You Say You Speak English?

The English speak English and North Americans speak English,
But can the two communicate? 
It is difficult unless you understand that in England:

Newspapers are sold at bookstalls.

An apartment house is a block of flats.

A closet usually refers to the W.C., or water closet, which is the toilet - where, by the way, you don't go to tinkle since tinkle is used as in the statement "Give me a tinkle," which means to phone someone.  When one of your British friends says she is going to "spend a penny," she is going to the ladies' room.

A ladder is not used for climbing but refers to a run in a stocking.

For those who want to go shopping, it is essential to know that a tunic is a blouse; a stud is a collar button, nothing more; and suspenders are garters and braces are suspenders.

After shopping, you put your packages in the boot of your car, not the trunk.

You will be putting your clothes, not in a closet, but in a cupboard.

When a British gentleman tells you to "Keep your pecker up," he's telling you to "Keep your chin up," in American English.

When the desk clerk asks you what time you want to be knocked up in the morning, he is only referring to your wake-up call.

When an American describes a colleague as being sharp, that is, quick, intelligent, and able, it's a compliment, but in England it implies the person is devious and unprincipled.

When you table something in England, you mean you want to discuss it, not postpone it as in the United States.

A billion means a million million (1,000,000,000,000) and not a thousand million as in the United States.

Source:
Roger E. Astell, Do's and Taboos of Using English around the World (New York: John Wiley & Son, 1995).