Americans mock Brits for what they call crossing guards

An American woman has gone viral for her hilarious reaction to finding out what British people call a crossing guard.

They're mostly seen outside school gates in Britain, stopping traffic and waving kids to safely cross the road in high-visibility jackets with a big, bold sign.

Brits call them 'lollipop men' or 'lollipop ladies', and this is something TikToker Monica Patterson, who posts as @monicagartner, simply couldn't believe, bursting into hysterics when showing her British husband a picture of one and asking him to name the job title in a video.

In the post, Monica says: "There are not many things in life that shock me anymore, but I saw a video today and consider myself very shocked.

"I've been dating my British husband for eight years, married for two, and only today did I learn this."

She shows a video of TikTok user Brittan Tolford saying: "Next time you hear a British person talking any kind of s**t about Americans, any at all, ask them what this person's job title is," going on to show a photo of what Americans call a crossing guard.

Unaware of the reaction he is about to provoke, Monica's husband is shown the same photo and he innocently calls the job a 'lollipop lady'.

Hysterically, Monica says 'that's the cutest thing I've ever heard in my life', to which her husband says: "I'm so done."

And users from all over the world have had their say in the comments.

An American commented: "Genuine question, why lollipop lady? Is it cuz the signs look like lollipops? Cuz in America we call them crossing guards."

Lots of Brits leapt to the defence of calling them lollipop men and ladies, with one saying: "Lollipop lady is the correct answer. Or Lollipop man if it's a guy."

Another said: "It would be weird to me if they weren't called a lollipop lady/man."

It's not just in Britain they seem to be called lollipop men and ladies either.

An Australian user commented: "What’s so funny? As an Australian I can confirm that Lollipop Lady is in fact their job title!"

A Canadian user said: "I'm Canadian and have always called them this."

The clip went viral again after being shared on X / Twitter.

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