# False friends: familiar names which mean something very different elsewhere **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 24, 2018, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-friends-familiar-names-which-mean-something-very-different-elsewhere/811121 "2018-03-24T18:07:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/59ef9b/32.png) [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorkshire_Pudding)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2018, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-friends-familiar-names-which-mean-something-very-different-elsewhere/811121/261 "2018-03-31T22:40:07Z")
> [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](#): > > There’s some ambiguity over what you mean by “here”: you mention the US and the UK but don’t specify which is “here”! > > For what it’s worth, when a schoolfriend and I were doing work-experience at a couple of legal practices (UK, mid 90s), we met for lunch in town. As we sat on a bench beneath a tree, my friend’s Mum happened to walk past and said “Trainee solicitors eh? Shouldn’t you have a red light hanging from that tree?!” > > I knew what she meant, despite being only about 16. It didn’t seem like a particularly obscure reference. > > It can be smutty in both countries! > [@Chronos](#): > > To be fair, you didn’t specify your location there, either, though I think most of us can probably work it out. > > 🙂 Well…I _did_ say I went to school in the UK, so while yeah, that doesn’t technically give you my location right _now_, it is pretty unequivocal about my location during the events I was describing… ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2018, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-friends-familiar-names-which-mean-something-very-different-elsewhere/811121/262 "2018-03-31T23:25:29Z")
> [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](#): > > There’s some ambiguity over what you mean by “here”: you mention the US and the UK but don’t specify which is “here”! Perhaps this is some of that famous dry British humor, but in case anyone is actually confused, I am an American who has been attempting to explain the way the terms “solicitor” and “soliciting” are used in the US. It is genuinely astonishing to me that this is proving to be so difficult, to the point that I’m now concerned that I might have had a stroke or something and not realized it. > [@](#): > > For what it’s worth, when a schoolfriend and I were doing work-experience at a couple of legal practices (UK, mid 90s), we met for lunch in town. As we sat on a bench beneath a tree, my friend’s Mum happened to walk past and said “Trainee solicitors eh? Shouldn’t you have a red light hanging from that tree?!” > > I knew what she meant, despite being only about 16. It didn’t seem like a particularly obscure reference. > > It can be smutty in both countries! Almost anything can be smutty if you try hard enough, but “solicitor” is not smutty in general usage in the United States of America. I am very sorry that my repeated efforts to explain how the term _is_ used in the United States of America have been so unsuccessful, so please see [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solicitor#United_States) if that’s something you’d like to know more about. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2018, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-friends-familiar-names-which-mean-something-very-different-elsewhere/811121/263 "2018-03-31T23:31:34Z")
I always think of telemarketers when I hear “solicitors.” ---
**Author:** ![Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/59ef9b/32.png) [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorkshire_Pudding)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2018, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-friends-familiar-names-which-mean-something-very-different-elsewhere/811121/264 "2018-03-31T23:44:46Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > Perhaps this is some of that famous dry British humor, but in case anyone is actually confused, I am an American who has been attempting to explain the way the terms “solicitor” and “soliciting” are used in the US. It is genuinely astonishing to me that this is proving to be so difficult, to the point that I’m now concerned that I might have had a stroke or something and not realized it. > Almost anything can be smutty if you try hard enough, but “solicitor” is not smutty in general usage in the United States of America. I am very sorry that my repeated efforts to explain how the term _is_ used in the United States of America have been so unsuccessful, so please see [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solicitor#United_States) if that’s something you’d like to know more about. Nope, really wasn’t sure if you were UK or US based! Sorry about that. How the term is usually used and how people may bend some of its connotations towards humour can be very different things. Given some of the comments about how it might be perceived, it was genuinely difficult to be sure of the overall ‘feel’ of the word. ---
**Author:** ![Trafalgar\_Laura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trafalgar_laura/32/2907_2.png) [@Trafalgar\_Laura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trafalgar_Laura)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2018, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-friends-familiar-names-which-mean-something-very-different-elsewhere/811121/265 "2018-03-31T23:48:18Z")
Maybe it’s a regional thing? I do think of prostitution when I think “solicitation” before other crimes. It’s true it also is used for any sort of solicitation to commit a crime, but for me, there is first a mental link to prostitution (either seeking out a prostitute or a john) if the word is used without other context. The idea that someone would make a prostitution joke out of a “No Soliciting” sign didn’t seem that odd to me, although I kind of doubt the original US-origin joker was genuinely confused. ‘No solicitation’ signs to discourage door to door salesmen are definitely common in the US; I just rarely hear the word in casual US-English contexts outside those signs. When I do, it’s more often about a prostitute or a john than other crimes. Or maybe I spend too much time with the wrong crowds. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2018, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-friends-familiar-names-which-mean-something-very-different-elsewhere/811121/266 "2018-04-01T00:19:04Z")
> [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](#): > > Can’t believe I forgot such an important one: a British fanny sits alongside that which Americans call by the same name, on the female of the species. Thank you! I was actually going to start a thread asking about this. I just read a book by a British author that was centered around a “sexting” incident and I encountered this piece of dialogue (paraphrased) “I think he’s in trouble, Mom. Izzy sent him a picture of her fanny …you know, her vagina.” Well, Mom knew what she meant but I didn’t. I had only ever heard “ fanny” used as an euphemism for derrière ( and an extraordinarily mild one, at that … much less crude than ass). If a four year old said it all the grown-ups would think it was cute. So how crude is this usage of “ fanny”?. As crude as the C-word is to Americans? Or a little less crude but still impolite in most social context, like “pussy”? Or is it more coy/silly, like “hoo-ha”? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2018, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-friends-familiar-names-which-mean-something-very-different-elsewhere/811121/267 "2018-04-01T01:19:03Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > So how crude is this usage of “ fanny”?. As crude as the C-word is to Americans? Or a little less crude but still impolite in most social context, like “pussy”? Or is it more coy/silly, like “hoo-ha”? I’d vote for the second. In my experience, a Brit says “cunt” when he means “cunt.” Note that this can also apply to a male where Americans might say “asshole”: “What, you shagged my girlfriend? You cunt!” i’d ---
**Author:** ![Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/59ef9b/32.png) [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorkshire_Pudding)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2018, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-friends-familiar-names-which-mean-something-very-different-elsewhere/811121/268 "2018-04-01T11:30:56Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I’d vote for the second. In my experience, a Brit says “cunt” when he means “cunt.” > > Note that this can also apply to a male where Americans might say “asshole”: “What, you shagged my girlfriend? You cunt!” Yeah…probably cognate with pussy, or thereabouts. You can, however, “fanny around”, or be a bit of a fanny, and it’s not especially profane. ---
**Author:** ![Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/59ef9b/32.png) [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorkshire_Pudding)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2018, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-friends-familiar-names-which-mean-something-very-different-elsewhere/811121/269 "2018-04-01T11:33:28Z")
“Public school”: in the UK, this means a private school. “State school” is what Brits use to describe that which Americans would call a public school. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2018, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-friends-familiar-names-which-mean-something-very-different-elsewhere/811121/270 "2018-04-01T15:33:53Z")
> [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](#): > > You can, however, “fanny around”, or be a bit of a fanny, and it’s not especially profane. This presumably has little to do with “bumming around.” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2018, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-friends-familiar-names-which-mean-something-very-different-elsewhere/811121/271 "2018-04-01T15:36:45Z")
> [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](#): > > “Public school”: in the UK, this means a private school. Because the original distinction was between Church and private schools, which were open to members of the public (if they were wealthy enough). ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2018, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-friends-familiar-names-which-mean-something-very-different-elsewhere/811121/272 "2018-04-01T19:25:29Z")
> [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](#): > > You can, however, “fanny around”, or be a bit of a fanny, and it’s not especially profane. Hence the classic Bridget Jones’s Diary Because you don’t have the faintest bloody idea of just how much trouble the company’s in. You swan in in your short skirt and your sexy see-through blouse and fanny around with press releases… Sorry. I’m sorry, Bridge. I know I’m being a prat. ---
**Author:** ![Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/59ef9b/32.png) [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorkshire_Pudding)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2018, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-friends-familiar-names-which-mean-something-very-different-elsewhere/811121/273 "2018-04-01T20:05:25Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Because the original distinction was between Church and private schools, which were open to members of the public (if they were wealthy enough). Go to the top of the class. ---
**Author:** ![Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/59ef9b/32.png) [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorkshire_Pudding)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2018, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-friends-familiar-names-which-mean-something-very-different-elsewhere/811121/274 "2018-04-01T20:07:19Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > This presumably has little to do with “bumming around.” 😉 Seems unlikely! I raised the idea that it might be from the German “bummeln” in German class at school, to much hilarity…but it’s maybe not beyond the realms of possibility. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2018, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-friends-familiar-names-which-mean-something-very-different-elsewhere/811121/275 "2018-04-01T21:03:26Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > So how crude is this usage of “ fanny”?. As crude as the C-word is to Americans? Or a little less crude but still impolite in most social context, like “pussy”? Or is it more coy/silly, like “hoo-ha”? The thing about British swearing is that there _aren’t_ any words as shocking as cunt seems to be to Americans: cunt is the strongest, but it can still be used, depending on company, if not innocuously than still quite affectionately. Britain - and certainly New Zealand and Australia - just don’t have a Deplorable Word. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2018, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-friends-familiar-names-which-mean-something-very-different-elsewhere/811121/276 "2018-04-01T21:49:54Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > The thing about British swearing is that there _aren’t_ any words as shocking as cunt seems to be to Americans: cunt is the strongest, but it can still be used, depending on company, if not innocuously than still quite affectionately. **Britain - and certainly New Zealand and Australia - just don’t have a Deplorable Word.** _“American”_…? (Though I am wondering if worldwide, “a Trump” will become the Deplorable Term of choice to many.) ---
**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:** [April 1, 2018, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-friends-familiar-names-which-mean-something-very-different-elsewhere/811121/277 "2018-04-01T22:20:08Z")
Well, there’s always “Be\*\*\*\*m”. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2018, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-friends-familiar-names-which-mean-something-very-different-elsewhere/811121/278 "2018-04-02T00:17:00Z")
On \*\*\*Letterman \*\*\*a few years back, he had a guest (some clueless American) who had just flown in from the UK. They both had a good laugh over the BA list of things prohibited on board their aircraft, which included “catapults.” Had I been in the audience that night, I’d’ve shouted out “They mean ‘slingshots!’” **DUH!** :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/59ef9b/32.png) [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorkshire_Pudding)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2018, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-friends-familiar-names-which-mean-something-very-different-elsewhere/811121/279 "2018-04-02T00:40:44Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > _“American”_…? > > (Though I am wondering if worldwide, “a Trump” will become the Deplorable Term of choice to many.) Seems unlikely. It means fart in the UK! ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2018, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-friends-familiar-names-which-mean-something-very-different-elsewhere/811121/280 "2018-04-02T01:25:15Z")
In re: solicitor/soliciting/solicitation Years ago, in an spirit of decency, ladies (and, to a much lesser extent) johns arrested in prostitution stings were reported on the news (TV and newspapers) as being arrested for “solicitation” with the “of prostitution” being left off. So a woman might be said to be soliciting, but I never heard of one being referred to as a solicitor. However, I made the joke to myself when I became aware that a certain subset of lawyers in the UK were called solicitors. Some people may not have been aware that “solicitation” was an incomplete description of the crime. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-friends-familiar-names-which-mean-something-very-different-elsewhere/811121.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-friends-familiar-names-which-mean-something-very-different-elsewhere/811121.md?page=15)