British people just swear more in general than Americans. Americans do swear, of course, but in the UK (and Ireland, IME) it’s just part of everyday language. There are situations in which you don’t swear, of course - it’s not a free-for-all - but socially, at least, it’s normal to add a “fuck off” or “you stupid twat” now and then, with no offense intended or taken. Those terms can be used with aggression intended and taken, too, but the context would make that clear.
Like, for example, you meet someone and their age comes up. They look younger than that. You say, “fuck off, you’re never 40!” I think some Americans would say that too, but in the UK it would just not be noticed as swearing at all. Someone could say that and then self-report that they hadn’t used a swear word all day.
People over 60 or so (especially women) swear far, far less, though.
The only academic study I could find said that there was no difference between how often British and American people used swear words, but they were going on self-reporting, asking people if they swore a lot. That’s not a very useful metric, given that if you’re around people who swear a lot, then your perception of how much you swear will be different.
Yup. But I guess it was very very slightly naughty in the UK whereas in the US it would have meant nothing. I don’t remember any controversy, though - it’s a Carry On movie kind of title.
It seems that whenever I’ve heard Brits use F*ck off, they mean “get the hell out of here!” And it’s pretty commonly used. It’s even said, by an officer to the hero of the movie 1917, just a moment after the climax of the movie.
To my US ears it sounded harsh. Translating it to “now get the hell out” seems about the right level of verbal aggression for the situation at hand, if it were between two USAnians.
I used the word “twat” twice to my psychologist today. Both of them were references to men. (Australian here).
“F*** off” and “c***” can be used either in a friendly or offensive manner. I’ve been called both in both contexts, and I was never in any doubt which was meant
Some time ago there was a miniseries on Australian television about the Bodyline cricket series. One scene had the English captain going to the Australian dressing room to complain that he had been called a bastard on the field. The Australian captain addressed the room and said, “Which one of you bastards called this bastard a bastard?”
Two of my siblings (Australian residents) reported being accidentally caught using inappropriate language with colleagues when in the USA, in the 90’s. You just assume that it’s OK to refer to someone else as a wanker, or fuckwit, and then you realize that everyone else in the room thought that was at best unprofessional, and that you wouldn’t get invited to any more weddings or sales meetings…
In a sales meeting? In the UK salesmen well known for being competitive and letting fly their opinions when in the company of their colleagues. Especially when there argue about whose fault it is when the numbers are bad. Or their rights to a bonus if the numbers are good. They swear like troopers…unless there are ladies present. A couple of rambunctious Australians would fit right in, especially in the bar afterwards. I believe sales is regarded as a much more polite and higher status profession in the US. It is a very different business culture in many ways. All that smiling and saying everything is ‘great’ all the time must be very taxing.
Even in the UK and Oz, there are limits. I am a criminal lawyer, and so my speech, like my professional colleagues, has been infected with a tendency to drop F and C bombs as intensifiers more than is common in polite society. And I have heard judges of uber-renown do it (outside court, of course.)
But I remember talking to a prison officer once, whose spoken content was about 40% F and C. He used them for um and ah. Everyone person not mentioned by name was a C. F or some form of it was an adjective for every noun, including C.
I felt somewhat nauseated by the whole experience. I suppose that must be how Americans feel when they hear us speak. But of course the prison officer’s speech was no doubt just a product of his proximity to prisoners.
I had the pleasure of taking my first trip to London for Spring Break a few weeks ago, just as this corona virus situation started to blow up. I spent a very enjoyable morning at the British Museum, and then decided to go in search of a real English pub for lunch. I found a nice one a few blocks away - the Bloomsbury Tavern, where you should really try the beef, ale, and onion pie - delicious! The place was about half full when I got there, just before a big horse race, and after the race it cleared out except for me and a table of four nicely dressed gentlemen in their 50s and 60s. From their overheard conversation I learned that they worked for BBC radio, and although one of their voices sounded quite familiar (my local NPR station plays the BBC news hour daily), it seemed that they were behind the scenes office workers. They were there when I arrived, they were there when I left two hours later (hey, the Guinness over there really is better than what you can get in the U.S.), and although they did seem to be a little loud, they weren’t slurring their words or exhibiting any other overt signs of drunkenness.
And in those two hours, I heard more “fucks” than I usually hear in two months in Texas - and I’m a high school teacher.
I didn’t hear it otherwise in the three days I spent there, though. There was one gentleman in particular who didn’t seem to be able to form a single sentence without some variation of “fuck” in it. They probably don’t let him near the microphone very often.
I suppose that’s one of the reasons to travel - to learn about different cultures - but this was a surprise!
I do recall reading somewhere - sorry, no cite - that in Britain using that word as an expletive is common, but using it to actually refer to the procreative act is vulgar. I just didn’t expect to hear it quite so much. I guess I’ll know what to expect next time!
As an American, I would not use “fuck off” in that way and I have never heard another American use it that way. You might say “bullshit” or “no way” or “get the fuck outta here”
Agreed. To my American ears “fuck off” is very harsh. It’s more than a dismissal. It a “get the hell away from me and I may very well never want to see you again, you asshole” type of dismissal.
