I don't know if many here remember who David Niven was.

He was a Brit in Hollywood during it's golden years. He wrote four books, 2 fiction 2 non. In one of the non-fiction books he describes a time when he made the acquaintance of a young American woman and made the remark that he would "knock her up", (meaning he would stop by to see her...knock, knock.) She thought he meant something else..

Lets add:

Fag = Cigarette
Bum = Butt
Nekkid = Tired
Bloke = Man
Bloody = Fired Up

Knickers

UK = women's underwear
US = stupid looking pants usually worn by male golfers

Apples and pears

UK = stairs
US = edible pomaceous fruit

Alan Smithee wrote:

I don't know if many here remember who David Niven was.

He was a Brit in Hollywood during it's golden years. He wrote four books, 2 fiction 2 non. In one of the non-fiction books he describes a time when he made the acquaintance of a young American woman and made the remark that he would "knock her up", (meaning he would stop by to see her...knock, knock.) She thought he meant something else..

They mentioned that one on Frasier the other night.


Anyway...when I was 13 I saw An American Werewolf in London, and when David's screaming Prince Charles is a faggot...I looked that up because I didn't know what it was, the dictionary said a bundle of sticks, so I was like 'why's that an insult?', I did not know that it was a gay slur, so I got in trouble when I used that in a story I wrote, that was when I found out what it meant here. But I've never gotten that one, how can fag and faggot which means cigarettes and sticks, equate in this country into gay slurs? Can somebody explain that one?

Oh, and I'd like to add, in the immortal words of Curly Howard: 'nacular? That's a doiby!' Nyuk nyuk nyuk

Loo/Toilet = Bathroom/Restroom
Mate/Chap = Buddy/Friend
Pissed = Drunk

Supernova wrote:

They mentioned that one on Frasier the other night.


Anyway...when I was 13 I saw An American Werewolf in London, and when David's screaming Prince Charles is a faggot...I looked that up because I didn't know what it was, the dictionary said a bundle of sticks, so I was like 'why's that an insult?', I did not know that it was a gay slur, so I got in trouble when I used that in a story I wrote, that was when I found out what it meant here. But I've never gotten that one, how can fag and faggot which means cigarettes and sticks, equate in this country into gay slurs? Can somebody explain that one?

It was originally used for a pile of sticks. The reason it's now used as a rude name for gay people is because they used to burn homosexual people alive using "faggots". Isn't that really sad?

Tony Marino wrote:

It was originally used for a pile of sticks. The reason it's now used as a rude name for gay people is because they used to burn homosexual people alive using "faggots". Isn't that really sad?

Indeed, but what about fags?

Supernova wrote:

Indeed, but what about fags?

Short version of Faggot. No association with the English version for cigarette.

I like their vernacular.

For us: Right away
For them: Straightaway