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transatlantic swearing

interpolator
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danr interpolator
i've gotten used to our US cousins using "wank" and it's various derivations, but suddenly somewhere else on this board vermillion hits us with a "miserable twat" which made me laugh for more than one reason

when did this all start happening and why? Hey, i'm not complaining, i think it's great - just wondering is all.

It's also kind of odd, what with all the american TV and movies that we live on, that you almost never hear people in the UK using american swearing. Slang's more common of course, but even the word "guy" or "buddy" tends to hang in the air with too much weight ...

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  • MoP
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    MoP polycounter lvl 18
    I dunno, I hear people say "guy" quite a lot, all across the country (although you're right about "buddy").
    But yeah, it's always funny hearing UK-isms (especially obscure slang/swearing) from foreign people. Partly because it's so unexpected.
  • Carl Brannstrom
    Actually..... I have heard people here use "bollox" :s
    I guess its taken from brits when they are playing world of warcraft. Bollox wanker smile.gif

    Some people even use "fuck", this sounds incredibly stupid when they are talking swedish and suddenly say "fucking" in the middle of the sentence..
  • notman
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    notman polycounter lvl 18
    I work with a British guy and we poke fun with each other all the time about the different cultures. One thing that I like to use that gets a reaction out of him is the word 'Rim-shot'. I'm usually refering to someone making a really cheesy joke, and I'll say, "and me without my rim-shot", meaning the symbol you'd hear in old comedy routines. Apparently rim-shot means something TOTALLY different in the UK. He never explains to me what it means to him, but I know it's a sexual thing and probably a homosexual action... but not sure on that yet wink.gif
  • indian_boy
    lol... rim-shots...
    srry... that was uncalled for
  • Michael Knubben
    notman: that's cymbal you mean, and don't americans use the expression rimjob? Google that, it should tell you more than enough laugh.gif
  • rooster
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    rooster mod
    I think the rimshot reference is the 'badadum' before the cymbal? at a guess
  • MoP
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    MoP polycounter lvl 18
    A rim shot in drumming is usually when you hit the top edge (the rim) of the snare drum while still hitting the skin, it gives more of a "pow" sound than a standard hit.
  • Hollowmind
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    Hollowmind polycounter lvl 18
    It's more fun using UK swear words. They're so cute sounding. :P Plus I've watched movies like Shaun of the Dead, Snatch, and Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels way too many times.
  • notman
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    notman polycounter lvl 18
    Yeah, rooster and MoP are right about what I'm refering to... I know it's really the hit on the drum, but the whole routine that Rooster mentioned is what I've always heard of as a 'rim-shot' (aside from the basketball reference). And yeah, it's cymbal (Thanks pea, forgot it had a different spelling).

    I've also heard of a rimjob, but it's been so long since I've heard that term that I had forgotten about it and didn't make the connection... thanks laugh.gif
  • Neo_God
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    Neo_God polycounter lvl 18
    Though there's still the one word ,at least I've heard, that the British throw around fairly freely, which is cunt, and that one seems to be a pretty big word in the US, especially if you're calling a girl it.
  • thomasp
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    thomasp hero character
    what irritates me all the time is how many of my coworkers (from all over the world, really) understand german swearwords. takes away your secret language, somehow. CoD, private ryan - or what else could be the reason?

    as for english swearwords: currently i often use the term "faggot" i picked up from a french guy. not sure what it means exactly, too lazy to look it up - but the reactions to throwing it around can be quite amazing. smile.gif
    "cunt" is also high on my list for making new friends.
  • Hollowmind
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    Hollowmind polycounter lvl 18
    haha you don't know what faggot means? I won't ruin it for you then. laugh.gif
  • Justin Meisse
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    Justin Meisse polycounter lvl 19
    the internets is how it's spreading. People should start using maroon more, as in Bugs Bunny's "what a maroon!"
  • killingpeople
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    killingpeople polycounter lvl 18
    faggot is used as a derogatory term for a homosexual. it's defined in the bible as a bundle of sticks. put some faggots in the fire moses.

    coolest cut down:
    http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=bodagit
  • fogmann
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    fogmann polycounter lvl 17
    There's even some pictures here.
    I wish urban dictionary had a thesaurus, to look up cross continental equivalents for slang words.
  • blankslatejoe
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    blankslatejoe polycounter lvl 19
    I dont think the bundle of sticks definition has anything to do with the bible..it's just an euro definition.

    isn't a 'fag' also a term for a cigarette or something for you brits?
  • acc
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    acc polycounter lvl 18
    "Smoking a fag" always gets laughs over here.

    Rimshot immediately made me think of rimjobs... and basketball. Tells you a lot about what I think of basketball. smile.gif

    I think most people in NA learn the UK lingo off TV. Any time a "british" character appears on any show they'll say wanker or bollocks or the like. Most people have seen at least some of the old British comedies as well.
  • Justin Meisse
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    Justin Meisse polycounter lvl 19
    Two slang words I've picked up in Florida are: bumbaclot and pu
  • killingpeople
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    killingpeople polycounter lvl 18
    [ QUOTE ]
    I dont think the bundle of sticks definition has anything to do with the bible..

    [/ QUOTE ]

    it doesn't have anything major to do with the bible other than it being in its glossary. i looked up cuss words among other things in the bible when i wasn't sleeping in church.
  • SkullboX
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    SkullboX polycounter lvl 18
    [ QUOTE ]
    Some people even use "fuck", this sounds incredibly stupid when they are talking swedish and suddenly say "fucking" in the middle of the sentence..

    [/ QUOTE ]

    Same here in the Netherlands, but it's already pretty common over here. Probably about a third of the TV media we receive here comes from the US without any censorship. Instead of bleeps we get the actual fucks. That's not even including all the subtitled movies from Hollywood. We're much too small a country to make dubbing lucrative.

    Besides that, 'fuck' can't help that it's such a cool word to use. smile.gif
  • Asmuel
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    Asmuel polycounter lvl 17
    [ QUOTE ]
    "Smoking a fag" always gets laughs over here.

    [/ QUOTE ]

    Lol yea, it always cracks me up when that Robby Williams song comes on the radio and he says 'My breath smells of a thousand fags' laugh.gif. Yes, I bet it does Robby...
  • danr
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    danr interpolator
    one of my favourite replies ever :

    "now you lot have finished arguing, i'm going back outside to finish off my fag"
    "oh, leave the poor boy alone"

    still chuckling about that 8 years later.

    i love the word "bollocks" (interneted down to bollox). I especially love the irish take on it, which has little to do with testicles and is often almost endearing ... eg "you little bollocks" and "oi! bollocks!" ... i once had a long conversation with a yank type in portland ME detailing these things, he even - honesetly- took out a notebook at one point.

    Then again, i jokingly bopped him (very lightly) on the nose at one point, which he and his mate took as an EXTREME insult ... after 10 minutes of sulken near-silence one of them decided to explain the insult, which, taken aback and somewhat embarrassed,I insisted they should return, as hard as they like. At which point he twatted me clear across the face, taking in a knuckleful of nose, causing me to recoil and calling him a "twatfaced arsehole fucking cunt" ... for some reason he was so impressed he bought me another beer. On my fuckin' debit card behind the bar, mind, but at least the thought was there
  • danr
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    danr interpolator
    while i'm about it i must champion (and explain, to save on any confusion) the noun "twat" (the female front bottom), the adjective "twat" (of a gentleman/lady of an particularly abrasive and anti social persuasion) and the verb "twat" (to strike roughly, across the nose, and other)
  • swampbug
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    swampbug polycounter lvl 18
    My friends mom who is 56ish, once during a conversation about slang with my friend and I, brought up a term that she used back in the day.

    "Gayblade"

    Which simply meant bad or lame. It sounds like the word comes from the day when "gay" was more known as to be cheerful.


    " Julia broke up with her boyfriend Warren because he was being gayblade, he called her everyday and constantly dumps his feelings all over the floor everytime they are together"

    "Man, that is soo GAYBLADE!!"
  • low odor
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    low odor polycounter lvl 17
  • Daz
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    Daz polycounter lvl 18
    It's all part of globalization I suppose. I see 'cheers' at the end of e-mails a lot over here now too.

    I've successfully gotten wanker and bollocks into my girlfriends vocabulary now (although Americans can never quite say it right. It always comes out more like bullocks). Im working my way up the crudeometer though. Pissflaps and soapytitwank are next on the agenda.
  • Daz
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    Daz polycounter lvl 18
    [ QUOTE ]
    when did this all start happening and why?

    [/ QUOTE ]

    Ror did it. I may have helped.
  • Psyk0
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    Psyk0 polycounter lvl 18
    You're all a bunch of tabarnaks.

    /me runs
  • Rick Stirling
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    Rick Stirling polycounter lvl 18
    I'm fuck all like a church.

    I blame Deadwood.
  • tacit math
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    tacit math polycounter lvl 17
    here. refering to one as a ' good cunt '. is high praise indeed. i hope to take that on a visit to the US some day
  • Ruz
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    Ruz polycount lvl 666
    well I have a 'viz'profanisaurus calendar on my wall space at work.
    you can see it on line here http://www.viz.co.uk/?%2Fprofanisaurus%2Fprofan_index.php%3Ffb%3D1

    it has a random profanity generator

    FUCKY DIP - Random Profanity Generator


    knob chopper n.

    Precariously balanced lavatory seat which falls down while you're having a piss and therefore must be held up manually.
  • JKMakowka
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    JKMakowka polycounter lvl 18
    I have my own take on this, which might or might not apply to American/English English, since it is technically the same language, but for non native speakers it is kind of like this:
    If you are really mad or just surprised by a sudden negative event than you usual use your native swear language, but if you are more joking etc, than using strange foreign words just come off your lips easier (and are usually more funny also).
  • nealb4me
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    nealb4me polycounter lvl 18
    I have heard some of my friends use the word "fuckwittery" to describe the state of being and general course of actions while out on the town.

    Also in Australia you don't simply have a big TV. It's a big FUCK OFF TV. This applies to all things large and impressive.
  • MoP
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    MoP polycounter lvl 18
    yeah, big fuckoff things are used over here in the UK too.
    "fuckwittery", i like smile.gif
  • Emil Mujanovic
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    Emil Mujanovic polycounter lvl 18
    The UK and Australia tend to have a similar choice in swear words... Well considering it was colonised by the English I'm not surprised.
    Me and my housemate just take one swear word and mix it with a non-swear word and voila.
    ie: Fuckstain, Asshelmet, Cuntrag, Cockgobbler.
    The word Bumballs gets used around the office a bit... Mainly by me though laugh.gif

    -caseyjones
  • TomDunne
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    TomDunne polycounter lvl 18
    Casey, that doesn't make any sense. America was also colonized by the English smile.gif

    Personally, my cursing knowns no boundaries. I've had friends in the UK for nearly half my life, and that has certainly broadened my horizons, but I've been freestyling my way through obscenity since highschool. Shitbiscuits and horseporn still pepper the tragic landscape that is my vocabulary wink.gif Sometimes, a 'miserable twat' is just simply called for, you know?
  • Frankie
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    Frankie polycounter lvl 20
    hey danr, explain what the insult of bopping him on the nose was! smile.gif
  • nealb4me
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    nealb4me polycounter lvl 18
    Lol casey. Some more: (Profanity+Professions)

    -Cock Janitor
    -Ass Gardener
    -Cock Jockey

    I tend to use bigger words than most people when speaking and every now and then something crass slips in. It's very natural though so I pull it off :P
  • JO420
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    JO420 polycounter lvl 18
    I personally prefer profanity from the UK/Australia. Sounds funnier i guess.
  • Emil Mujanovic
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    Emil Mujanovic polycounter lvl 18
    [ QUOTE ]
    Lol casey. Some more: (Profanity+Professions)

    -Cock Janitor
    -Ass Gardener
    -Cock Jockey

    [/ QUOTE ]
    Must be an aussie thing... I'm going to have use Ass Garderner on my housemate tonight, hahaha! I like that one.

    -caseyjones
  • moose
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    moose polycount sponsor
    Deadwood has done god damn amazing things for my fucking vocabulary.

    and yeah, Ror started it.

    a buddy and myself were booted from a bar one night (we had... a lot to drink), and i heard probably the most professional, masterful, and amazing spout of swearing i have ever heard in my life - at a police officer and bouncer no less. Europeans know how to swear.

    I like combinations of swear words. like pigfucker, or fuckstick. shitstain is fun too.

    I personally feel akward saying bollocks, git, twat, or any of the others... didn't grow up with those words, feels strange saying them to someone who uses em daily.
  • Steve Schulze
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    Steve Schulze polycounter lvl 18
    I need to learn more British rhyming slang. Berk is such a great insult.
  • AstroZombie
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    AstroZombie polycounter lvl 18
    I am often heard around the office using "for fook's sake" and "wee koont" in a fake Irish accent tongue.gif
  • almighty_gir
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    almighty_gir ngon master
    in the event you are shocked, and disappointed at the same time, a random stream of:

    oh fucking cock shit ass wank mother fucker...

    is usually appropriate.
  • Ruz
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    Ruz polycount lvl 666
    I reckon a twat is not as nasty as a cunt. feel free to discuss this.
    I class myself as more twattish than cuntish
  • Rick Stirling
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    Rick Stirling polycounter lvl 18
  • Ninjas
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    Ninjas polycounter lvl 18
    My parents used "twat" and "cunt" both, and I never really thought of them as english-- but I guess they are. One of my favorites is to call someone an "insufferable cunt".
  • danr
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    danr interpolator
    it's only relatively recently that "twat" became offensive again. In the 70s and early 80s it was considered okay for family consumption (erk) ... check out the opening titles of Fawlty Towers in that one episode (Flowery Twats), or Rik Mayall as Kevin Turvey shouting "yeah the same to you with bogeys wrapped round it, you TWAT" to someone off camera
  • Mongrelman
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    Mongrelman polycounter lvl 18
    Aye, twat is not all that offensive to most, but then most (that I come across here in the UK at least) don't realise it also means vagina. Cunt though, seems to be one of the most offensive things to people here. Many accept 'fuck' with no problem, but won't say "the 'C' word". Seen the same thing on TV here, comdey game show things where they throw fuck around a lot, they never say cunt.


    Myself? I like a nice string. "Bollocks to that shitwanking badger-bummer."
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