I happens as a Brit too. Recently I casually used the phrase “use your loaf” around some North Americans. I then had to explain that loaf = loaf of bread = head. They were like “why” and then I had to try to explain the concept of Cockney Rhyming Slang, and then there was a barrage of questions about the origin of Cockney Rhyming Slang and all the other examples. I don’t know, I’m not even Cockney!
When I worked in the states, my team bought me a superman flag so I could wave the S-flag whenever I was being sarcastic. Because otherwise they wouldn’t spot it.
Americans being amazed that non-Americans are not American is still a reliable trope.
I once used the phrase “put some mustard on their custard” and got some pretty strange looks
Wait until they learn the origin of “seppo”
What is the origin of seppo?
The only thing we do with a load is pinch it. And I don’t mean steal…
As for rhyming slang, just… how? Lots of things rhyme with so many other things and syllables apparently don’t even matter (see apples and pears).
“Oh, you don’t wanna go to Bugarup,” said Remorse. “Nothing in Bugarup but a bunch of wowsers and pooftahs.” “’s okay, I like parrots,” mumbled Rincewind, who was just hoping that they would let him go so that he could hold on to the ground again. “Er…what’s Ecksian for going mad with terrified fatigue and collapsing in a boneless heap?” The men looked at one another. “Isn’t that ‘snagged as a wombat’s tonker’?” “No, no, no, that’s when you chuck a twister, isn’t it?” said Clancy. “What? Strewth, no. Chucking a twister’s when…when you…yeah, it’s when you…yeah, it’s when your nose…Hang on, that’s ‘bend a smartie’…” “Er—” said Rincewind, clutching his head. “What? ‘Bend a smartie’ is when your ears get blocked underwater.” Clancy looked uncertain, and then seemed to reach a decision. “Yeah, that’s right!” “Nah, that’s ‘gonging like a possum’s armpit,’ mate.” “Excuse me—” said Rincewind. “That ain’t right. ‘Gonging like a possum’s armpit’ is when you crack a crusty. When your ears are stuffed like a Mudjee’s kettle after a week of Fridays, that’s ‘stuck up like Morgan’s mule.’” “No, you’re referrin’ to ‘happier than Morgan’s mule in a choccy patch’—” “You mean ‘as fast as Morgan’s mule after it ate Ma’s crow pie.’” “How fast was that? Exactly?” said Rincewind. They all stared at him. “Faster’n a eel in a snake pit, mate!” said Clancy. “Don’t you understand plain language?”
Loved it when he invented Vegemite
Happens the other way too. Used to work in IT with Australians and it was hard for them to stifle giggles whenever I was talking about routing packets or routers.
For them, “rooting” means fucking
Sadly, Australia adopted the stupid 'Murican way of saying the word
Kiwis pronounce it correctly
I live in the US. For me a computer router is pronounced with an “ow” sound. Like if a Brit were “having a row” with someone, but with -ter at the end. However, highway “routes” can be pronounced with that same vowel, or as “root” like a plant root.
“root”
It’s a French word, and they don’t say “rowt”
Root in french is racine, but we do say routeur designing the electronic box.
Languages evolve. News at 9
especially in places that have no “language” then people with many languages come together and adopt one.
Every place has language, tho 🤔
Weird, when I say it, it’s an American word.
From my point of view the firewalls are evil.
Yeah, but yanks think they invented everything
Admittedly, school shootings started with you lot, so there’s that.
Most reserved Eurobro response. “This is how I pronounce a word” WElL aT LEaSt oUR SKeWlS aren’t SHEWTIN’ GAlLERiEs!
Fuck off, yank
Wrong side of the world
You sound angry
Where do you stand on the woodworking tool, a direction and a complete loss in a sport/battle?
e.g. in UK
Router
Woodworking: outer is pronounced outer
Computer: outer is pronounced ooterRoute
Direction: oute is pronounced ootRout
Complete loss in sport/battle: out is pronounced outAre these all “owt” in the US?
Are these all “owt” in the US?
Yes. But I have heard people pronounce route as “root” before.
It’s even worse. In the US Route is pronounced differently depending on part of speech.
We r-out our traffic to r-oot 66
They are two different words, the verb is just pronounced differently from the noun.
The only one of those that is possibly “oot” is route as in directions, in standard American English
Agreed
In the US, all are “out” but route can be out or oot depending on your mood
The one that gets me is Americans using fanny, which means vagina.
More common is us saying “bummed out” as a very mild expression of sadness.
Shake your whammy fanny… funky song! funky song!
In the US, fanny usually means butt, but only square soccer moms and teacher types would use the term. Fanny packs are a real thing though
Fanny packs are a thing but everyone’s worn them in the front since like 1992
Fanny used to be a name as well. It has fallen out of favor in English (I wonder why), but it is still used elsewhere. Its Finnish version, Fanni (pronounced more like “funny” with a longer n-sound), for example, even had a period of rediscovery in 2010-2019, when around thousand girls were named that.
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This is why I eschew idioms at work.
Do you want to get called by HR? Stop chewing idiots.
“This is why I screw idiots at work”
– Dave of the porn startup “Dumbest Whores of Silicon Valley”
Silicone Valley
Aussie friend: “Nut out.”
Me: checks fly
I spent years wondering why people were obsessed with going outside to play darts (not joking).
Canadian, eh?
And then there’s also “I’m not here to fuck spiders”
Or the Danish version, “fly fucking” (synonym for pedantry)
The Dutch use “mierenneuken” (fucking ants).
It’s my favorite Dutch word.
You can just make them up
“You can’t fling a dick in a pond without lunging a tugworm”
“Flock me a dozen cranberries and I’ll show you a real bandana”
“Eatin’s alright for the kanga, it’s the Joey’s that’ll cunt up your goomers”.
They’re all shit but you get me
You can just make them up
Sure, but if your boss and/or HR finds out, you’ll probably get in trouble for it unless your workplace is much cooler about that sort of thing than most 🤷🏻
It’s true, though. Flinging a dick in a pond would entail some changes in the laws of physics, tugworm or no 😄
I would truly believe each of these were cultural touchstones in Australia
I want to know what they mean now.
In New Zealand, a “dag” is someone who has a good sense of humour and is fun (unlike in Australia where it has cringy connotations)
Explaining to a Yank that calling someone a shitty piece of wool, stuck to a sheep’s arse is a compliment takes some convincing
And then there’s “cunt”…
Explaining to a Yank that calling someone a shitty piece of wool, stuck to a sheep’s arse is a compliment takes some convincing
What word are you referring to here? I don’t know of any American slang that means a shitty piece of wool stuck to a sheep’s ass, *dingleberry" is the closest we got and that’s not species-specific. The only thing I can think of that dag means/has meant in America is a minced oath, for either God or damn (“dagnabbit”, “dag yo”). Add an O on the end and you get a largely archaic racial slur for Italian people or a highly-localized regional sandwich. Didn’t know about the sandwich until I was driving through NE Minneapolis and saw a bar sign advertising “Dagos & Liquor” and briefly had to clutch my pearls until a local explained.
I love the Aussie (and I presume Kiwi as well) use of the word “cunt.” Y’all have made it so fun 😄
Is it the Aussies that use it as a universal, context-sensitive way to refer to people in general, but usually in a friendly or endearing way?
English isn’t my first language, so I just pick up bits and pieces that I like and make my own dialect. No clue where I pick them up, but they’re mine now.
Yeah it’s us.
You’re a good cunt (good person)
Look here cunt (implied threat of listen to me or I’ll flog you)
The word mate can be used here too
Thanks, cunt <3
Yeh its as adaptable as the English ‘Fuck’.
D’ya like dags?
In AustraliaIve always associated a dag with someone who dresses very idgaf; Stained trackie dacks, does whatever makes them happy without social concerns, etc. it’s slightly affectionate.
It’s a gentle insult
To be fair us yanks don’t know any of the meanings of dag, so we won’t think of it as rude either
Do people never go on the internet?
Edit: nvm. Tourists aren’t you and i, dear reader.
Do people never go on the internet?
Nope. You’re the first one. Congratulations.
Most people are on the internet. I learned quickly that Americans, despite being online, aren’t familiar with the phrase “don’t teach your grandmother to suck eggs”
Because their familiarity with a 16th century idiom is the benchmark of all knowledge, I guess.
I haven’t heard this used in like 30 years.
I mean because you don’t use it doesn’t mean no one does.
“fuck me dead” wouldn’t even get a reaction from me. I’m used to off the wall phrases, and as long as I can figure out contextually what is being said, I’ll roll with it.
Yeah I’ve heard this one in the US quite a bit
I use it in the US quite a bit, after picking it up from Ozzy Man on YouTube.
Ozzy Man’s videos are comedy gold. I don’t know if it’s the accent or the random Australian slang, but that shit cracks me up.
on a teams call
Guys we can solve this if we all just nut it out
Lets all nut one out!
“Nut out” isn’t a saying here though. “Nut it out” is.
You have witnessed the last 10% of the immigrant experience: idioms and cultural quirks.
Fuck your dad?
