From: Kafka Dreams
To: still
Subject: separated by a common language
Date: Fri, 27 Sep 2002 14:48:19 -0400


I found this very illuminating:

  http://english2american.com/

An example:

  pillock n. Idiot.  You could almost decide having read this
  dictionary that any unknown British word is most likely to mean
  "idiot".  And you could almost be right.  We have so many because
  different ones sound better in different sentences.  On the subject
  of the word in hand, I am told by a contributor that it's a
  contraction of the 16th century word "pillicock" (describing the
  male member) and by another (who admits to not being completely
  sure) that this may be a male animal with one lone testicle and
  derived from "bullock".  It's funny, even if it's not true...