English Slang-What's Bollocks? (1 Viewer)

[Seth Paxton]

"Couldn't think of anything more offensive than Belgian."
Flying Circus of course.

 

[David Lawson]

How crass are the "names" bandied about in films such as Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels? Wanker, tit and sod come to mind. I couldn't imagine calling anyone a "tit".

Also, what exactly does it mean when something is "pants"?

EDIT: I just noticed "wanker" has already been addressed, so to speak.

 

[andrew markworthy]

This is what I like about this forum - after a hard day at the office I can come home and type dirty words and get thanked for it!

Okay, to answer some queries:

(a) 'tit' is moderately offensive. It's used in two slang contexts: to mean breasts (I thought Americans used it in this context as well) and to mean someone who is a complete dork - as in 'he's a right tit'. By extension, you can say about yourself 'I feel a right tit' when you realise you've done something stupid.

(b) 'pants' means that something is nonsense and is mild - indeed, it's slang rather than swearing. If you say that something is 'total pants' then it means it's complete garbage.

(c)words akin to 'crikey' include golly, gosh (or even 'golly gosh'), 'I say' (which Americans think the Brits say all the time - they don't), 'my word' and similar. We also tend to use more American terms as well, such as 'gee whizz'

(d) never heard of 'paawang'

(e) 'tart' is not particularly bad - it really depends upon the context. If you're saying that someone is dressed in an unseemly fashion, then you might say they look 'tarty' but you'd have to be in some pretty straight-laced company before anyone would take offence at that (unless you were saying it to the person in question, of course). Again, if you said that someone was dressed like a complete tart, it wouldn't be too bad. However, to call someone a tart as opposed to looking like one is rather more insulting - not really bad swearing, but certainly not very polite.

(f) 'sod' (short for sodomite) is not particularly bad. If you say that a child is being a little sod, then you mean they're being a nuisance. Just about on a par with 'bloody hell' in the swearing stakes. 'Sod off' can mean 'go away' and be relatively offensive, but in Brit slang it can be a fairly affectionate response when you don't want to talk about something with a friend because it's too uncomfortable. E.g. 'how's your head after last night's party? - sod off'.

(g) the Belgian joke also appears in Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

 

[Stevie O]

Dave,
I think it depends on the situation and the adjective preceding the slang,, for example calling someone a "silly sod" is not too bad, almost affectionate in the right context, similarly a "daft bugger" would not offend too many Brits
They are also used as "bugger off" = go away, and "sod off" = go away
Another term for "wanker" is "tosser", sometimes modified to "toss-pot" (I'll leave the imagery to you on that one )
Calling someone a "tit" is almost a schoolboy level insult and would leave you exposed to some serious ridicule
Other insults are the "wanker" gesture, done by touching the thumb and fingers of one hand together and loosely shaking the wrist at approximately waist level in the direction of the person you wish to insult (used to be fairly common on the soccer field at one time), and also the "dickhead" gesture, (very useful in road rage scenarios), again touch the thumb and fingers of one hand together, then place the thumb and first finger end of the hand against the forehead and move it back and forth. For maximum insult only the thumb and first finger are used, but slightly separated ( = small dick)

 

[Brad Porter]

While I'm still intrigued by the subject:

1. What does "cor blimey" mean?

2. Was "smeg" just made up for Red Dwarf or does it have a real meaning?

3. Is "git" the same as "tit".

4. Is the middle finger gesture used much over there or do you prefer the reverse victory thrusting upward gesture?

Brad

 

[Ike]

I don't know-I guess tit isn't that weird. We call moron's boobs over here. Same thing.

 

[Nigel McN]

1)cor blimey would be a sign of amazement, 'wow'

2) pretty much (but it is a brand among other things also)

3) git is more along the lines of idiot 'you stupid git'

4) in nz its definitely the middle finger over the 2 finger salute.

 

[Stevie O]

2. Was "smeg" just made up for Red Dwarf or does it have a real meaning?

Smeg is short for "Smegma", which I always believed was a term for semen, or even worse the cheesy stuff that collects when one does not wash in a particular area

 

[John Thomas]

the cheesy stuff that collects when one does not wash in a particular area

...this bit of information comes to you, in part by the Keep England Beautiful campaign.

 

[BrianB]

StevieO, smegma is the second of your definitions, not the first, according to the slang & Red Dwarf sites out there
There's a very funny clip of the RD guys at a convention fan panel & being asked by a young kid "What does smeg mean?".

 

[Stevie O]

John - Britain is beautiful, (though not particularly clean), even more so now I am living in Canada!

Brian - Thanks for the clarification (I think!), a friend of mine in the Air Force was nick-named "Smeggy" for his lack of personal hygiene, great guy but EWWWWWW.
I can imagine the looks on the RD people when asked the question, I can only hope it wasn't "Lister" who answered ....

 

[Brian Crowe]

Anyone else heard the Priceline.com commercial where the Brit announcer uses bollocks? I had no idea what it meant but assumed it was similar to BS bases on the context.

Bollocks - Bullocks - Bullshit?

I was close but my logic was backwards. Interesting thread.

~Crowe~

 

[Jon Robertson]

On a commercial?
Wow, the TV company would have a fine if they broadcast that in the UK! Just goes to show what you don't know can't hurt you...
Let's not forget some other classic British terms of abuse. I've given them all vague ratings, from 1 to 5 - 5 being the most offensive
Git - unpleasant person Rating: 2
Twat - pretty certain this is fairly common in America, slightly less offensive version of c**t Rating: 4
Slag, Slapper - same as "slut". Rating: 3
Arse - British spelling of "ass", same definition and contextual usage Rating: 2
Pissed - means drunk, as opposed to angry or frustrated in the US Rating: 2
Shite - same as shit, pronounced "shy-t" Rating: 3
Nonce - means foolish person Rating: 1

 

[David Lawson]

"Nonce" was the one I forgot from Lock, Stock. I wasn't even sure how to spell it. I wasn't sure just how offensive it was when Little Chris says, "Piss off, you nonce."
I was aware of the "piss" connotation, though. A friend from Australia always refers to keg parties as "piss-ups". He also says "No worries!" all the time, and things that are really cool are "mega". My personal Aussie favorite is referring to environmentalists as "greenies".