# Did Homer Simpson really say "wankers" ? Does no one in the USA know what it means? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 21, 2003, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-homer-simpson-really-say-wankers-does-no-one-in-the-usa-know-what-it-means/170007 "2003-04-21T11:20:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-homer-simpson-really-say-wankers-does-no-one-in-the-usa-know-what-it-means/170007/21 "2003-04-21T15:45:03Z")
From S14E12: Bart (talking loudly at an assembly): C’mon man, everyone knows the first day of school is a total wank! Principal Skinner: Well, if by “wank,” you mean “educational fun,” then stand back. It’s wanking time! ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-homer-simpson-really-say-wankers-does-no-one-in-the-usa-know-what-it-means/170007/22 "2003-04-21T15:49:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Nangleator \* > \*\*Okay, I’ll bite. What’s a fanny to the British? > \*\* Not unless you’re asked, and then only very gently. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-homer-simpson-really-say-wankers-does-no-one-in-the-usa-know-what-it-means/170007/23 "2003-04-21T15:50:36Z")
I’ll give you a clue, **Nangleator** : if you ain’t female, you ain’t got one. ---
**Author:** ![ChalkPit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@ChalkPit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChalkPit)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-homer-simpson-really-say-wankers-does-no-one-in-the-usa-know-what-it-means/170007/24 "2003-04-21T15:51:36Z")
> [@](#): > > And how come I don’t know this, after having watched: > > Monty Python > Benny Hill > Who’s Minding the Store > Faulty Towers > Dempsey & Makepeace > Red Dwarf > Blackadder > Coupling > One Foot in the Grave > > and about a half-dozen other imports I can’t think of right now? Its because it means what it means, that you havnt heard it before 😉 ---
**Author:** ![ChalkPit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@ChalkPit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChalkPit)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-homer-simpson-really-say-wankers-does-no-one-in-the-usa-know-what-it-means/170007/25 "2003-04-21T15:56:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by astorian \* > **No one in America ever used “shag” as a synonym for having sex, so no one in America thought Austin Powers was saying anything obscene.** I’m intrigued… So what did Americans think he was talking about ? ---
**Author:** ![ChalkPit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@ChalkPit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChalkPit)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-homer-simpson-really-say-wankers-does-no-one-in-the-usa-know-what-it-means/170007/26 "2003-04-21T16:01:40Z")
‘Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me’ Doesnt leave much to the imagination surely… ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-homer-simpson-really-say-wankers-does-no-one-in-the-usa-know-what-it-means/170007/27 "2003-04-21T16:09:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ChalkPit \* > \*\*I’m intrigued… > > So what did Americans think he was talking about ? \*\* Umm … Americans thought Austin Powers was talking about intercourse. There was no mystery with the word “shag” as used in the movie. Conversational and situational context is a tremendous help. Specific familiarity with the word was not necessary. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-homer-simpson-really-say-wankers-does-no-one-in-the-usa-know-what-it-means/170007/28 "2003-04-21T16:11:18Z")
I don’t know anyone who didn’t know what it meant. It would be kind of like saying, “The Spy Who Boinked Me”. The context would make obvious what it meant, but could it be considered obscene? ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-homer-simpson-really-say-wankers-does-no-one-in-the-usa-know-what-it-means/170007/29 "2003-04-21T16:26:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ChalkPit \* > \*\*I’m intrigued… > > So what did Americans think he was talking about ? \*\* Carpet. We all thought Austin was going to go all _Trading Spaces_ and completely cover someone’s house (including walls and maybe even ceiling) with 70s-style shag carpet. What do the Brits think of Shaggy in _Scooby-Doo_? ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-homer-simpson-really-say-wankers-does-no-one-in-the-usa-know-what-it-means/170007/30 "2003-04-21T16:28:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Nangleator \* > \*\*Try to remember when the Simpsons visited Japan, Bart and Homer had a short conversation in Japanese. > > From the above conversation, ‘row’ is a much more obscure word for Americans. Only die hard britcom fans know a row (which rhymes with a ship’s bow) is a fight. \*\* Hey, give us readers some credit. I’ve known what a row is since I was a little kid. I just rarely use that bit of my vocabulary. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-homer-simpson-really-say-wankers-does-no-one-in-the-usa-know-what-it-means/170007/31 "2003-04-21T16:30:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Khadaji \* > \*\*I was channel surfing last week and Comedy Central had some cartoon on where Satan called someone a pussy. That seems just as bad. \*\* Ah, _South Park_. You see, Saddam’s not in Syria, he’s not in Detroit, he’s in Hell trying to restart his gay relationship with Satan. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-homer-simpson-really-say-wankers-does-no-one-in-the-usa-know-what-it-means/170007/32 "2003-04-21T16:31:37Z")
Oh, and for that matter, the WMDs are all in factories in Heaven. ---
**Author:** ![Riboflavin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Riboflavin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riboflavin)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-homer-simpson-really-say-wankers-does-no-one-in-the-usa-know-what-it-means/170007/33 "2003-04-21T16:42:16Z")
Some people have strange ideas; ‘shag’ has certainly been widely used in the US to mean having sex, it’s just not offensive. It’s much more like ‘boinking’ than ‘fucking’, so it’s not suprising to see it in a movie. Similarly, ‘wanker’ means someone who ‘wanks off’, ‘spanks the monkey’, ‘flogs the dolphin’, or otherwise masturbates. It’s not an offensive word, it’s on a topic that you might avoid, but it’s just no big deal. The US seems to only have a few serious swear words, while the UK regards a lot of what we’d regard as ‘acceptable swearing’ as Very Bad, which is why you’ll hear something that might be a big deal in Britain on a US show when they would bleep the F-word, S-word, or (god forbid) C-word. And the reason you’ve probably never run across ‘fanny’ in British shows is that FWIH it’s highly offensive in the UK, about the same as ‘cunt’ in the US, which makes things like ‘fanny packs’ all the more confusing over there, I’m sure. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-homer-simpson-really-say-wankers-does-no-one-in-the-usa-know-what-it-means/170007/34 "2003-04-21T16:57:43Z")
Though it goes by other names, The Shag is a dance that apparantly was at the height of its popularity during the early '60s. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-homer-simpson-really-say-wankers-does-no-one-in-the-usa-know-what-it-means/170007/35 "2003-04-21T17:01:59Z")
I don’t think British television, censors more than American telelvision., quite the opposite. Many movies have to record two versions of certain scenes, the normal version and ‘network TV version.’ Over here you’d just get the normal version shown after the watershed (before the watershed some of the swearwords might be bleeped out). If ‘wanker’ is the US is also used to mean masturbate, how come it keeps turning up in all these innocent contexts? Would Principal Skinner really say ‘it’s wanking season!’ if that’s what it means? Fanny is actually a mild, inoffensive word, like bum. Unless you were addressing the Queen, no-one would find the word fanny offensive. It’s also a woman’s name, like the Aunt in Enid Blyton’s _Famous Five_ books. ---
**Author:** ![Spurious\_George](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Spurious\_George](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spurious_George)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-homer-simpson-really-say-wankers-does-no-one-in-the-usa-know-what-it-means/170007/36 "2003-04-21T17:03:20Z")
And I recall a Bridget Fonda / Phobe Cates film called, simply, _Shag_. About the dance, and the era. Was it renamed in the UK? ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-homer-simpson-really-say-wankers-does-no-one-in-the-usa-know-what-it-means/170007/37 "2003-04-21T17:17:47Z")
This is not the only Simpsons episode to contain the word “wankers”. The U2 episode did so as well. ---
**Author:** ![Space\_Vampire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Space\_Vampire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Space_Vampire)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-homer-simpson-really-say-wankers-does-no-one-in-the-usa-know-what-it-means/170007/38 "2003-04-21T17:42:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SciFiSam \* > \*\* > > If ‘wanker’ is the US is also used to mean masturbate, how come it keeps turning up in all these innocent contexts? Would Principal Skinner really say ‘it’s wanking season!’ if that’s what it means? > > \ _Famous Five_ books. \*\* YES! It means the same thing, it’s just less common and not offensive because it’s less common. I don’t know why you can’t take our word. There are a lot of lewd words and phrases you can use on TV, wanker obviously being one of them. The joke is that Principal Skinner, being an innocent prude, doesn’t know. THE REST OF US WHO AREN’T UTTERLY IGNORANT KNOW AND GET THE JOKE. What sense would it make if we were all just innocently using this word we don’t understand? ---
**Author:** ![Space\_Vampire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Space\_Vampire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Space_Vampire)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-homer-simpson-really-say-wankers-does-no-one-in-the-usa-know-what-it-means/170007/39 "2003-04-21T17:50:46Z")
Okay, let me try to explain this coherently. It’s like cursing in a foreign language. You may know that what you’re saying is offensive, and it may be just an offensive idea in your culture, but it will probably never have quite the same impact as forbidden words you were raised with. That’s why foreign cursing is usually a-okay for TV and I say x§A¦Ñ©i if I so much as stub my toe. Just the same as “shag” is okay to throw around and “wanker” gets by. ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-homer-simpson-really-say-wankers-does-no-one-in-the-usa-know-what-it-means/170007/40 "2003-04-21T18:06:33Z")
Basically, most Americans know what the words mean, but since they aren’t a part of our everyday language, they have no"gut" impact. Plus, they’re so obviously “British”, that they’re used almost exclusively in that context–so it’s like–“oh, ha-ha–listen to those silly Englishmen and their funny words” To the American ear, regardless of how rationally we understand the word’s meaning, “bollocks”, “bloody hell”, “bugger”, “sod off”, “wanker”, “stupid git”, etc., all have the same impact as “lorry”, “lift”, and “bangers and mash.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-homer-simpson-really-say-wankers-does-no-one-in-the-usa-know-what-it-means/170007.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-homer-simpson-really-say-wankers-does-no-one-in-the-usa-know-what-it-means/170007.md?page=3)