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This is a short funny presentation about slang words used differently in British and American English.
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British & American Slang
Fernando will total me with his Thermos if I don’t stop talking about his bums.
What is slang? In 1901 Gilbert Keith Chesterton, an English
writer, wrote that, « …all slang is metaphor,
and all metaphor is poetry. » Perhaps so,
but this does not really tell us what slang
does or where it comes from, or how it is
associeted with yet different from colloquial
language.
In the hierarchy of linguistic acceptability,
slang is superior to cant- the secret jargon of
the underworld- but inferior to colloquialism.
How can we tell what is slang and what is colloquial?
Well…there is no easy formulistic way to
do this.
The answer is elusive because the
boundary between the slang and the
colloquial is elusive.
Indeed, the division between what
might be called formal and informal
language- which includes both slang and
colloquial- is itself elusive.
Where does it come from? For centuries, underworld cant has been a
significant source of popular slang.
Sex, money and drink are the traditional large
topics of slang, now joined by multitudes of
coinings from the drug culture.
Taboo topics, especially sexual ones, provide a
happy area for the creation of euphemistic
slang.
Youth culture is responsible for the coinage of
many entries and clever or humorous or
insulting- or all three- nicknames for
individuals and groups have delivered many
more.
However, not all slang or colloquial expressions
refer to taboo topics, or are insults, or are
humorous. Many are no more than the
terminology of common everyday speech.
British Slang Examples
BAZOOMBAS / BAZOOMAS / BAZUMBAS
The female breasts
(Crude. Normally
with the and in the plural).
For instance:
« Nice bazoombas, »
he thought, as she
walked pass.
DAN
The janitor or
attendant at a
public toilet for
men. (Crude &
Taboo).
For instance:
That’s an unfortunate
cry the kids shout
when they see the
Dan.
CHUFF
1.The buttocks. 2.An
anal release of intestinal
gas; a noise or smell
associated with this.
For instance:
The problem with Joe is
that he lets go of these
super saiyajin-kind-of
chuffs all the time!
TOSS OFF To masturbate
(taboo).
For instance:
Timmy’s mother
caught him tossing
off in the garden
shed.
HORIZONTAL Intoxicated due
to drink.
For instance:
The Boss was
horizontal at
the Christmas
party.
American Slang Examples
LUNGS
Female breasts
For example:
I caught my
little brother
checking the
lungs on that
Hooters
waiter
DAN
Acronym for
"dumb-ass nigga“
(offensive)
For example:
He gets out of jail
then goes right
back for the same
damn thing. He is
such a Dan.
AIR BISCUIT
A fart that is so potent as
to have a tangible quality. Air
biscuits may be “launched”,
dropped”, “pushed out”,
chucked”, etc. Also, when
someone breaks wind and
catches it then releases it
into someone’s face.
For example:
You’re so freaking disgusting!
You’re always launching air
biscuits on my face!
JACK OFF To masturbate.
For example:
Brian had the
blue balls so
bad he had to
jack off as soon
as he got
home.
PICKLED
Intoxicated
due to alcohol
For example:
He gets pickled
after only one
beer.