Gobsmacked!: The British Invasion of American English

by Ben Yagoda

A spot-on guide to how and why Americans have become so bloody keen on Britishisms—for good or ill

The British love to complain that words and phrases imported from America—from French fries to Awesome, man!—are destroying the English language. But what about the influence going the other way? Britishisms have been making their way into the American lexicon for more than 150 years, but the process has accelerated since the turn of the twenty-first century. From acclaimed writer and language commentator Ben Yagoda, Gobsmacked! is a witty, entertaining, and enlightening account of how and why scores of British words and phrases—such as one-off, go missing, curate, early days, kerfuffle, easy peasy, and cheeky—have been enthusiastically taken up by Yanks.

After tracing Britishisms that entered the American vocabulary in the nineteenth century and during the world wars, Gobsmacked! discusses the most-used British terms in America today. It features chapters on the American embrace of British insults and curses, sports terms, and words about food and drinks. The book also explores the American adoption of British spellings, pronunciations, and grammar, and cases where Americans have misconstrued British expressions (for example, changing can’t be arsed to can’t be asked) or adopted faux-British usages, like pronouncing divisive as “divissive.” Finally, the book offers some guidance on just how many Britishisms an American can safely adopt without coming off like an arse.

Rigorously researched and documented but written in a light, conversational style, this is a book that general readers and language obsessives will love. Its revealing account of a surprising and underrecognized language revolution might even leave them, well, gobsmacked.

Genres: Nonfiction, Language, Linguistics, History, British Literature

288 pages, Hardcover

Published September 24, 2024

About the author

Ben Yagoda is a retired professor of journalism and English. He's published a number of books and was a freelance journalist for publications such as The New Leader, The New York Times, Newsweek, and Rolling Stone. Yagoda currently lives in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania with his wife and two daughters.

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, and seeing how so many of my favorite writers, such as Sarah Lyall and Dwight Garner of the New York Times, helped bering British words and slang across the pond. Many of you know that I love the word "gobsmacked." Well, from this fine exploration of language, I may have a new favorite Briticism: "shitgibbin." It works well as both an adjective ("Well, that was one shitgibbin move.") and a noun ("Well, he was one annoying little shitgibbin.").

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit of a disappointing read. The author apparently cobbbled this book together from his blog posts. While there are some interesting parts, a lot of the book is just dull. There are a lot of long quotes illustrating the usage of a word or phrase that are just tedious to read. The author also seems to have a penchant for the "naughty bits." Aside from an entire chapter with that focus, he writes double entendres whenever he can. Again, tedious. I also wish there were more etymology in the book. There's some actual etymology, and some speculative etymology, but there's a lot more references to the Ngram Viewer and the graphs it produces. I considered abandoning the book halfway through, but I plowed through to the end.

[Bruce E · Rating 5 out of 5]

A recent National Geographic online headline asked: "Why did Agatha Christie go missing?"

To which, I ask, "When, and how, did 'disappear' go missing?"

A highly entertaining romp, Ben Yagoda's "Gobsmacked!" has the answer to those questions, and scores more, regarding British linguistic infiltrators: Dodgy. Non-starter. One-off. Over the top. Suss out. Vetted.

Thanks to Yagoda's witty humor, reading this book is 'a piece of cake' (an expression coined by RAF pilots during WWII). And his research is nonpareil. No other book has ever transitioned from a reference to Mike Myers' film, "The Spy Who Shagged Me," to the Oxford English Dictionary's first citation for the word 'shag' in 1770--written by one Thomas Jefferson.

Obviously, these word exchanges between us and our former overlords has been going on for centuries. But, as Yagoda notes, the pace at which Britishisms have wormed their way into the American vernacular has appreciably quickened since the 1990s. One fun feature: Yagoda frequently shares the analyses of Google Books NGram Viewer, an online tool that tracks how frequently a word or phrase appears over time in U.S. vs. English books and periodicals. The graphs illustrate when the usage first appeared in the UK and the delay--sometimes decades--before it started appearing in American publications.

In some cases--as with 'dicey,' a synonym for 'risky'--we're now using the term so much more than the Brits that even Yagoda didn't realize it originated across the pond.

Anyone interested in our evolving language would enjoy this book. But don't take my word for it. The Economist, the renowned London-based news and international affairs magazine, just named it one of the best books of 2024.

So don't be a 'wanker' and 'come a cropper'. Get yourself Gobsmacked!

[Ashley D · Rating 2 out of 5]

interesting concept. i was hoping it would be a history i guess of this “british invasion” but this man writes a blog and the book was basically just blog posts. i think this WOULD be interesting on blog format but it didn’t translate well to a book for me

[Neil MacNeill · Rating 4 out of 5]

You've got to be an Anglophile and a word-nerd to pick up a book like this. Guilty as charged! American English has spread globally largely due to popular culture and the internet. But in more recent decades, we've seen words and phrases flow the other way. "Britishisms" have taken hold in the U.S. largely, I believe, because of Britbox, Acorn TV, the BBC and all of those crime series set in the UK that we devour. Not to mention Harry Potter. The author of Gobsmacked lays out a chronology and categorization of this British invasion in logical chunks. There were sections, I admit, that I skimmed or speed-read. But others provided renewed insights into spelling, pronunciation, and even punctuation differences between our countries. One word that always bothers me is the mispronunciation (and even misspelling) of "divisive." Surprisingly, the use of "divissive" (rhymes with permissive) is not a Britishism, but a mispronunciation that's been promulgated by political leaders and the media. Yikes! (Or as the Brits would say, Yoiks!) Yes, wading through all the research and historical data in this book can become tedious. But this is an amazing work of research and fun to pick up, open to a random page, and learn something new about our shared English language.

[Mike Kanner · Rating 4 out of 5]

When the Denver Gazette (https://denvergazette.com/) reviewed this book, I knew that as a regular consumer of British media, thanks to Britbox and Acorn, I needed to read it.

What I found was a cultural history of the two countries wrapped in the mantle of our written languages. Selecting some of the words and phrases he had discussed on his website, "Not One-Off Britishism" (https://notoneoffbritishisms.com/), Yagoda walks the reader through how language is influenced and changes. His use of statistical tools (some of which are included) shows that this is more than just his impressions.

My biggest surprise was that expressions that I thought had been around for a long time were surprisingly new (I classify those that came to usage during my life as 'surprisingly new'). It was also interesting to see how some popular media, such as The Simpsons>, have more influence than would have been suspected.

I recommend this to Anglophiles and those interested in how language evolves.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars - very similar to Origin Uncertain: Unraveling the Mysteries of EtymologyOrigin Uncertain: Unraveling the Mysteries of Etymology, a blog-turned-book collection of word entries. No real discussion of broader trends or why certain Britishisms became so popular in the US, it just looks at specific words individually so there's no real point to reading the entire book unless you're that much of an etymology nerd.

[Angie Boyter · Rating 3 out of 5]

3- or 2.
With my interest in language, I was very excited about this book, but I was overall disappointed.
The book is essentially pieces taken from his blog and consists of lists of expressions Americans borrowed from the Brits with history and explanation. As such it is to me not really a book to sit down with for an evening, but I might pick it up at times when I have a few minutes to spare.
Unfortunately, I find the writing a bit disorganized, which makes even that option less attractive.
I did learn about some interesting sources of information that he uses to find the words, especially the Ngram Viewer, books.google.com/ngrams .

[Audrey]

DNF 12/24/24 @ about 50%. Largely based on Yagoda’s blog, this profiles the etymology of a number of Britishisms that have made their way to American English. One of the more intriguing parts is about syntax and grammar - the elements that reach beyond mere vocabulary. Overall well-written but the separate entries probably work better as a blog format for all but the most dedicated readers.

[Joanne Gass · Rating 3 out of 5]

I interrupted my reading of very difficult works, like Nexus, The Horse, and I Heard there was a Secret Chord, to rest my mind. So, this was a nice entertainment which served its purpose. As a lover of language I enjoyed the etymologies. Nice, lightweight reading.

[Artemie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun book to skim through and pick up some cheeky British expressions ;)

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Humorous and informative!

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great reference and the formatting of how accepted into the mainstream various terms are in American English is very helpful.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read.

[Popup-ch · Rating 3 out of 5]

An overview of recent (and some not-so-recent) British words that are taking place in American English.