I'm sorry? Are you trying to suggest that the word 'stuff' is a swearword? Ummm... no.

But casual swearing definately is not such a big deal in Oz than in other places I've been. Particularly the second-rare swearwords like bugger, damn or arse. Seriously, I've been told off for using the word 'arse' in front of 15 year-olds!

That's what I thought... Seems like I would have heard some concern on the forums or something if it meant that.

She just said that she and her husband ate dinner with some Australian friends, and when her husband said "I'm stuffed" when he finished, they burst out laughing. They said in Australia, that was the same as saying "I'm effed."

I can see how that would work out. Think about it, if you take stuffed as in stuffing something, you use an in and out motion. As in putting the stuffing in then taking your hand out. And being effed (:p) is more of less the same in and out motion :).

Then again, it could have been a joke. Those Aussies are sly ones :p.

bugger and arse? wow :wow: thats different...BUGGER??? th...thats amazing

Go stuff yourself Abeguy. jk

lol, yeah, that is cool learning about different cultures. my friends are going to have fun with this

Ive only just found out the term " bugger " means anal sex!

That is sooooooooooooooooo worth quoting.

Hey, this is for you brits. Is there a lot of racial tension on your country? It seems lie in the US the entire PC society is focused on not committing a hate crime.

There can be quite a lot of racial behaviour down here in n.z , thats for sure ! some whitie idiots believe tha the maori are dirty trespassers , when it was us who brought all the maoris land of thm in the first place! tsk tsk tsk , some people are have really " boxed themselves in ! "

Heheh, heh, hehehehehehe, hehehehe, heh. Hehehe!

Don't try it, kids.

I think that's just a common occurance. Greasy long haired people with 'Metallica' and 'Iron Maiden' pieces of cloth hanging from their nipples. On rare occasions, you see the specimens adorned with leather hide jackets, and you think to yourself: My God, what a smart monkey.

Well, I think that's just a country thing, as Karl said. It's not exactly in very familiar use outside of farming, but it is muttered on occasion. It's almost like NZ/AUS/Britainish equivalent of 'dude'.

Aint that the ****ing truth. Look at the recent Madonna videos, I mean damn; "Put some pants on, woman!" Leto says while the other boys hide their erections.

There is definatley two sides to it. The honkeys have indeed mistreated the Maori in the past, what with the wars and such, but some of the issues the bring up are silly. Privileges and such. But they can do such a thing because the government are mega pussies and have to help the 'minoritiez'.

I'm going to put it plain and simple for y'all: Everyone wants to be black. I blame this Hiphop that Gabe is so fond of, as he wants homosexual relations with 50 cent.

I agree with your opinion entirely .

Well in that context, surely it would mean stuffed as in 'very full' would it not? The other way stuffed can be used is meaning the same as broken ("Don't use that old television, it's stuffed!").

hmmm, you aussies are quite different. I find it both amusing and interesting, our cuss words are (just if anyone may find it weird) f*** a** (arse is our not so evil way of saying it) bitch has kinda become more common, Damn, though at my school, it seems all are very common, sh*t, ummm...bastard maybe. don't know

(you can guess which ones are more serious i guess from the one's with *'s)

Let's see, I've had to learn the hard way which words and phrases americans don't use.

Prick - an unpleasant person ("Madeline's ex is such a prick!")
Pissed - not used to mean angry except for in "pissed off" but usually used to mean drunk ("Barry was totally pissed last night")
Taking the piss - making fun of someone ("That reviewer was totally taking the piss out of American Pie 7!")

Other words that I've learnt to substitute:
torch/flashlight
serviette/napkin
rubbish/trash
Ex Why Zed/Ex Why Zee (very important when you're studying engineering)

There's more. I'll post them as I think of them.

Yeah, I've always found the different slang and common phrases interesting. We do use the word prick quite often though. Hmm, one of my old friends who moved to Tennessee from California found our use of the word "buggy" for shopping cart weird.

And that makes me think of another question: Are shopping carts used often in other countries? And when you go to the grocery store or where ever (maybe a market or something), do you take your own bag to put your food in or does the store provide you with plastic/paper bags?

Uh...I've lived in England fer quite a while. Maybe 4 years 'fore returning to the U.S. And I've gotten soup when I was sick.
Well, actually, my Nana was british, but my grandad is American. (God rest your soul, Nana) So, I really can't tell if british give their child soup when their sick. Although, it is quite a curer from the chills, and tastes good, too. ;) :lick:

Yes, I do believe giving flowers and chocolates are common, but british give out more chocolate than flowers, or something good 'n delicious to their lovers.

No, I don't wear makeup (this is my POV), but yes, girls love to put on so much makeup, they look like clowns from the Cellio (the clown play by Shakespeare? I believe?) On special occasions, or just becuase they wanna look prettier.

And as for the cultural differences; What good differences DO I have? I killed the Jews, fer cryin' out loud!

Not so much "tension", but there are a lot of buried opinions that haven't really been aired since Enoch Powell. A suprisingly large number of people in the UK are racist, and teach their children racist things. This is mostly present in the older generation though (grandparents of kids today, around 10 to 18), and hasn't permeated so readily through the generations as it did 50 years ago.

Basically racism in the UK is dying out, because the majority find it distateful. The BNP is about the closest thing to racism in the UK political system, and that isn't even really racist, rather misinterpreted as racist.

Are you living in a hole? It has not died out at all. BNP Is far from racist. Its just that they get caught saying bad things at bad times :p
But, Racism in the Uk is terrible.

I can tell.
When I'm online, usually, when I meet brits, they don't like americans. (Even the irish! I've met a little boy who hates americans, even though he says he doesn't, I know)
I don't understand.
Was it because america beat their asses? Or is it because america is better than them?
It just hits me stupid!
What is the reason with the hate?!

I like Americans. I don't think i'm racist. But alot of people are, Not towards Americans, But different religions.

Ah.
Not towards Americans, in general? Mostly towards religion?
...Still gets me stupid to why some brits don't like americans...:fuzemb:

Yes, we use 'shopping carts' but we call them shopping trolleys, or just trolleys. With bags, you usually take your own, since a tax was introduced a few years ago whereby you must buy plastic bags at the checkout, rather than get them for free. Me, I think it's a good idea since people are less likely to throw something on the road if they had to pay for it.

Question from me: Are there generally known terrorist/illegal shenannigans/divided politics to the extent of violence where you are?

For me, being Irish, yes. The IRA (which I won't start talking about) is an old terrorist group, who are supposedly disarmed. They also supposedly had/have links to Sinn Fein, a political party. I'm not going to say more on that for my own good since I'm not well enough informed.
Also, during the weekend riots broke out in Dublin over a march. This involved looting, burning, smashing, throwing things, and about 14 injured people (both civilians and gardaÃ*<-police). Last year in Northern Ireland (well, it's sort of Ireland...kinda ^_^') there was violence on the streets, where cars were burnt out, riots, businesses torched, streets blocked. All that jazz.

Question from me: Any slang or idioms to share?

Yip. I think 'muniah', 'caiped'. 'How's she cuttin' and 'she's cuttin' fierce' are specific to a particular area.
Minging - smelly, disgusting
Muniah - delicious
Caiped - turned over ('The car caiped')
How's she cuttin'? - How's it going? (Note: country slang, I'm pretty sure this is specific to a particular area)
She's fierce! - positive statement('Nice wall.' 'Oh, she's fierce!') (Note: country slang, see above)
What's the craic? - casual greeting/'what's going on?'
Any craic? - Any news?
Culchie - someone from the countryside
Skanger - a chav
Grand - alright/good
Your man - referance to an adult or relatively mature male
Your one - referance to an adult or relatively mature female

I do wonder exactly why the British hate - or make fun of - Americans. It is very easy, to be honest, all the laughable things the U.S. government/army/citizens do that we hear about. I think it's more culturally ingrained than anything. Everyone else laughs at Americans, so we grow up the same way. Possibly you've replaced the Irish in that sense.

A paraquote from Jack Dee's Happy Hour several years ago:
American tourist couple interviewed on street: I'd like to know why the British hate the Americans so much.
Jack Dee: Sorry, it's only a half-hour programme.

See, it's more the mockery itself that's fun rather than any content behind it.

But this is about nice cultural differences. I can see this could start turning sour.

well, We did tear ourselves away from England, like some teenager away from his parents. but besides that, I may be because they're jealous

We're not exactly jealous, we just laugh at the idea that you think we're jealous. :p Kinda complicated? Lol.

And if your whole: 'We're better than you' attitude doesn't encourage the casual racism, then I don't know what does.

i never said we were better, just wondering along with everyone else. you're the country without all the fat people, kudos to you

I didn't mean anyone personally, even though DE_H2 pretty much said it.

I meant america as a whole. They jus' be playin' hate on our lil' island hood foo'.

I hate America's government, but I sure do love jello.

You know what youse' guys's problem is? You're underpaid, undersexed, and under Eisenhower. Oh yeah. I went there.

Britain smells. :rolleyes:

(Yes. Second totally productive post in this thread.)

Hehe, that sounds so weird to me.

Wow! That's a great idea! Too bad nothing like that would ever happen here.

Um... not really. At all, especially in my region. But it's America, so our government gets hundreds and hundreds of threats a day. =/

All I have to say about this British people and whoever hating America is I wonder why you guys have never directly attacked one of the Americans here, using the stereotypes you're always saying about us. Heh, the funny thing is without the "location" option and if no one said anything, we'd all have a hell of a hard time telling who was from where unless we payed attention to the tiniest details. We're really not all that different. Not all of us are as bad as people who have never even stepped foot on American soil, like Havoc for example, says.

Okay, let's clarify. People across the world may dislike America but they don't hate them to the point of starting a war or beating anyone up. If you're wondering why, I think the best explanation came from South Park: "The reason why we hate you is because you can't understand how anyone can hate you!". America, as a nation (not individuals, of course) has a "God bless America" mentality that basically implies "God fuck everyone else". Plus there is the stereotype that Americans are undereducated, unintelligent but overpaid and spoilt.

Now, spending time in the US I have learnt that that is not true at all. Most people I've met here (in California at least) are friendly, nice people who are, frankly, embarrased by their government's foreign policy.

But the fact remains that most Americans are profoundly ignorant of the rest of the world. I've only met one or two Americans my age who have travelled outside of the USA (Mexico not included).

Excuse me? Am I missing a punch-line here?

That reminds me of some guy I met on the internet once. He had obviously never been out of his state, let alone out of the country. He thought every country was a part of America and that every country used American dollars. I was laughing so hard I didn't tell him that wasn't the way the world worked. And when I say guy, I mean he was at least in his 30's.

In England (at least where I live) we call them trolleys or shopping trolleys. If you aren't going to guy enough to fill the trolley there's also plastic baskets you can use to put stuff into. Some supermarkets also sell big plastic bags which you can use over and over and over and over and so on.

No one really hates America. As Rich said, it's the general "We're better than you" attitude some Americans have.

America a giant group of spoiled rich stupid people? ummm...no...atleast not where I live. Southern Californian White kids though. Watch the OC, I know I don't

For most people, what they know of America comes from TV. So they think the country is full of rich white kids on the west coast, black gansta rappers on the east coast and poor, uneducated white trash in between.

well, that would be how it is if you looked at a grand scale of things, but its not entirely true

A-fucking-men to that. You would think that watching a documentary or a news report or two would make you a veritable expert on a damn country that you've never visited.

But meh. We're really not all that different. Brits and 'Merkans, I mean. As much as the majority of Britain will make fun of America and, to a certain extent, Ireland, the majority of America will make fun of France and, to a certain extent, Mexico.

Which I never really understood. France is good. We may have bailed them out of a few wars, but the American Revolution would have been a bitch if their navy weren't around.

Posting on forums or generally talking to people on the interent cures the 'I hate {country}' syndrome.

My brother Jim, for instance. The ultimate 'I hate America' ignorant person, brainwashed by George Carlin and the like. Just posting on a few forum has pretty much instantly cured his attitude.

I don't really see why someone could hate the people on a country. Sure, many people can be annoying, but really what everyone is going on (like Nate said) is what is seen on TV.

Like I've always said, all xenophobia (fear of people different to you) is based on ignorance. And even if people are not consciously racist they can be subconsciously. For instance, when I spent time in NYC and lived in a hostel just south of Harlem, I was very intimidated by all the African American people because I had only met one or two in my life and of course they mostly have a negative portrayal on TV. I suppose I thought they would hate me for being white or something. But then I met a few really nice African-American people and now have one or two friends as well so that apprehension is gone. It was never a conscious thing and I never consciously worked against it - just getting to know them raised my comfort level.

The same rule applies for any race/religion/person different to you because of the basic ignorance of 100% of the population (I mean, everyone is ignorant of something). So the 6 billion population of the world should all get together in one huge, friendly orgy. :lick:

I have a theory that every country in the world has another country that they mock for their accent and alleged sexual activities with sheep. Australia has New Zealand, England has Wales, USA has Canada and South Africa has, for some reason, Australia.

The canada bias thing is very rare where I live, we mostly hate Mexico in its common gneralisation that it's an armpit country filled with druglords (which is the truth in many cases from what I've seen).

A lot of people have been to Canada from my school and have helped to kill the rumor thats it's nothing but a frozen no man's land filled with lumberjacks with that funny accent.

The only thing that you would hear in England about canadians (When people are taking the piss) Is the rumour about after every sentance they say "Eh?"
I'm sure alot of other people have heard about that.

Most countries are generalised though. I'm sure that most of it isn't true. If not all of it.