Vanguard News Network
VNN Media
VNN Digital Library
VNN Reader Mail
VNN Broadcasts

Old June 15th, 2010 #1
Alex Linder
Administrator
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 45,756
Blog Entries: 34
Default Words Commonly Used in Britain, Not in America

nous - (most soccer articles throw this in there at some point; it is almost never used by Americans - never in sports, seldom anywhere else)

brilliant - (used in both, but over/misused in Britain)

shambolic - never used in America; never not used in Britain. I still don't understand what this means. It looks like it ought to be obvious from the context, but it isn't.

spot on - this word actually has become used in America over the last fifteen years, as an equivalent to 'exactly right'
 
Old June 15th, 2010 #2
Darius Appleby
Banned
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: high rainfall coastal strip of the White Continent nation
Posts: 3,602
Arrow

Quote:
Originally Posted by Alex Linder View Post
nous - (most soccer articles throw this in there at some point; it is almost never used by Americans - never in sports, seldom anywhere else)

brilliant - (used in both, but over/misused in Britain)

shambolic - never used in America; never not used in Britain. I still don't understand what this means. It looks like it ought to be obvious from the context, but it isn't.

spot on - this word actually has become used in America over the last fifteen years, as an equivalent to 'exactly right'
Shambolic relates to shambles.

It is a shambles means it is a mess, it is untidy, or it is chaos (the thing or the scene or the situation).

Last edited by Darius Appleby; June 15th, 2010 at 12:34 AM.
 
Old June 15th, 2010 #3
John MacMillan
Senior Member
 
John MacMillan's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 840
Default

"Chav" is one I hear a lot. I think it's the British equivalent of "wigger" or something close to it.
 
Old June 15th, 2010 #4
Darius Appleby
Banned
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: high rainfall coastal strip of the White Continent nation
Posts: 3,602
Arrow chav

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jon S. View Post
"Chav" is one I hear a lot. I think it's the British equivalent of "wigger" or something close to it.
No, wigger is White nigger, but chav means council estate (public housing) with specific dress, speaking, and conduct.

UK has a class consciousness that the US and Australia don't have, and chav denotes this lower class.

Australian equivalent of chav would be 'bogan'. http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=bogan

Urban Dictionary chav: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=chav

Picture this a young lad about 12 years of age and 4 ½ feet high baseball cap at ninety degrees in a imitation addidas tracksuit, with trouser legs tucked into his socks (of course, is definitely the height of fashion). This lad is strutting around, fag in one hand jewellery al over the over, outside McDonalds acting as if he is 8 foot tall and built like a rugby player, when some poor unsuspecting adult (about 17/18) walks round the corner wanting to go to mcdonalds for his dinner glances at the young lad, the young lad jumps up in complete disgust and says “Whats your problem? Wanna make sommin of it? Bling Bling” when the adult starts to walk towards the young lad, the young lad pisses himself and runs off to either his pregnant 14-year-old girlfriend or his brother in the army crying his eyes out.

My mate has become a chav what can i do? answer is shoot him before it is too late

Last edited by Darius Appleby; June 15th, 2010 at 05:12 AM.
 
Old June 26th, 2010 #5
B.E.N.
Banned
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 606
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Darius Appleby View Post
but chav means council estate (public housing) with specific dress, speaking, and conduct.

The female version is often called chavette and is depicted here:

 
Old January 15th, 2012 #6
alicia_victoria
Junior Member
 
alicia_victoria's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Virginia, US
Posts: 21
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by John MacMillan View Post
"Chav" is one I hear a lot. I think it's the British equivalent of "wigger" or something close to it.
Sort of, but more like the UK version of the French racaille.
 
Old January 15th, 2012 #7
alicia_victoria
Junior Member
 
alicia_victoria's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Virginia, US
Posts: 21
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by John MacMillan View Post
"Chav" is one I hear a lot. I think it's the British equivalent of "wigger" or something close to it.
Sort of, but more like the UK version of the French racaille.
 
Old January 15th, 2012 #8
Thomas de Aynesworth
Banned
 
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 3,752
Default

"Fit" in the sense that a lady is attractive. I'll use it in a sentence, Alicia, I think that you are quite fit.
 
Old June 26th, 2010 #9
B.E.N.
Banned
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 606
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Darius Appleby View Post
Shambolic relates to shambles.

It is a shambles means it is a mess, it is untidy, or it is chaos (the thing or the scene or the situation).
"Shambles" is the noun and "shambolic" is the adjective.

For example: "The economy is in a shambles" "Yes, the situation is shambolic".
 
Old June 26th, 2010 #10
Alex Linder
Administrator
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 45,756
Blog Entries: 34
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Belle End View Post
"Shambles" is the noun and "shambolic" is the adjective.

For example: "The economy is in a shambles" "Yes, the situation is shambolic".
Is that so? I never recall seeing the term shambolic until a few years ago. Not even once. I think shambolic is slang, I certainly don't think it's the regular adjectival form of shambles.
 
Old June 26th, 2010 #11
Alex Linder
Administrator
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 45,756
Blog Entries: 34
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Belle End View Post
"Shambles" is the noun and "shambolic" is the adjective.

For example: "The economy is in a shambles" "Yes, the situation is shambolic".
It really is an odd term. It never occurred to me that it had anything to do with shambles, coming across it in British media. I always thought it was some compound of 'sham' + 'diabolical' or 'alcholic' or something.
 
Old June 26th, 2010 #12
Alex Linder
Administrator
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 45,756
Blog Entries: 34
Default

One funny thing, perhaps similar to shambolic, they say in the US is "tornadic activity" instead of plain old boring tornadoes. To conventional middle class USers, the multiplication of syllables fairly reeks of status and weight and importance, whereas to humans, the use is really quite funny.
 
Old June 26th, 2010 #13
Alex Linder
Administrator
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 45,756
Blog Entries: 34
Default

Americans and British use 'really' differently too. Once had a British advisor, and he mentioned to us that he thought Americans were implying that he was lying, or that they didn't believe what he said, when they said this to him. Finally he realized it was used differently in America, as an ejaculation.
 
Old June 15th, 2010 #14
Jess_Smith
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 3,808
Default

Spiffing

[ˈspɪfɪŋ]
adj
Brit slang old-fashioned excellent; splendid
 
Old June 15th, 2010 #15
Jess_Smith
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 3,808
Default

Bravo

interj.
Used to express approval, especially of a performance.

n., pl., -vos.
A shout or cry of "bravo."
 
Old June 15th, 2010 #16
Jess_Smith
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 3,808
Default

Footpad

n.
A thief who preys on pedestrians.
 
Old June 16th, 2010 #17
Alex Linder
Administrator
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 45,756
Blog Entries: 34
Default

Good stuff, these words are interesting. Actually, 'chav' does sound very close to wigger.

It seems to me that the lower class in Britain is even worse educated than in America. The Oxbridge uppers are snobby, snarky, sniffy; the proles are vicious and illiterate.
 
Old June 16th, 2010 #18
Hilda
Barbarian
 
Hilda's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 1,307
Default

mind you
however
__________________
Civic nationalism is TREASON and is INTERNATIONALISM.

Demography is Destiny
 
Old June 26th, 2010 #19
B.E.N.
Banned
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 606
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Alex Linder View Post
Actually, 'chav' does sound very close to wigger.
In Britain the term "wigger" is used for a White person who tries to emulate a particular different culture - for example by having "dreadlocks" and listening to particular music.

Or someone like "Eminem".

In Britain the term "chav" is used to refer to someone who (usually) has little income, lives in social housing and has little education.

The character Vicky Pollard from Little Britain is a typical example.
 
Old June 16th, 2010 #20
Alex Linder
Administrator
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 45,756
Blog Entries: 34
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by WhiteNightshade View Post
Footpad

n.
A thief who preys on pedestrians.
Interesting. I suppose such would be called a purse snatcher in USA. I think they used cutpurse in Dickens' time.
 
Reply

Share


Thread
Display Modes


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:51 AM.
Page generated in 0.16512 seconds.