Two Nations Separated by a Common Language

This fine example of British understatement and grace under pressure comes an account of the Battle of the Imjin on page 218 of The Korean War by Max Hastings:

A British officer at brigade HQ believed that the Americans did not understand until much too late how desperate was the predicamate of 29 Brigade: "When Tom told Corps that his position was 'a bit sticky,' they simply did not grasp that in British Army parlance, that meant 'critical.'

I had always thought that the phrase I used in the title of this post came from Mark Twain, but, according to Inside the American language, "this phrase doesn't seem to have been positively recorded in this form by anyone" and originates from three possible sources:

In The Canterville Ghost Oscar Wilde wrote:

"We have really everything in common with America nowadays except, of course, language."

In a 1951 book of quotations, and without attributing a source, George Bernard Shaw was credited with saying:

"England and America are two countries separated by the same language."

Even Dylan Thomas had his say in a radio talk in the early 50s:

"[European writers and scholars in America are] up against the barrier of a common language."

My wife once saw someone on Korean television explain that the key to British pronunciation was not moving the upper lip. It seems this person took the phrase "stiff upper lip" a bit too literally.