English is a foreign language

[vincegamer]

I was reading a thread where someone said he \"kissed off\" his girlfriend.
In American that would mean to ignore her or chuck her aside for somethin else.

What are some of the more interesting regional variations on the English language?
A common example is biscuits:
UK = flat, sugarry wafers as dessert(cookies)
USA = a floury form of baked flatbread most often eaten as a breakfast food with gravy.

One I just recently heard is Slut:
UK = someone messy and sloppy - one who keeps an untidy home.
USA = someone who has frequent indiscriminate sexual intercourse.

 

[Fizl]

Not sure about your UK description of slut - I only know the version that you have as the US version!

Look up fanny though if you want a laugh lol

Shaz

 

[freakinacage]

yeah, my def of slut is the same as the american. you should try translating welsh-english into proper english!!

fanny always makes me laugh. i remember a timeon wimbledon where some woman walked in front of the commentary box and john mcenroe said \'hey maam, we can see your fanny\' the other guy with him was like \'eeer john, you cant say that on tv!\'

 

[Zora]

Or fag...

lol

 

[Nomis]

Originally posted by Fizl


Look up fanny though if you want a laugh lol

Shaz

Are you sure you meant to write thislol

 

[freakinacage]

yeah, maybe that wasn\'t the best phrasing!

 

[Modderrhu]

I\'m quite sure she meant \"Look up \'fanny\'...\", not, \"Look up a fanny...\". Really, you people disgust me. :innocent:

Wench
UK/SA - a common servant woman.
US - a US type slut

 

[Whyspyr]

I was at another American friends house in Brackley when her neighbor dropped in-at one point she stopped and exclaimed how homely the house was. After some shocked silence we asked her what she meant and it turned out it was a compliment after all lol

UK = cozy, homelike
US = unattractive, awkward

 

[Dragon Forge Design]

I think it was best described to me once as two countries deperated by a common launguage..

UK - Has ques
US - We wait in lines..

 

[Avelorn]

Well I just kissed her then.. Did I say the right thing in british english or is that a saying in UK as well? I\'ll definately remember that in the future!

 

[supervike]

Originally posted by Modderrhu

Wench
UK/SA - a common servant woman.
US - a US type slut

I wouldn\'t have categorized a \"wench\" the same as a \"slut\". Maybe the US version is different in other parts of the country, but a WENCH is just an evil, ornery woman, Like a bitch, just less cursy.

Now a WRENCH is what I believe you UKers call a SPANNER....so, there you go.

 

[freakinacage]

Originally posted by Dragon Forge Design
I think it was best described to me once as two countries deperated by a common launguage..

UK - Has ques
US - We wait in lines..

would i sound like a pedantic arse if i said that we actually have queues? who cares - ill say it anyway!

oooh and in england we have arses but in america you have asses

 

[Dragon Forge Design]

I wouldn\'t have categorized a \"wench\" the same as a \"slut\". Maybe the US version is different in other parts of the country, but a WENCH is just an evil, ornery woman, Like a bitch, just less cursy.

No thats a Witch.. a wench is still like a slut.. like a bar wench... or maybe not lol

 

[Modderrhu]

How about \'wank\'?
Some places in the US refer to smart people as wanks. In the UK, it\'s decidedly different.

 

[vincegamer]

Wank - makes me wonder what Roald Dahl was thinking of when he came up with the name Willie Wonka....

Wench - well, I\'m a nutty medievalist. So far as I know, Wench means a woman of low social class - with connotations of prostitution. Which is strange since it originally meant a girl who has not yet reached puberty.

 

[vincegamer]

Originally posted by Fizl
Not sure about your UK description of slut - I only know the version that you have as the US version!

I got that from the TV show \"Keeping Up Appearances\" where Patricia Routledge\'s character describes her sister and brother-in-law as a couple of sluts. She\'s clearly in context referring to how messy they keep their home and themselves.

 

[wiccanpony]

Originally posted by Dragon Forge Design

I wouldn\'t have categorized a \"wench\" the same as a \"slut\". Maybe the US version is different in other parts of the country, but a WENCH is just an evil, ornery woman, Like a bitch, just less cursy.

No thats a Witch.. a wench is still like a slut.. like a bar wench... or maybe not lol

Am Not!!lol

 

[airhead]

*ducks as Donna unloads*

then there is \"Take out\" vs. \"Take away.\"

 

[dauber22]

Well, in the US, I\'d definately get strange looks if I excused myself to step outside and \"blow a fag\"

 

[supervike]

Originally posted by dauber22
Well, in the US, I\'d definately get strange looks if I excused myself to step outside and \"blow a fag\"

I guess that depends what part of the country you are in...