# The Britishisms are coming! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 27, 2012, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-britishisms-are-coming/635984 "2012-09-27T09:00:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-britishisms-are-coming/635984/41 "2012-09-27T21:48:04Z")
I also thought wanker was pretty well established in the US. I keep hoping I will eventually be able to start using “fancy” as a verb without looking like a poser. “I fancy women with dark hair.” “I think the new accountant in sector 7G fancies you.” I don’t know why, I just kind of like the sound of it. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-britishisms-are-coming/635984/42 "2012-09-27T22:08:43Z")
> [@Taomist](#): > > See, this was the opinion I have had, as an american watching too many british tv shows or movies or SOMEthing. “Stop being such a cunt” I had put up there with 'Stop being such a wanker.", ie asshole, jerkoff, whatever. Yeah, look, I’m not saying that it’s as offensive as it is in America. I’m saying it’s widely considered the most offensive word we have. Maybe I can give you some idea of the taboo scale: The BBC regularly canvasses the opinions of the public (via focus groups and questionnaires) on the matter of bad language on television, and the one word that has consistently been agreed by the majority to be beyond the pale, under any circumstances, is “cunt”. “Balls”, “cock”, “arse” can all be heard on TV before the watershed. “Wanker” turns up in sitcoms. “Fuck”, in all it’s various forms, gets used fairly often in post-watershed dramas. It is very, very rare to hear the c-word, at all, ever. ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-britishisms-are-coming/635984/43 "2012-09-27T22:43:49Z")
> [@WotNot](#): > > “Balls”, “cock”, “arse” can all be heard on TV before the watershed. “Wanker” turns up in sitcoms. “Fuck”, in all it’s various forms, gets used fairly often in post-watershed dramas. > > It is very, very rare to hear the c-word, at all, ever. They have various editorial controls on all profanity, but you can say pretty much anything if you can justify it. So, ‘cunt’ will get bleeped or edited out of a standup routine, but might be left in in a drama. I have heard that a certain amount of horse trading goes on, they’ll let you have one ‘cunt’ or ‘motherfucker’ if you take out three ‘fucks’ etc. Germaine Greer did an entire segment of Balderdash and Piffle on ‘cunt’, and that wSs shown pre-watershed on BBC2 (7.30pm, weekday, if I recall) about 5 or 6 years ago. She used the word countless times, but it was entirely justified under the educate strand of the BBC’s mission statement (educate, inform and entertain). Russell Brand probably wouldn’t get that kind of leeway even if he was presenting a similar topic with a similar stance. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-britishisms-are-coming/635984/44 "2012-09-28T13:42:56Z")
Oh I say! ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2012, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-britishisms-are-coming/635984/45 "2012-09-29T05:25:55Z")
And heure I thought thius would just be about British spelluing becuming more popular in the Stautes. ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2012, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-britishisms-are-coming/635984/46 "2012-09-29T06:39:07Z")
> [@SirRay](#): > > Wonder soon how till the phrase “Wanker” enters into everyday USian language… Not long I think Family Guy used it, abet (sp?) in their British sitcom spoof ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2012, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-britishisms-are-coming/635984/47 "2012-09-29T12:18:02Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I’ve been seeing “Gastropub,” sometimes styled in two words as “gastro pub,” around the Toronto area for 5-7 years. So you’ll get it soon. > > Frankly, “Gastro pub” might be my least favourite neologism of all time. It’s a sensationally ugly word for something that it is supposed to be pleasurable and imply the availability of tasty food. “Gastropub” sounds like an intestinal parasite, the larval stage of something that infests you. “Sir, we’re putting you on an IV to try to kill the gastropubs that have burrowed into your large intestine.” I can’t read that without being reminded of Mr. Burns: “Smithers, what’s the name of this gastropod?” ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2012, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-britishisms-are-coming/635984/48 "2012-09-29T12:35:04Z")
Buggery bollocks, and no mistake. Wotcher! ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2012, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-britishisms-are-coming/635984/49 "2012-09-29T15:37:05Z")
> [@Namkcalb](#): > > Not long > I think Family Guy used it, abet (sp?) in their British sitcom spoof Wanker is long established on these shores. Peggy Bundy hailed from Wanker County. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2012, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-britishisms-are-coming/635984/50 "2012-09-29T16:44:01Z")
What’s the Britishism for “cumming”? And don’t tell me Whitney. And if there are several, I want to know them all. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2012, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-britishisms-are-coming/635984/51 "2012-09-29T22:57:03Z")
Why the need for so many synonyms? Can’t afford to splurge on a thesaurus? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2012, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-britishisms-are-coming/635984/52 "2012-09-29T23:06:47Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > Not exactly a Britishism but I’ve been noticing more and more “Keep calm and carry on” parodies. Why does no one ever get bored of this? It’s SO RUBBISH! “Keep calm and get the beers in”. Ha ha ha. Genius. That t-shirt was worth £20 wasn’t it? Anyway, what I really came here to say is: I suspect it’s somehow related, but I read [this](http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/sep/28/britishisms-american-language) yesterday and thought it might be interesting for Anglophiles. Or Anglophobes who want to know what to avoid. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2012, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-britishisms-are-coming/635984/53 "2012-09-30T00:45:26Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > What’s the Britishism for “cumming”? Spunk. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2012, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-britishisms-are-coming/635984/54 "2012-09-30T02:49:11Z")
[QUOTE=Kenm] I have noticed, of late, “spot on” increasingly used by Americans on the net and telly. [/QUOTE] I blame Gordon Ramsay for that. Other than “stupid donkey!” it seems to be one of his favorite phrases. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2012, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-britishisms-are-coming/635984/55 "2012-09-30T03:07:28Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > I’ve certainly seen an uptick in emails answered with the word “Cheers”. I’ve seen a lot of this too. I think people got tired of the standard “Best regards,”. My coworkers would laugh at me when I came back from England and used their slang. (I am guilty of picking up slang from just about everyone I meet.) But shortly after my second or third trip, they all started saying “loo” for toilet and “trousers” for pants too. ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2012, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-britishisms-are-coming/635984/56 "2012-09-30T07:16:59Z")
Do you loty’all seriously call a dance Shagging? ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2012, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-britishisms-are-coming/635984/57 "2012-09-30T14:22:49Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Spunk. Not really. “Spunk” means semen. I suppose you can use it as a verb “to spunk” but that doesn’t sound quite “right” to me, and you’re certainly not going to hear someone say “I’m spunking”, no matter how excited they get. I’d say “cumming” is quite normal slang here. ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2012, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-britishisms-are-coming/635984/58 "2012-09-30T19:17:22Z")
> [@Bozuit](#): > > Not really. “Spunk” means semen. I suppose you can use it as a verb “to spunk” but that doesn’t sound quite “right” to me, and you’re certainly not going to hear someone say “I’m spunking”, no matter how excited they get. I’d say “cumming” is quite normal slang here. I think you’re wrong. Growing up in South London in the late '80s and early '90s ‘spunk’ was both noun and verb. ‘I am about to spunk’ ‘I am spunking’ ‘I spunked up’ ‘You have spunk all over you’ All sound perfectly right to my ears. ‘Cum’ and ‘cumming’ are relatively recent additions IMO, and were certainly unknown to my under-18 year old self and I remember it being used on TV, especially on ‘The Mary Whiteouse Experience’. I would suggest that ‘cum’ may well have overtaken the use of ‘spunk’, but ‘spunk’ is still a valid ‘Britishism’. ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2012, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-britishisms-are-coming/635984/59 "2012-09-30T19:39:06Z")
I’m not denying that “spunk” is a Britishism, I just don’t feel its use as a verb is very “natural”. Clearly it can be used as a verb if you think of it as one, but I think it’s certainly fair to say its primary use is as a noun. The word “come” for orgasm (of which “cum” is a variant) is very old. Much older than us, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2012, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-britishisms-are-coming/635984/60 "2012-09-30T20:47:49Z")
> [@Bozuit](#): > > The word “come” for orgasm (of which “cum” is a variant) is very old. Much older than us, anyway. I’m not denying that (as recent additions I meant to common usage, I don’t doubt their heritage), but it wasn’t in my schoolboy vernacular, ‘spunk’ and its variations were though. ‘Spunk’ would seem to be in the US too, an episode of ‘The League’ had an energy drink called ‘Spunk’ which was drunk by a marathon-training Andre, to much amusement of the rest of the guys, although at the end Ruxin seems to like it too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-britishisms-are-coming/635984.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-britishisms-are-coming/635984.md?page=4)