John Cletheroe's
USA and Canada Holiday Hints

American English to British English Dictionary - Y

Yank, Yankee

Southerners sometimes still use these terms to refer to Northerners. Never call a Southerner a Yank or a Yankee - they will be most offended. According to some sources these terms should only really be used for inhabitants of New England.

Tim Showalter kindly sent me this explanation:

This is another one of those terms that depends on where you're standing. To a Southerner, all Northerners are Yankees. To a New Englander, only New Englanders are Yankees. But if you're not from America, all Americans are Yankees. But applying it to a Southerner is a bad thing to do, and their reaction is likely to depend on their patience and sense of humour.
Idiom Site offers some interesting theories regarding how the term may have come about (external link verified Dec-02).

Yard

  1. The garden of a house.

  2. A railway marshalling yard.

Yard Sale

 A sale of unwanted items by a household, perhaps because they will shortly be moving house. Also called a garage sale, a rummage sale, or a tag sale (from the little tags which indicate the prices).

YEG

Airport code for Edmonton International Airport, Edmonton, Alberta.

Yellowhammer State

Alabama.

Yellowhead

See separate article.

Yiddish

The language of Jewish immigrants to the USA. Many Yiddish words are now commonly used in American English and a few are included in this dictionary. The book "The Joy Of Yiddish" by Leo Rosten is a marvellous combination of a Yiddish dictionary, a description of the Jewish faith and way of life, especially that of immigrants, and a collection of jokes and amusing stories.

YMX

Airport code for Mirabel International Airport, Montréal, Province of Québec.

You Bet!

Yes, certainly. An emphatic agreement or affirmative reply to a question. For example if when booking in at a motel you inquire whether there is coffee in the office in morning, you may well receive the reply "You bet!". The derivation is from "you can bet on it". (My thanks to Major Jim Collins of the USAF for suggesting this entry.)

YOW

Airport code for Macdonald-Cartier International Airport, Ottawa, Ontario.

YQB

Airport code for Québec Airport, Québec City, Province Of Québec.

YT

Yukon Territory.

YUL

Airport code for Trudeau International Airport (previously called Dorval International Airport), Montréal, Province of Québec.

YVR

Airport code for Vancouver International Airport, Vancouver, British Columbia.

YWG

Airport code for Winnipeg International Airport, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

YYC

Airport code for Calgary International Airport, Calgary, Alberta.

YYZ

Airport code for Lester B Pearson International Airport, Toronto, Ontario.
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American English to British English Dictionary

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Most recently modified 2-Feb-04