words in england that mean something totally different in america!!
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CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »stanmann571 wrote: »CoffeeAndContour wrote: »Bugger
I think the actual meaning of this is the same on both sides of the pond, it's just that Americans don't usually use it as an expletive.
I can think of another that has an extremely derogatory meaning in the U.S. but is slang in the UK for a cigarette. The original derogatory meaning was probably the same for both and referred to burning a certain segment of society during heretic burning times.
I've never heard an American use bugger, as an expletive or otherwise... unless they had had cross cultural exposure...
It's amusing that the MFP *kitten* filter doesn't pick it up...
Right. Exactly. (Although I have seen the word used descriptively if in hushed tones here for sure. It is just that, again, it is not as common ...we have other words and word combinations we would tend to use instead.)
OTOH many people do have cross-cultural exposure.
But even so, "bugger" would be the extreme rarity.
However, my point was that it actually is a word on this side of the pond which has exactly the same original (very graphic) meaning for both.
'Bugger' when used in the UK, (I say UK because I am from Scotland, not England), is quite commonly used. It's not classed as being 'extremely derogatory', far from it! In fact you tend to find that 'posh' people use the word bugger more often.
Oh and by the way, we don't drive on the 'wrong' side of the road, we drive on the left........
No, we don't consider it derogatory either (derogatory is more about insulting one particular group, and that just doesn't fit here), we consider it shocking (and it gives a visual of the act).
Hence we really don't use it. I'm aware that Brits do not have the same view, which is why I brought it up. The fact that we use it and think of it so differently fits the idea of the thread.
Im american and I think a lot of americans get offended easily over words or stupid things compared to people in the UK. or at least thats what I have witnessed.
Yeah, good thing Brits are never offended by Yanks. LOL.
(ducking)
I kind of thought that was why you guys loved us...
lol see now yanks or yankees is a word for people from the eat coast usually those in the new england areas, I live in west virginia(Im from new england,Connecticut to be more exact) and people here are called rednecks(hick is derogatory),or southerners.0 -
CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »stanmann571 wrote: »CoffeeAndContour wrote: »Bugger
I think the actual meaning of this is the same on both sides of the pond, it's just that Americans don't usually use it as an expletive.
I can think of another that has an extremely derogatory meaning in the U.S. but is slang in the UK for a cigarette. The original derogatory meaning was probably the same for both and referred to burning a certain segment of society during heretic burning times.
I've never heard an American use bugger, as an expletive or otherwise... unless they had had cross cultural exposure...
It's amusing that the MFP *kitten* filter doesn't pick it up...
Right. Exactly. (Although I have seen the word used descriptively if in hushed tones here for sure. It is just that, again, it is not as common ...we have other words and word combinations we would tend to use instead.)
OTOH many people do have cross-cultural exposure.
But even so, "bugger" would be the extreme rarity.
However, my point was that it actually is a word on this side of the pond which has exactly the same original (very graphic) meaning for both.
'Bugger' when used in the UK, (I say UK because I am from Scotland, not England), is quite commonly used. It's not classed as being 'extremely derogatory', far from it! In fact you tend to find that 'posh' people use the word bugger more often.
Oh and by the way, we don't drive on the 'wrong' side of the road, we drive on the left........
No, we don't consider it derogatory either (derogatory is more about insulting one particular group, and that just doesn't fit here), we consider it shocking (and it gives a visual of the act). Hence we really don't use it. I'm aware that Brits do not have the same view, which is why I brought it up. The fact that we use it and think of it so differently fits the idea of the thread.
Im american and I think a lot of americans get offended easily over words or stupid things compared to people in the UK. or at least thats what I have witnessed.
Yeah, good thing Brits are never offended by Yanks. LOL.
(ducking)
I kind of thought that was why you guys loved us...
lol see now yanks or yankees is a word for people from the eat coast usually those in the new england areas, I live in west virginia(Im from new england,Connecticut to be more exact) and people here are called rednecks(hick is derogatory),or southerners.
Yes...I'm from the northeast. However, British seem to universally call us yanks...which I don't mind at all and think is fun.
Both uses actually refer to the American Revolution (originally) so this one is an oldie but a goodie!1 -
We too have different names for people from different areas of England..londoners are cockney...liverpool are scousers(amongst other things!!) Newcastle are geordies. Birmingham are brummies etc..when I've been in america and they hear the English accent they always say 'are you from london'..not are you from England!1
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CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »stanmann571 wrote: »CoffeeAndContour wrote: »Bugger
I think the actual meaning of this is the same on both sides of the pond, it's just that Americans don't usually use it as an expletive.
I can think of another that has an extremely derogatory meaning in the U.S. but is slang in the UK for a cigarette. The original derogatory meaning was probably the same for both and referred to burning a certain segment of society during heretic burning times.
I've never heard an American use bugger, as an expletive or otherwise... unless they had had cross cultural exposure...
It's amusing that the MFP *kitten* filter doesn't pick it up...
Right. Exactly. (Although I have seen the word used descriptively if in hushed tones here for sure. It is just that, again, it is not as common ...we have other words and word combinations we would tend to use instead.)
OTOH many people do have cross-cultural exposure.
But even so, "bugger" would be the extreme rarity.
However, my point was that it actually is a word on this side of the pond which has exactly the same original (very graphic) meaning for both.
'Bugger' when used in the UK, (I say UK because I am from Scotland, not England), is quite commonly used. It's not classed as being 'extremely derogatory', far from it! In fact you tend to find that 'posh' people use the word bugger more often.
Oh and by the way, we don't drive on the 'wrong' side of the road, we drive on the left........
No, we don't consider it derogatory either (derogatory is more about insulting one particular group, and that just doesn't fit here), we consider it shocking (and it gives a visual of the act). Hence we really don't use it. I'm aware that Brits do not have the same view, which is why I brought it up. The fact that we use it and think of it so differently fits the idea of the thread.
Im american and I think a lot of americans get offended easily over words or stupid things compared to people in the UK. or at least thats what I have witnessed.
not true.
post reported !2 -
blueyandcrazee wrote: »We too have different names for people from different areas of England..londoners are cockney...liverpool are scousers(amongst other things!!) Newcastle are geordies. Birmingham are brummies etc..when I've been in america and they hear the English accent they always say 'are you from london'..not are you from England!
I'm finding your thoughts on this thread fun and totally interesting!
Sorry to not be sarcastic there for a minute, LOL. Just wanted to let you know!0 -
Rubber
Actually had my boss from the UK as our office manager if she had a rubber he could borrow.... she lost it...
Rubber US = Condom
Rubber UK = Eraser3 -
blueyandcrazee wrote: »We too have different names for people from different areas of England..londoners are cockney...liverpool are scousers(amongst other things!!) Newcastle are geordies. Birmingham are brummies etc..when I've been in america and they hear the English accent they always say 'are you from london'..not are you from England!
I used to work with a girl from the Phillipenes whose duty it was to train the new waiters. So I ask what the new person is like and Josie said 'she's from your part of the world' ok, so she's English? Yes was the answer. So I meet the girl, she's Welsh, I go back to the Josie and say, btw, she's Welsh, not English. To which Josie told me 'it's all the same country' and I said no, it's a different country. I couldn't convince her it was a separate country - because the land is stuck together! (Even though she knew that France and Spain were both countries)
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rugratz2015 wrote: »
Yes, we'd also give people a 'lift', either in a car, or for a child we'd 'lift' them off the floor, or carry/hold them for a while.
Where in the world are you??
Birmingham England, but I now live in Ireland.0 -
Rubber
Actually had my boss from the UK as our office manager if she had a rubber he could borrow.... she lost it...
Rubber US = Condom
Rubber UK = Eraser
So THIS is why the teacher looked upset when I told him I was giving him a bunch of rubbers as an End of the Year gift.
Or maybe that was excitement?1 -
Yard. As far as I can tell, in America, it's your garden or lawn, generally small piece of land belonging to your house?
In the UK, the word yard isn't used much for land, except in compound words (backyard, scrapyard), but when it is, it is always a paved or gravelled space. Never a lawn, so you could never "mow a yard".
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HeliumIsNoble wrote: »Yard. As far as I can tell, in America, it's your garden or lawn, generally small piece of land belonging to your house?
In the UK, the word yard isn't used much for land, except in compound words (backyard, scrapyard), but when it is, it is always a paved or gravelled space. Never a lawn, so you could never "mow a yard".
Oh! Yes. A "garden" on this side of the pond is something deliberately planted...usually veggies, flowers...you can have a garden ON your lawn somewhere but the whole thing together with all the grass and stuff is a lawn. 0 -
Hang on? You can call the whole thing a lawn?HeliumIsNoble wrote: »Yard. As far as I can tell, in America, it's your garden or lawn, generally small piece of land belonging to your house?
In the UK, the word yard isn't used much for land, except in compound words (backyard, scrapyard), but when it is, it is always a paved or gravelled space. Never a lawn, so you could never "mow a yard".
Oh! Yes. A "garden" on this side of the pond is something deliberately planted...usually veggies, flowers...you can have a garden ON your lawn somewhere but the whole thing together with all the grass and stuff is a lawn.
Here, only the grass is a lawn. So, for example, in a typical good-sized suburban garden, I might have a patio, some flowerbeds, and a lawn.
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I just came back from a year abroad in America and no one understood when I said I was " gutted " or if I said I was " chuffed" idk if this is slang or if the word itself differs but hey was very entertaining to try and see everyone guess lol2
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strawberrysnap wrote: »I just came back from a year abroad in America and no one understood when I said I was " gutted " or if I said I was " chuffed" idk if this is slang or if the word itself differs but hey was very entertaining to try and see everyone guess lol
I don't think it's slang, but I have used 'chuffed' on a FB group I'm in, where most members are from the states, and I've had to explain it. I thought it originated from the midlands? 'Gutted' isn't a word I use a lot, no idea where it originated from.0 -
This may make interesting reading for some
http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/birmingham-black-country-phrases-accent-64770591 -
rugratz2015 wrote: »strawberrysnap wrote: »I just came back from a year abroad in America and no one understood when I said I was " gutted " or if I said I was " chuffed" idk if this is slang or if the word itself differs but hey was very entertaining to try and see everyone guess lol
I don't think it's slang, but I have used 'chuffed' on a FB group I'm in, where most members are from the states, and I've had to explain it. I thought it originated from the midlands? 'Gutted' isn't a word I use a lot, no idea where it originated from.
I honestly had to google chuffed.0 -
Chips in the US means potato crisps and chips in the UK means french fries.0
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HeliumIsNoble wrote: »
Hang on? You can call the whole thing a lawn?HeliumIsNoble wrote: »Yard. As far as I can tell, in America, it's your garden or lawn, generally small piece of land belonging to your house?
In the UK, the word yard isn't used much for land, except in compound words (backyard, scrapyard), but when it is, it is always a paved or gravelled space. Never a lawn, so you could never "mow a yard".
Oh! Yes. A "garden" on this side of the pond is something deliberately planted...usually veggies, flowers...you can have a garden ON your lawn somewhere but the whole thing together with all the grass and stuff is a lawn.
Here, only the grass is a lawn. So, for example, in a typical good-sized suburban garden, I might have a patio, some flowerbeds, and a lawn.
Well no, I mean...you would cut away part of your lawn so the garden would be "in" it. I mean...that whole rectangle of grass is the lawn.
And then everything around your house that's within your property is "your yard."
It didn't make sense the way I explained it, sorry.0 -
Whew! *wipes forehead*HeliumIsNoble wrote: »
Hang on? You can call the whole thing a lawn?HeliumIsNoble wrote: »Yard. As far as I can tell, in America, it's your garden or lawn, generally small piece of land belonging to your house?
In the UK, the word yard isn't used much for land, except in compound words (backyard, scrapyard), but when it is, it is always a paved or gravelled space. Never a lawn, so you could never "mow a yard".
Oh! Yes. A "garden" on this side of the pond is something deliberately planted...usually veggies, flowers...you can have a garden ON your lawn somewhere but the whole thing together with all the grass and stuff is a lawn.
Here, only the grass is a lawn. So, for example, in a typical good-sized suburban garden, I might have a patio, some flowerbeds, and a lawn.
Well no, I mean...you would cut away part of your lawn so the garden would be "in" it. I mean...that whole rectangle of grass is the lawn.
And then everything around your house that's within your property is "your yard."
It didn't make sense the way I explained it, sorry.
For a moment there, I thought I was going to be forced to backtrack on my descriptivist stance of 'there is no true English and usages are only right or wrong within particular contexts, including but not limited to cultural, historical or geographical contexts". Some things would be a bridge too far, they really would.
I'm going to have a lie down now, after that excitement.
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