How To Swear Like a Brit

[the_moonmoth]

Despite having been in the New World for nearly a year and a half now, I am, in many ways, incurably British. For example, the number of times a week I check the BBC website. At the weekend I caught this little gem, which is relevant to many of our interests. Americans, take note ;)

Click to view

In other news, the parents have finally gone, and we survived

Comments

[shapinglight]

You're right. It is a little gem. I'm so glad her pronunciation was so nice and clear. No mistaking 'bollocks' for 'bullocks', which I've seen so many times in fanfic. :shudder:

[the_moonmoth]

No mistaking 'bollocks' for 'bullocks'

Or 'bollix' or 'bollox' or... *shuddering with you* Like, it's an actual word, it has a correct spelling - use it!

OMG your icon though D:

[shapinglight]

:)

Someone kindly made it for me when I was raving about how Americans kept confusing the two. It annoyed me so much that I actually wrote a (very polite) piece of feedback to one of the then BtVS fanfic BNFs in which I mentioned that she'd made this error.

She never replied, and years later I saw her doing it again. Needless to say, I lost all respect for her instantly. ;)

I also have this icon.

[the_moonmoth]

That too is a quality icon. Wally. Lol. Haven't heard that word in many years ;)

One thing that always makes me cringe is when Spike says 'ninny' and 'nit'. You know, cause those are really bad words. When he was a kid. In the 1850s.

[shapinglight]

'Ninny' is very old fashioned, I agree. I can remember 'nit' from when I was a kid, though.

A very long time ago, if not quite the 1850s.

[the_moonmoth]

Yeah, I mean, I was called both as a child (and probably did my fair share of calling) but they're so incredibly genteel, and really not words I'd associate with Spike most of the time...

[shapinglight]

Same here. Maybe he was having a 'William' moment?

[thisficklemob]

Aww, I liked it when Rahirah's Spike called Dawn a "pestilent nit." Because of course he likes her, so it's gentle insults.

[the_moonmoth]

Yeah, when it's meant as a gentle insult, it actually works great. But when you've got him screwing his face up at Xander (like in your icon lol) and spitting out the word 'ninny' it just... doesn't work for me. Far too genteel. It just reads like americans trying to think of words that 'sound british' :-/

[thisficklemob]

Ah, I get it. Makes sense.

I'd offer my lingo services, but the only Americanism tip that springs to mind right now is that no native-born American ever says or thinks "whilst". *g*

[the_moonmoth]

This has been pointed out to me before but now I feel the need to go do a ctrl-F through all my Buffy POVs *g*

[thisficklemob]

I don't think I've seen you do it; that's why I didn't figure it was terribly helpful.

[the_moonmoth]

Pleased to report that no, I have not done that :)