Americans saying words...

[Catchoftheday]

I heard an expression the other day from a london girl and she said a programme was "Pants" i am from the UK and i never heard that before, i had not a clue what she meant.
"?

Pants clearly means something which is a bit rubbishy it was a rubbish programme

 

[MH07]

hearing a southerner say "y'all" (short for "you all"), especially with a deep southern twang, is one of the things i can never get over. it's so different from my west coast approach, where we mainly just say "you guys."

And having a west coast female refer to a bunch of females as "you guys" is just plain weird to those of us from the south.

But y'all say it however you want....:biggrin1:

 

[JustAsking]

Another difference between UK and US is the tag phrase that gives emphasis such as "isn't it" or "haven't I".

In the US one would say, "I have been waiting all day, haven't I" only when you are talking to someone whose corroboration you are seeking. In other words, the implication is that the person you are talking to already knows you have been waiting all day.

Whereas, in the UK one would say that phrase even when informing someone of what they did not already know. The "haven't I" would be used for emphasis even where there is no chance of corroboration.


I like the UK affectation where one tags "innit" on the end of any phrase whether it is gramatically correct or not. Such as, "I have been waiting all day, innit!" I love how Catherine Tate turns it into a comedic art form with her "innit though!" when she is doing her Lauren character.

 

[MH07]

I am a Northerner, where we use the awkward "you guys". I think "y'all" is a very good invention and wish it was in standard use in the North. In fact, I like all of its variations, such as:

- y'all
- y'all's
- all y'all
- all y'alls'

Yes, oddly, the construct of y'all is singular in the South. If you are referring to a group you say, all y'all as in, "Can all y'all fit into that one car?"

I agree that the word "bum" is interchangeable with the word "tramp" in the USA, as in, "He is such a lazy bum. Why doesn't he get a job?"

The word "tramp" seems a bit stilted to my ear. Has it gone out of use, or is it regional?

A caution (to those reading your post and possibly misunderstanding:

"Y'all" NEVER, EVER, EVER refers to one individual. It is "singular" only in that it refers to a GROUP of people (so, a single group) as in, "Are y'all (meaning "you and several other people") going to see that new movie? If so, how are all y'all going to fit in that one tiny car?"

It is never proper to say, "How y'all doin?" to a single individual, the correct usage is, "How are you doing?"

Nothing says "Yankee" to a southerner more than someone with a northern accent referring to an individual as "Y'all".

 

[Calboner]

I agree that the word "bum" is interchangeable with the word "tramp" in the USA, as in, "He is such a lazy bum. Why doesn't he get a job?"

The word "tramp" seems a bit stilted to my ear. Has it gone out of use, or is it regional?

I think "tramp" is now most commonly used as a synonym of "slut."

Even when applied to men, "tramp" differs in meaning from "bum." A bum is one who chooses not to work and lives off handouts; a tramp is a person who wanders from place to place without a home. Synonyms are "vagabond," "vagrant," "hobo."

 

[JustAsking]

I think "tramp" is now most commonly used as a synonym of "slut."

Even when applied to men, "tramp" differs in meaning from "bum." A bum is one who chooses not to work and lives off handouts; a tramp is a person who wanders from place to place without a home. Synonyms are "vagabond," "vagrant," "hobo."

Yes, these are good distinctions.

 

[vince]

I think "tramp" is now most commonly used as a synonym of "slut."

Even when applied to men, "tramp" differs in meaning from "bum." A bum is one who chooses not to work and lives off handouts; a tramp is a person who wanders from place to place without a home. Synonyms are "vagabond," "vagrant," "hobo."

Yes. To my ear, a "tramp" is more honorable than a "bum".

We grew up call our rear ends "bums". I still use it sometimes and consider it to be less vulgar than "butt".

I had a friend, much older than me, from Brooklyn New York, who use to say "yous guys". He'd also say "turlet" instead of "toilet". He always cracked me up.

 

[D_Relentless Original]

My favorite phrase that means something TOTALLY different in the UK than it does in the US is this:

One of my friends went to the UK and keeled over laughing when a guy she was with there talked about "sucking on a fag". (He meant smoking a cigarette. :biggrin1

Yeah, i use the fag expression quite alot, if there is a group of us lads out, we always say "C'mon pass the fags around".

With regard to having tea or coffee, we kinda say " are you brewing ".:biggrin1:

 

[Calboner]

I had a friend, much older than me, from Brooklyn New York, who use to say "yous guys". He'd also say "turlet" instead of "toilet". He always cracked me up.

"'Terlet' -- HAH!" --Edna Krabappel

 

[DiscoBoy]

Even when applied to men, "tramp" differs in meaning from "bum." A bum is one who chooses not to work and lives off handouts; a tramp is a person who wanders from place to place without a home. Synonyms are "vagabond," "vagrant," "hobo."

The bluesman Seasick Steve once said, "Hobos are people who move around looking for work, tramps are people who move around but don't look for work, and bums are people who don't move and don't work. I've been all three". Great musician.:tongue:

 

[Calboner]

The bluesman Seasick Steve once said, "Hobos are people who move around looking for work, tramps are people who move around but don't look for work, and bums are people who don't move and don't work. I've been all three". Great musician.:tongue:

Good point! Also, I think "tramp" implies travel on foot, while "hobo" is compatible with travel by train or motor vehicle.

 

[superbot]

Ah, Nude, I knew there was a reason I liked you. Anyone who quotes from Mapp and Lucia is fine with me. Some of the most enjoyable reading on the planet.

..."The budgerigar tacked to her hat" !!!

 

[superbot]

Ah, Nude, I knew there was a reason I liked you. Anyone who quotes from Mapp and Lucia is fine with me. Some of the most enjoyable reading on the planet.

..."The budgerigar tacked to her hat!!"

 

[nudeyorker]

..."The budgerigar tacked to her hat!!"

LOL! I forgot about the dead bird. I have to read those stories again soon.

 

[superbot]

LOL! I forgot about the dead bird. I have to read those stories again soon.

The books, for sure, are good but the tv series is the last word in camp and brilliantly acted,should be made compulsive viewing....!

 

[Sergeant_Torpedo]

We have to accept English (it isn't quite American yet) is a world language that evolves as all language do. Gratuitous obscenities apart euphemisms are acceptable, I'd rather my 6 year old (or my 17 year old) said bum rather than ass. To be sat next to a group of foul mouthed Americans or Brits in a restaurant is not acceptable, and they wilt when I tell them so. Generally though British upper crust slang is not offensive, where a 16 year old tells his well dressed father (Americans) in the lobby of a five star hotel - as I heard this last summer in London - that the father was an asshole, and the father made no response made me chuckle. All it proved was that the teenager was a fucking little twat!

 

[Calboner]

I'd rather my 6 year old (or my 17 year old) said bum rather than ass.

What about ARSE?

ARSE!

YouTube - Bob Fleming Arse!

 

[2322]

Staying in hotels and then being asked, "When would you like to be knocked up?," caused more than a few unsuspecting innkeeps to be slugged by angered American husbands.

 

[nudeyorker]

The books, for sure, are good but the tv series is the last word in camp and brilliantly acted,should be made compulsive viewing....!

I have the whole series on DVD. I pull them out whenever I need a kick in the pants. They are great fun, I can't recommend them highly enough.