site banner
PaperclipPerfector  1d ago (text post)   1465 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for April 26, 2026

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

2
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

What phrases are mostly innocent in the US but innuendo in the UK? Have some colleagues in the UK and would like to make things funny from time to time. I have no idea what they mean by "you alwight" and I want revenge.

Some examples that might be helpful.

  • "Bender" can be used as a derogatory term for a gay man.
  • "Bugger" can used as a verb meaning "to sodomize" (I don't know if this word has an innocent meaning in the US).
  • "Pants" refers to boxers and briefs, not trousers.
  • "Pissed" means drunk, rather than angry.
  • "To pull" means to get a girl to come home with you e.g. "I managed to pull at the pub last night."
  • "To shag" means to have sex with (I assume a lot of Yanks are familiar with this owing to Austin Powers).
  • "Slag" means a promiscuous woman.
  • "Spunk" means ejaculate.

Most Americans would be familiar with that use of ‘bugger’, although it sounds like an old person, or ‘to pull’ in that sense. Slag sounds like a British insult for a loose woman, but I didn’t already know it, and I’ve definitely heard ‘spunk’ used as a noun for the same term in American English, but not a verb.

My impression is that even in the US, 'spunk' to mean 'spirit' or' daring' is in the decline, probably because of the spread of 'spunk' in the obscene sense?

From Australia I am accustomed to the verb 'bugger' as a pretty light swear. I might say, "oh, bugger me" or "bugger this" in public and it's about the same level as 'crap'. 'Bugger' is not as rude as the F word, for instance, as you can probably tell from the fact that I do not hesitate to write 'bugger' but I do hesitate to write the F word.

Oh "spunk" would still primarily be used as a noun in the UK too. I was using "ejaculate" as a noun, not a verb.

“Snape!” nutted Slughorn, who looked the most shaken, pale and sweating.

I’ve heard over there “jacked up” means things are really good. Over here “jacked up” means things are really bad. Only in some contexts does “jacked” mean things are good in the US.

Supposedly bugger's supposed to be just 'annoying person', and you'll hear 'silly bugger' in some circumstances, but I think that was a corruption from Gordon Ramsay and Terry Pratchett (and Father Ted, maybe?). It's still pretty low-stakes as an insult even among people that know the original context, though.

Under similar metrics, my impression's that 'arse' is a lot lighter-stakes than the UK take, though it's still not very harsh even in the UK. Same for 'bloody' as a prefix, which I still don't get.

From the other direction, in America, "cunt" is considered rude enough that I'll avoid it in explicit pornographic contexts (though not all Americans will), and could be a firing offense on the first use. Made a work trip to Australia very awkward.

Made a work trip to Australia very awkward.

They also use it very freely in Scotland.

In my experience it probably depends on the workplace and culture? I'm Australian born and bred and have a white collar full time job here, and I not only never hear, but would never say the C word.

Same for 'bloody' as a prefix, which I still don't get.

"Bloody" is generally just used a generic intensifier. I have a very vivid childhood memory of listening to a newsreader talking about Bloody Sunday on the radio and feeling baffled as to why she was suddenly cursing mid-sentence.

‘Bloody’ is supposedly the descendent of a minced oath for ‘by Our Lady’. I don’t know if it’s true or not.

I understand this to be a folk etymology.

Similar minced oaths do exist - my mother was very fond of "strewth!" while I was growing up, a mincing of "God's truth!" - but I believe 'bloody' predates any plausible minced origin.

Sounds plausible.

I can easily say "Bug-her"

"I don't want to bugher too much, she's really getting stretched thin."

What is this place?

This website is a place for people who want to move past shady thinking and test their ideas in a court of people who don't all share the same biases. Our goal is to optimize for light, not heat; this is a group effort, and all commentators are asked to do their part.

The weekly Culture War threads host the most controversial topics and are the most visible aspect of The Motte. However, many other topics are appropriate here. We encourage people to post anything related to science, politics, or philosophy; if in doubt, post!

Check out The Vault for an archive of old quality posts. You are encouraged to crosspost these elsewhere.


Why are you called The Motte?

A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.


New post guidelines

If you're posting something that isn't related to the culture war, we encourage you to post a thread for it. A submission statement is highly appreciated, but isn't necessary for text posts or links to largely-text posts such as blogs or news articles; if we're unsure of the value of your post, we might remove it until you add a submission statement. A submission statement is required for non-text sources (videos, podcasts, images).

Culture war posts go in the culture war thread; all links must either include a submission statement or significant commentary. Bare links without those will be removed.

If in doubt, please post it!


Rules


Recommended Posts And Communities

Recommended Realtime Chats