The Wide, Wide World Of Slang

[ladymadonna]

Hee! What fun! I was born and semi raised in Arizona, but spent most of my formative years here in Wyoming. Here is some of the slang that STILL flummoxes me:

In Arizona: Thongs

In Wyoming: Flip-flops (I get those concerned looks too when I refer to my cool new thongs)

AZ: Glove compartment

WY: Jockey Box

AZ: Wallet

WY: Billfold

AZ: Freeway

WY: Interstate

AZ: Road or street

WY: Highway

AZ: Soda

WY: Pop or Pepsi (Pepsi is used much the same way as Coke in the South, it means everything from Pepsi to Squirt *sigh*)

AZ: Gyro or Hoagie

WY: Sub

Also, having lived in the barrio, I get REALLY irritated at people up here who still can't pronounce "Pollo" (poy-yo) and "quesadilla" (kay-sa-dee-ya).

[Maddiemoo]

Well, except for the bubblers (water fountains),

Dude! I could have sworn Bubbler was strictly a Milwaukee, WI thing. Crazy. Milwaukee is also kind of weird in that it's the only city in the Midwest that uses Soda instead of Pop. I live in eastern Washington now, and it's pretty interchangable. You can say Pop, Soda, Coke, whatever, and people know what you mean.

[monsterzero]

What gets me about American/British slang is that for some reason, the insults change gender from Male for American to Female for Britain. Or rather, instead of calling someone a 'dick' over here when they're being a complete idiot, in Britain you call them a '****.'

Interestingly enough, I found this out when I was over there and my host was cut off in traffic by this delirious old Welsh woman. Imagine my shock as my host called her both a 'twat' and a '****.' Then eventually I figured it out when my host's hubby told me that so-and-so was 'getting on his tits.' Interesting indeed.

Okay, I'm done. Hopefully Topher won't kill me for this, but it's something everybody should know when they go overseas to avoid extreme embarassment.

In case you're not in on the censorship, the asterisks mask the c-word. Enjoy!

[kanding]

I would just like to take this moment to thank the good people of Britain for "snog" (make-out, kiss) and "shag" (have sex). I don't use them myself, not being British, but those words never fail to get me smiling. They just say it all. Someday, I'll have matching French Bulldogs named Snog and Shag. Or two Shetland Ponies...yes, Shetland Ponies.

Anyway, thanks again.

Oh, and I can remember catching such grief for saying "soda" instead of "pop" when I moved from New Jersey to the Midwest as a kid. I never did pick it up; I still say "soda".

[topher]

Hopefully Topher won't kill me for this, but it's something everybody should know when they go overseas to avoid extreme embarassment.

***puts Monster Zero on the list..

;D ;D ;D ;D


BTW, there is no list so don't put the tin foil hats on.

[aims]

When I was young we used to call them 'thongs' but I just assumed the appropriate term now was 'flip-flops' due to the name of the type of underwear.

I've also heard a glove box referred to as a 'cubby hole'.

Oh and thanks to the British also for "bloody hell". I'd use that more but around here I'd be looked at funny. Hell I might do it anyway.

[Deleted]

Growing up in New Zealand, rooting was what we called screwing ("engaging in sexual intercourse" for non-'Merkins who may not have heard "screwing.") Imagine my surprise at my first baseball game in the States during the seventh-inning stretch when we were all urged to "screw, screw, screw for the home team..." America! What a country!

[monsterzero]

***puts Monster Zero on the list..

No, not the beatings again!!

[Metizia]

Duke of URL: I live in the US (NYC area) and screw also means sex here.

[batmom]

I spent a year in Brisbane, Australia when I was 14. My mom and I, in our innocence, thought we were headed to another English-speaking country. Imagine our surprise when we found the locals to be almost incomprehensible:

Byro - pen
Tea - dinner/supper
tinny and stubby - can of beer and bottle of bear
Chrissy decs - Christmas decorations
root - have sex (I learned this the hard way when I wore my prized Roots sweatshirt. The fact that it also featured the Roots beaver added the hilarity)
Togs - swim suit

All in all, a fun and somewhat baffling year. I caught on soon enough (teenagers are quite adept at picking up slang). My poor mom had a slightly bewildered look for the entire year.

The coolest thing was when we returned home; for about a second, when we entered the customs area at the airport, we heard the Canadian accent that everyone else hears. Then it vanished and everyone sounded (to us) normal.