What is the difference between "English" and "British"?
Dec 17, 2011 · A simple way to understand it, is to compare the UK to the USA. The USA is a country made up of states. Each state, with a different name. People can be New Yorkers or Californians and they are Americans. However, not all Americans are New Yorkers or Californians. For the UK, replace the word states, with the words "home nations".
How offensive is it to call someone a "slag" in British English?
In the UK at least, bitch doesn't have that association - it means something along the lines of woman with an unkind, evil or spiteful personality. The words skank and ho are recognised - especially from rap music - but are definitely felt to be American imports. All of the others are fully accepted as native :)
word choice - Which verb describes the movement of a flag or …
Sep 29, 2014 · There are many options. Which is best depends as much on what the flag is doing as on how strong the wind is. To add to the above, for light movements, waver, sway, and swell could all describe the motion of the flag. If you want to describe the wind as the agent, however (as in your second sentence), most of these won't work. –
Speaking of insults: "sod off!" meaning and origin
Nov 3, 2011 · So your sense of "sod" is on the money. Suffixial "off" marks a general epithet as an insult, as seen in "piss off," "f-ck off," "bugger off," etc., all used in the manner of "please go away." Also note that "sod" in this sense is UK usage only. In US English it …
Origin of fag (meaning a cigarette in British English)
Dec 1, 2015 · According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, it comes from "fag", meaning a loose piece of cloth:. fag (n.1) Look up fag at Dictionary.com British slang for "cigarette" (originally, especially, the butt of a smoked cigarette), 1888, probably from fag "loose piece, last remnant of cloth" (late 14c., as in fag-end "extreme end, loose piece," 1610s), which perhaps is related to …
Origin of "jack sh*t" - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange
Oct 7, 2011 · "A ship's flag of smaller size than the ensign, used at sea as a signal, or as a mark of distinction; spec. the small flag which is flown from the jack-staff at the bow of a vessel (formerly at the sprit-sail topmast head), and by which the nationality of a ship is indicated, as in British jack, Dutch jack, French jack.
"Stamp" vs "stomp": when, how, and why? - English Language
May 11, 2017 · Most people in the UK stamp their feet in anger. I find it difficult to conceive of a single stomp. If there was only one of them, for me it would always be a stamp. But to stomp means there must be multiple stamps. The first recorded reference to stomp that the OED has is from 1845, and it is in a poem by Robert Browning, in order to obtain a ...
Should there be a space before a percent sign?
Apr 8, 2017 · Stack Exchange Network. Stack Exchange network consists of 183 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers.
What is the origin of "rag" meaning newspaper?
Jan 16, 2017 · That being said, it is not hard to imagine that when choosing a word to express contempt for a piece of fabric or paper, such as a flag, newspaper, pamphlet, or legal document, rag would be an easy choice. In the case of paper, this is partly because of physical resemblance to fabric, and partly because rags were (and sometimes are) used to ...
What’s the origin and history of the phrase “ten foot pole”?
Jun 7, 2018 · Early figurative use of "ten-foot pole" The earliest instance I could find of figurative use of "touch [someone or something] with a ten-foot pole" is from "Buying Up the Press," in the [Lawrenceburg] Indiana Palladium (September 22, 1832, reprinted from the Missilonn Gazette), which uses the phrase in a very modern-sounding way: