List of British Words Not Widely Used in The United States - R

randy: (informal) having sexual desire, lustful, horny (now more common in the US because of the Austin Powers franchise)
ranker: an enlisted soldier or airman or (more rarely) a commissioned officer who has been promoted from enlisted status ("the ranks" * )
rashers *: cuts of bacon
rat-arsed: (slang) extremely drunk
recce: (informal) reconnoître, reconnaissance (pronounced recky) (US: recon)
recorded delivery: certified mail
reel of cotton: in the US is spool of thread
Register Office, Registry Office: official office where births, marriages and deaths are recorded; usu. refers to local Register Office (in each town or locality). General Register Office is the relevant government department. In England and Wales until 2001, almost all civil (non-church) marriages took place in the local Register Office; different laws apply in Scotland and N. Ireland. "Register Office" is the correct legal term, but "registry office" is in common informal use. (US: Office of Vital Statistics)
Return: A ticket that is valid for travel to a destination and back. A round trip ticket.
Right of way: path (usually an old one) upon which one has the right to travel regardless of land ownership. (Americans are likely to misunderstand the phrase to mean correct way although right-of-way is in use in the US.)
road-works: upgrade or repairs of roads (US: construction; roadwork )
rock: hard candy in cylindrical form often sold at holiday locations and made so that the location's name appears on the end even when broken. (US: no exact equivalent, but similar to a candy cane)
rodgering: (vulgar) to engage in a sexual act, or suggest it. e.g.: "I'd give her a good rodgering!"
ropey: (informal) chancy; of poor quality; uncertain (see dodgy). Can also mean unwell when used in the form to feel ropey
row *: a fight or argument (rhymes with cow)
reverse charge call: a telephone call for which the recipient pays (US and UK also: collect call); also v. to reverse charge *, to make such a call (dated in US, used in the 1934 American film It Happened One Night – US usually: to call collect)
rota: a roll call or roster of names, or round or rotation of duties
roundabout: a circular multi-exit road junction. (US: rotary junction; traffic circle)
(the) rozzers: 1.(rare slang) Police ("Quick, the rozzers! Scarper!") – possibly from Robert Peel, who also gave his name to two other slang terms for the police: peelers (archaic) and bobbies (becoming old-fashioned).
rubber: a pencil eraser (US: eraser. The word eraser is additionally used in the US to refer to a blackboard eraser. "Rubber" in the US is a slang term for a condom.)
rubbish: worthless, unwanted material that is rejected or thrown out; debris; litter (US: trash, garbage)
rucksack *: a backpack.
rug muncher: a lesbian. also carpet muncher.
rumpy pumpy: sexual intercourse, used jokingly. (Popularised by its usage in The Black Adder and subsequent series; the suggestion of actor Alex Norton of a Scots term.)