I had a hilarious Facebook conversation the other day with a fellow blogger. She's American but has lived in the UK and has a British boyfriend. Hence, she sometimes pops the odd British phrase into her conversation.
Except this time it was very odd; in fact it was a riot.
Get yerself over to my column at Expat Focus and see what I mean.
Am totally LMAO at your colum over at Expat Focus. I have thankfully never used that phrase out of turn. Thankfully I knew what it meant and the connotation.
ReplyDeleteI think using 'cant be asked' with the uptight mother-in-law is the thing that seals this one as a fab cultural faux pas!
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Great post Toni!
Yeah, plus "arse" in the UK is stronger than "ass" in the USA, although the meaning is broadly the same, certainly when it's a noun.
ReplyDeleteAs well as "can't be arsed", there is the term "arsey" which means over fussy or stuck up. And there is "arsing around" meaning messing around or wasting time.
Do Americans ever use 'ass' as a verb?
Not that I can think of Paul. Ass-backwards, but that's not a verb is it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reminding me of the other arse words too! Fab!
Loving this, especially since poor Son #2 is contending with being a minority Yank among many British and Australian classmates. So far, though, he hasn't put his foot in it too badly, though..
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