Thread: Slang and Swearing in UK, US and other countries

F*ck is usually excused if say.. you hurt yourself 'ow f*ck that hurt', especially if you say sorry right after. At least here in canada. Students or even teachers sometimes accidently say a swear in the classroom setting. Kind of like how the canadian french use tabernak.

F*ck has many meanings, theres youtube videos of the many ways to use it. It's probably the most flexible word in the english language hah

Sh*t is also used if you hurt yourself as well as many other meanings, which can be used in combination with f*ck lol. 'That sh*t is f*cking crazy'

chill out, take a chill pill - calm down

what the deuce, what the f*ck, what the hell, what the sh*t - what just happened/what is that?

The internet is growing exponentially, it's getting in the minds of people and language. People are starting to use acrynoms in real settings. My friend says 'lol' when he's laughing, its kind of retarded hah. I sometimes say literally say 'w t f', or 'b r b' with my group of friends. I sometimes notice people do the same thing too between their group of friends

Originally Posted by Rhaab

The internet is growing exponentially, it's getting in the minds of people and language. People are starting to use acrynoms in real settings. My friend says 'lol' when he's laughing, its kind of retarded hah. I sometimes say literally say 'w t f', or 'b r b' with my group of friends. I sometimes notice people do the same thing too between their group of friends

At least they use acrynoms of sayings in their native language. I know couple of peope here in Russia who constantly say "lol" if they feel funny. Very annoying.

Hehe
Speaking of British cuss words, I know of this one: bullocks
Like, bloody bullocking f!ck!!! Lol

I'm more up on American slang for the most part because I lived there for quite a while

Here are main insults:
Crap,
Fag,
Bullshit
Cunt
Twat
Bitch

Here are more specific insults:
Dingbat
Meathead
Knucklehead
Jagoff
dungbeetle
scumsucking leach
quiff
zit on the butt
(damn i'm getting creative)

That's all I can think of right off the bat. lol. I guess that'll do for a time, of course it's by no means an all-around list, need some more words to complement it


PS: Johanna, I've been curious (yes I know curiosity killed the cat ), do you hail from England? Is your mother tongue British English?

Here are more specific insults:
Dingbat
Meathead
Knucklehead
Jagoff
dungbeetle
scumsucking leach
quiff
zit on the butt
(damn i'm getting creative)

Ha, some of these are really obscure or archaic. I've literally never heard anyone called a Dingbat, Jagoff, dungbeetle, scumsucking leach, quiff, or zit on the butt.

Meathead - a big, strong guy, without a brain.
Knucklehead - a fool

Here are a few slang words that are positive, believe it or not:
Badass - tough, cool "King Leonidas in 300 is a badass"
Nasty, a Beast, a Monster - specifically, good at a sport, "He's nasty at basketball"
The man - someone who is great, or cool
The sh*t - same as The man

Originally Posted by kybarry

Ha, some of these are really obscure or archaic. I've literally never heard anyone called a Dingbat, Jagoff, dungbeetle, scumsucking leach, quiff, or zit on the butt.

I've heard my mom call people a dingbat, but only semi-seriously and my mother isn't the person you want to be taking cues from regarding slang anyway. I don't even know what a quiff is.

Originally Posted by почемучка

I've heard my mom call people a dingbat, but only semi-seriously and my mother isn't the person you want to be taking cues from regarding slang anyway. I don't even know what a quiff is.

Dingbat means someone "empty headed" and the usage is mostly influenced by the TV-show "All in the Family". I wouldn't call it offensive as much as "quaint"

Quiff is very rude. Not to be used in (polite) society.

Originally Posted by Hanna

"Bugger" This is a very rude word. It can be used in many ways. "Bugger off" "Where is that little bugger..?" (said about a person that you don't like. Male usage only!) This word is related to homosexuality, so it is a bit insulting.

Others, please add and learners feel free to ask questions!

As right as you are, I would say the word bugger has lost a great deal of strength in meaning. Now, it is a mild swearword. "Bugger" can also be used as an expression of annoyance like "damn". So, instead of "Damn! I forgot." you could say "Bugger! I forgot."

More UK swearwords:

wanker: etymologically related to masturbation. A rude word that is predominantly used to insult men. It sounds odd used to insult women.

tosser: also rude. "What a tosser" = what an arsehole (arsehole being the British variant of asshole).

c**t is probably the strongest swearword in the UK. It is a word that has actually managed to maintain a strong meaning. You should be very careful with that one.

gobshi*e: used, I believe, a lot in Ireland, but you do hear it in the UK from time to time too. My mother uses it for example. It is a noun, not an adjective (unlike sh*te or s**t) and I'd guess you'd call someone a gobsh*te if that person had said something that annoyed you (gob = mouth).

twat: synonymous with "idiot" and is difficult to assess. It could be regarded as a strong insult since it is also a slang word for "vagina" - but in the UK, it's overall as strong as a word like "idiot".

prat: used in similar contexts to idiot. Quite strong.

Originally Posted by quartztwo

Originally Posted by почемучка

I've heard my mom call people a dingbat, but only semi-seriously and my mother isn't the person you want to be taking cues from regarding slang anyway. I don't even know what a quiff is.

Dingbat means someone "empty headed" and the usage is mostly influenced by the TV-show "All in the Family". I wouldn't call it offensive as much as "quaint"

Quiff is very rude. Not to be used in (polite) society.

Those two words may have a meaning I am not aware of, but at least in the UK, neither quiff nor quaint are rude - at least in the UK. "quiff" refers to a hairstyle and "quaint" means unusual in a pleasant way. E.g. "This is a very quaint house" = this is an unusual/quirky yet nice house.

Originally Posted by Mr Happy Go Lucky

PS: Johanna, I've been curious (yes I know curiosity killed the cat ), do you hail from England? Is your mother tongue British English?

Nope - I am Swedish and that is my mother tongue. But I have lived in the UK for nine years now, and most people cannot tell that I am not a native. (I have been more or less "stuck" here for work reasons but I am trying to change that.. )

I studied English from a really young age, had plenty of exposure. My experience is not really comparable with the challenges that Russian speakers have when they learn English - Swedish is a Western European language and the grammar is closer to English than the grammar of Slavic languages. Also, coming from a smaller country you MUST know a major world language to have a career. It's a completely different level of motivation.

I learnt about UK swearwords the hard way.... working in IT with only guys and no previous knowledge of British slang... Many of the words listed above are quite "normal" for a guy to use.. But sound extremely rude if a woman use them!

I made several mistakes before I decided to stay away from all slang and swearing unless I was 110% certain of what they meant.

The problem with slang and swearing is that if you don't use it "right" then you sound like a complete tw_t.

Originally Posted by Trzeci_Wymiar

I'm bummed out = I'm feeling a bit sad

Today sucks = I don't like how today is going

So, my grandpa croaked last night = My grandpa died

It's pretty dead here = There's not much activity going on

She's ditsy as hell = She seems quite vacuous, unintelligent, and bubbly

Come again? = What did you say?

Did you see that car? That sh*t was off the hook! = That was a really cool car

Stop power tripping! = Stop trying to control everything

Man, I just went and took the five minute diet! = I relieved my bowels to a vast extent in the toilet

These type of american expressions are VERY irritating, I can't stand them! Particularly those that can be used at work, so add to the above things like "ballpark figure"...

There is a good reason they have not taken off in the UK although sadly the cheesy management terminology has... They offer any "schmuck" the opportunity to babble for 15 minutes in a meeting without saying anything of substance and most people being totally taken in by his cheezy nonsense.

Oh Hanna, just wait until I circle back on my list of action items for picking the low-hanging fruit in the IT space.
Buzzwords.