flyover. A bridge over a major road, especially a divided highway.

Overtime

Extra time in any sports match, played when the scores are tied at the end of normal time.

Ozarks (Ozark Mountains)

See separate article. (very brief mention)
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Most recently modified 18-Mar-04