Scheme Is Neutral in Britain and Suspicious in America
A scheme is a plan. British English uses it for ordinary official plans; American English almost always implies something underhand.
A scheme is a plan or an organised arrangement. The word splits neatly across the Atlantic: in Britain a pension scheme, a recycling scheme and a housing scheme are all perfectly respectable, while in American English a scheme is nearly always something dishonest. Same word, opposite instincts, and a reliable source of misunderstanding.
- An official plan (British). *A council recycling scheme.*
- A dishonest plan. *A Ponzi scheme.*
- An arrangement or pattern. *A colour scheme.*
- Verb, to plot. *They schemed against him.*
- Rhyme scheme — the pattern of rhymes in verse. *An ABAB rhyme scheme.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | scheme | A grant scheme. |
| Plural | schemes | Two schemes. |
| Verb | scheme | He schemed for years. |
| Agent | schemer | A born schemer. |
| Adjective | scheming | A scheming rival. |
- The scheme closes to new applicants in April.British, neutral.
- Investors lost everything in the scheme.American, negative.
- The colour scheme was grey on grey.Design, neutral everywhere.
Words that split across the Atlantic
- Scheme — a plan in Britain, a plot in America
- Quite — fairly in Britain, very in America
- Homely — cosy in Britain, plain-looking in America
- Table a motion — put it forward in Britain, set it aside in America
- Momentarily — for a moment in Britain, in a moment in America
Latin *schema*, a figure or form, from Greek *skhema*. English first used it for a diagram or figure of speech in the 1500s; the sense of a plan followed, and the negative shade grew in the 1700s.
Is scheme always negative?
Not in British English, where a scheme is often an official programme. In American English the negative sense dominates.
What is a rhyme scheme?
The pattern of rhymes in a poem, written as letters: ABAB means the first and third lines rhyme, and so do the second and fourth.