tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post115551836543886624..comments2024-03-16T00:21:43.240+00:00Comments on Separated by a Common Language: arse, ass and other bottomslynneguisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-85826358987475121772024-02-04T16:22:35.850+00:002024-02-04T16:22:35.850+00:00I'm not so certain about that... I'm a Ply...I'm not so certain about that... I'm a Plymothian, having lived close to 20 years in the US. <br />Some years ago my US partner and I did a little road trip to Plymouth Rock, MA. We were both astounded that virtually no one there, that we spoke to anyway, realised The Mayflower had arrived there from a place called Plymouth (England) in 1620.<br />Don't even start me about New Jersey...Alan E Hillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08814067373751548470noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-58862841937019442182022-09-05T05:09:39.032+01:002022-09-05T05:09:39.032+01:00I think they are pulling your leg!I think they are pulling your leg!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-18192914381170197232021-05-18T22:00:03.530+01:002021-05-18T22:00:03.530+01:00Bother, so he wins. Thanks a lot!Bother, so he wins. Thanks a lot!Annahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14152244821667941578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-7858509977033338052021-05-18T18:51:16.758+01:002021-05-18T18:51:16.758+01:00'Bum' meaning 'bottom' is definite...'Bum' meaning 'bottom' is definitely not AmE. OED says: Chiefly British, Irish English, Australian, New Zealand, and Canadian.Not in widespread use in the United States.<br /><br />'Bum' meaning 'not working', like 'a bum computer' is orig. U.S. and 'chiefly North American'. lynneguisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-28828097303554706462021-05-18T15:53:49.280+01:002021-05-18T15:53:49.280+01:00Hi Lynne, on the topic of bums, my husband and I h...Hi Lynne, on the topic of bums, my husband and I have just been discussing how to describe someone who doesn't work. He decided that my suggestion of "bum" was American and as a non-native BrE speaker I don't have an opinion but would very much like him to be wrong. What say you?<br />AnnaAnnahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14152244821667941578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-43109730120241002532018-06-24T12:56:22.759+01:002018-06-24T12:56:22.759+01:00In Australia an "Arsey shot" is a lucky ...In Australia an "Arsey shot" is a lucky shot or a fluke !<br />That was all arse meaning there was no skill all luck !<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-38270340093613845462018-04-12T11:52:18.793+01:002018-04-12T11:52:18.793+01:00Especially as the Latin word ars 'art' was...Especially as the Latin word <i>ars</i> 'art' was in the past found quite frequently in English texts — if only in the titles of Latin books.David Crosbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04868191560554400497noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-56822273359264965412018-04-11T05:35:38.257+01:002018-04-11T05:35:38.257+01:00No.No.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-9221253611819647592018-04-10T20:11:24.108+01:002018-04-10T20:11:24.108+01:00Well, maybe you're very young indeed & the...Well, maybe you're very young indeed & the meaning has shifted over the last 70 years without my noticing or you're from North London but in South London prat is and always has been definitely backside. There's a Pratt Walk in Lambeth & despite the fact it's now very gentrified it's still known as Arse End locally.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-21309426415957558012018-04-10T18:25:44.712+01:002018-04-10T18:25:44.712+01:00At a slight tangent, I am curious to know how peop...At a slight tangent, I am curious to know how people surnamed "Butt" survive school in the United States. As the butt of many of a joke, I imagine. And is there any evidence that surnames like "Butt" and "Ramsbottom" are dying out, either because their unfortunate bearers find it difficult to find a spouse, and consequently tend to have fewer offspring, or because they change their moniker by deed poll?Hartley Moorhousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02239347981862893690noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-22791897796162803512018-04-10T16:56:32.625+01:002018-04-10T16:56:32.625+01:00I'm a Londoner, and there "prat" cer...I'm a Londoner, and there "prat" certainly doesn't mean bottom/buttocks, but is a fairly vulgar word meaning vagina, a slightly ruder version of "fanny", or a slightly less ruder version of "twat".<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-3748617538595394052018-04-10T15:47:31.166+01:002018-04-10T15:47:31.166+01:00Shudder. Shudder. Ruth Mchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10363332647098600198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-54459966332800656942018-02-26T03:28:34.044+00:002018-02-26T03:28:34.044+00:00The word is, or was, ARSE (cognates in other Germa...The word is, or was, ARSE (cognates in other Germanic languages all have an R).<br /><br />In simple terms, rhoticity is whether or not the R is pronounced, it does not have a big impact on the vowel pronunciation. Rhoticity is probably NOT an issue here as it doesn't normally change the spelling (party, car etc are still spelled the same whether the R is pronounced or not). <br /><br />Many seem confused with rhoticity and the bath/trap split. In parts of Britain (but not all) and various other British influenced areas, bath sounds more like "bahth" while in other parts of Britain, notably the north, and in America the A is short as in "bat". Everybody pronounces words like"trap" (and "bat") the same way.<br /><br />However the bath/trap split isn't the case either as the R changes the pronunciation even if it isn't pronounced itself, and it IS pronounced in Northern Britain (which includes Scotland). Also, ASS is pronounced the same all over, it is in the Trap group not the Bath group.<br /><br />So why do Americans say ASS and others say ARSE. There are 2 possible reasons :<br /><br />1) American prudishness, ARSE is too earthy and direct, change it to a similar sounding word. This is supported by e.g. the use of "bathroom" instead of "toilet", the pixilating of any image of a nipple or worse, the old rule in films that husbands and wives had separate beds etc.<br /><br />2) It has followed a similar path as "Cuss" and "Hoss" where the R has been dropped for reasons that are still debated.<br /><br />As with any word, the Americans and the rest of world may use it as a verb, noun etc in different ways.kiwi-ianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12795688798972257306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-30634217041308090612017-11-08T11:47:56.035+00:002017-11-08T11:47:56.035+00:00Not so much a wink - more a loud bellow.Not so much a wink - more a loud bellow.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00384961999804008934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-8975426762202701752017-01-16T21:47:43.566+00:002017-01-16T21:47:43.566+00:00I know I'm here 10 years later but arsey mean ...I know I'm here 10 years later but arsey mean risky or brave. As in, 'That was a pretty arsey move'.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-38163080633945474022016-11-13T12:37:34.936+00:002016-11-13T12:37:34.936+00:00Just here to note that "can't be arsed&qu...Just here to note that "can't be arsed" is definitely a phrase I heard growing up in the Boston area in the '80s/'90s, non-rhotic pronunciation and all. But then, Boston is a bit odd. ;)Sariannahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15698974283516155079noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-50452231326879565912016-07-01T21:18:35.337+01:002016-07-01T21:18:35.337+01:00mark said...
Front bottom seems to me to be quite...<i>mark said...<br /><br />Front bottom seems to me to be quite recent - I thought it was a television invention for comedic purposes</i><br /><br />Here in the north-west of England my female cousin, then a child, used to use "front bottom" to refer to her genitals back in the very early 1970s so it depends on what you mean by 'recent'. I strongly doubt that it's a television invention.Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-61491981905177479042016-05-03T21:45:17.072+01:002016-05-03T21:45:17.072+01:00I used to have an album of Frank Sinatra Live at t...I used to have an album of Frank Sinatra Live at the Sands where he says someone "couldn't a bull in the fanny with a bag of rice" as a Brit threw me till an American friend of mine explained. The other I read was an American saying that " fanny" was an in inch or so different in US from UK I was a a couple of years older by then so I understoodRichardnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-36200544630425649772016-03-05T03:10:14.312+00:002016-03-05T03:10:14.312+00:00To quote Father Jack Hackett of Father Ted fame (R...To quote Father Jack Hackett of Father Ted fame (RIP Frank Kelly who's just passed away)<br />Feck! Arse! Girls!<br /><br />Em, roight there Ted?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-57717546845987088292015-11-01T21:41:01.507+00:002015-11-01T21:41:01.507+00:00"Arse" is an Anglo Saxon word meaning bu..."Arse" is an Anglo Saxon word meaning buttocks. "Ass" is a euphemism of "Arse" that probably came about from early, puritan settlers to North America.Paul Kendrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09973682302172528345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-27284804697361207222015-09-13T09:57:23.471+01:002015-09-13T09:57:23.471+01:00Australians say arse. because that is what it is! ...Australians say arse. because that is what it is! Not a donkey!<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16962895624566572691noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-55640013052832736452014-07-15T15:55:06.922+01:002014-07-15T15:55:06.922+01:00Reading through the comments there seem to be inte...Reading through the comments there seem to be interesting variations even within AmE. 'Butt' is a neutral and useful word here, simply descriptive (and useful), and 'arse' simply doesn't exist, in any context. It'll just get you a blank look. (It took me a while to realize that Brits intended the 'r' in 'arse' to be pronounced (if only by modifying the initial vowel to distinguish it from 'ass'.) n0aaahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08020996948408839877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-7334509347522174362014-06-14T14:23:09.379+01:002014-06-14T14:23:09.379+01:00I love bollocks.
"He kicked me in the bollock...I love bollocks.<br />"He kicked me in the bollocks!" Ouch.<br />"What a load of bollocks" Talking shite.<br />"Bollocks!" Painful or irritated exclamation. danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10414364790384478936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-31840520530773960612010-05-23T13:44:09.868+01:002010-05-23T13:44:09.868+01:00sumrandom - in that case, front bums is a euphemis...<b>sumrandom</b> - in that case, front bums is a euphemism for c***s.<br /><br />Front bottom seems to me to be quite recent - I thought it was a television invention for comedic purposes.<br /><br /><b>Jen</b> - there's also a character in Shakespeare called Bottom - caused a lot of boyish mirth in my schooldays.<br /><br /><b>Ray - bollocks</b> is definitely a word for testicles. It's meanings as "nonsense" and as an expression of contempt are secondary.markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13330601573101580438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-4839166444034440022008-05-08T10:39:00.000+01:002008-05-08T10:39:00.000+01:00I think the 'e' is to reflect the fact that it's p...I think the 'e' is to reflect the fact that it's pronounced [ars], not [arz].lynneguisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.com