# Brits; What the heck is a Mucker Char Char? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 3, 2007, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-what-the-heck-is-a-mucker-char-char/425128 "2007-11-03T19:54:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2007, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-what-the-heck-is-a-mucker-char-char/425128/1 "2007-11-03T19:54:53Z")
So the other I I’m listening to an interview with Heather Mills, in it she accuses the press of calling her a Mucker Char Char. Now what the heck is that? I have to admit I’m feeling kind of jealous that you Britts have more swear words than we do. 😃 So please feel free to list any more swear words that I might be unaware of. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Doris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@Sir\_Doris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Doris)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2007, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-what-the-heck-is-a-mucker-char-char/425128/2 "2007-11-03T20:25:47Z")
She’s been called Lady Mucca in some tabloid headlines. It’s not sweary, just a pun on “Lady Muck” (i.e. a woman who puts on airs and graces) and Sir Paul’s tabloid nickname, “Macca”. The Cha Cha thing, I don’t know – just a dance as far as I know. Mucka (or however it’s spelt) is slang for “mate” in some parts. As for insults and swear words, it’s hard to think when put on the spot. Some folks say Lady Macca is a bit of a _ **munter** _, but that’s being a bit cruel, I think. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2007, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-what-the-heck-is-a-mucker-char-char/425128/3 "2007-11-03T20:39:18Z")
I think the “cha cha” part is a reference to Heather’s participation in the American television show _Dancing with the Stars_, as mentioned [here](http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article20852.ece). ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2007, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-what-the-heck-is-a-mucker-char-char/425128/4 "2007-11-03T22:28:11Z")
[QUOTE=pinkfreud] I think the “cha cha” part is a reference to Heather’s participation in the American television show _Dancing with the Stars_, as mentioned [here](http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article20852.ece). [/QUOTE] That must be it. To my Amercan sounding ears it sounded like she was saying _Mucker Char Char_ In the interview I heard; she was crying and upset about recent “death threats” and bad tabliod press she’s been getting. So I’m not sure how that particular reference got thrown into the mix nor do I understand why she would be upset by that particular one. I must of heard it out of context. (I was driving listening to her on my Sirius satelite radio at the time so it’s possible) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2007, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-what-the-heck-is-a-mucker-char-char/425128/5 "2007-11-03T22:49:58Z")
_Munter_? Sounds promising, but what is it? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2007, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-what-the-heck-is-a-mucker-char-char/425128/6 "2007-11-03T22:54:40Z")
[QUOTE=The Scrivener] _Munter_? Sounds promising, but what is it? 😕 [/QUOTE] It must be West Country (= the South West of England, including Dorset) slang, because I’ve never heard of it. :eek: Mucker is slang for friend (‘he’s my old my old mucker’), but I don’t know where it comes from. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2007, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-what-the-heck-is-a-mucker-char-char/425128/7 "2007-11-04T00:00:20Z")
> [@](#): > > It must be West Country (= the South West of England, including Dorset) slang, because I’ve never heard of it. Nope, I’ve heard it in the North West and in Scotland. A munter is an ugly woman, a dog, a horse, haggard etc. etc. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2007, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-what-the-heck-is-a-mucker-char-char/425128/8 "2007-11-04T00:20:23Z")
Is that anything like a minger? ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2007, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-what-the-heck-is-a-mucker-char-char/425128/9 "2007-11-04T00:23:23Z")
I thought a minger was slimier and nastier in character. Oh, boo-hoo, Heather. Cry me a river. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2007, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-what-the-heck-is-a-mucker-char-char/425128/10 "2007-11-04T00:28:48Z")
[QUOTE=gallows fodder] Is that anything like a minger? [/QUOTE] A minger can be male or female, and means that the person is disgusting in some way (not necessarily looks, perhaps habits or some other aspect of their appearance). A munter is an ugly woman. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2007, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-what-the-heck-is-a-mucker-char-char/425128/11 "2007-11-04T00:30:34Z")
> [@SHAKES](#): > > So the other I I’m listening to an interview with Heather Mills, in it she accuses the press of calling her a Mucker Char Char. > > Now what the heck is that? > > I have to admit I’m feeling kind of jealous that you Britts have more swear words than we do. English accents, being rhotic in the most absurd ways, tend to add /r/ sounds to words that end in vowels and subtract /r/ sounds from other words to make them end in vowels. So, as **Sir Doris** alluded to, it’s important to note that it’s probably more like “Mucca Cha Cha”. (Interesting cross-dialect-confusion tidbit: “Burma” is actually pronounced “Bahma” in that region; the English transcribed the name of the country in the way that they would spell it if it were an English word, and now us Americans pronounce it, well, like we do.) ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2007, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-what-the-heck-is-a-mucker-char-char/425128/12 "2007-11-04T03:58:55Z")
And yet they claim to speak English. Loudly. Dropping most syllables, adding /r/s to anything that doesn’t move quickly enough, and pushing their vowels through something that resembles a combination hedge trimmer and garden hose. And if you move one to the other side of the postage stamp, nobody understands them. If they thought they spoke French and ate giant reptiles, it would be just like Louisiana. ---
**Author:** ![maggenpye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@maggenpye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maggenpye)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2007, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-what-the-heck-is-a-mucker-char-char/425128/13 "2007-11-04T04:37:32Z")
Ooh, this is the thread I’ve been waiting for… Long time Eastenders viewer. What’s a Shav? (Sp/ Chav?) What’s the difference between a Plank and a Plonker? Is calling someone a Pollard a reference to the Little Britain character of Vicky Pollard? ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2007, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-what-the-heck-is-a-mucker-char-char/425128/14 "2007-11-04T04:46:10Z")
Oooh, I know what a chav is. I think I do. It’s like girls who dress sluttily and bleach their hair and have designer bags and smack their gum really loudly. At least, that’s what my Scottish friend said. ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2007, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-what-the-heck-is-a-mucker-char-char/425128/15 "2007-11-04T04:59:16Z")
[QUOTE=HazelNutCoffee] Oooh, I know what a chav is. I think I do. It’s like girls who dress sluttily and bleach their hair and have designer bags and smack their gum really loudly. At least, that’s what my Scottish friend said. [/QUOTE] Yup, and guys who add loud exhausts and even louder stereos to their feeble little cars and use too much hair gel. In Scotland, we used to call them “neds”, though that certainly added the expectation that the people referred to would drink cheap tonic wine in the local park and have a deep love of petty, pointless violence. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2007, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-what-the-heck-is-a-mucker-char-char/425128/16 "2007-11-04T04:59:30Z")
[QUOTE=HazelNutCoffee] Oooh, I know what a chav is. I think I do. It’s like girls who dress sluttily and bleach their hair and have designer bags and smack their gum really loudly. At least, that’s what my Scottish friend said. [/QUOTE] \ Well! You SAID my designer bag was to die for! \ And this 'ere 'air is nat’ral-it IS! \ 😃 A plank is a stupid person(?) or is that just in “as thick as a plank”? Plonk is cheap drink. So, it’s either a cheap date or a boozer(American usage as in alcoholic, not pub). ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2007, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-what-the-heck-is-a-mucker-char-char/425128/17 "2007-11-04T05:44:19Z")
[QUOTE=Derleth] And yet they claim to speak English. Loudly. Dropping most syllables, adding /r/s to anything that doesn’t move quickly enough, and pushing their vowels through something that resembles a combination hedge trimmer and garden hose. And if you move one to the other side of the postage stamp, nobody understands them. If they thought they spoke French and ate giant reptiles, it would be just like Louisiana. [/QUOTE] And if they complained about the snow, it’d be like northern new england 😛 Macca Cha Cha is still weird. Perhaps even weirder than what the OP thought it was. ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2007, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-what-the-heck-is-a-mucker-char-char/425128/18 "2007-11-04T05:50:40Z")
I have a fondness for the word “twonk”. I believe it to be one of the great contributions the English have made to their own language 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2007, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-what-the-heck-is-a-mucker-char-char/425128/19 "2007-11-04T10:07:50Z")
A **minger** (rhymes with singer) is someone who smells, or looks as though they do. From the word “ming”, as in “that mings!” or “it’s mingin’ in here!” A **plonker** is, literally, a penis – usually a large one. It gained nationwide popularity as a synonym for idiot through being featured heavily in the popular sitcom “Only Fools and Horses”. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2007, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-what-the-heck-is-a-mucker-char-char/425128/20 "2007-11-04T10:53:17Z")
‘Munter’ - I thought that was pretty much universal, if mostly supplanted by minger nowadays. Plus it also offers us the verb ‘ming’. ‘Twonk’? Never heard it. For a detailed sociological study of chavs, see [http://www.chavscum.co.uk/](http://www.chavscum.co.uk/) 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-what-the-heck-is-a-mucker-char-char/425128.md?page=2)