JIMBO10

According to Rick Steves the word fag means cigarette, fagged means exhausted, and faggot means meatball. So what is the slang word they use for a gay person?

Intrepid1

uhhhhh..are you planning on using it? If you do, be certain to put the word MISTER in front of it, and the word SIR behind it.

ira

A faggot is a bundle of sticks bound together - often used as torches

mousireid

The name for a gay man would be a *Poof*! I have two wonderful friends who are and we always used to get a laugh out of "going outside to smoke a fag" in US as it sounded like you were off to do away with a gay man! Well...it was an inside humor

Wayne

So if a gay guy goes outside for a smoke he is a poof having a puff?

TMWeddle

There is a very entertaining book and website on this subject - "The Very Best of British: the American's Guide to Speaking British" http://effingpot.com/

No connection, etc.

cmt

I wonder why you want to know, but, since you do, you can find a lot of this info via a simple Google search, e.g., http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache...tish&hl=en

epossible

I'm studying in Oxford for six months, so I've heard some of the student sayings at least. I've heard a poof a couple of times. More often, though, it's just "a gay" or "queer." Oh yeah, and also, a "bummer."

Kate

Jimbo, there are many insulting words for gays in every language, and I'm not about to start telling you what they are.

Equally, there are many words Americans use innocently which we have completely different slang meanings for. Don't talk about your fanny if you don't want to get some very strange looks.

caroline_edinburgh

A faggot is a bundle of sticks *and* a type of meatball.

Intrepid1

I suspect the term "bigot" needs no further explanation on EITHER side of the Atlantic.

P_M

British posters, please tell me if the following should have offended me or not:

I was in an English pub and walked up to the bar to get a drink. A blind man and his guide dog were standing next to me and the dog came over and laid down on my feet. I thought it was very sweet, so I petted the dog and told the blind man that his dog was laying on my feet. The man replied, "Oh, yes, he knows a bit of crumpet when he sees it." I didn't know what the heck he meant, so I talked to him for a couple more minutes while waiting for my drink, then went back to my table. Later I started thinking about that term "a bit of crumpet," and wondered if this was derogatory or not. What is a bit of crumpet? I don't think he meant "crumpet" as in what you have at tea time. Thanks.

marie_scotland

a crumpet in that tone would be a 'tastey looking woman' so a compliment - of sorts!

P_M

Thanks, Marie!!

sheila

The only non-pejorative colloquail term for a gay man is "gay".

You MIGHT use some other or others with or about friends who would understand the humour. Don't dream of calling someone a poof if they're not your best pal.

buongiorno

And I thought this would be a fun post recalling all those words we Americans learned watching British comedies on PBS like "you utter burk"

nytraveler

My favorite is the continued use of archaic forms - like betwixt and amongst. And the way female job holders are differentiated from male: conductress etc. (I've always wondered if they say "fire woman" and "police woman" - rather than just firefirghter and cop?)

sheila

I've never met a firewoman so I don't know. I certainly say "fireman". Nowadays we tend to address or discuss police people by rank rather than anything else. So PC (police constable) rather than police man. It used to be the women were WPCs or just "w"s in the slang, but that's not PC any more.

You have some fairly archaic uses yourselves- words that moved on in Mother Country but got stuck in the 17th and 18th century in the US.

ckenb

Some examples of American archaic forms would be interesting. We Americans aren't aware of them, of course.

One of the things that used to drive me crazy in France when I was teaching English was professors (more often than students) who would ask me how to say such and such in English. I'd give my version and then they'd say "But how would you say that in British English?" I was usually stumped.

Wayne

We forget (if we are old) or we never knew (if we are young) about the fact that a hundred years ago. there were many terms in the American language that were British in origin. I just happened to recall the lines from "Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag," a song of World War One origin. One line was "While you've a lucifer to light your fag, smile boys, that's the style." If interpretation is needed, that means "While you have a match to light your cigarette..."