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June 15th, 2010 | #1 |
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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' |
June 15th, 2010 | #2 | |
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Quote:
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. |
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June 15th, 2010 | #3 |
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"Chav" is one I hear a lot. I think it's the British equivalent of "wigger" or something close to it.
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June 15th, 2010 | #4 | |
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chav
Quote:
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. Last edited by Darius Appleby; June 15th, 2010 at 05:12 AM. |
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June 26th, 2010 | #5 | |
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Quote:
The female version is often called chavette and is depicted here: |
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January 15th, 2012 | #6 |
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January 15th, 2012 | #7 |
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January 15th, 2012 | #8 |
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"Fit" in the sense that a lady is attractive. I'll use it in a sentence, Alicia, I think that you are quite fit.
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June 26th, 2010 | #9 | |
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Quote:
For example: "The economy is in a shambles" "Yes, the situation is shambolic". |
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June 26th, 2010 | #10 |
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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.
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June 26th, 2010 | #11 |
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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.
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June 26th, 2010 | #12 |
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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.
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June 26th, 2010 | #13 |
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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.
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June 15th, 2010 | #14 |
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Spiffing
[ˈspɪfɪŋ] adj Brit slang old-fashioned excellent; splendid |
June 15th, 2010 | #15 |
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Bravo
interj. Used to express approval, especially of a performance. n., pl., -vos. A shout or cry of "bravo." |
June 15th, 2010 | #16 |
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Footpad
n. A thief who preys on pedestrians. |
June 16th, 2010 | #17 |
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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. |
June 16th, 2010 | #18 |
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mind you
however |
June 26th, 2010 | #19 |
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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. |
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