Maybe I Can Finally Finish an Episode of AbFab!
April 5, 2013 2:49 PM Subscribe
Do you find British slang perplexing? Can't get all the way through an entire episode of Absolutely Fabulous or the original Channel 4 Shameless? Maybe this will help.
Good thing you've got all your lampshades in your submarines eh?
posted by The Whelk at 2:54 PM on April 5, 2013
posted by The Whelk at 2:54 PM on April 5, 2013
Do you guys really not have anticlockwise?
posted by Artw at 2:54 PM on April 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 2:54 PM on April 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
Counterclockwise.
posted by double block and bleed at 2:55 PM on April 5, 2013
posted by double block and bleed at 2:55 PM on April 5, 2013
c'mon man haven't you even seen the brazil episode of the simpsons
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 2:56 PM on April 5, 2013
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 2:56 PM on April 5, 2013
Aluminum.
posted by ericb at 2:56 PM on April 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by ericb at 2:56 PM on April 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
The septics not having fortnight is the one that surprised me
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 2:56 PM on April 5, 2013
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 2:56 PM on April 5, 2013
When we lived in the UK we would always advise US visitors to ask about opportunities for cottaging, a delightfully quaint British pastime.
posted by Artw at 2:57 PM on April 5, 2013 [4 favorites]
posted by Artw at 2:57 PM on April 5, 2013 [4 favorites]
Good thing you've got all your lampshades in your submarines eh?
Leave your donkey on the sofa, badger fluffer!
posted by yoink at 2:58 PM on April 5, 2013
Leave your donkey on the sofa, badger fluffer!
posted by yoink at 2:58 PM on April 5, 2013
One side effect of a marathon Misfits viewing run is the sudden transformation of one's working vocabulary into that of a Welsh juvenile delinquent
posted by The Whelk at 2:58 PM on April 5, 2013 [6 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 2:58 PM on April 5, 2013 [6 favorites]
No "mental"? That's mental.
posted by seemoreglass at 3:04 PM on April 5, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by seemoreglass at 3:04 PM on April 5, 2013 [3 favorites]
Bollocks - This is a great English word with many excellent uses.
Indeed.
posted by Celsius1414 at 3:05 PM on April 5, 2013
Indeed.
posted by Celsius1414 at 3:05 PM on April 5, 2013
Well weapon.
posted by Artw at 3:06 PM on April 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 3:06 PM on April 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
No gasping for a fag... and you really can't leave the UK without a least trying a big mouthful of spotted dick and cream
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 3:07 PM on April 5, 2013
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 3:07 PM on April 5, 2013
Do you find British slang perplexing?
Do any of these words embarrass you?
Do any of these words embarrass you?
- shoe
- megaphone
- grunties
I have a similar list that I keep meaning to finish. My list seems to highlight that I swear and refer to genitalia differently/more frequently than Americans.
posted by 13twelve at 3:13 PM on April 5, 2013
posted by 13twelve at 3:13 PM on April 5, 2013
Full of beans - This means to have loads of energy. It is a polite way of saying that a child is a maniac. I was often described as being full of beans as a kid and now it is my wife's way of telling me to keep still when she is trying to get to sleep. Strangely the same expression in some parts of the US means that you are exaggerating or talking bollocks!So, how does this relate to a PLATE of beans?
posted by rmd1023 at 3:14 PM on April 5, 2013
This list was compiled around 10 years ago
And that definitely shows. I mean, I would understand pretty much all the words on the list, but I can't imagine anyone saying a lot of them.
posted by Infinite Jest at 3:14 PM on April 5, 2013 [2 favorites]
And that definitely shows. I mean, I would understand pretty much all the words on the list, but I can't imagine anyone saying a lot of them.
posted by Infinite Jest at 3:14 PM on April 5, 2013 [2 favorites]
Infinite Jest: "This list was compiled around 10 years ago
And that definitely shows. I mean, I would understand pretty much all the words on the list, but I can't imagine anyone saying a lot of them."
That explains why I still don't know what the Hell is going on when I watch AbFab.
posted by double block and bleed at 3:20 PM on April 5, 2013
And that definitely shows. I mean, I would understand pretty much all the words on the list, but I can't imagine anyone saying a lot of them."
That explains why I still don't know what the Hell is going on when I watch AbFab.
posted by double block and bleed at 3:20 PM on April 5, 2013
Full of beans - This means to have loads of energy.
As someone who's had his share of the quaintly-named "full English breakfast"s, it also can mean that you are full of goddamned beans.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 3:21 PM on April 5, 2013 [2 favorites]
As someone who's had his share of the quaintly-named "full English breakfast"s, it also can mean that you are full of goddamned beans.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 3:21 PM on April 5, 2013 [2 favorites]
Look at the way he fringes the ring there!
posted by Talkie Toaster at 3:23 PM on April 5, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by Talkie Toaster at 3:23 PM on April 5, 2013 [2 favorites]
Or you could just watch The Catherine Tate Show over and over for the immersion experience.
Personally I think it's a lot funnier not knowing what all the slang terms mean
posted by trunk muffins at 3:25 PM on April 5, 2013 [2 favorites]
Personally I think it's a lot funnier not knowing what all the slang terms mean
posted by trunk muffins at 3:25 PM on April 5, 2013 [2 favorites]
I once read somebody saying that they'd overheard in Meadowhall, remarking about a celebrity: "E'ld do ote to get is fizog ont telly."
It has since struck as the most perfect English sentence ever constructed.
posted by Jehan at 3:51 PM on April 5, 2013 [6 favorites]
It has since struck as the most perfect English sentence ever constructed.
posted by Jehan at 3:51 PM on April 5, 2013 [6 favorites]
The all time best british playground slang ever is Chinny Reckon.
Properly pronounced "Chinny Reh-konnnnn", and accompanied with a beard stroking gesture.
This permuted into the similar "Tutan-khamuuuuuun" at my school, with the beard reaching Pharoic proportions.
I only recently discovered its likely origin thanks to the internets, apparently it is from the Saxon ich ne reckon.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 3:54 PM on April 5, 2013 [6 favorites]
Properly pronounced "Chinny Reh-konnnnn", and accompanied with a beard stroking gesture.
This permuted into the similar "Tutan-khamuuuuuun" at my school, with the beard reaching Pharoic proportions.
I only recently discovered its likely origin thanks to the internets, apparently it is from the Saxon ich ne reckon.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 3:54 PM on April 5, 2013 [6 favorites]
I can get most of the slang through context. The difficulty for me is when the speaker is speaking very quickly, in some exaggerated accent, or the laugh track covers part of the end of the sentence.
I wish I could turn on subtitles for British movies when streaming, the one thing I miss from DVDs.
posted by jeff-o-matic at 3:56 PM on April 5, 2013 [2 favorites]
I wish I could turn on subtitles for British movies when streaming, the one thing I miss from DVDs.
posted by jeff-o-matic at 3:56 PM on April 5, 2013 [2 favorites]
The most shameful and regretable British playground slang ever is Joey Deacon, which is a cautionary tale against trying to teach British children to be decent human beings.
posted by Artw at 3:59 PM on April 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 3:59 PM on April 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
> apparently it is from the Saxon ich ne reckon.
Oh my god, that makes it even more amazing.
Does anyone know the source of "peng" as in "attractive"? It seems vaguely related to a Dead Space achievement, but that feels more likely to be a coincidence. I can't think of any other word or phrase it might come from though.
posted by lucidium at 4:07 PM on April 5, 2013
Oh my god, that makes it even more amazing.
Does anyone know the source of "peng" as in "attractive"? It seems vaguely related to a Dead Space achievement, but that feels more likely to be a coincidence. I can't think of any other word or phrase it might come from though.
posted by lucidium at 4:07 PM on April 5, 2013
The Joey Deacon thing is made more terrible for me because its still in use but now young people using it have no idea of its origins and that Deacon was a real person (My SO is 36 and didn't know). Its a fascinating example of the development of a cultural reference point and a privilege to have seen its evolution.
posted by biffa at 4:09 PM on April 5, 2013
posted by biffa at 4:09 PM on April 5, 2013
I always wondered if the legendary replacement of 'spastic/spazmo/spaz' by 'scoper' in some playgrounds actually happened (when the Spastics Society changed their name to Scope due to the negative connotations of the word)
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 4:15 PM on April 5, 2013
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 4:15 PM on April 5, 2013
Buncha right moppets.
posted by laconic skeuomorph at 4:16 PM on April 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by laconic skeuomorph at 4:16 PM on April 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
I'm assuming they just skip to hardcore swearing and knife you now. They're all on glue, you know.
posted by Artw at 4:17 PM on April 5, 2013
posted by Artw at 4:17 PM on April 5, 2013
I'm assuming they just skip to hardcore swearing and knife you now. They're all on glue, you know.
I'll have you know a school kid bumped into me the other day and he apologised! Though he was from the swot school and of course I look dead hard in real life.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 4:26 PM on April 5, 2013 [2 favorites]
I'll have you know a school kid bumped into me the other day and he apologised! Though he was from the swot school and of course I look dead hard in real life.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 4:26 PM on April 5, 2013 [2 favorites]
Were you mumbbling a conversation about Smugglers Cave with a swarthy compatriot? If so I'd check on those kidnapped scientists.
posted by Artw at 4:33 PM on April 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 4:33 PM on April 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
So what do Brits say when they bump into you or would like you to move out of the way, if "excuse me" is only used for farting/belching?
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 5:11 PM on April 5, 2013
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 5:11 PM on April 5, 2013
I once looked up "budgerigar" because even after watching the AbFab epi called "Magazine" 15 or 20 (or okay, 30) times, and laughing each time at the line, "God, it's like living with a chronically depressed budgerigar!" I still didn't know what one was. It didn't seem to matter much.
There isn't much slang in AbFab. Part of the humo(u)r was always in mashing great lines into impossibly giddy spaces of time. Also, I feel it is important to point out that it was filmed in front of a live audience. There isn't a laugh track, it's actual people in a studio audience finding it funny as it's performed.
posted by gorgor_balabala at 5:17 PM on April 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
There isn't much slang in AbFab. Part of the humo(u)r was always in mashing great lines into impossibly giddy spaces of time. Also, I feel it is important to point out that it was filmed in front of a live audience. There isn't a laugh track, it's actual people in a studio audience finding it funny as it's performed.
posted by gorgor_balabala at 5:17 PM on April 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
Or Peter Clarke, if you're speaking of a very specific kind of budgie.
posted by sonascope at 5:27 PM on April 5, 2013
posted by sonascope at 5:27 PM on April 5, 2013
But a budgie is a TYPE of Parakeet!
They're pretty common pets in the UK, I think it's a Commonwealth thing.
posted by Artw at 5:29 PM on April 5, 2013
They're pretty common pets in the UK, I think it's a Commonwealth thing.
posted by Artw at 5:29 PM on April 5, 2013
I think all parakeets end up being called "budgerigars" in the UK in the same way that, even with a Dyson, you're hoovering up the carpet. We in the US used to call a number of species of small aquarium fishies "guppies," so it's all part of the language game.
posted by sonascope at 5:39 PM on April 5, 2013
posted by sonascope at 5:39 PM on April 5, 2013
I had a budgie but it died/
Goodbye leggy blonde/
Goodbye
posted by drjimmy11 at 5:50 PM on April 5, 2013 [3 favorites]
Goodbye leggy blonde/
Goodbye
posted by drjimmy11 at 5:50 PM on April 5, 2013 [3 favorites]
In retrospect, I think the Bee Gees knew exactly what they were doing when they wrote this song (especially if you translate "my love" as being a reference to the male member).
posted by stannate at 6:06 PM on April 5, 2013
posted by stannate at 6:06 PM on April 5, 2013
The pedantry on display re: American use of get ("Can I get a refill?"; it's filed under have) strikes me as rather poorly thought out. It's not the first time I've heard it, either--I'm looking at you, Sean Lock. That particular usage might not be common in Britain, but that doesn't mean it's not perfectly cromulent. The word means not only fetch but also receive.
In retrospect, I think the Bee Gees knew exactly what they were doing when they wrote this song (especially if you translate "my love" as being a reference to the male member).
Right, but it could still be taken either way. (Ooh er.)
posted by Sys Rq at 6:11 PM on April 5, 2013
In retrospect, I think the Bee Gees knew exactly what they were doing when they wrote this song (especially if you translate "my love" as being a reference to the male member).
Right, but it could still be taken either way. (Ooh er.)
posted by Sys Rq at 6:11 PM on April 5, 2013
Then you have the occasional exclamation that one is "bo/udging around", meaning (from context?) that you're havering, being idle yet fussy, which I think means you're acting like a Budgie? Going back and forth and not really doing anything?
I have been accused of this more then a few times from the SO and I have never heard it elsewhere.
posted by The Whelk at 6:11 PM on April 5, 2013
I have been accused of this more then a few times from the SO and I have never heard it elsewhere.
posted by The Whelk at 6:11 PM on April 5, 2013
Still plenty of commonplace omissions there. Just orf the top of me bonce (sorry) I can think of
- not half: very, as in "it's not half hot outside" or "phoar these headphones don't half make your ears hot"*
- make a meal of: to drag something out, or exploit beyond any reasonable or necessary degree
- put wood in hole: Okay, this is pure Yorkshire and a little bit comedy nowadays. But it means "shut the door", i.e. "put some wood in that hole".
*Also "phoar" itself, an interjection which can mean you're hot or shagged (in the sense of tired) but also and maybe particularly in response to seeing a smokin' member of the opposite sex.
posted by George_Spiggott at 6:42 PM on April 5, 2013
- not half: very, as in "it's not half hot outside" or "phoar these headphones don't half make your ears hot"*
- make a meal of: to drag something out, or exploit beyond any reasonable or necessary degree
- put wood in hole: Okay, this is pure Yorkshire and a little bit comedy nowadays. But it means "shut the door", i.e. "put some wood in that hole".
*Also "phoar" itself, an interjection which can mean you're hot or shagged (in the sense of tired) but also and maybe particularly in response to seeing a smokin' member of the opposite sex.
posted by George_Spiggott at 6:42 PM on April 5, 2013
A fairly feeble effort.
posted by fredludd at 7:03 PM on April 5, 2013
Sod - This word has many uses. My father always used to say "Oh Sod!" or "Sod it!" if something went wrong and he didn't want to swear too badly in front of the children. If someone is a sod or an "old sod" then it means they are a bit of a bastard or an old git. "Sod off" is like saying "piss off" or "get lost" & "sod you" means something like "f*** off". It also means a chunk of lawn of course. You can usually tell the difference!No mention of "sodomy" or "sodomite" here, but what does the author think "old sod" and "sod off" are short for?
posted by fredludd at 7:03 PM on April 5, 2013
Wow, it doesn't even have "get knotted". Or "fuck all" as a synonym for bugger all. It's also completely missing the classier slang, like "bunfight" (a dinner or reception), "gong" (honour, medal) , "wheeze" (a prank, or something undertaken sort of ironically because it's good for a laugh). Nor does it have much that's less than three or four decades old, e.g. chav or Essex slang...
posted by George_Spiggott at 7:26 PM on April 5, 2013
posted by George_Spiggott at 7:26 PM on April 5, 2013
I like how "I can't be arsed" is helpfully translated to "I can't be bothered", which is no help at all. I discovered this when I said I couldn't be bothered to my US co-workers, and they looked very confused and walked away. Apparently they were unfamiliar with the phrase and thought I meant "I must be left alone".
posted by Joh at 7:53 PM on April 5, 2013
posted by Joh at 7:53 PM on April 5, 2013
Huh? I'm fairly sure I know what "I can't be bothered" means, though I spell my honor without a U.
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 7:58 PM on April 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 7:58 PM on April 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
I was born in America but my parents are Scottish. One of the most disappointing things about growing up in America with Scottish parents is the fact that everyone in America refers to old food as "stale." There's just something so deadingly bureacratic about the word stale.
Growing up in my house, old food was foosty. It's a great word, if you say it out loud. And it seems to fit the description of food gone bad. My mom would say things like "I can't make you a sandwich for lunch because the bread's gone all foosty. How about macarioni and cheese?"
It just sounded right. The bread went foosty.
I hate the word stale. It's so much less fun to say.
posted by mcmile at 8:02 PM on April 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
Growing up in my house, old food was foosty. It's a great word, if you say it out loud. And it seems to fit the description of food gone bad. My mom would say things like "I can't make you a sandwich for lunch because the bread's gone all foosty. How about macarioni and cheese?"
It just sounded right. The bread went foosty.
I hate the word stale. It's so much less fun to say.
posted by mcmile at 8:02 PM on April 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
When your bread is old but you still want to eat it, you make it into French toast: The foostian bargain.
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 8:03 PM on April 5, 2013 [5 favorites]
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 8:03 PM on April 5, 2013 [5 favorites]
'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels' and 'Snatch' are good for some over-the-top British/Cockney slang, and some amazingly poetic sales banter by Jason Statham (who apparently did actually do that before getting good into the movies). A great deal of the translations of the slang are here.
posted by Zack_Replica at 9:10 PM on April 5, 2013
posted by Zack_Replica at 9:10 PM on April 5, 2013
When I'm britpicking myself, I tend to use this resource as well as the one in the OP.
posted by immlass at 9:59 PM on April 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by immlass at 9:59 PM on April 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
you're havering, being idle yet fussy
I've wondered what "haver" meant ever since that horrid "Eye will walk fyve hyundred myyyles" song. Down By Law covered it and changed it to "haver - whatever the fuck that means!".
posted by DecemberBoy at 10:34 PM on April 5, 2013
I've wondered what "haver" meant ever since that horrid "Eye will walk fyve hyundred myyyles" song. Down By Law covered it and changed it to "haver - whatever the fuck that means!".
posted by DecemberBoy at 10:34 PM on April 5, 2013
I noticed no entries for "not a sausage," "whip-round" (a useful phrase with no U.S. equivalent I can think of) or "can do," as in Q: Does it ever bother you? A:It can do, yeah.
posted by argybarg at 10:34 PM on April 5, 2013
posted by argybarg at 10:34 PM on April 5, 2013
Blatant - We use this word a lot to mean something is really obvious.
This is not slang, this is a synonym.
This whole list is odd.
posted by vibratory manner of working at 11:20 PM on April 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
This is not slang, this is a synonym.
This whole list is odd.
posted by vibratory manner of working at 11:20 PM on April 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
Still plenty of commonplace omissions there.
Indeed. It would be of no value whatsoever in decoding Hitler and the Boys on the Lemo.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 12:14 AM on April 6, 2013
Indeed. It would be of no value whatsoever in decoding Hitler and the Boys on the Lemo.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 12:14 AM on April 6, 2013
Haver might mean something different in the north of England, but in Scotland (and therefore in 500 Miles), to haver is to talk nonsense or talk about nothing in particular. We lived in the US for a few years when I was younger and I remember my dad frantically trying to win a prize for the first person to phone into the local radio station with the correct definition for haver, getting increasingly irate at the hapless guesses from non-Scots that were increasingly wide of the mark.
posted by Dim Siawns at 1:13 AM on April 6, 2013
posted by Dim Siawns at 1:13 AM on April 6, 2013
A budgerigar is a specific Australian breed of parakeet, I think the word is of aboriginal origin actually. They are very small, and commonly kept as caged birds here in Oz -even more common that canaries for example. There's obviously some colonial splashback going on there (so ner!) I mean, you know, an Australian influence.
I highly doubt bodge/budge comes from budgerigar though, that sounds like one of those Geordie words to me... for what it's worth.
posted by Coaticass at 1:55 AM on April 6, 2013
I highly doubt bodge/budge comes from budgerigar though, that sounds like one of those Geordie words to me... for what it's worth.
posted by Coaticass at 1:55 AM on April 6, 2013
Isn't bodging close to jerry rigging anyway?
posted by MartinWisse at 1:58 AM on April 6, 2013
posted by MartinWisse at 1:58 AM on April 6, 2013
Huh. Maybe it's just that I grew up in Canada, but like 80% of this list was in use or widely known when I grew up in the 80s.
posted by LMGM at 2:00 AM on April 6, 2013
posted by LMGM at 2:00 AM on April 6, 2013
Mind is boggling right now at this:
apparently it is from the Saxon ich ne reckon.
In my mind, "Yeaaaah, chinny reckon" was always inextricably linked with "Yeaaaah Jimmy Hill", which went with the same chin-stroking action and scepticism.
I assumed they both came from the idea that if you were looking at someone sceptically, you were probably stroking your chin thoughtfully as you weighed them up/listened to their bullshit.
posted by penguin pie at 2:37 AM on April 6, 2013
apparently it is from the Saxon ich ne reckon.
In my mind, "Yeaaaah, chinny reckon" was always inextricably linked with "Yeaaaah Jimmy Hill", which went with the same chin-stroking action and scepticism.
I assumed they both came from the idea that if you were looking at someone sceptically, you were probably stroking your chin thoughtfully as you weighed them up/listened to their bullshit.
posted by penguin pie at 2:37 AM on April 6, 2013
Season 5 [of Misfits] will be the last season - I am most sad.
Strictly speaking 'season' is US parlance, officially we use 'series' in the UK. Although with the number of American shows on the telly (trans: TV) over here it's becoming quite normal - the US shows actually last a whole season as opposed to just six episodes. Yes, we do use the word 'season' to describe the time of year, like Autumn (trans: Fall).
posted by Shatner's Bassoon at 2:42 AM on April 6, 2013
Strictly speaking 'season' is US parlance, officially we use 'series' in the UK. Although with the number of American shows on the telly (trans: TV) over here it's becoming quite normal - the US shows actually last a whole season as opposed to just six episodes. Yes, we do use the word 'season' to describe the time of year, like Autumn (trans: Fall).
posted by Shatner's Bassoon at 2:42 AM on April 6, 2013
So what do Brits say when they bump into you
Sorry? as in, oh sorry.
I've always liked "box your ears". Such a vivid phrase.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 2:48 AM on April 6, 2013
Sorry? as in, oh sorry.
I've always liked "box your ears". Such a vivid phrase.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 2:48 AM on April 6, 2013
Alternatively there is this, the greatest UK lexicon of all (absolutely, absolutely, NSFW).
posted by specialbrew at 2:52 AM on April 6, 2013 [4 favorites]
posted by specialbrew at 2:52 AM on April 6, 2013 [4 favorites]
Power users may wish to check out Viz comic's Profanisaurus (NSFW, if you read out loud) - a user-submitted database of lewd and crude expressions. Hard copies available via your favourite tax-dodging, Brazilian river-themed website.
It's a bit spurious, I don't imagine more than 5% of these are actually used in real life - although it doesn't stop writers of UK 'comedy' shows like the dire 'Two Pints of Lager...' mining the Profanisaurus for expressions with which to pepper their dialogue in an attempt to seem edgy and relevant.
posted by Shatner's Bassoon at 3:14 AM on April 6, 2013
It's a bit spurious, I don't imagine more than 5% of these are actually used in real life - although it doesn't stop writers of UK 'comedy' shows like the dire 'Two Pints of Lager...' mining the Profanisaurus for expressions with which to pepper their dialogue in an attempt to seem edgy and relevant.
posted by Shatner's Bassoon at 3:14 AM on April 6, 2013
Oops, sorry specialbrew. Great minds etc...
posted by Shatner's Bassoon at 3:15 AM on April 6, 2013
posted by Shatner's Bassoon at 3:15 AM on April 6, 2013
Isn't bodging close to jerry rigging anyway?
No Metatalk call outs for disparaging the Germans, I see...
posted by PeterMcDermott at 6:51 AM on April 6, 2013
No Metatalk call outs for disparaging the Germans, I see...
posted by PeterMcDermott at 6:51 AM on April 6, 2013
apparently it is from the Saxon ich ne reckon.
Someone's pullin yer plonker, d'ye nay reckon?
posted by Segundus at 7:21 AM on April 6, 2013
Someone's pullin yer plonker, d'ye nay reckon?
posted by Segundus at 7:21 AM on April 6, 2013
>I always wondered if the legendary replacement of 'spastic/spazmo/spaz' by 'scoper' in some playgrounds actually happened
'Scopie' was used at my school. Rolls off the tongue slightly easier I suppose? Kids can be terrible.
The list explains what it is to have 'a lot of bottle' but does not explain that 'bottling it' means the exact opposite.... as in, to pussy out.
Nobody says Best of British.
Apart from that, it's a pretty good list - I thought it was just going to be a load of obscure rhyming slang that nobody ever uses but I was surprised at how often a lot of the words come up in general conversation.
Embrace the vernacular septic friends! Try slipping 'fannying around' into a conversation
posted by halincandenza at 7:54 AM on April 6, 2013
'Scopie' was used at my school. Rolls off the tongue slightly easier I suppose? Kids can be terrible.
The list explains what it is to have 'a lot of bottle' but does not explain that 'bottling it' means the exact opposite.... as in, to pussy out.
Nobody says Best of British.
Apart from that, it's a pretty good list - I thought it was just going to be a load of obscure rhyming slang that nobody ever uses but I was surprised at how often a lot of the words come up in general conversation.
Embrace the vernacular septic friends! Try slipping 'fannying around' into a conversation
posted by halincandenza at 7:54 AM on April 6, 2013
Embrace the vernacular septic friends! Try slipping 'fannying around' into a conversation.
When he was on Inside the Actors' Studio, Daniel Radcliffe got a little giggly during the "What's your favorite curse word" answer - because he realized that neither "bollocks" or "fanny" get bleeped on American television. (And I think he started blushing when he explained to the audience that "fanny" meant something quite different in the UK.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:04 AM on April 6, 2013 [1 favorite]
When he was on Inside the Actors' Studio, Daniel Radcliffe got a little giggly during the "What's your favorite curse word" answer - because he realized that neither "bollocks" or "fanny" get bleeped on American television. (And I think he started blushing when he explained to the audience that "fanny" meant something quite different in the UK.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:04 AM on April 6, 2013 [1 favorite]
A British friend's brother used to call him "flid" when they were kids (this was in northern England). From what I understand, the origin of the word comes from Thalidomide, and the resulting deformities from the drug.
posted by jenh526 at 8:05 AM on April 6, 2013
posted by jenh526 at 8:05 AM on April 6, 2013
(And upon review of my clip - it looks like someone caught wise to "bollocks.")
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:06 AM on April 6, 2013
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:06 AM on April 6, 2013
Fannying about, surely?
posted by Sys Rq at 8:08 AM on April 6, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Sys Rq at 8:08 AM on April 6, 2013 [1 favorite]
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No.
posted by Artw at 2:52 PM on April 5, 2013 [5 favorites]