The following five ways sports terms are discussed/referred to differently between the US and the UK show that the George Bernard Shaw quote is true: “England and America are two countries separated by a common language.” American fans who become interested in following UK heavily-followed sports like soccer and rugby may be confused by some terminology that they see or hear. Here’s a clarification of some terms.

“Table” vs. “standings”

American sports fans wanting to know how the playoff picture is looking and/or how their favorite team is stacking up in their division or conference will go online to sites like ESPN.com or the sports pages of their newspapers. Yet if you follow UK sports like rugby or football (soccer), you won’t find sections called “Standings” because the term “Table” is used.

“Fixtures” vs. “schedule”

For UK sports, there seems to be this fascination with connecting household items (like “table” and “fixtures”) with the activities involving athletic human endeavor. Fans in the USA wanting to know when the big game is coming on TV or wanting to buy tickets to see it live will look to the “Schedule,” though our counterparts in jolly ol’ England will look under the word “Fixtures” to get the same information.

“Dressing room” vs. “locker room”

When the off the field news, scuttlebutt, and rumors are talked about amongst American sportscasters and color commentators, there is often a reference made to such tidbits coming from the locker room. In contrast, when you view a sporting event taking place in the UK and the same type of subjects come up, the term “dressing room” is primarily used. Such a dainty term to be applied to the venues of rough and tumble UK athletes, isn’t it?

“Sixes and sevens” vs. “confused, chaotic, or ‘expletive’ defending/play”

You and your buddies are watching a basketball game, and your team is doing really bad on defense, getting beat constantly and acting as if they are without a clue. Well, besides the four-letter words that you’d blurt out about your team’s play, you could say nicely the defense is acting confused or is in disarray. Well, when the UK match commentators want to describe the same thing happening on the soccer pitch (field), the words “(at) sixes and sevens” will often come out of their mouths.

“Derby” vs. “rivalry”

Michigan vs. Ohio State. Texas vs. Oklahoma. The New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox. In America, we refer to such matches as rivalries. But when one is discussing the hotly-contested matches involving Barclays Premier League matches between Chelsea vs. Arsenal, Manchester United vs. Liverpool, etc., these contests are each referred to as a “derby.” In America, the term “derby” doesn’t have a big usage except when referring to the first Triple Crown race of the year at Churchill Downs.

See: Yahoo Sports