Ha. You mean wafflers…
"Waffles are just pancakes with syrup traps." Mitch Hedberg (RIP)
"I am the Waffler. With my griddle of justice, I BASH the enemy in the head, or I burn them like so! - I also have some truth syrup, which is low-fat."
What Charlotte said. They are made with a thin batter of flour, eggs and milk (similar to the one you'd use to cover the fish for your English-style fish and chips) cooked with a little oil over a fairly high heat. They are a weird combination of crispy and golden and slightly almost rubbery and flexible, and they are basically vehicles for the filling (like a tortilla I guess, except both savoury and sweet fillings are common). Not at all fluffy and cakey like American ones, which are more like our griddle cakes or drop scones. Completely different animal.
It's traditional to eat them on Shrove Tuesday because they were originally a way to use up all the "forbidden" foods you weren't going to eat during Lent. We call it Pancake Day now, and often people only eat pancakes on that day for no real reason that I can see.
I made some for lunch today after reading this thread. One with cheese and chives, one with tomatoes, oregano and feta, followed by a couple with lemon juice and sugar. The dog got one with peanut butter and a touch of Marmite. Mine were pretty good. I don't know about the dog's, but it can't have been horrible judging by the speed at which it disappeared.
We have a place in Pittsburgh that sells the English style of Pancakes, It's a political stop for Presidential Cantidates even.
If you ever end up in Pittsburgh go to Pamela's Pancakes. They are worth it.
Flapjacks. I imagine it's the mana the jews ate in the desert for 40 years.
And there's another of those transatlantic differences. US flapjack is a pancake. UK flapjack is a baked oat bar made with butter and golden syrup.
Sounds good too.
What the heck is golden syrup? Is that your weird British name for honey or something? 
Yum, crepes.
From Wikipedia: Golden syrup is a pale treacle. It is a thick, amber-coloured form of inverted sugar syrup, made in the process of refining sugar cane or sugar beet juice into sugar, or by treatment of a sugar solution with acid.
A bit like molasses, but lighter and not so strong tasting, less bitter. It's delicious. We use it in baking or for making toffee, and it's also good drizzled over things like pancakes, à la maple syrup. Steamed sponge cake with syrup on the top served with custard is a very English dessert, and very tasty it is too.
Apparently it's hard to find in the States but it's used in Louisiana Cajun cooking.
There are also waffles (Scandinavian) which taste completely different.
Also lots of different kinds of European pancakes. A favourite of mine is a Russian pancake that I can't remember the name of, that's made with cottage cheese. Yum. I make them with lemon zest and raisins.
My partner and I have daydreamed of opening a "House of Pancakes that are actually International", where we would serve American pancakes, Dutch stroopwafels, Chinese scallion pancakes, French crepes, and so forth. I was not aware than English pancakes were savory.
Well they aren't sweet. They are perfectly happy with either sweet or savoury fillings, but I'd say that sweet fillings are more common.
I, for one, have never had a savoury filling in a pancake, only sugar, honey, golden syrup or other equally bad-for-you-but-oh-so-tasty flavouring thingys. The savoury aspect just isn't appealing to me.
*relevant to Silverleaf's comment because I live in England
It's only like having Yorkshire Pudding with your Sunday roast. Not that a Southerner like you would understand yorkies properly anyway…
I love yorkshire puddings, I hate roast, I'm sure it has nothing to do with me being Southern, just that I'm me (and weird).
Also, I hesitate to admit this but I am an Englishman who hates tea. It is my secret shame.
I hope I will someday get the chance to try a Russian hamburger at a place in St. Paul…
Also, assuming my current financial crisis gets sorted, I would totally eat at a HOPTAAI.
Seconded!
I may not be a englishman, but I don't liek tea either