# American English has no word for .... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 29, 2009, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-has-no-word-for/515659 "2009-10-29T21:12:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-has-no-word-for/515659/101 "2009-10-30T14:27:06Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > So are “English” muffins. They’re sort of flattened burger buns, only a bit more doughy, usually with a dusting of flour. Taste a bit like sourdough. > > They’re not muffins as you know them, and nobody knows why they’re called English muffins. Actually, they _are_ muffins as I know them – I have a pack of them on my kitchen counter as I type. They’re called “English” muffins in America, because they originate in England, and to differentiate them from the other (cupcake-like) sort. In the UK they’re just called muffins. Despite the popular factoid that they’re unknown in England, they are, in fact, readily available in supermarkets the length and breadth of the country. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-has-no-word-for/515659/102 "2009-10-30T14:30:26Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > You’re right. “Jaunty” isn’t bad. But “gay” is irreplaceable. For clothes, “kicky” is a good one. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelQReilly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@MichaelQReilly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelQReilly)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-has-no-word-for/515659/103 "2009-10-30T14:44:45Z")
English has no gender indefinite word meaning “his or hers.” How could we have made such a large oversight? ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-has-no-word-for/515659/104 "2009-10-30T15:19:44Z")
> [@MichaelQReilly](#): > > English has no gender indefinite word meaning “his or hers.” How could we have made such a large oversight? “Their.” Cecil even mentioned it in a column once (just as “they” is the gender-indefinite “he or she”). A English teacher wouldn’t accept it in a composition, but English teachers are losers anyway. ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-has-no-word-for/515659/105 "2009-10-30T15:44:47Z")
> [@Scheidt-Hoch](#): > > It’s always been difficult to explain to Americans what ‘dodgy’ means. I don’t think there’s any exact equivalent. When I think of this word, the word [Sketchy](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=sketchy)comes to mind. I hadn’t really heard that word, but in college it was just used ridiculously and to varying degrees to where it’s similar to how dodgy seems to be. Also, one can use the slang term “sketch” as well as sketchy and I’ve heard so many variations on who or what is sketch it’s rather amusing. The word just sort of blindsided me, as I never really heard it in high school or anything, but since college on wards it’s been everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![maladroit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f475e1/32.png) [@maladroit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maladroit)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-has-no-word-for/515659/106 "2009-10-30T18:31:15Z")
The malevolent entities in inanimate objects are called gremlins in America. I heard in India there’s a word for the red lines left on your skin when you disrobe. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-has-no-word-for/515659/107 "2009-10-30T18:42:48Z")
> [@ToeJam](#): > > When I think of this word, the word [Sketchy](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=sketchy)comes to mind. YES! I knew there was something very like dodgy, and sketchy is it. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-has-no-word-for/515659/108 "2009-10-30T18:55:30Z")
> [@WotNot](#): > > They’re called “English” muffins in America, because they originate in England, and to differentiate them from the other (cupcake-like) sort. In the UK they’re just called muffins. > > Despite the popular factoid that they’re unknown in England, they are, in fact, readily available in supermarkets the length and breadth of the country. I never saw one, and everyone I knew thought of the American cupcakey kind of muffin when you said “muffin”. Or oral sex, possibly. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-has-no-word-for/515659/109 "2009-10-30T19:10:12Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I never saw one, and everyone I knew thought of the American cupcakey kind of muffin when you said “muffin”. Well, I’ve never seen a badger, but I don’t doubt they’re out there somewhere. Where were you looking? As for everyone you knew, it’s possible you were simply mixing with the wrong sort… > [@](#): > > Or oral sex, possibly. … or the right sort, depending on your point of view. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-has-no-word-for/515659/110 "2009-10-30T19:13:17Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Some Spaniards ligamos, nos camelamos (that’s from caló, Spanish gypsy), pelamos la pava, nos hacemos ojitos, nos echamos miraditas… just pointing out that flirtear isn’t the only option Spanish has. Or coquetear… Which I like because it sounds happy and fun. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-has-no-word-for/515659/111 "2009-10-30T19:33:37Z")
> [@WotNot](#): > > Well, I’ve never seen a badger, but I don’t doubt they’re out there somewhere. Where were you looking? > > As for everyone you knew, it’s possible you were simply mixing with the wrong sort… > > … or the right sort, depending on your point of view. 😉 You’ve never seen a badger? Really? I find that asto… wait a minute, neither have I. Which, now that I think about it, is okay - I hear they spread brucellosis. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-has-no-word-for/515659/112 "2009-10-30T20:12:26Z")
Well, the animal from which one gets milk is a _cow_. The male version of that animal is a _bull_. Collectively those animals are _cattle_. But we don’t have a word for a single, non-sex-specific specimen of that animal. Also, we don’t have a means of distinguishing brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law based on their relationship. My brother-in-law is either my wife’s brother or my sister’s husband. My sister-in-law is either my wife’s sister or my brother’s wife. Mrs. Homie’s brother-in-law is either my brother or her sister’s husband. Mrs. Homie’s sister-in-law is either my sister or her brother’s wife. It’s too much! 😕 ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-has-no-word-for/515659/113 "2009-10-30T20:18:22Z")
Further, we don’t have a word that describes the act of relieving oneself. We have plenty of euphemisms (using the toilet, going to the bathroom) and plenty of vulgarities (hittin’ the head), but no concise term for the act. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-has-no-word-for/515659/114 "2009-10-30T20:27:14Z")
“Pissing” and “shitting”? Or more mildly, “peeing” and “pooping”? ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-has-no-word-for/515659/115 "2009-10-30T20:28:40Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > Well, the animal from which one gets milk is a _cow_. > The male version of that animal is a _bull_. > Collectively those animals are _cattle_. > But we don’t have a word for a single, non-sex-specific specimen of that animal. I thought it was kine? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-has-no-word-for/515659/116 "2009-10-30T20:49:59Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > Well, the animal from which one gets milk is a _cow_. > The male version of that animal is a _bull_. > Collectively those animals are _cattle_. > But we don’t have a word for a single, non-sex-specific specimen of that animal. Bovine. ---
**Author:** ![perfectparanoia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a5b964/32.png) [@perfectparanoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perfectparanoia)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-has-no-word-for/515659/117 "2009-10-30T21:01:30Z")
There is no word to agree to a negative question. For example: Q: You aren’t going to the party? A: Yes. Does that mean yes you are going or no you aren’t? In French the word ‘Si’ means, ‘Yes, I am not going.’ leading to ‘Non’ meaning ‘No, I am going.’ Grammatically, I understand that the yes is in agreement with the negative but sometimes people just don’t mean it that way. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-has-no-word-for/515659/118 "2009-10-30T21:35:58Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Bovine. IIRC, we were chastised if we used words like that (canine, feline bovine) as nouns, as it is an adjective, not a proper noun (hey, that was my boss who said that). But, erm… In the area that I work and specialize, they use “ox” when trying to be non-sex specific. As in “Tissue from an ox”. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-has-no-word-for/515659/119 "2009-10-30T23:22:17Z")
Quoth **Nava** : > [@](#): > > My cousin’s cousins on the other side are my reprimos (although this may be a local term). This isn’t coprimos or conprimos because all the relationships involved are biological. Really, there’s a language that has a word for that? In my extended family, we call those “turkey cousins”, but I know that’s just restricted to us (though there are enough of us that we could almost qualify as a dialect). We use that term because we joke that the group of such cousins who are closest to us are all a bunch of turkeys. And I can’t think of anything that’s quite precisely the opposite of “perfect”, but nerds use the word “pessimal” to mean the opposite of of “optimal”. So, for instance, quicksort is (at least very close to) optimal, bubble sort is sub-optimal, and bogosort is pessimal. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-has-no-word-for/515659/120 "2009-10-30T23:44:29Z")
> [@bup](#): > > A English teacher wouldn’t accept it in a composition, but English teachers are losers anyway. As an English teacher, I can only comment on your exceptional perception. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-has-no-word-for/515659.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-has-no-word-for/515659.md?page=7)