Double meaning in Br and Am English!

Larissa   Fri May 19, 2006 10:59 am GMT
Double Meaning

Español British English

(With British accent) American English

(With American accent)


culo
bum, buttocks
fanny Do Americans use the word "bum" to mean "buttocks" or only for a homeless person?

vagina
fanny
vagina

vagabundo
tramp
bum, homeless person

marrana
slut
tramp

homosexual
gay
fag

cigarrillo
fag
butt

culo
arse
ass

burro
ass
donkey

borracho
pissed
drunk

enfadado
angry (pissed-off)
pissed

esperma
spunk
sperm

agallas, coraje
‘get up and go’
spunk

cuarto de carne
joint
pot roast

cigarillo de marihuana
marijuana cigarette
joint

goma
rubber
eraser

condón
condom
rubber

maestra
mistress
female teacher

amante
lover
mistress

muchedumbre
mob
gang, group

mafia
the mafia
the mob

sencilla
a homely girl
a pleasant girl

fea, poco atractiva
a plain and unattractive girl
a homely girl

parque de atracciones
fair
carnival

carnaval
carnival
parade

fregar los platos
wash up
do the dishes

lavarse las manos
wash your hands
wash up

zapatos de tacón alto
high heels
pumps

zapatillas, deportivas
pumps
sneakers

confitura
jam
jelly

gelatina
jelly
jell-o

patatas fritas (en bolsa)
crisps
chips

patatas fritas
chips
french fries

Thanks
Guest   Fri May 19, 2006 11:08 am GMT
Who cares?!
Rick Johnson   Sat May 20, 2006 1:43 am GMT
vagabundo
tramp
bum, homeless person

Americans may also say vagabond, a word that is rarely heard in Britain these days (vagrant tends to be the main word) despite the fact that vagabond is from middle english.
Guest   Sat May 20, 2006 1:56 am GMT
That list is full of mistakes.

------------------
homosexual
gay
fag
------------------

"Gay" and "homosexual" are also used in the US. "Fag" is a derogatory word for "gay".

------------------
condón
condom
rubber
------------------

"Condom" is used in the US.

------------------
zapatos de tacón alto
high heels
pumps
------------------

"High heels" is used in the US.

------------------
lavarse las manos
wash your hands
wash up
------------------

"Wash your hands" is used in the US. "Wash up" means "clean up".

------------------
mafia
the mafia
the mob
------------------

"Mafia" and "mob" are both used to mean organized crime in the US.

------------------
marrana
slut
tramp
------------------

"Slut" is more common than "tramp" in the US.

------------------
enfadado
angry (pissed-off)
pissed
------------------

"Angry" is used in the US.

------------------
amante
lover
mistress
------------------

"Lover" is used in the US.

------------------
parque de atracciones
fair
carnival
------------------

"Fair" is used in the US.
Uriel   Sat May 20, 2006 10:10 am GMT
Vagabond is pretty rare. Tramp is very old-fashioned and you don't hear it much anymore. Slut, skank, etc. would be more common. Pissed and pissed-off are equally common in the US as synonyms for angry. Rubber is a slang term for the equally common condom, which is the neutral term. Wash up in the sense of wash your hands is occasionally used in the US, as in wash up before dinner. Burro and donkey are interchangeable in the American southwest, where there are lots of Spanish loanwords, including "sancha" for mistress (in the sense of a married man's other woman). Bum can mean both a vagrant and also to borrow, as in bumming a cigarette.
Rick Johnson   Sat May 20, 2006 3:15 pm GMT
<<Bum can mean both a vagrant and also to borrow, as in bumming a cigarette.>>

In England, one might say "bum a fag", meaning to borrow a cigarette. This could be misconstrued for something completely different!!
Uriel   Mon May 22, 2006 7:27 am GMT
(giggles) Yes, it would.
Liam   Mon May 22, 2006 7:53 am GMT
>>In England, one might say "bum a fag",<<

Not only in England might one say it, but also in most other English-speaking countries.
Uriel   Wed May 24, 2006 10:48 am GMT
Well, "lighting up a fag" would be considered a hate crime here....
Ed   Wed May 24, 2006 3:42 pm GMT
In Britain a fag can mean a chore as well as a cigarette, but the first use is usually used by older people.

For example: "I was going to go into town today, but it was too much of a fag" or "I used to make jam during the war, but I don't anymore as it is too much of a fag".

I'm not sure if this use is found elsewhere.
Ed   Wed Jun 07, 2006 6:37 pm GMT
> "Slut" is more common than "tramp" in the US.

Is the term "slut" really used to mean a tramp in the USA? In Britain it means a promiscuous woman and we call a tramp a crusty.
Uriel   Thu Jun 08, 2006 11:09 am GMT
You're confusing two different meanings of the word tramp, Ed.
Ed   Sat Jun 10, 2006 6:56 pm GMT
> You're confusing two different meanings of the word tramp, Ed.

I've never heard of this alternative meaning of the word tramp, only for a homeless person. It is rather amusing.
Uriel   Sun Jun 11, 2006 7:31 am GMT
Well, that's because "tramp" meaning "slut" is very old-fashioned slang that hasn't been in common use in dacades, although most people would still know what you meant if you used it in context.
Deborah   Sun Jun 25, 2006 7:34 am GMT
<<Well, that's because "tramp" meaning "slut" is very old-fashioned slang that hasn't been in common use in dacades, although most people would still know what you meant if you used it in context.>>

According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the use of "tramp" to mean "promiscuous woman" dates from 1922. It was still commonly used in my youth (the '50s, '60s & '70s).