Have I written about this? Or just hinted at it?

You may have heard that Brits have a different word for about half of all concepts Americans would express in “English” (boot instead of trunk, bonnet instead of hood, tip instead of Dumpster, rubbish instead of trash, lift instead of elevator, ad nauseum) — which takes us back to the oft-cited George Bernard Shaw observation of “two nations divided by a common language”.

In a British-American newsroom, this can lead to “you’re kiddin’ me” surprise for the first year (or five), and various expressions of incredulity and even contempt.

Today, however, I will focus on concepts specific to print journalism. Where “they” use expressions “we” do not know.

Here are American journalism terms, followed by what seems to be their British equivalent:

Budget = list

Lede = intro

Re-lede = re-nose

Subhead/deck = standfirst

Photog = snapper

Jump = turn

Angle = line

Period = full stop

Top story = splash

Copy editor = sub editor

Editing = revising

News editor = backbench

Reefer = cross-ref

Clips = cuttings

Tba = Tbc (to be confirmed)

Parentheses = brackets

Brackets = square brackets

There are more. These just come to mind at the moment.

This can lead to confusion in a newsroom in Abu Dhabi, like , say, The National, even after a stretch of years.

I don’t know how long it will take for me to instantly recognize that a “good line” is a “good angle”, but apparently three years is not long enough.