So our Simon McCormack hightailed it to England to study for a while. In honor of dear Simon (and not because I’m carefully avoiding a mountain of work), I spent some time surfing an extensive English slang site this morning. I was surprised at how often words I think of as American slang actually originated across the pond. Take “veg,” as in to veg out or relax—who knew it was English? Suffice it to say, the English know how to curse. We’ve all used “bloody” at least once in jest, and somehow, it just felt right. But “bloody” is amateur stuff. Try these on instead:Arsehat = A contemptible personBaked Bean = The queen (!)Jam Jar = A carJesus Boots = SandalsLabs = An abbreviation of “labia”Offy (this is important, Simon) = A shop that sells alcoholOxygen Thief = An elderly personTactical Chunder = A bout of vomiting that’s self-induced to enable one to drink more alcoholWheels of Steel = A DJ’s record decks. Who knows how much of this is actually in use? Still it’s pretty interesting. And a brief warning: If you check out the site, the English seem to have a lot of words for genitalia, various sexual acts and tons of derogatory references to homosexuality.
Arsehat
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