# The Inbetweeners - Some UK to Yank translations? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 5, 2010, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-inbetweeners-some-uk-to-yank-translations/531392 "2010-03-05T09:21:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-inbetweeners-some-uk-to-yank-translations/531392/1 "2010-03-05T09:21:36Z")
As I’ve often said everything I’ve learned about The King’s English has been from Britcoms (Python, Fawlty, Young Ones etc.) I recently started watching The Inbetweeners on BBC America and its pretty good. I can’t believe the language you can get away with in the UK for a show _specifically aimed_ at teenagers! Anyway, besides the accents being so thick that I sometimes have to turn on Closed Captioning I’ve come across some British slang that I’ve never heard and want to clarify if I’m right: [ul] [li]Grass = A Rat Fink (i.e. tattletale)[/li][li]Bent = Gay[/li][li]Ton = 100 MPH[/li][li]Clunge Mag = Porn Mag[/li][/ul] If I’m correct any explanation as to their origins?! ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-inbetweeners-some-uk-to-yank-translations/531392/2 "2010-03-05T09:42:24Z")
You are correct, although bent can also mean “corrupt” eg a bent copper. I’ve no idea about origins. ---
**Author:** ![Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8491ac/32.png) [@Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fake_Tales_of_San_Francisco)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-inbetweeners-some-uk-to-yank-translations/531392/3 "2010-03-05T09:50:04Z")
A ton is not 100MPH, it’s an out of date unit of measure for weight. It’s roughly 1000kg I think. As slang it is used to describe a large amount of something, and can be used in phrases such as ‘love you tons’. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-inbetweeners-some-uk-to-yank-translations/531392/4 "2010-03-05T09:53:19Z")
> [@Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](#): > > A ton is not 100MPH, it’s an out of date unit of measure for weight. It’s roughly 1000kg I think. As slang it is used to describe a large amount of something, and can be used in phrases such as ‘love you tons’. “I was doing a ton on the motorway”. Is this now totally obsolete? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-inbetweeners-some-uk-to-yank-translations/531392/5 "2010-03-05T09:55:21Z")
You’re right on most of 'em, but I’ve never heard ‘ton’ to mean 100 mph. I’d just say it was slang for ‘a lot’. What was the context? As for origins; ‘bent’ is obvious - the opposite of straight. [This](http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/grass-up.html) site give the origins for ‘grass’ meaning an informant. ‘Clunge’ is a slang term for the vagina, so ‘clunge mag’ - an explicit magazine. ---
**Author:** ![Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8491ac/32.png) [@Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fake_Tales_of_San_Francisco)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-inbetweeners-some-uk-to-yank-translations/531392/6 "2010-03-05T10:00:34Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > “I was doing a ton on the motorway”. Is this now totally obsolete? It means you were doing high speeds. As the poster above says, it means ‘a lot’. I’ve never known it to refer to a specific speed, but wikipedia tells me it can mean ‘100’ of something. So it can be £100, or 100 litres or whatever (and 100 MPH). But I have never heard that (Yorkshire born and bred). ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-inbetweeners-some-uk-to-yank-translations/531392/7 "2010-03-05T10:01:26Z")
When it refers to velocity, [a ton is indeed 100mph](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=ton-up). ---
**Author:** ![Oswald\_Bastable](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oswald_bastable/32/214_2.png) [@Oswald\_Bastable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oswald_Bastable)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-inbetweeners-some-uk-to-yank-translations/531392/8 "2010-03-05T10:18:45Z")
> [@Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](#): > > But I have never heard that (Yorkshire born and bred). With a screenname like that you must be from Rotherham… Anyway, as a southerner I can attest that a ‘ton’ when referring to speed does indeed mean doing a 100mph. OB ---
**Author:** ![Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walker_in_Eternity)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-inbetweeners-some-uk-to-yank-translations/531392/9 "2010-03-05T10:54:09Z")
> [@Oswald\_Bastable](#): > > With a screenname like that you must be from Rotherham… > > Anyway, as a southerner I can attest that a ‘ton’ when referring to speed does indeed mean doing a 100mph. > > OB Also true in the midlands. ---
**Author:** ![Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8491ac/32.png) [@Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fake_Tales_of_San_Francisco)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-inbetweeners-some-uk-to-yank-translations/531392/10 "2010-03-05T11:20:51Z")
OK, I can concede that I’ve been walking around unaware of some meaning behind it, and it’s entirely possible I’ve never heard it used in that context, but that isn’t how it is mostly used, is it? In my experience it’s usually used to simply mean a lot. “I bought a ton of milk, because my kids go through cereal like nobodies business”, “You’ll have to do tons of work to be able to afford that!” Though most often I hear it when someone picks something very heavy. “It weighs a ton”. I’m fairly certain they’re not guessing a specific weight that the item might actually be. Similar to how ‘heaps’ is used in Australia. ---
**Author:** ![Lo-Slung\_Denim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f6c823/32.png) [@Lo-Slung\_Denim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lo-Slung_Denim)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-inbetweeners-some-uk-to-yank-translations/531392/11 "2010-03-05T11:23:43Z")
Yeah, a ton means 100mph. Some folk say a ton for a hundred quid too. It’s common where I am(London) and where I grew up (East Anglia). As for grass, there’s loads of claims to its origin, mostly rhyming slang. Grass in the park - nark. Grasshopper - copper. I don’t know for sure although I’ve mostly heard it in the criminal sense, i.e. being grassed up the police, rather than to teacher or parents. I hadn’t heard the word clunge before this show, not sure about that - I’m certainly not going to google it as I am at work! I assumed it was a new word as I am only 27 and if this word had been around when I was at school 10-15 years ago, it was the type of school where _I would have heard it._ And excellent taste by the way, OP 🙂 The Inbetweeners is some of the funniest comedy from the UK in years. I’ve sometimes laughed so hard at that show it’s been difficult to breathe. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-inbetweeners-some-uk-to-yank-translations/531392/12 "2010-03-05T11:27:11Z")
Wouldn’t “The Inbetweeners - Some UK to Septic translations?” be more appropriate as a title? ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-inbetweeners-some-uk-to-yank-translations/531392/13 "2010-03-05T11:27:23Z")
“Clunge” actually means female genitalia. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-inbetweeners-some-uk-to-yank-translations/531392/14 "2010-03-05T12:01:19Z")
> [@Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](#): > > OK, I can concede that I’ve been walking around unaware of some meaning behind it, and it’s entirely possible I’ve never heard it used in that context, but that isn’t how it is mostly used, is it? In my experience it’s usually used to simply mean a lot. “I bought a ton of milk, because my kids go through cereal like nobodies business”, “You’ll have to do tons of work to be able to afford that!” Though most often I hear it when someone picks something very heavy. “It weighs a ton”. I’m fairly certain they’re not guessing a specific weight that the item might actually be. > > Similar to how ‘heaps’ is used in Australia. No, you’re right: “ton” meaning 100mph is just one specific usage, separate from the more common “lots” meaning. And one you could quite easily miss, I suppose, unless you hang around with people who habitually exceed the speed limit. I must say, in fact, that it seems a bit dated to me – I sort of associate it with greasy bikers in the late fifties/early sixties. There’s a definite whiff of coffee shops and transport caffs about it: a heady mix of motor oil, Brylcreem, Woodbines, espresso, bacon fat and Spam. Or that might be just me. ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-inbetweeners-some-uk-to-yank-translations/531392/15 "2010-03-05T12:10:11Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > Anyway, besides the accents being so thick that I sometimes have to turn on Closed Captioning Heh, welcome to my experiences trying to watch Glee! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Zoinks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/db5fbb/32.png) [@Zoinks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoinks)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-inbetweeners-some-uk-to-yank-translations/531392/16 "2010-03-05T21:38:53Z")
> [@Lo-Slung\_Denim](#): > > I hadn’t heard the word clunge before this show, not sure about that - I’m certainly not going to google it as I am at work! I assumed it was a new word as I am only 27 and if this word had been around when I was at school 10-15 years ago, it was the type of school where _I would have heard it._ How odd, I could swear I’ve heard or read the word somewhere before and I’m Canadian, though I thought it was spelled “klunge”. > [@Candyman74](#): > > Heh, welcome to my experiences trying to watch Glee! 😃 Out of curiosity, where are you from and which characters’ accents are you having trouble understanding? ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2010, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-inbetweeners-some-uk-to-yank-translations/531392/17 "2010-03-06T02:03:20Z")
Ok, if clunge means vagina what does minge (sp) mean? Or don’t I want to know… I wouldn’t say that Ton is an obsolete measurement, unless you consider the whole Imperial System obsolete. Which it kinda is, but as an arrogant American I say _My car gets 40 rods to the hogshead and that’s the way I likes it!_ Also in regards to The Inbetweeners: Sigh, the British school system always confuses the hell out of me! A levels, O levels?!? In the US its grades K thru 12, simple! So I gather from the intro that the star kid used to go to private school, but now he has to go to… What exactly? Because the school in the show doesn’t look like a public school, uniforms and such! ---
**Author:** ![Rrose\_Selavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bcef8e/32.png) [@Rrose\_Selavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rrose_Selavy)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2010, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-inbetweeners-some-uk-to-yank-translations/531392/18 "2010-03-06T02:14:15Z")
minge is basically the same or refers to female public hair. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2010, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-inbetweeners-some-uk-to-yank-translations/531392/19 "2010-03-06T02:58:38Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > but as an arrogant American I say _My car gets 40 rods to the hogshead and that’s the way I likes it!_ likes it? That’s about 1/504th of a mile per gallon – or about 10 feet (3 meters) to a gallon! What kind of a car are you driving? Even an aircraft carrier gets 4-5 times that mielage! ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2010, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-inbetweeners-some-uk-to-yank-translations/531392/20 "2010-03-06T03:09:34Z")
> [@Zoinks](#): > > Out of curiosity, where are you from and which characters’ accents are you having trouble understanding? Most particularly, the red-headed teacher who was also in Heroes. Never managed to figure out a single word she said. I gather she likes the lead teacher guy? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-inbetweeners-some-uk-to-yank-translations/531392.md?page=2)