[IceFire]

Speaking as a well travelled English speaking sort, you're wrong. Its about a half and half mix, with some countries being mixed internally. Australia, for example is mixed, as is Hong Kong.

I stand corrected .

[Sandwich]

Originally posted by IceFire
hoover = vacum cleaner
tissue = kleenex
garage = garage (but pronounced differently)
aluminium = aluminum (pronounced AND spelt differently)
z = z (Americans say it 'Zee' and the rest of the English speaking world pronounce it 'Zed' - bet you Americans didn't know that one , none of your hotel clerks, store managers, or historical monument speakers do)
boot = trunk
laurie = truck
truck = freight car (on a train)

Help me out here.

Zed is what's taught sometimes in the schools here - depends whether the teacher is from the UK or the US.

Here's a few near-extinct words:

Pogonophobia
Sciolist
Interdigitate (this one's easy)

Don't know 'em? Use Atomica.

[Kazashi]

Originally posted by IceFire

I stand corrected .

Don't speak too soon, I haven't encounted any fellow countrymen that use "zee" over "zed" (maybe I'm just too rural ). In schools it's taught as "zed", and people continue to use that. Though I guess that with the increasing americanism forced upon us some people will use "zee", especially if they watch something like Sesame Street.

[Zeronet]

Originally posted by IceFire

I stand corrected .

But dont forget, saying it zed is the correct way.
Minging= sick or dirty

[Corsair]

Originally posted by Kazashi
especially if they watch something like Sesame Street.

Nah, now little kids here watch (READ: melt their minds watching) Telletubbies. Possibly the worst thing to ever happen to the world.

[Martinus]

An Irish one you might have heard is 'crack' most idiots and pubs spell it 'craic' but anyone in the know spells it crack.

Anyway crack means to have fun.

'Hoot' means great.
'Hoot, hoot, hoot' means really great.
'Blinding' means excellent.
'Yoink' is a term used to exclaim something.
'Cultchie' is a person from a rural area, they have their own sub dialect of english I don't even want to describe for sanity's sake.
'windee' is a window 'usually said by cultchies'

'Runger' is a term used by under-educated kids when they see someone who isn't dressed like they are, it's a shortened version of 'grunger'. Not dressed like they are means you don't wear a pair of those horrible three stripe adidas tracksuit bottoms that have buttons the whole way up the legs and a football shirt (usually celtic or rangers). A pair of headache inducing bright running shoes is also (dayglow for maximum points).

Us 'rungers' call those kids and their grown up counterparts 'spides'. A spide is generally pretty stupid and they make up a large part of football hooligans, shoplifters and criminals. (I'm not even being racist or joking). Some unfortunate spides just dress that way to fit in with their friends.

[Fozzy]

Originally posted by vadar_1


thats just product corperation dominance... its not really considered slang...  though you dont hear hoover very much... its things like we rarely say cola... its always coke or... in some cases pepsi (if you like drinking liquid ****).

in the uk we say we are going to do the hoovering (vacume cleaning) because of the guy that inveted it...

... Mr Hoover

[an0n]

More coloquialisms (sp?) but, meh...

Shan - Bad
Skerner - Tramp, person of low financial status
Jimmy/Timmy - Retard (only marginally derived from SouthPark)
Genk - Someone who is unusual looking or disagreeable (ie "Ron Jeremy is a genk")
Knowledge College Reject - A pupil at the local College Of Technology (all boggers and drop-outs)

There's a whole crap-load of piss-ant phrases used by the great unwashed masses of inner city London (such as "Ma cell is bling") but I refuse to recognise such phrases as a part of any dialect or language so screw 'em.

Then there's the more universal terms:

Boggers - Massive jeans, hats, chains, lots of browns and blues
Scummers - Used as a variation of Skerner
Filth - Usually used in reference to a girl, someone who indulges in the....err....'unconventional' forms of sexual intercourse

[Fozzy]

Here is a few things that us brits use often: (excuse my spelling)

1) Cockney rhiming slang:

Apples And Pairs = stairs
Trouble And Strife = Wife
gypsy's kiss = urinate beginning with P (swear word)
pen and ink = Stink
Number 1 = Wee (to go and urinate)
Number 2 = Poo

3) words for money:

Grand = £1000 (americans might spell £1000 like #1000 because of the lack of a £ key)
Ton/Tonne = £1000
Wegde = bundle of notes (possabaly refering to its shape)
Pony = £25

4) Others:

Pete Tong = Wrong (Pete Tong is a cool DJ from england)
khazi =lavatory.
kick off = To start a fight.
dipstick = fool

[Thorn]

Originally posted by Maeglamor
'Yoink' is a term used to exclaim something.

*steals Maeg's wallet*
Yoink!

[an0n]

Mmmmmmm. Homer.

[Kazashi]

Originally posted by Corsair
Nah, now little kids here watch (READ: melt their minds watching) Telletubbies. Possibly the worst thing to ever happen to the world.

Fortunately I stopped watching TV before they appeared. The only telletubbies I see now are custom models blown to bits in games of Quake....

Now there's an idea, furry telletubbie space ships..... they had to get to this planet somehow

Back on the subject of weird words across cultures, is it true that americans (until recently at least) didn't know what a wanker was? It's something of a common tale down here, but I have no idea of its authenticity.

[Kellan]

Originally posted by Maeglamor
Us 'rungers' call those kids and their grown up counterparts 'spides'. A spide is generally pretty stupid and they make up a large part of football hooligans, shoplifters and criminals. (I'm not even being racist or joking). Some unfortunate spides just dress that way to fit in with their friends.

Funny...we have 'trendies' and 'greebs' in Milton Keynes. And I'm a...well, nothing really. A 'skater' maybe, even though I don't skate.

[Styxx]

Hm, I've learned that the right way to pronounce the 'Z' is 'Zed'... maybe it's because my english school used the Oxford and Cambridge books as basis.

[Martinus]

Originally posted by Thorn

*steals Maeg's wallet*
Yoink!

Yes, exactly.


Wait a minute, get back here you pilfering cur.




BTW 'filth' is a derogatory term often used for the police here as is...
fuzz
peelers (they were set up by a certain gentleman by the name of peel)
squealers (just because it rhymes with peelers)
pigs (everyone knows that one)
Nips (northern Ireland police service, bad choice of acronym )
ruccies (they were previously known as the Royal Ulster Constabulary, RUC)

Of course amounst the nationalist community there are more extreme naming conventions, most of them ending in 'bastards'.

[beatspete]

Living in the north east of scotland, i am subjected to virtually a whole new language, called Dorric.  Not the typical scottish accent, its kinda used by old people who have lived in the area for a long time.  Young people, such as i, tend to use it less, i suppose cause pure english is taught in schools, and its not used on the TV, so it gets kinda phased out.
Anyway, here's a few beauties for you to add to you spell checker:

"Fit like?" meaning "how are you?"
"choochter" meaning someone from the country
"skelp" meaning to hit (i think)
"bairn" - meaning baby, child
"quine" meaning girl, taken from 'queen' i think
"Fit ye've nivver haen ye nivver miss" - a longer phrase meaning "what you never had you'll never miss".

I dont use the language that much, and i addmit i dunno what some old people(who tend to use it most) are sayying to me - i just smile and nod.


Also as a general difference between american english and proper english:
"sidewalk" equals "pavement"  

And its 'Zed'
and 'year' is pronounced 'yeer' not 'yir', an argument ive been having with some of my friends.

pete

[Knight Templar]

no offense, i see more brits and europeans on here than americans, but how do u get "Zed" out of "Z"? i;ve known bout it for a while (ever since i went to canada when i was 5) but like "Q R S, T U V, W X Y and Zed?"

[Ulala]

A new one at my shcool thats started is "homeslice". Taken from like "homie" or something I suppose... used quite often now. lol... its got a nice ring to it I think.

[Blue Lion]

damn words I'm never gonna use, why even bother?

[adwight]

Here's one I hear a lot:

Hoser- idiot, retard, fag, i could go on... and on...

EDIT:  Here's how it ties in.  One time this kid got called a hoser and he's all, "What's a Hoser???".  It was funny...