Hey Ms TB, are you aware of any words used perfectly innocently in these isles which would be construed as a erm....a bit out of place where you currently reside? One of the things i really dig bout living here is the abundance of colloquialisms and i often wonder if they're as common in other parts of the globe.
Lots of British expressions can be used here but it's just more likely that people will stare at you blankly, smile and ask you what part of Australia are you from ;-) than be offended.
Exceptions...
fag - here, it is strictly a slur, highly pejorative. When I first went to the UK I was forewarned about cig/fag but to actually hear it was very jarring to my senses. Many 'eyes bugged out' moments.
toilet - oddly, saying 'going to the toilet' though not offensive, is sort of explicit. We like vagueness here, 'going to the restroom' or washroom, bathroom, powder room, WC, 'the can', anything but the actually toilet. Amongst friends, people are much more relaxed about this.
minor ones...
pasties - here, these are those tassely things that burlesque performers cover their nipples with. It's not offensive but a British tourist could be directed to an interesting part of town if they asked directions to a pastie shop.
mates - here, a mate is someone you're trying to drop a sprog with, very reproductive meaning... although I would say that many people are aware of the British use and I think that meaning is gaining more use here.
Lol. All my friends here are American, and we've had a few interesting moments linguistic confusion...espcially fag and fanny pack. Something I am actually going to write a post about.
Sod that firra game o sodjers! Teehee.
ReplyDeleteSod that.... you think i'm some sort o numpty?
ReplyDeleteOhh I love a sodding joke. They are my very favourite.
ReplyDeleteWhoa! Well, at least Mog is happy!
ReplyDeleteYou lot are one turf crowd!
sorry... ;-)
Hey Ms TB, are you aware of any words used perfectly innocently in these isles which would be construed as a erm....a bit out of place where you currently reside? One of the things i really dig bout living here is the abundance of colloquialisms and i often wonder if they're as common in other parts of the globe.
ReplyDeleteDo you mean offensive?
ReplyDeleteLots of British expressions can be used here but it's just more likely that people will stare at you blankly, smile and ask you what part of Australia are you from ;-) than be offended.
Exceptions...
fag - here, it is strictly a slur, highly pejorative. When I first went to the UK I was forewarned about cig/fag but to actually hear it was very jarring to my senses. Many 'eyes bugged out' moments.
toilet - oddly, saying 'going to the toilet' though not offensive, is sort of explicit. We like vagueness here, 'going to the restroom' or washroom, bathroom, powder room, WC, 'the can', anything but the actually toilet. Amongst friends, people are much more relaxed about this.
minor ones...
pasties - here, these are those tassely things that burlesque performers cover their nipples with. It's not offensive but a British tourist could be directed to an interesting part of town if they asked directions to a pastie shop.
mates - here, a mate is someone you're trying to drop a sprog with, very reproductive meaning... although I would say that many people are aware of the British use and I think that meaning is gaining more use here.
That's all that I can think of at the moment.
Lol. All my friends here are American, and we've had a few interesting moments linguistic confusion...espcially fag and fanny pack. Something I am actually going to write a post about.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to reading it, J!
ReplyDelete