Although many countries do speak English, there are some differences between the meaning of the same words. Here are a few:
1. Calling your butt a fanny isn’t okay
“Fanny” is a colloquialism for the female genitalia, but not viewed as extreme as the c-word.”Bum” is acceptable slang for the posterior, roughly equivalent to butt.
2. Don’t comment on our pants!
“pants” usually referred to underwear in the UK – not trousers.
“pants” used also when referring to something that is/was not good e.g the film last night was pants.
3. Refering to a person as “so full of spirit and spunk” isn’t ok.
“spunk” is a colloquialism for ejaculate (noun, not in the verb form).
Have you come across other words? Please leave a comment below.
For some other differences see:
What are the differences between British English and American English?http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/questions/americanbritish.html
Please note: Many British people are familiar with American slang terms etc from watching US TV shows and so there is more of a chance of Americans misunderstanding a British phrase rather than causing offence.
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Sunday, February 22, 2009
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7 comments:
Ask for directions to a gas station in England and you may well end up at a clothes shop! Gas Station is brand name for a clothes shop.
Gas stations in the UK are known as petrol stations.
A good friend of mine, upon taking a post in America, shocked his secretary by asking her if she had a rubber.
Rubbers in America are condoms, of course, and they call rubbers, erasers.
Suspenders is the American term for braces (to hold men’s trousers up!!)
Do not ask for a biscuit with your meal and expect a digestive or custard cream. Biscuits in the USA are more like our scones but savoury and often eaten with a creamy sauce or ‘gravy’.
There is a word also used in America and Canada quite freely which shocked my family when we heard a father calling his 5 yr old son, a Wanker…apparently in USA and Canada it means silly boy or just a word to call people silly….OBVIOUSLY not the same in UK! We almost choked on our food when he said it!!!
I’m originally from London but have lived in the U.S. for 44 years. When I first arrived here I asked someone to “knock me up” at about 7 the next morning.
In America that would mean to get someone pregnant but of course in the U.K. it would mean to wake me up.
I have lived in the US for 19 years and Mum and Dad were visiting. My 15 year old was talking about giving someone a “wet willy” and my dad nearly fell over. Here in the US a “wet willy” is when you lick your index finger and stick it in some unsuspected persons ear. In the U.K “willy” is a common name for penis.
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