All Comments on 'Knickers, Rubbers, Arses And Fannys'

Shandal, some of the terms you mentioned are also used in this country but with different meanings than you wrote. My experience is that here we have both suspenders and braces to hold up our trousers (when I was in the US Army, trousers was the word we used, not pants)as well as belts of various kinds: one fastened to the trousers with buttons, the other with clips. I understand this is not a universally recognized distinction between braces and suspenders but a somewhat regional one. The only mode of dress I find strange are the guys who wear both belt and braces (or suspenders)-- usually attorneys whose braces have cute little images on them.

There is much more British slang that is incomprehensible to the American ear. But some of it is so perfect I have incorporated in my speech. "Chuffed," for example - to feel elated, full of pride, grandly complimented. A splendid word. "Rumpy-pumpy" is new to me, and most delightful. It connotes sex for the sheer fun of it, all social and cultural entanglements banished.

Great stuff. As a Brit working mostly with Americans I have to have a good working knowledge of both languages, as do they. We have learned to be tolerant of each other's differences. It's the best way.

I wrote a warning on my first story that it was in British English, as I kept on seeing comments criticising spellings, etc. Should I have had to do that? Not sure. My next has quite a bit of Welsh slang in it...

Aussies, Cannuks and Kiwis, too. And it goes without saying that we love a wee bit 'o Scots and Irish vernacular. The Welsh mentioned in an earlier comment will be grand new fun.

I'm nonplussed as to why you would ever get complaints from us Yanks. We're from the land of blending in all the good bits that the rest of the world has to offer.

Personally, I find the new slang enriches a story. If I don't know a word, I just Google it. Moments later my vocabulary has grown by one.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed your essay and the British/American equivalents you listed.

Good stuff!

True fans of erotica, soft porn or hard core have no trouble at all in understanding the meaning of all of those diffeent terms. It all adds spice--and variety is the spice of life.

i prefer when writers use local words in their stories as they always seem more real life that way. americans seem to have such a narrow view of the world, live a little and enjoy the stories for what they are, not what you would like them to be.

Oscar Wilde i think [shirt lifter]

or Buddy, so tell it your way. Anyone who knows wouldn't quibble a UK story for spelling or slang. Those who don't know can STFU and learn. PauldeKok did a great story using Geordie slang (from Northeast England), complete with reference to The Blaydon Races, the Geordie national anthem, and it was great. Welsh slang would be interesting, as would Scots or Irish (Northern or Southern, love 'em both).

Keep writing! More and better stories wanted.

Oops George Bernard Shaw [not a shirt lifter]

I learned a lot of this in the Flashman series of novels, althought his lingo was a bit dated. Thanks.

I too have been 'slagged off' for using British vernacular words in Literotica stories, being told on more than one occasion that as the internet(invented by a Brit) belongs to the US, then all postings should be in American English. My answer to that - Bollocks!

I write in a language that means something to me, one that can express myself in. If I were to attempt to rephrase everything to suit American consumption, then the flow would disappear! I try to use words that are understandable all over, but there are times when this is just not possible for me.

Can we not celebrate the variety of language instead of criticising it? Does it matter that I put a (to Americans) superfluous 'u' in words such as 'honour' and 'colour', or describe panties as 'knickers'?

I might also add that we use the word panties too at times, but with the distinction that 'knickers' are usually just standard 'cunt covers' while panties are often a little more sophisticated.

Oh, and by the way, I originate from the English East Midlands and I could write in that kind of dialect, but then it wouldn't be understood by half the Brits, let alone the rest of the world. As a couple of examples let me quote "Geroffonit!" which is the spoken version of 'Get off of it' which translates as 'I don't believe a word'! Or "Arshulatta!" which is the verbal version of 'I shall have to'!

Enjoy the stories and 'bugger' the slang.

Just ignore those moronic Americans!

I am American but not an "ugly American" as in, acting as if the US and all American citizens are centers of the universe, which is, of course, a load of rot and is always a cock up from a bunch of gob shites :o)

The language is called English. And that makes the English spelling and usage the default one. Sorry folks, you'll have to defer to us Brits on this one!

God, I'm hot now. I have a huge obsession of everything British. All that talk just got my engine going. Thanks so much for the small dictionary of British terms.

And for all those people who have a problem with words they don't understand in a story they are reading I have one word for you. DICTIONARY! In a world where you are reading literotica on line and at a click of the button copy and paste words or phrases into Google or a dictionary website.

Good job shandal, and now I'm going to check out your other work.

I am also a British author who worries about making his work enjoyable for a mostly American (or at least Americanised) audience. I have largely capitulated and set my stories in America, featuring Americans, told through American culture, language and slang.

Now, after reading this article and the associated comments, I feel like such a sellout. I gave it 5* to feel a bit better about myself :(

5 stars from an American. I love British television and humor. The slang just sounds so much more fun and incredibly crass and yet elegant all at the same time. Truly enjoyable!!

Those yanks should keep their comments to themselves. Which part of ENGLISH do they not understand

Plenty of Americans have no problems looking up British slang that they don't know. Unfortunately, the unpleasant people (not to mention the out-and-out trolls) whatever their nationality are the ones who are most likely to leave comments, so it may sometimes seem as if all or most U.S. citizens are intolerant and lazy that way. There's certainly something to be said for posting a note at the beginning of a story explaining that it uses British slang (or whatever), but that certainly should not be presented as an apology.

But the countries need not be divided by their common language. I understood your article just fine without having to pull out a dictionary. (It's perfectly possible that GBS said that first and that Wilde stole it later. It seems Wilde had a habit of stealing bon mots.)

"Ugly American" is the title of a novel about a man who was homely (physically ugly), but who endeared himself wherever he went in the world by his friendly manners and his respect for local customs. How the term "ugly American" came to mean the opposite, I have no idea.

I do have an idea about fringes though. When young women in the U.S. first began cutting bangs in their hair, the style came to be known as a "lunatic fringe" to the older, more conservative folk. It's possible that this led to the adoption of another word for the hairstyle, because "fringe" had become associated with "lunatic".

I was born in the U.S. and have lived here most of my life. I have never heard anyone use the word "pavement" to mean "road", although we do pave our roads when the surface begins to develop potholes. "Pavement" means sidewalk here too, it just isn't used as commonly. I believe that "Bender" is another slang word that means the same in the U.S. but just isn't used very often.

Thank you for the article. I prefer to keep slang out of my narrative as much as possible, but this will be helpful for reading other stories and for when I am writing a British character.

You wrote:

On any Saturday night you can see couples having 'Saturday night knee tremblers' (sex) up against the alley wall after falling out of a club half pissed, (drunk as a skunk) with someone they have just 'pulled'

But then you forgot to explain what "pulled" would mean in that context.