Apparently, your biscuit is our cookie, our biscuits are more like your scones, and our scones aren't like our biscuits or your scones, they're drier and less flaky. Confusing!
Creative, this might be a good one to add to your comedy routine.
I would say "yes". It is a language thing. Some folks use buttermilk, others use just milk. But basically, they all are biscuits or scones as you folks call them. The buttermilk has a strong reaction to the baking powder or baking soda. There are a lot of different recipes calling for one or the other or even both. The liquid could be buttermilk or just milk. I have heard of some folks using even just water.
Buttermilk is/was a traditional Southern ingredient for biscuits and has spread to the rest of our country.
creative, as far as I can tell the recipes for U.S. biscuits and British scones are quite similar except that scones include a fair amount of sugar (at least 1/4 cup, U.S.). This is similar to the basic recipe I use for my scones: Simple Sweet Scones.
Dawg, I've baked scones for years. They were one of Himself's favorite "new" foods he found when we moved to MA, since we had never noticed them in Cleveland. A few years after the move, I found and bought this scone pan and started to make them at home. Mine have turned out dry only two times. It happened the first time I made them; after that time, I increased the liquid just a tiny amount. As little as an additional 1/2 tablespoon makes a big difference. The other time was when I had to make dozens of them for a women's club bake sale the next day and I baked some batches on sheet pans. The scones baked on the sheet pan were drier. In fact, it's about time I made some. I might put our central A/C to the test this week.