American/English words
@sprite1950 (30453)
Corsham, England
September 25, 2017 3:19am CST
I have to laugh sometimes because some words in US speak have a completely different meaning in the UK.
Take 'fanny' for instance. In America this is an acceptable word for bottom but if you said it over here in the UK it would be frowned upon because it is slang for a woman's private area and usually only used in a crude fashion!
There are other words too. Here is a link which saves me explaining why they are not acceptable in the UK. 
[caption id="attachment_49079" align="alignright" width="290" caption="This lady has just been told she has a spunky bugger on her pants"][/caption] If we have learned anything over...
8 people like this
10 responses
@sprite1950 (30453)
• Corsham, England
30 Sep 17
@YrNemo I always wanted to learn how to sign so I could talk to deaf people but never got round to it.
1 person likes this
@YrNemo (20261)
•
30 Sep 17
@sprite1950 My memory is hopeless these days. I can't seem to remember anything anymore.
1 person likes this
@sprite1950 (30453)
• Corsham, England
25 Sep 17
Thanks. I love reading about our differences. It's quite funny sometimes.
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
25 Sep 17
This link only offers part of the meaning of some words.
For example, we do tend to use the term pants for both examples given.
There are also alternatives for each word. Pants can be breathes heavily, bugger can be someone who annoys (bugs) and shag is a deep pile on a rug or carpet.
1 person likes this
@sprite1950 (30453)
• Corsham, England
26 Sep 17
@Asylum Yeah, it probably wasn't a very good example. I just plucked it from the internet to illustrate what I was trying to say.
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
25 Sep 17
An old lady in England admiring someone's cat would think nothing of saying "Oh, what a lovely pu$$y! May I stroke her?" but that would definitely cause seriously raised eyebrows in America (and even Nanny MyLot won't let me type the word!) where cats - especially cute ones - are called 'kitty'. Mind you, the British sitcom, "Are You Being Served?" did make some mileage out of the double meaning, so the impolite usage is certainly known in Britain (and has been for at least 200 years or longer) but it is hardly ever taken as such (unless the context makes the meaning explicit). In the 18th and 19th Centuries, 'Puss' was often used to refer to a hare in hare coursing circles.
I was always told that, if one were a guest in America, it would be impolite to ask if one could help the lady of the house wash up (the correct thing to say is "May I help do the dishes?") and that you might get some funny looks if you asked your host to knock you up in the morning instead of giving you a call!
1 person likes this
@sprite1950 (30453)
• Corsham, England
25 Sep 17
Haha. In this day and age pu$$y has probably become quite a naughty word both in England and America although if someone elderly said it people would find it acceptable. I definitely wouldn't say it now because I know someone would either frown or smirk!
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
25 Sep 17
@sprite1950 It's odd that in Goldfinger and Trigger Mortis, Honor Blackman's character didn't have to be renamed in the US, at least. Also we can still refer to that twig which is so popular in spring flower arrangements as 'pussywillow' and some of us, at least, have innocently sung that well-known nursery rhyme about loving a small cat. Let's not be pussyfooted about these words, I say! I think that it would be quite clear to most when one is referring to the female pudenda and when one is referring to a cat.
1 person likes this
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
25 Sep 17
@sprite1950 Isn't that part of why "Are You Being Served?" was such a funny show? All those "innocent" double entendres!
2 people like this
@sprite1950 (30453)
• Corsham, England
25 Sep 17
Yes years ago I know that women were given that name but it was usually a shortened version of Frances and I don't think it was thought of as a rude word. Absolutely no one would call their child that nowadays
@Bluedoll (16774)
• Canada
30 Sep 17
@sprite1950 Yes you see some different names nowadays, for example one child I know has been called Summer and another Winter.
1 person likes this
@sprite1950 (30453)
• Corsham, England
30 Sep 17
@Bluedoll yeah definitely some unusual names about although some of the old ones are still around too. Names like Emily and Lucy were used in my grandmother's time.
1 person likes this
@sprite1950 (30453)
• Corsham, England
26 Sep 17
@JudyEv yes we have bum bags too 
1 person likes this
@m_audrey6788 (58485)
• Germany
25 Sep 17
Yes..That`s why it`s really hard not asking or clearing things to a person with different language about things before judging them
1 person likes this
@Hannihar (129470)
• Israel
2 Nov 17
I have found that out by meeting people here in Israel from England. Also in the US in different States or cities they say things different that what I call things.
@Meramar (2695)
•
13 Jan 18
These kind of differences are interesting and important to know for someone who is not an English native speaker! There are similar differences between Spanish from Spain and the Spanish used in Latinamerica. Each country has got its own particularities. That's one of the reasons why we have to be very careful when we talk to someone else.
