# British use of the word "gaffer" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Tags:** middle-earth\ **Created:** [June 4, 2024, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-use-of-the-word-gaffer/1002472 "2024-06-04T11:56:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2024, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-use-of-the-word-gaffer/1002472/21 "2024-06-05T19:54:34Z")
Similar Brit English words that I sometimes read but never hear in person/Midwest US English are duffer and punter. > [@Stanislaus](#): > > I think maybe it’s about proximity. In a small firm, the owner is going to be very hands on, will know all the workers by name, will be the guy who visibly has the biggest impact on the workers’ day to day (e.g. rotas, setting standards etc). Perhaps ‘proprietor.’ For franchises like a Subway restaurant or fuel station, you might refer to the owner/operator. ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2024, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-use-of-the-word-gaffer/1002472/22 "2024-06-05T21:58:30Z")
I’m very much a white collar worker so I’ve never used the term at work and would say I’ve pretty much exclusively heard it used in a football (soccer) context with players/ex-players/pundits referring to the coach/manager. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2024, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-use-of-the-word-gaffer/1002472/23 "2024-06-05T22:10:47Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > Brit English words that I sometimes read but never hear in person/Midwest US English are duffer and punter. Duffer is out of use these days and is most likely to be found in pre-war children’s books as a description of a fool. _“Better drowned than duffers, if not duffers won’t drown.”_ - Arthur Ransome, Swallows and Amazons Punter is pretty common and is a derogatory term for a customer, especially where the enterprise is borderline or outright illegal. A prostitute’s clients are punters for example, but so are gamblers making a legal wager. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-use-of-the-word-gaffer/1002472/24 "2024-06-06T02:24:29Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > Punter is pretty common and is a derogatory term for a customer, I know the word to mean a gambler but wasn’t aware of it’s wider use. I’m glad we talked. Come to think of it, duffer does mean something vaguely golfing but so does Dorf. Mostly, I’d take a duffer to be an old man, prideful but clueless. ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-use-of-the-word-gaffer/1002472/25 "2024-06-06T03:37:37Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > Punter is pretty common and is a derogatory term for a customer, We use it a lot here (Oz) for people who attend events. Particularly concerts. “They pays their money and they takes their chances.” Even the tortured grammar gives a clue. Nobody is getting their money back if the music stinks. From there almost any customer is a punter. ---
**Author:** ![Jebbilene](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jebbilene/32/3414_2.png) [@Jebbilene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jebbilene)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-use-of-the-word-gaffer/1002472/26 "2024-06-06T03:46:20Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > Punter is pretty common and is a derogatory term for a customer, especially where the enterprise is borderline or outright illegal. A prostitute’s clients are punters for example, but so are gamblers making a legal wager. Huh, that’s interesting. In Australia, a punter, narrowly speaking, is someone who bets on sporting events, and the like. Broadly speaking, it’s like your average Joe who has a somewhat informed opinion. I can see the connection to the British meaning, but it went in a different direction. I guess average Aussies are assumed to gamble (probably true). ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-use-of-the-word-gaffer/1002472/27 "2024-06-06T07:34:23Z")
I wouldn’t call ‘punter’ derogatory (I’m British), more like colloquial. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-use-of-the-word-gaffer/1002472/28 "2024-06-06T09:13:25Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Gaffer is a British term for the boss. The word is a corruption of Godfather. Question. Is the A pronounced as in “bath” or as in “caught”? I don’t think I’ve ever heard the word said aloud, and as an American I’m inclined towards the former, but if it’s derived from “godfather” then I could imagine Brits going with the latter, since the A-as-ou sound is more common in British English, e.g. American “rather” rhyming with “gather” vs. British “rather” rhyming with “father”. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-use-of-the-word-gaffer/1002472/29 "2024-06-06T09:35:31Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Question. Is the A pronounced as in “bath” or as in “caught”? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/2YN0QA_h9Tk/hqdefault.jpg "The Gaffer ( Title Intro)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YN0QA_h9Tk) See my earlier link for a full episode. ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-use-of-the-word-gaffer/1002472/30 "2024-06-06T09:53:21Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Is the A pronounced as in “bath” or as in “caught”? In context, bath. With a pronounced ɐ But asking a Brit how _bath_ is pronounced is a charged question. Hint: class and where you live. bɑːθ versus bɐːθ Anyone who calls someone their gaffer will be using the same a in both. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-use-of-the-word-gaffer/1002472/31 "2024-06-06T10:12:44Z")
> [@Francis\_Vaughan](#): > > But asking a Brit how _bath_ is pronounced is a charged question. Hint: class and where you live. Right. Shoud’ve thought of that. The King would not in your wildest dreams deign to eat; raather, he dines. I gather (rather than “gother”, if you will) that “gaffer” should therefore be pronounced with the working-class A rather than the upper-class A. > [@Francis\_Vaughan](#): > > With a pronounced ɐ > > bɑːθ versus bɐːθ I know those symbols are how linguists represent certain ways of pronouncing written words, but you may as well be speaking Welsh for what those things mean to me. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-use-of-the-word-gaffer/1002472/32 "2024-06-06T11:08:31Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Question. Is the A pronounced as in “bath” or as in “caught”? For me, neither. The a in gaffer rhymes with the a in cat. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-use-of-the-word-gaffer/1002472/33 "2024-06-06T11:11:52Z")
> [@Dead\_Cat](#): > > The a in gaffer rhymes with the a in cat. Is the A in “cat” not the same as the A in “bath” for you? For me it is. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-use-of-the-word-gaffer/1002472/34 "2024-06-06T11:17:52Z")
No, as others have alluded to earlier, as a ‘posh’ southerner, for me the vowel in bath rhymes with the one in far. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-use-of-the-word-gaffer/1002472/35 "2024-06-06T11:29:37Z")
In some (but not all) British dialects, words that an American would say with an “a” like “cat” may _or may not_ be pronounced differently. “I _can’t_ do it” = where this “a” is like in “cat” for Americans, “can’t” may become “cahn’t” for many British speakers. “I _can_ do it” = does not change; “a” is like “cat” for both American and British speakers. Americans who try to affect a British accent and say “cahn” are wrong. “Bath” and “rather” are affected by this, same as “can’t.” But your reference to “gother,” above, is an incorrect change like “cahn.” (signed, an American with a background in teaching dialects to actors) ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-use-of-the-word-gaffer/1002472/36 "2024-06-06T12:12:08Z")
Not to mention the whole cat-caught merger. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-use-of-the-word-gaffer/1002472/37 "2024-06-06T12:17:28Z")
Here’s audio links to the pronunciation of “bath” in English dialects. The UK ones are atop. The “a” in “bath” is different than my Great Lakes dialect “a” in “cat.” > **[How to pronounce bath in English - Definition and synonyms of bath in English](https://forvo.com/word/bath/#en)** > > How to pronounce bath in English. The definition of bath is: a vessel containing liquid in which something is immersed (as to process it or to maintain it at a... ---
**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:** [June 6, 2024, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-use-of-the-word-gaffer/1002472/38 "2024-06-06T12:41:21Z")
I knew about the cot-caught merger, but I didn’t know that cat got swept up in one, too. ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-use-of-the-word-gaffer/1002472/39 "2024-06-06T13:35:05Z")
The aff in gaffer sounds like the aff in Daffy Duck. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-use-of-the-word-gaffer/1002472/40 "2024-06-06T14:01:07Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I gather (rather than “gother”, if you will) that “gaffer” should therefore be pronounced with the working-class A rather than the upper-class A. I think ‘regional’ would work better than ‘working class’. As some regions pronounce bath with a long a, whether you’re working class or not. Birmingham, for instance. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-use-of-the-word-gaffer/1002472.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-use-of-the-word-gaffer/1002472.md?page=3)