American English
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American English
Thanks to Wipeout US, I have learnt that BOLLOCKS and SPASTIC are both completely OK words to use on US national primetime TV, not offensive at all apparently.
This surprised me very much. Perhaps you might like to share my surprise at the above and/or provide some surprising American word knowledge of your own.
"Spasticky bollocks."
This surprised me very much. Perhaps you might like to share my surprise at the above and/or provide some surprising American word knowledge of your own.
"Spasticky bollocks."
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Re: American English
I remember when I first heard Marge say "fanny packs" in The Simpsons. I childishly laughed for years before knowing this was perfectly normal. My mum then met a Canadian on holiday last year and she too childishly laughed when she said "fanny pack". She's 49.
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Re: American English
A couple of years ago we saw a trailer for Footballers' Wives on BBC America and it included a scene with one of the WAGs calling someone a wanker. This trailer was being shown in the middle of the day. Needless to say, we found it quite funny.
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Re: American English
They get VERY uppity about the c-word though, especially if you call a woman it, for some reason.
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Re: American English
This reminded me of the following exchange on Buzzcocks, which isn't even that funny now, but I spent so long trying to find it I'm posting it anyway, you cunts.Jon O'Neill wrote:They get VERY uppity about the c-word though, especially if you call a woman it, for some reason.
Simon Amstell: I think he's a cunt.
Anthea Turner (outraged): You can't say that! You can't say that if you don't have one.
SA: What?
AT: You can't say that word unless you have one!
SA: What? I don't have an umbrella either...
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Re: American English
There was an episode of Mork and Mindy with a music shop owner called Mr. Wanker, which Channel 4 seemed happy to show at five o'clock in the afternoon. Also, Peggy's maiden name in Married With Children is Wanker and there's a few episodes featuring her extended family, The Wankers.Karen Pearson wrote:A couple of years ago we saw a trailer for Footballers' Wives on BBC America and it included a scene with one of the WAGs calling someone a wanker. This trailer was being shown in the middle of the day. Needless to say, we found it quite funny.
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Re: American English
Meet the Conts is coming out soon.
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Re: American English
In high school, I knew some people who would use "bloody" as an intensifier, because it was British and therefore cool (in contexts where they wouldn't use more obscene intensifiers). It's not considered nearly as bad a word here as I've been told it is in the UK.
I also hear people saying "bugger" all the time (even in contexts where one would expect polite language, e.g. with youngish kids), to mean someone who annoys or "bugs" people…apparently a certain salient meaning of the word is not common knowledge in the US (I'm not sure how I learned it).
But I just looked it up in the OED online, and apparently it can also mean someone who installs concealed microphones. Some of the quotations for that sense are pretty amusing, like "1983 Daily Tel. 31 Mar. 15/5 Chris Serle was asking himself: ‘What technology is available to the bugger of today?’"
I also hear people saying "bugger" all the time (even in contexts where one would expect polite language, e.g. with youngish kids), to mean someone who annoys or "bugs" people…apparently a certain salient meaning of the word is not common knowledge in the US (I'm not sure how I learned it).
But I just looked it up in the OED online, and apparently it can also mean someone who installs concealed microphones. Some of the quotations for that sense are pretty amusing, like "1983 Daily Tel. 31 Mar. 15/5 Chris Serle was asking himself: ‘What technology is available to the bugger of today?’"
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Re: American English
Slightly off topic, but I was shocked one time watching Neighbours when Marco (Carmella's boyfriend who died in a forest fire) called himself a wog. Apparently, in Australia, it's a term for an Italian or Greek and is not considered offensive.
And her family live in Wanker County.JimBentley wrote:Also, Peggy's maiden name in Married With Children is Wanker and there's a few episodes featuring her extended family, The Wankers.
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Re: American English
Haha yeah, I'd forgotten that. I used to love the baseness and grotesquerie of Married With Children, is it still on anywhere? It used to be on Paramount but that's long gone, and ITV probably consider it too classy for their schedule these days.Martin Bishop wrote:And her family live in Wanker County.JimBentley wrote:Also, Peggy's maiden name in Married With Children is Wanker and there's a few episodes featuring her extended family, The Wankers.
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Re: American English
I haven't watched it recently, but I think it may still be lurking on one of the ITV channels. It used to be regular family viewing every night at 6 on Sky One during the 90s. I got my dad the first two seasons on DVD. It was like a living cartoon at times, especially in the episodes where Al was doing any sort of DIY.JimBentley wrote:Haha yeah, I'd forgotten that. I used to love the baseness and grotesquerie of Married With Children, is it still on anywhere? It used to be on Paramount but that's long gone, and ITV probably consider it too classy for their schedule these days.Martin Bishop wrote:And her family live in Wanker County.JimBentley wrote:Also, Peggy's maiden name in Married With Children is Wanker and there's a few episodes featuring her extended family, The Wankers.
Another bit of pointless trivia - One of the Wankers was played by WWF wrestler King Kong Bundy.
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Re: American English
I loved Married... with Children. When I first moved to Holland, I used to watch about 10 episodes a week, as it was being shown every weekday at 7:30pm on Ketnet (Belgian TV), and also at other times during the week on Veronica and SBS6 (both Dutch channels). Even that was barely enough Christina Applegate for me. The subtitling of Wanker and Wanker County was interesting. Some subtitling organisations would leave the word in English as "Wanker"... others would translate it into "Rukker", which is the Dutch word for "wanker". I watched a few episodes back recently; and the comedy has aged surprisingly well. Al Bundy's character is just as relevant today...
In other sweariness, apparently there's an episode of the Flintstones where Wilma described something as being "all bollixed up". I say "apparently", as whilst this seems quite plausible, this was something I read on the internet, so it could possibly be a bag o' shite. I believe that to "bollix something up", in US English, is simply to "mess it up".
In other sweariness, apparently there's an episode of the Flintstones where Wilma described something as being "all bollixed up". I say "apparently", as whilst this seems quite plausible, this was something I read on the internet, so it could possibly be a bag o' shite. I believe that to "bollix something up", in US English, is simply to "mess it up".
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Re: American English
Yes, it is true.I remember seeing it. Even had it subtitled with that spelling, so the subtitling was probably done over there too. American subtitlers blank lot of mild swear words, especially for programs kids might watch, so "bollixed" probably isn't classed as a swear word at all.Matt Bayfield wrote: In other sweariness, apparently there's an episode of the Flintstones where Wilma described something as being "all bollixed up". I say "apparently", as whilst this seems quite plausible, this was something I read on the internet, so it could possibly be a bag o' shite. I believe that to "bollix something up", in US English, is simply to "mess it up".
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Re: American English
Has the word YES disappeared from our spoken vocabulary. All I hear on television is YEAH, which is American, and possibly came from the German word JA.Liam Tiernan wrote:Yes, it is true.I remember seeing it. Even had it subtitled with that spelling, so the subtitling was probably done over there too. American subtitlers blank lot of mild swear words, especially for programs kids might watch, so "bollixed" probably isn't classed as a swear word at all.Matt Bayfield wrote: In other weariness, apparently there's an episode of the Flintstones where Wilma described something as being "all bollixed up". I say "apparently", as whilst this seems quite plausible, this was something I read on the internet, so it could possibly be a bag o' shite. I believe that to "bollix something up", in US English, is simply to "mess it up".
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Re: American English
Yup. I reckon.George F. Jenkins wrote:Has the word YES disappeared from our spoken vocabulary. All I hear on television is YEAH, which is American, and possibly came from the German word JA.
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Re: American English
Nah.George F. Jenkins wrote:Has the word YES disappeared from our spoken vocabulary. All I hear on television is YEAH, which is American, and possibly came from the German word JA.
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Re: American English
Aye'm not sure.George F. Jenkins wrote:Has the word YES disappeared from our spoken vocabulary. All I hear on television is YEAH, which is American, and possibly came from the German word JA.Liam Tiernan wrote:Yes, it is true.I remember seeing it. Even had it subtitled with that spelling, so the subtitling was probably done over there too. American subtitlers blank lot of mild swear words, especially for programs kids might watch, so "bollixed" probably isn't classed as a swear word at all.Matt Bayfield wrote: In other weariness, apparently there's an episode of the Flintstones where Wilma described something as being "all bollixed up". I say "apparently", as whilst this seems quite plausible, this was something I read on the internet, so it could possibly be a bag o' shite. I believe that to "bollix something up", in US English, is simply to "mess it up".
meles meles meles meles meles meles meles meles meles meles meles meles meles meles meles meles
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Re: American English
George F. Jenkins wrote:Has the word YES disappeared from our spoken vocabulary. All I hear on television is YEAH, which is American, and possibly came from the German word JA.
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Re: American English
AbsolutelyGeorge F. Jenkins wrote: Has the word YES disappeared from our spoken vocabulary. All I hear on television is YEAH, which is American, and possibly came from the German word JA.
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Re: American English
Like, totally.Peter Mabey wrote:AbsolutelyGeorge F. Jenkins wrote: Has the word YES disappeared from our spoken vocabulary. All I hear on television is YEAH, which is American, and possibly came from the German word JA.
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Re: American English
I wish that I was 65 years younger, I'd be there.Matt Morrison wrote:George F. Jenkins wrote:Has the word YES disappeared from our spoken vocabulary. All I hear on television is YEAH, which is American, and possibly came from the German word JA.
Re: American English
And a cartoon.George F. Jenkins wrote:I wish that I was 65 years younger, I'd be there.Matt Morrison wrote:George F. Jenkins wrote:Has the word YES disappeared from our spoken vocabulary. All I hear on television is YEAH, which is American, and possibly came from the German word JA.
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Re: American English
From the FOX Sports homepage right now, in the left bar of recent headlines:
Quality. I even checked the article, and there's no quote from Rooney which could even be paraphrased as "Later, wankers" - so I can only presume that's purely a Sun-style pun or something. Weird!
Quality. I even checked the article, and there's no quote from Rooney which could even be paraphrased as "Later, wankers" - so I can only presume that's purely a Sun-style pun or something. Weird!
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Re: American English
Also, I just saw, in a proper news article, 'drug' being used to mean the past tense of 'drag' instead of 'dragged'. Pretty confusing to read that somebody drug someone else to the floor.