English as a second language, Part 2

There are words that we say in America all the time without thinking about them. Say them here, and you are guaranteed to get yourself in a "spot of bother."

Pants. Here that means this. If you mean this, you say "trousers." Although I've yet to hear it for myself, I'm told people here say "That's pants!" when they think something is vile.

Fanny or fanny pack. Here, the fanny isn't what we think it is. It's, um, shall we say, the frontal area... So when Americans use the term fanny pack, they get strange looks.

Pissed. Here, pissed looks like this, not this. So you need to be careful when you tell your acquaintances, "My spouse came home late last night, and I was pissed!" And don't cringe when a friend says, "Wanna get pissed?" Actually, maybe you SHOULD cringe anyway...

These are just the words I've been warned about... Imagine what I'll find out the hard way!