Oscar Wilde, the great Victorian playwright, once said, "The English have really everything in common with the Americans, except, of course, language."
Can you work out what each of these American words mean?
1. What is a billfold?
a.
wallet
b.
bird's beak
c.
briefcase
2. What are checkers? Are they
a.
chips?
b.
draughts?
c.
checked shorts?
3. What is a closet? Is it
a.
a cupboard?
b.
a toilet?
c.
a fishing net?
4. What is a comforter? Is it
a.
a priest?
b.
a headscarf?
c.
a teddy bear?
5. What is a derby? Is it
a.
a race?
b.
a dog?
c.
a bowler hat?
6. What is a pollywog? Is it
a.
a doll?
b.
a tadpole?
c.
a combine harvester?
7. What is a faucet? Is it
a.
an escalator?
b.
a pair of pliers?
c.
a tap?
8. What is a nightstick? Is it
a.
a torch?
b.
a truncheon?
c.
an insect?
9. What is a diaper? Is it
a.
a hare?
b.
a jewel-box?
c.
a nappy?
10. What is 'tic-tac-toe'? Is it
a.
the Morse cord?
b.
seaweed?
c.
the game of noughts and crosses?