Gobsmacked!: The British Invasion of American English

By the author of the blog Not One-Off Britishisms (NOOB), an account of when, how, and why various British terms and phrases have become part of contemporary American English. Critics and lexicographers have long noted the many differences between British and American English, and British writers and critics have complained about the invasion of Americanisms since at least the 1700s. More recently, however, a large number of words and phrases once thought to be strictly British English have worked their way into mainstream American writing and speech. Since 2011, Ben Yagoda has maintained a blog, Not One-Off Britishisms, in which he tracks, defines, and discusses British terms and phrases that have entered the American lexicon. In this short, entertaining book he collects his findings, charts the changes, and explores why certain UK expressions have taken hold in the US, sometimes even when a serviceable American equivalent exists. Chapters cover historical NOOBs, military slang, the top 40 NOOBs, insults, sport, food and drink, and faux NOOBs, along with notes on grammar, syntax, and pronunciation. See draft MS in the DAM.