List of British Words Not Widely Used in The United States - L

L

ladybird

red and black flying insect (US: ladybug)

launderette

self-service laundry (US: laundromat )

lav

(informal) lavatory, toilet; also, lavvy (in the US, airplane restrooms are typically called lavatories)

lead (electrical, as on an appliance or musical instrument, microphone etc.)

electrical cord (US)

learnt

past tense of "learn" (US: learned)

legacy accounts

funds left in a budget (US: funds remaining)

lessons

classes (class used more common in US English)

let-out

(n.) a means of evading or avoiding something

letter box

1. a slot in a wall or door through which incoming post is delivered (US: mail slot, mailbox)

2. (less common) a box in the street for receiving outgoing letters and other mail (more usually called a postbox or pillar box) (US: mailbox)

See also Letterbox (US & UK): a film display format taking its name from the shape of a letter-box slot

life assurance

(US and also occasionally UK: life insurance)

lift

elevator

lock-in *

illegal gathering in a pub at night to drink after the pub is supposed to have stopped serving alcohol, where the landlord "locks in" his guests to avoid being caught by police. Unless the landlord charges for the drinks at the time, the people in the pub are considered his personal guests; if money is exchanged beforehand or afterwards then it is considered a gift from the guest to the landlord for the hospitality. Since the introduction of the smoking ban in England and Wales in 2007, a "lock in" can now mean a landlord locking the pub doors and allowing smoking inside the premises. (US: may refer to a large and highly chaperoned "sleep over" at a church, school, etc.)

lodger *

tenant renting a room rather than an entire property; typically lives with the renter and his/her family

lollipop man / woman / lady

a school crossing guard who uses a circular stop sign

lolly *

1. lollipop /ice lolly (US: popsicle); (q.v.)

2. (slang) money

loo

toilet (usually the room, not just the plumbing device) (US: bathroom, restroom)

lorry

a large goods-carrying motor vehicle (US and UK also: truck)

loudhailer

megaphone (US: bullhorn)

lower ground

the lower of two floors at ground level (for example, if a building is built on a slope). See "ground floor". Also used as a euphemism for "basement" when trying to sell a flat .

lurgi

(hard 'G') 1. An imaginary illness allegedly passed on by touch—used as an excuse to avoid someone. (c.f. US: cooties) From an episode of the Goon Show. 2. (slang) A fictitious, yet highly infectious disease; often used in the phrase "the dreaded lurgy", sometimes as a reference to flu-like symptoms. Can also be used when informing someone you are unwell but you either do not know or do not want to say what the illness is.