I've never thought of "parentheses" as being a US-English term, after all we have the word "parenthetical"*. I'd agree "parentheses" is a bit technical compare

I've never thought of "parentheses" as being a US-English term, after all we have the word "parenthetical"*. I'd agree "parentheses" is a bit technical compared to "brackets", but I'd certainly expect any native speaker to know what it meant. *) Plus there's the very English joke, and no this isn't something generated by ChatGPT: One day, Shakespeare and Marlowe encountered an elderly man with a very straight back and bandy legs. After the old man passed by, Shakespeare turned to his colleague and said: "Marlowe, if you were to include that man in your next play, how would you introduce him?" Without any hesitation, Marlowe replied: "Lo! Here comes a venerable gent, his back is straight, though his legs are bent." Marlowe then said: "Will, how would you put it?" Shakespeare pondered a moment then suggested: "What manner of man is this, who wears his balls in parenthesis?""