# Forum Other Languages Germanic languages English  Slang and Swearing in UK, US and other countries

## Hanna

This is a thread about slang and swearing in English speaking countries.  
Number one - don't swear unless you speak quite good English. Otherwise you only sound stupid and ignorant.  
Secondly - women should avoid swearing, in English it sounds 10 times more vulgar when women swear than men. Many women from other countries do not realise this and accidentally end up seeming very rude and vulgar. If in doubt, do not swear!!!   
But it's useful to know these words because many people use them a lot.    Some swear words and slang from the United Kingdom:  * "Bloody"*   Example:  "Bloody French people, they are so bloody annoying"  Bloody is actually quite rude even though it doesn't sound like. It's less rude than f-ing though.   *Can't be bothered,* Other options:   Can't be fussed,  Can't be arsed....    Example "I can't be bothered to clean the bathroom right now... "   (I know I ought to clean, but I don't feel like it). This is a very common expression but don't use it with people that you want to give a serious and professional impression to. Don't use it at work.  * "Brilliant"*  Example: That film was brilliant (it was an excellent film). Americans use the word "awesome" instead. Brilliant is an ok word and can be used by anybody at any time.   *"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.   *"Darn"*  I think this is a slightly less way to say "damn" and "damned" Example: He's a darned idiot who keeps saying darn stupid things.  
More coming soon! 
Others, please add and learners feel free to ask questions!

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## Звездочёт

"Brilliant" is a slang?! I felt a shock  :: . I thought this word is like Russian "блестящий", but if it's a slang, then "потрясный" is a more close word.

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## Hanna

Well, used in that way I think it is slang.. But not bad slang, quite normal. The Queen probably would not use it though! She'd say "That was quite an extraordinary film, very well made" or something like that. I think. 
The reason I started this thread is because I personally have made MANY mistakes with slang. I worked with only men and started speaking like them - sometimes I sounded very vulgar and sometimes I misunderstood the slang expressions. This is not a problem for me at all anymore, but I have not forgotten how easy it is to make mistakes with slang.

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## Звездочёт

It's so strange: the word derived from "a brilliant", and a brilliant is a most noble gem. This information is very, very, very unexpected and sudden for me.

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## rockzmom

> "Brilliant" is a slang?! I felt a shock . I thought this word is like Russian "блестящий", but if it's a slang, then "потрясный" is a more close word.

 Okay, over across the pond here, we use "brilliant" the opposite way... as in putting someone down. If you did something really stupid it would be, "Well that was a brilliant idea." with the emphasis on the word, brilliant, and usually rolling your eyes at the same time.   ::

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## Звездочёт

> Okay, over across the pond here, we use "brilliant" the opposite way... as in putting someone down. If you did something really stupid it would be, "Well that was a brilliant idea." with the emphasis on the word, brilliant, and usually rolling your eyes at the same time.

 So, do you use the word for sarcasm and irony only?

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## Hanna

Well, you could say "He is a brilliant scientist" meaning he is a very talented scientist, a leader in his field. Wouldn't that work in American English rockzmom?  
You could also say "Jane and John threw a brilliant party, everything was perfect!"
Gosh there is plenty of scope for translatlantic confusion!   ::

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## rockzmom

> Originally Posted by rockzmom  Okay, over across the pond here, we use "brilliant" the opposite way... as in putting someone down. If you did something really stupid it would be, "Well that was a brilliant idea." with the emphasis on the word, brilliant, and usually rolling your eyes at the same time.   So, do you use the word for sarcasm and irony only?

 That's a very good question! You have me thinking now. I guess I would also use it as a character trait, to describe someone, "He is a truly a brilliant person." But I don't think I would use it as say, "He had/has a brilliant idea." It sounds too corny now days.  
Just to be clear, it is fine to use the word that way, just it sounds odd (false) because it is used so much the other way now (for sarcasm and irony).

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## Звездочёт

I expected this word is a word of “high” speech style, that it’s a literately word, because it derived from “a brilliant”. When I say “brilliant” (adjective), I see a brilliant, which revolves in a light, I see how glimmers, small lights and irises sparkle and dance on facets. And I can’t imagine, that a word, which has so charmed internal beauty and harmony, is just… a slang and corny    ::  .   

> Well, you could say "He is a brilliant scientist" meaning he is a very talented scientist, a leader in his field.

 Хм... I do not understand now. If I say “brilliant idea”, is it literately and bookish? Or I should avoid them in a “high” speech (like Queen  ::  )?

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## josmo

"bugger" sounds awfully British 
if you're using that cheesy or corny term 'darn' or 'darn-it' (exc. god darnit! = god damnit,dammit! )you'll come off as a little  slow  or late southern hick  ::   (at the extreme) old in other words it is a bit outdated (in most parts of the us) like that sh!t you get from hollywood movies - if  making a point  to mock something someones stupidity  stress it with sarcasm    ::

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## Hanna

> Well, you could say "He is a brilliant scientist" meaning he is a very talented scientist, a leader in his field.

  

> Хм... I do not understand now. If I say “brilliant idea”, is it literately and bookish? Or I should avoid them in a “high” speech (like Queen  )?

 Well judging from Rockzmom's comments, "brilliant" is a complicated word in the US. 
But in the UK it is quite safe to use it. It is completely normal and yes, you can say "that is a brilliant idea". It does not sound silly to me at all. I say it myself a lot.  
As a foreigner and particularly a Russian, the best kind of (British) accent to aim for is the "Recieved Pronounciation" accent, which is also called RP, Queen's English and sometimes BBC English. This is the posh (upper-class) way of speaking, but it is also suitable for foreigners. British accents is a very complicated (sensitive) question but just trust me, I am a foreigner and I speak in this way - it has helped a lot. BBC Radio 4 is a good example of this accent - listen online. 
The other option is to speak like an American.  
As I understand it there are some pretty big cultural differences between the UK and the US in terms of slang and swearing. I don't always understand what Americans mean, to be honest  - particularly when somebody is speaking New York slang, very fast, like my ex-boss. There are some other tricky accents there too. Real Americans DON'T speak like they do on TV shows and on CNN. Only very few do, those from California I think. 
However Americans are very chilled, relaxed people though, so usually things work out well anyway.

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## fortheether

> Originally Posted by Звездочёт        Originally Posted by rockzmom  Okay, over across the pond here, we use "brilliant" the opposite way... as in putting someone down. If you did something really stupid it would be, "Well that was a brilliant idea." with the emphasis on the word, brilliant, and usually rolling your eyes at the same time.   So, do you use the word for sarcasm and irony only?   That's a very good question! You have me thinking now. I guess I would also use it as a character trait, to describe someone, "He is a truly a brilliant person." But I don't think I would use it as say, "He had/has a brilliant idea." It sounds too corny now days.  
> Just to be clear, it is fine to use the word that way, just it sounds odd (false) because it is used so much the other way now (for sarcasm and irony).

 I've lived many years in the New York (state not city)/New Jersey area and disagree that brilliant is used mostly for sarcasm and irony.  I also disagree that brilliant sounds too corny.  Maybe it's the folks I talk with? 
Scott

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## josmo

you can use "brilliant!"  ::  (and mostly it is)  idiomatically as  to point out someones extreme screw up but you can use sarcasm at about anything else like awesome dude ( term dude is 'corny' and stresses sarcasm  ::  )or 'nice job there'  pal    (pal is corny ;to keep overusing the term corny)
by the way I hate the word dude (its so cali and old)
hohohoho

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## Hanna

Maybe an American person can explain DUDE and YA' LL (??) and some other American expressions.
I kind of like "dude" but I don't use it myself.

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## rockzmom

> Maybe an American person can explain DUDE and YA' LL (??) and some other American expressions.
> I kind of like "dude" but I don't use it myself.

 There actually is an older thread... How to speak Southern Ya'll - The Queen's English 
And you can download a redacted copy of "A DICTIONARY OF THE QUEEN'S ENGLISH, NORTH CAROLINA" that was published in Raleigh, N.C. by the Travel and Tourism Division, Dept. of Commerce, [between 1978 and 1988]  http://www.mediafire.com/?tkmmmdyymyg 
Now to answer your question about ya'll or y'all... it is used in the Southern U.S. to mean more than one person. Example: "Listen up ya'll"  or  "Come on y'all, stop fussin'." 
The "listen up ya'll" is one expression that gives me away EVERYTIME because you also tend to throw a big "twang" or a "Southern drawl," in there when ya say it. So my normal middle of the road plain Jane no accent, goes right out the window!

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## josmo

> Originally Posted by Johanna  Maybe an American person can explain DUDE and YA' LL (??) and some other American expressions.
> I kind of like "dude" but I don't use it myself.   There actually is an older thread... How to speak Southern Ya'll - The Queen's English 
> And you can download a redacted copy of "A DICTIONARY OF THE QUEEN'S ENGLISH, NORTH CAROLINA" that was published in Raleigh, N.C. by the Travel and Tourism Division, Dept. of Commerce, [between 1978 and 1988]  http://www.mediafire.com/?tkmmmdyymyg 
> Now to answer your question about ya'll or y'all... it is used in the Southern U.S. to mean more than one person. Example: "Listen up ya'll"  or  "Come on y'all, stop fussin'." 
> The "listen up ya'll" is one expression that gives me away EVERYTIME because you also tend to throw a big "twang" or a "Southern drawl," in there when ya say it. So my normal middle of the road plain Jane no accent, goes right out the window!

 yup,and you definitely sound like a douche if you call someone  'dude' too much    ::   ::

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## fortheether

> Maybe an American person can explain DUDE and YA' LL (??) and some other American expressions.
> I kind of like "dude" but I don't use it myself.

 I've heard it mostly used towards males but have heard it towards females.  To me it sounds weird directed towards a female.
Dude can kind of be a replacement for a few words like (man, guy): 
What's up dude?  
Dude you're right.
Did you see that dude in the red car?
That's the dude that bought the beer. 
Generally younger folks use it. 
Hope this helps.  
Scott

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## kamka

> *Can't be bothered,* Other options:   Can't be fussed,  Can't be arsed....    Example "I can't be bothered to clean the bathroom right now... "   (I know I ought to clean, but I don't feel like it). This is a very common expression but don't use it with people that you want to give a serious and professional impression to. *Don't use it at work.*

 funny you should say that, for that was probably the most used phrase at my work; also its variation "can't be f*cked" or "cannae be hooped"   ::  well, those, and "I'm doing f*ck all".   ::   
btw, I've always been wondering, is "knackered" an offensive word? I remember my friend once saying it's the kind of word you wouldn't say to your mother, yet I kept hearing it in various situations, spoken by all kinds of people.

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## Hanna

Haha Kamka are you working in IT by any chance?

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## kamka

IT, as in Information Technology?
nah, was working in a restaurant, learnt LOTS of swear words while being there. Very interesting experience, really, especially language-wise.  ::

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## Hanna

@Kamka - Oh I see!  Restaurant industry in the UK is NOT a good place to learn English, too many non-English. But you already speak it well by the sound of things though.  
Another word that's used a lot is "git" but I don't know exactly what it means and I don't use it myself.
Example "He's a real git"  (negative).

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## kamka

> @Kamka - Oh I see!  Restaurant industry in the UK is NOT a good place to learn English, too many non-English. But you already speak it well by the sound of things though.

 I actually worked with quite a lot of Scots, so it wasn't that bad.  ::  This one time on a quiet night, I even had a customer teaching me some Scottish slang! Good times  :: )
May I just ask, how long have you been in Britain?

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## rockzmom

I was really hoping this would make it to Youtube, because I am not certain if you all have "rights" to view MSNBC.... 
"peppercorns" this was a new one for me!!!!  http://www.popeater.com/2009/09/24/m...er-today-show/

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## Hanna

Haha "Peppercorns"!
Never heard that before! 
And Martha Stewart is out of prison!
(for a brief period in time I rather admired her as I tried to keep a perfect house... enough said!)

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## sperk

> Originally Posted by Johanna  Maybe an American person can explain DUDE and YA' LL (??) and some other American expressions.
> I kind of like "dude" but I don't use it myself.

 I recently noticed that young girls (teens to early 20's) are calling each other dude, which is kind of cute. To me, it has a impolite, disrespectful ring to it; I don't appreciate being addressed as dude.

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## rockzmom

> Originally Posted by fortheether        Originally Posted by Johanna  Maybe an American person can explain DUDE and YA' LL (??) and some other American expressions.
> I kind of like "dude" but I don't use it myself.      I recently noticed that young girls (teens to early 20's) are calling each other dude, which is kind of cute. To me, it has a impolite, disrespectful ring to it; I don't appreciate being addressed as dude.

 "You call me me DUDE ONE MORE TIME!" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GgWrV8TcUc 
Listen closely at the end at what he says..."You got that camera on? If I find myself on..." 
This took place in Baltimore in the Inner Harbor area. The case was in the news here again this past weekend as the case was thrown out of court.  
Now about the teens..hehehe.. My girls were going to write a posting here about that. They DO in fact call each other and their friends "dude" and say, "What's your problem dude" or just "DUDE!" to each other ALL the time. To them "dude" is almost as common in a sentence as "like" these days.

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## kamka

that cop looks like a proper psycho to me.   ::

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## rockzmom

> that cop looks like a proper psycho to me.

 Ohhhh, the jokes going on around here when this first came out! People blamed it on his having to drive a "toy" cop car and wearing shorts. Of course, the boy did not help by calling him "dude" over, and over, and over.

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## kamka

> Originally Posted by kamka  that cop looks like a proper psycho to me.     Ohhhh, the jokes going on around here when this first came out! People blamed it on his having to drive a "toy" cop car and wearing shorts. Of course, the boy did not help by calling him "dude" over, and over, and over.

 I didn't understand what did the cop get so upset about in first place   ::

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## rockzmom

> Originally Posted by rockzmom        Originally Posted by kamka  that cop looks like a proper psycho to me.     Ohhhh, the jokes going on around here when this first came out! People blamed it on his having to drive a "toy" cop car and wearing shorts. Of course, the boy did not help by calling him "dude" over, and over, and over.   I didn't understand what did the cop get so upset about in first place

 The kids were skateboarding in an area where you could not. The one boy had his earphones in from his iPod and did not hear him or just did not "want" to hear him. It set him off. He was having a really bad day....  ::   ::

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## translationsnmru

> Originally Posted by kamka        Originally Posted by rockzmom  Ohhhh, the jokes going on around here when this first came out! People blamed it on his having to drive a "toy" cop car and wearing shorts. Of course, the boy did not help by calling him "dude" over, and over, and over.   I didn't understand what did the cop get so upset about in first place     The kids were skateboarding in an area where you could not. The one boy had his earphones in from his iPod and did not hear him or just did not "want" to hear him. It set him off. He was having a really bad day....

 The cop needs some anger management training  :: . But, frankly, the kid was acting like a moron. I don't know if he is one, or if he was just being a teenager (always on the defensive, like typical teenagers are, etc), but his behavior wasn't smart.

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## kamka

> The kids were skateboarding in an area where you could not. The one boy had his earphones in from his iPod and did not hear him or just did not "want" to hear him. It set him off. He was having a really bad day....

 oh, alright! that's for clearing that one up for me  ::  
translationsmr - most of 14-year-olds are morons, it's just a phase we all go through, when you act all cocky just for the sake of it, 'cause you feel oh-so-grown-up and fail to see why would anyone have any right to question whatever it is that you're doing. And I'd exepct a police officer to show just a wee bit more empathy, after all it's not like the kid was harmful in any way, or actually insulting the cop, he was probably just being his 14-year-old self.
That cop, on the other hand, acts as if he has not only some anger amangment issues, as you've pointed out, but also a huge problem with his self-esteem, hence he's taking it out on someone who's just this much more vulnerable. Scary thing.

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## translationsnmru

> That cop, on the other hand, acts as if he has not only some anger amangment issues, as you've pointed out, but also a huge problem with his self-esteem, hence he's taking it out on someone who's just this much more vulnerable. Scary thing.

 Oh, yeah, I wasn't trying to say that the cop's behavior was alright just because the kid was acting stupid (and, by the way, now that I think of it, he probably acted as he did he was with his friends. He probably just didn't want to look like a wuss to them. Stupid, but understandable). There was absolutely no need to manhandle the boy and yell at him the way the cop did. I wonder if he behaves the same way towards his own children. Maybe it's just his idea of how to handle disobedient children   ::  
By the way, law enforcement seems to be a magment to people with security and self-esteem issues. Even in the least corrupt societies, a certain percentage of police officers are liable to be like that guy.

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## Hanna

Yeah I agree -- that policeman was a bit unprofessional. It seemed like he was in a very bad mood and partly took it out on the (very stupid!!) kid. He was the adult in the situation, and someone who is supposedly trained to handle such situations calmly. The kid WAS both stupid and disrespectful though. Fool meets fool situation...   
What a strange uniform he wore! I didn't realise at first that the fellow who was shouting was actually the policeman...

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## Hanna

*
VERY FUNNY, VERY RUDE (WARNING SENSITIVE PPL!) about London Underground (metro).*  
(good intro to some very rude and very common words in British English!)   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84vJ4vEWvAQ 
If you really want to know exactly what the rude words are, make a search for the karaoke version which has all the words.

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## Yazeed

Two expressions I use a lot: 
Sweet: another word for "Awesome!".  Example: "Sweet! I just won the lottery!" 
Sick: Awesome, very impressive.  Example: "I just say [insert movie title here], that movie was SICK!"  or "did you see what that magician did? That was sick, yo!"

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## Hanna

Yazeed - Good ones!

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## Zombie Acorn

Keep in mind that British slang and American slang is very different.  In America we do not use "bugger off" or "bugger", we usually use "f*ck off".  British people use "piss off" and "bloody", Americans do not.  British also use "taking the piss out of me" which means to mock someone. 
 Some other words that I hear young Americans use quite a bit are: "stop being a fag" or "thats gay", they don't literally mean that you are homosexual. 
Overall I think "f*ck" or "what the f*ck" are probably the most used swear words in the US.

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## bitpicker

Of course there are books for just about everything, so, too, for learning how to swear:  English as a 2nd F*cking Language 
And by the same author: Watch Your F*cking Language 
Robin

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## Trzeci_Wymiar

> Well judging from Rockzmom's comments, "brilliant" is a complicated word in the US.

 Not really. It's actually simpler. We don't use it for *everything*. "Brilliant" is more strictly used as a synonym for "ingenious." And even then it sounds a bit pretentious.   
Yes, personally, for instance, I might say "That film was *brilliant*," but only if I were too lazy to say "brilliantly done," or "ingenious," or "exceedingly intelligent plot-wise and in execution." Capische? 
Generally, I'd just lazily drop the line "That was f**king good, dude." (nonspecific "dude" here).   

> The other option is to speak like an American.

 The better option. I don't like how Russians sound when their accent has British traces in it. Sounds funky.    

> when somebody is speaking New York slang

 I don't know that the slang differs too much from the rest of the country, although the accent is quite different. Most of my extended family lives in and around NYC.   

> There are some other tricky accents there too. Real Americans DON'T speak like they do on TV shows and on CNN. Only very few do, those from California I think.

 True dat! "Talking heads" and TV personalities are usually trained in their diction, and they go on the "Standard American English" model, or something, which supposedly emanates from Ohio.  
Californians, on the other hand, are notorious for slang, especially the youth of Southern California (which is incidentally where I grew up).   

> However Americans are very chilled, relaxed people though, so usually things work out well anyway.

 I beg to differ!   ::     

> As I understand it there are some pretty big cultural differences between the UK and the US in terms of slang and swearing.

 There are big differences. It's nearly impossible for me to get the meaning of someone speaking British slang unless they're using highly stereotypical words, like "bloody" or "bollocks," or unless the context lends clarity. The other day, a guy gamboled into my place of work, said something to me in British English and proceeded to laugh hysterically, while I sat there trying like hell to determine exactly what the f_k he had said. I understood the words (and I forget them as of now) but they made no sense to me whatsoever. 
I suppose it's the same in reverse for Brits ... so ... 
Speaking of slang ... as a young person (22 and under) living in the United States, slang and profanity are my fundamental building blocks of daily communication! 
Here's an abbreviated list of some common American "slangisms" that you might be interested in:  *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 
OK - obviously, there are millions more than these, and ones that are much, much more profane. However, I'll only post extreme profanities upon request. Highly profane verbiage is very, VERY common in everyday situations between men and, increasingly, women, or even between women and men.  
Generally, I'd say, profanity and slang comprises a great majority of my words when I'm talking about mundane things. But if I'm having serious conversations, or discussing something a bit more high-flown with some friends, I'll invariably switch to exceedingly high-form English. I kind of swing between the extremes and occasionally intermix them. 
But, whatever!

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## Rhaab

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

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## Basil77

> 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.   ::

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## Mr Happy Go Lucky

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?

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## kybarry

> 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

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## почемучка

> 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.

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## quartztwo

> 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.

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## Der Doktor

> *"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 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.

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## Hanna

> 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.   ::

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## Hanna

> *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.

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## Ricochet

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.   ::

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