# Rude English words the yanks don't get! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 25, 2003, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-english-words-the-yanks-dont-get/209523 "2003-10-25T18:11:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Herge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Herge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Herge)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-english-words-the-yanks-dont-get/209523/1 "2003-10-25T18:11:28Z")
For example: Wank - means masturbate Fanny - means vagina Snog - kiss passionately Shag - have sex I remember being shocked when I heard the word “fanny” used on The Nanny for the first time. Until then, fanny only meant one thing to me - and it wasn’t a polite word for your arse! Also, I remember being shocked reading an American article about guitar players which used the word “wanker” a lot… what does “wanker” mean in that context? Any others? Also, any American words which would go over us Brits heads? Also, anyone object to a “limey” called you lot yanks? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-english-words-the-yanks-dont-get/209523/2 "2003-10-25T18:14:21Z")
A few things. Everyone knows what shag means. Everyone knows what wank means. No one under the age of 70 calls Brits “limey.” ---
**Author:** ![London\_Calling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@London\_Calling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/London_Calling)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-english-words-the-yanks-dont-get/209523/3 "2003-10-25T18:14:31Z")
Given all those words are well known, the above post is a bit of a minger. ---
**Author:** ![akennett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee59a6/32.png) [@akennett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/akennett)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-english-words-the-yanks-dont-get/209523/4 "2003-10-25T18:31:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Herge \* > \*\* > > Also, anyone object to a “limey” called you lot yanks? > > 😃 \*\* I’m willing to bet there’s a whole mess of good ol’ boys down south of the Mason-Dixon line who’ll object to being called yanks. ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-english-words-the-yanks-dont-get/209523/5 "2003-10-25T18:52:48Z")
I’ve been calling my little brother “bugger” for quite some time, and he still doesn’t know what it means. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-english-words-the-yanks-dont-get/209523/6 "2003-10-25T18:58:28Z")
I understand it is not common, but “standing Hampton” for “erection” - Sammy Hagar, that noted American intellectual, named one of his albums that…no Yanks got it… ---
**Author:** ![Brad\_Pittiful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b3f665/32.png) [@Brad\_Pittiful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brad_Pittiful)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-english-words-the-yanks-dont-get/209523/7 "2003-10-25T19:15:19Z")
anyone notice Veruca Salt in the moobie Willie Wonka…she said “twat”…to the USA people it means Vagina…funny how a word like that slips into a childrens moobie 🙂 alot of slang words the english use for sex Austin Powers used so they arent unknown as much ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-english-words-the-yanks-dont-get/209523/8 "2003-10-25T19:16:19Z")
Snog isn’t a rude word, btw. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-english-words-the-yanks-dont-get/209523/9 "2003-10-25T19:21:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Herge \* > **Also, anyone object to a “limey” called you lot yanks?** The _grammar_ of this sentence is going right over my head. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-english-words-the-yanks-dont-get/209523/10 "2003-10-25T19:21:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Brad Pittiful \* > anyone notice Veruca Salt in the moobie Willie Wonka…she said “twat”…to the USA people it means Vagina…funny how a word like that slips into a childrens moobie 🙂 It means the same thing here. And that’s quite a speech impediment you’ve got there, **Brad**. ---
**Author:** ![Herge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Herge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Herge)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-english-words-the-yanks-dont-get/209523/11 "2003-10-25T19:31:51Z")
ruadh: “you lot” is like saying “you guys”. ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-english-words-the-yanks-dont-get/209523/12 "2003-10-25T19:36:21Z")
I’m sure she knows that, but you should have put “calling” instead of “called” shouldn’t you? ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-english-words-the-yanks-dont-get/209523/13 "2003-10-25T19:38:54Z")
Thanks everton, now it makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![Krisfer\_the\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Krisfer\_the\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Krisfer_the_Cat)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-english-words-the-yanks-dont-get/209523/14 "2003-10-25T20:01:33Z")
Hell, I learned those words and some others from the book “Tommy’s Tale” by Alan Cummings. Oh, fanny I was set straight about by a Brit online friend. He was describing having sex in a tree and all I could think of was “splinters in my fanny!” ---
**Author:** ![Herge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Herge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Herge)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-english-words-the-yanks-dont-get/209523/15 "2003-10-25T20:01:51Z")
Oh yeah didn’t see that! Bollocks! ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-english-words-the-yanks-dont-get/209523/16 "2003-10-25T20:05:34Z")
Hm. Is THAT what “wanker” means? And here I was thinking it was Chinese for “Perfect Master…” 😃 😃 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-english-words-the-yanks-dont-get/209523/17 "2003-10-25T20:06:40Z")
> [@](#): > > Fanny - means vagina Does it? I had the impression people thought it was just the whole genital area ‘down there.’ (Aside: on [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com) one of the definitions of ‘fanny’ was ‘n : the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on.’ I thought that was funny.) ---
**Author:** ![Chimpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@Chimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimpy)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-english-words-the-yanks-dont-get/209523/18 "2003-10-25T20:36:37Z")
this is kind of off the point of this thread but the japanese slang for male masturbation is “senzuri” which translates as “thousand rubs” whereas the word for female masturbation is “manzuri” or “ten thousand rubs” also the word for breasts “chichi” is also ones own father. do you yanks understand twaz or twoz? its a combination of twat and spaz but can anyone tell me how the o got into it? (p.s. to anyone who didnt realise im a “limey”) ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-english-words-the-yanks-dont-get/209523/19 "2003-10-25T21:13:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Herge \* > **Also, I remember being shocked reading an American article about guitar players which used the word “wanker” a lot… what does “wanker” mean in that context?** In music, “wanking” can refer to a guitarist or other musician who’s showing off his talent merely for the sake of showing off his talent, without regard to any sort of melody or musical structure. Steve Vai and Yngwie Malmsteen tend to “wank” a lot. In that regard, it’s not that different from the British meaning. 😉 I always thought “fanny” referred to someone’s ass, though. ---
**Author:** ![mrsface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a9adbd/32.png) [@mrsface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrsface)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2003, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-english-words-the-yanks-dont-get/209523/20 "2003-10-25T21:52:24Z")
I’ve noticed Americans don’t seem to use “bollocks” much. Why? It’s such an expressive and versatile word. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rude-english-words-the-yanks-dont-get/209523.md?page=2)