The US pint (pt) is an imperial volume unit equal to one-eighth of a US gallon or approximately 0.4732 liters, best known for sizing beer glasses and ice cream containers in America. The phrase 'a pint is a pound the world around' captures its colloquial significance, though a pint of water actually weighs about 1.043 pounds. One US pint equals exactly 16 US fluid ounces.

The US cup is a volume unit equal to 8 US fluid ounces or approximately 0.2366 liters, the standard measurement in American recipes and cookbooks. When a recipe calls for 'one cup of flour' or 'half a cup of sugar,' it refers to this specific volume, not a drinking vessel of arbitrary size. One US cup equals exactly 236.588 milliliters.