John Cletheroe's
USA and Canada Holiday Hints

American English to British English Dictionary - U

UAW

United Auto Workers (trade union).

UCLA

University of California, Los Angeles.

UDC

United Daughters Of The Confederacy.

UL

See Underwriters Laboratory.

Ulcer

See Canker.

Uncle

See Say Uncle.

Uncle Sam

The personification of the United States of America - its people or its Government, depending on the context. Analogous in many ways to Britain's John Bull. Idiom Site offers some interesting theories of how the term may have came to be used (external link verified Dec-02).

Under Basement

A totally underground cellar with no windows.

Underground Railway

In the USA and Canada the term "Underground Railway" refers to something which was neither underground nor a railway, namely the chain of safe houses used by slaves escaping north from the South prior to the abolition of slavery.

What we in Britain call an underground railway people in the USA and Canada call a subway or a mass transit or rapid transit system.

An additional potential cause of confusion is the Subway fast food chain.

Underpass

A pedestrian subway under a busy road.

Undershirt

See Vest.

Underwriters Laboratory

 An organisation in the USA which has the same role as the British Standards Institute, testing devices and certifying them as being safe for use. The UL symbol on a device indicates safety certification by the Underwriters Laboratory, in the same way as the BSI Kite Mark or the European CE safety symbol.

Ungava

See separate article.

Union Suit

Thermal underwear, long johns.

UNLV

University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

UP

  1. Union Pacific, the railroad company, although the abbreviation UPRR (Union Pacific Railroad) is more commonly used.

  2. Upper Peninsula (of Michigan).
In both cases the abbreviation is always pronounced as the two letters (you pee) and never as the word up.

Upper Peninsula

The upper peninsula of Michigan.

UPRR

Union Pacific Railroad.

UPS

United Parcel Service. A private parcel delivery service, although the design of their logo and their vans might lead you to wonder if they were a government organisation.

US Funds

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

US Highway

See separate article.

USACE

US Army Corp Of Engineers. See separate article. See also US And Canadian Government Agencies And Departments Responsible For Recreation Areas.

USAF

United States Air Force.

USCM

United States Conference Of Mayors. This description appeared in the Internet Scout Report 23-Jan-04: "Founded during the throes of the Great Depression in 1932, the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM), was established to serve as the official nonpartisan organization of the nation's cities with populations of 30,000 or more. Each city is represented in the conference by its chief elected official, and the primary roles of the USCM are to 'promote the development of effective national urban/suburban policy, strengthen federal-city relationships, and ensure that federal policy meets urban needs.'"

USDA

United States Department of Agriculture. Includes the Forest Service. See also US And Canadian Government Agencies And Departments Responsible For Recreation Areas.

USFS

United States Forest Service, responsible for the National Forests.

USGS

United States Geological Survey, an agency of the United States Department Of The Interior.

It would appear that the USGS is responsible for the administration of Mount St Helens National Volcanic Monument in Washington State.

USPS

United States Postal Service.

USTTA

United States Travel And Tourism Authority. This US Government organisation had offices in various countries around the world and offered an excellent selection of useful leaflets and maps. Sadly it was closed down as a cost-saving measure in 1996. Since the demise of the USTTA it is now only possible to obtain official tourism information from individual US states.

USW

United Steelworkers Union.

UT

Utah.

Utilidor

A term used in the north of Canada for a utility corridor.

Utility Pole

Pole for the distribution of electricity and/or telephone connections. In the USA and Canada many areas, even in towns and residential districts, still have electricity distributed to buildings via overhead cables.
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Most recently modified 28-Mar-04