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Notes -
Hang on, I thought these were different - certainly in America, "Gypsy" is a now-offensive term for the Romani. I knew that it was apparently still kosher in the UK, but I assumed that it was used to refer to the same population. Does the British "Gypsy" refer to Irish Travellers rather than Romani? Is it an umbrella title encompassing both?
Gypsy isn't offensive in America, unless you're talking to someone who goes out of their way to be offended by everything.
I considered typing "now-considered-to-be-offensive" or some other convolution, but ultimately deemed it unnecessary - I think it sort of goes without saying that "offensive term for [ethnicity]" means "term considered offensive by the sorts of people who care a great deal about what terms are offensive", particularly in the context of pointing out that their UK colleagues seemingly came to a different conclusion about the very same word.
No, I don't think those two things are in fact equivalent. For example, one could reasonably say that "nigger" is an offensive term for black people in America. The vast, vast majority of people in the nation would be greatly offended by using that word to describe people. By contrast, only a small (but vocal) minority considers "Gypsy" to be offensive. As such I don't think it merits saying the term is considered offensive at all, because unless you inhabit an extremely lefty bubble nobody is going to bat an eye of you say "Gypsy".
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If you want an insulting term that is more apt for Irish Travellers as opposed to Roma, the traditional slur was "Pikey", although as with all slurs the meaning is vague and liable to expand over time.* The Snatch (by the same team as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is a most excellent British gangster movie in which one of the many factions robbing each other is a pikey gang, and is referred to as such by all the other characters (except for the visiting American, who has no idea what he is dealing with).
Romanichal is the traditional term for the long-established British Roma community (as opposed to recent eastern European arrivals).
The British version of My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding is almost entirely about pikeys because they couldn't get any Romani gypsies to cooperate with the filmmakers.
* Apparently British Roma use "pikey" as a slur for non-Roma who lead a travelling lifestyle, including Irish travellers, travelling showmen, and New Age travellers. Wikipedia says that it has become a catch-all term for the feral poor similar to "chav", but I have not heard that usage.
I learned the word chav about 20 years ago. At the place I was working at the time there was a considerable culture of non-Japanese, mostly American/Australian/British. A gay American man, an Aussie woman and an American woman joined brains and came up with the idea to celebrate American Thanksgiving but in what they called collectively "chavvy" style. This meant those of us invited were to wear sweatpants and sportswear (I wasn't entirely sure of this) but also bring what was termed chavvy food. I mention the man was gay only to suggest the idea had its roots in women and gayness. Anyway chavvy food, that's what we were told to bring for the potluck.
This ended up meaning the food I had eaten all my life unironically for Thanksgiving, namely green bean casserole and cornbread dressing (both of which I made myself and brought.) I don't remember much about this festive afternoon/evening except that I got drunk, and that what I made, anyway, was good. I think I also ended up making the gravy. This was one of many experiences I've had with people from outside my world, whereby I realized Southern (white) culture down to the food was viewed as lowbrow. Later reading Nancy Isenberg I would realize such views could even be codified.
Looking back I'm sometimes baffled why I hung out with the people I hung out with, but sometimes living abroad you end up with odd acquaintances. Not trying to derail the thread, I am enjoying reading the discussion.
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I have to say something because @orthoxerox made the same mistake but with the excuse of being a native speaker of a language without articles. The movie is called Snatch.
You are indeed correct. I would point out that what you call the film doesn't matter that much - what's important is that you watch it. It's a very good film.
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I remember hearing that use in the '90s and '00s, but it would seem a little odd to say today. Not exactly because it's un-PC, it's just fallen out of use.
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Growing up in the UK in the 90s, 'gypsy' just meant people in caravans, which meant English or Irish travellers. The UK didn't really have a visible Romani population until Romanians and Bulgarians were able to come here as part of our (at the time) EU membership, and now every town has a dozen Big Issue sellers of Romani extraction that the papers euphemistically call 'Romanian' and which actual Romanians loudly insist are Gypsies and have nothing to do with them.
Fun fact, the Romani call Irish travellers something like 'half breed' because they have the itinerant lifestyle but they aren't Romani (although most Romani are settled these days anyway).
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There are two kinds of gypsies in England, Romani and Traveller. Older and less politically correct British call both of them gypsies interchangeably, whether or not they are aware of the distinction.
I gather both have existed here in some form for a long time, but the majority of Roma arrived after the EU accession from Romania and Bulgaria, while the Irish Travelers have moved between Great Britain and Ireland for hundreds of years, since there has pretty much always been free movement except for during the Second World War. For a long time, before the origin of the Romani gypsies was understood as distinctly Indian, there was a widespread belief that the two groups may have been related. Even some Travellers thought or think of themselves as related and, starting in the late 19th century, some travelers actually adopted aesthetic aspects of Romani culture including the brightly painted caravans.
Unless someone is talking about London pickpockets or EU immigration, most British seem to mean traveller when they talk about gypsies, especially if they are rural. The Roma tend to cluster around towns and cities here, even if they are more rural in Eastern Europe proper.
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