Which came first, the chicken..?

Or the egg? Yes, we say this in the States. Do you also say it in the UK? You see, that is precisely my dilemna: I simply don't know. And not only do I not know which expressions and sayings are also used in the UK, I also can't be sure where they originated. Forgive me for sounding like the former U.S. defense minister Donald Rumsfeld who amazed the English-speaking world (I wouldn't be surprised if even certain unnamed persons in Buckingham Palace changed their stoic never-changing facial expressions for one of surprise, utter bewilderment or even amusement!) with his deeply philosophical declaration: "There are things that we don't know, that we know we don't know, and things that we don't know that we don't know that we don't know..." Anyway, back to my point. I recently published a book (El inglés correcto e informal: Un glosario estadounidense, David S. Luton, 2008) which is intended for Spanish-speaking people who are learning English and whose title translates in English: Proper and Informal English: An American Glossary. Actually, the Spanish word that I used which translates American (estadounidense) literally means pertaining to the United States (i.e. excluding Canada) because the book contains a chapter on American slang, informal speech, idioms and other various terms of cultural importance (like Americana and Dixie, and even British terms such as Union Jack and John Bull since I also mentioned the American equivalents: Old Glory and Uncle Sam; I also included words like the verb cherish which is neither informal nor exclusive to the US, but which I considered an important verb which has no exact Spanish equivalent). I made a point of stating in that chapter's introduction that many of these words, terms and expressions are also used in the UK and other English-speaking countries;however, I used the word estadounidense because I could only be sure that all of them were used (or at least understood in the U.S.). That is to say, I have no way of knowing which ones are also used or at least understand in the UK or Canada or Australia, etc. Of course, I suppose that there are also situations where two countries use the same expression, but with slightly different wording (for example Americans say "Knock on wood." and I believe the British say "Touch wood.", i.e. for good luck). I also have a great interest in traditional children songs and nursery rhymes (children poems, the most famous being Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes). I was amazed to find out via my internet research that the famous "Ring around the Rosies" nursery rhyme (that's how we call it in the States, I believe that in the UK they call it "Ring a Ring o' Roses" or something similar) has different variations in almost every English-speaking country (i.e. Canada's version is slightly different from ours which is slightly different from Australia's which is slightly different from the UK's, etc.). I also found it interesting that the traditional Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes in US have slightly different wording from the modern version used by children in the US (including the versions that I used as a child in the 70's). So I ended up buying two different books of Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes: one which contained the poems in their traditional American form which I believe date to the 19th century or possibly even the 18th century, and another which contains more modern versions of the same. My belief is that the wording of the tradional Mother Goose nursery rhymes in the US are probably very similar to the wording of the same in the UK (but I have never verified this, and I suppose that the wording has possibly changed somewhat in the UK, but I can't be sure; for that reason I welcome the input of my British friends concerning this!). I suppose that there are persons who have already done extensive research regarding which slang words and idioms are used in common amongst English-speaking countries and which one's are unique to certain countries, and my hat would certainly be off to that person or persons (another expression that we use!). I assume that many informal words, expressions and idioms used in the US (possibly including the one I just used) have their origins in the UK. However, I also recognize that many Americanisms have found their way into the UK (I recently read a blog from someone from the UK who was complaining about this trend). In closing, I will give one example. In the US, we have a saying: The proof is in the pudding. This is one that I would assume has its origin in the UK (but how do I really know that it didn't come from Canada or Australia or even originate in the US?). I believe that there are books and websites available to answer such doubts. If only I had the time to read them!

Anyway, as always, I welcome comments and input from my friends from all over the world regarding this topic.