I notice that this site is mostly made up of people from the U.S. I was wondering what you or your fellow Americans think of when you think Britain/England and its people. Feel free to be as serious/tongue in cheek/stereotypical as you like.
I have a friend that moved from here (West Yorkshire, England) to Danville, VA. They love his accent but we seem to have a reputation for being heathens and pinkos: )
I met some serious twats when I lived in Amsterdam. I also made from friends with some lovely folks who moved to Birmingham. I find the twat image is fairly common as I ran into a few more while I was in Sofia, Bulgaria and a few more in Bucharest, Romania. So why do you think that is? That they're twats I mean.
I thought "twat" was slang for vagina
British slang for asshole.
@Silvertongue Surely "arsehole" is British slang for "asshole"?
twat
twat,tw?t/Submit
nounvulgar slang
a person regarded as stupid or obnoxious.
verb BRITISHinformal
[en.wikipedia.org]
The word twat is widely used as a derogatory epithet, especially in British English, referring to a person considered obnoxious or stupid. It is also used informally as a verb in British English to mean "to hit or punch a person".
The extent i know about Britain is what i know from Dr Who and Monty Python.
Not exactly clinical research.
For the record, not all of us Americans are gun toting hillbillies, obviously
Damnit! I was going to say that, only I would have added Red Dwarf and the Goodies
The Young Ones.
as a true brit ,probably all you need to know is Monty Python- I think the one other thing you need to know if you ship up in central London at rush hour is that no one will be looking at you or at anything its heads down -rush! and its near to impossible to ask directions of anyone at that time if you get lucky though these commuters can be pretty kind its catching them that is awkward.
Heathens and Pinkos!! Damn, I need to move there
You'd be welcome
My best friends are all heathens and pinkos. Is there something wrong with that?
Not in my opinion
Jeeese... I'm so behind on modern nomenclature... does 'pinko' still mean Communist, or is it something else these days?
Commie sympathiser, therm has been around in the US since the 20s apparently @Captain_Feelgood
@BawdyTales Ahh.... well then that's different.. I have to say (obviously) heathen is fine,, but the ''pinko'' thing deserves a big hocker in the eye.... Communism has got to be one of the most fucked up ideologies ever...
I had the opportunity to go to England when I was a teenager. I thought it was fantastic.
Most of the people I've met from there have been great.
People are people, at least, to my mind. Some are great, some are assholes.
Those things don't know nationality, or race, or most other distinctions.
I'm the wrong person to ask because I love foreigners better than most of my neighbors. I am intrigued by their stories perspectives, cultures, etc. I find Brits to be charming, fun, usually witty and super fun when drunk. They usually have a rather large vocabulary. The older they get the more proper they become. The Irish are really super fun when drunk too but can become belligerent and they all have religious hang ups and guilt. I have only met a couple of people from Wales and they were both on the quiet side and seemed introverted. Now the Scots, they are just bizarre in a most enjoyable way. A feisty bunch.
People are people. I've met English (quit e few), Northern Irish (not many), and Scots (a few), but no native Welsh. There were decent souls from all--mostly--and a few jerks in the mix. The U.S. is much the same.
for very good historic reasons the Welsh hate the English and if I were to go into a Welsh shop on holiday and the locals were chatting in english they would switch to Welsh language in a second The English are the least liked of Scots Welsh and Irish so I really love it that you found us okayish on the whole.
@jacpod A friend had rented a car , which broke down , enroute to our Welsh destination . I pushed it into the closest gas station , hoping for a mechanic to have it fixed . I tried speaking to the cashier , who answered me in Welsh , and another lady ,standing close by , translated . Clearly she understood what I was saying , as an American , but wasn't interested in answering in English .
Tend to expect them to be funny and liberal. Everyone I've met from the UK has been.
I worked at a ski resort in Northern California in my early 20's. The patrons came from all over the world. I always enjoyed going out with the Brits and New Zealanders. I was impressed with their skills at debate and how their news sources seemed to divulge much more about current events in our country than our own media.
Not to lump them together, but both nationalities could drink any of us Americans under the table. It was insane! Just my observations. Plus...I've always had a thing for tall, dark men with English accents...
Yeah I think the Scots and the Irish have the biggest reputations for boozing in the British isle but the truth is England and Wales are just bad/good.
Well I'm two out of three there: )
They are from the UK and I'm glad we won our indipendence. Lovely accents, great whit and funny, but good food. Don't forget the boddingtons!
Tea, the Queen is cool I like her hats, if I went there the first thing I would do is get J.K. Rowling's autograph.
Have made several visits , including London , Wales , Scotland , & Bermuda . Each was interesting in it's own way . Loved touring castles . The public transportation in London was fabulous . Loved Kew Gardens . Mom lived in Bermuda so many beautiful trips there .
Southern Ireland is good on castles too and history too if your'e into it theres this place in Co.Mayo called Ceide Fields a neolithic site that goes back five and a half thousand years The archeologists were able to determine that they were peaceful people who lived together harmoniously because apart from keeping the cows in there were no other boundaries.
@jacpod
I want to go and explore there in a bad way! That sounds fascinating.
@Freespirit64 Would love to go again , just haven't figured out how to get my scooter away from the airport .
I feel that my friends in the UK are more progressive and better balanced than the general population in the US. Of course, heavy doses of Doctor Who, Monty Python, and a host of other media wonders might have had an influence in that. Looking at it from another perspective, if The Doctor and Monty Python make me think the UK is better balanced than the US, that says a bit doesn't it. The US simply isn't silly enough. Please don't' confuse silly and dumb. They are not the same thing.
I bet a bunch of y'all camping in Joshua Tree CA. Decent enough folks, if a little odd. Ruined all their reefers with tobacco, and had to have a break at noon to stop and brew some tea.
Oddly, I live an hour from Danville. I wonder what your friend thought of their accents.
The accent is one of the things that helped him to fall in love with a Virginian woman and move out there.
...ruined all their reefer with tobaco... that's because us Europeans are used to hashish, not lawn mix.
@Spinliesel visit a legal state.
If what they had is called hashish, I prefer Kansas ditch weed.
@BenPike No idea what these people had. Just an explanation why they used tobacco. Be happy with your ditch weed
@BawdyTales a Southern lady's accent has altered many young men's live before this.
I lived in Crete a year... most waitresses were from the UK. All females. I had a blast with them and where ever I went in the Mediterranean there were British so every time I asked them if you are over here... who is over there? They will say tourists. Fun people to be around and the stories they have!!!! And the sailors... when the punks.... nah I am not telling that story. But in my time British sailors have an allowance of beer daily and are allow to consume at sea on spare time. Many times they save it to hit a port. They even had a "pub" for the E8 and above. As a member of a staff in drug ops operations in the caribbean. In the afternoon I came aboard a British cruiser to discuss communications (CommPlan). I left at 11:00 PM at night drunk as a skunk and my boss was missing in action. ??? He was seen returning back to the flag ship half dressed about 1 or 2 AM. You couldn't have that freedom and responsibility with americans. Not current generations I think. British, I Salute You. You got Bond, James Bond.
Brits, eh? They're OK. Not like the Scots of course, but then, who is, right? A close friend was Brit. Came to the US 50 years ago to play baseball. Ended up living here and working all over the world. He was an great guy; knew how to party, and made friends easily. He died a year or so ago and i do miss him.
I think of Guy Richie movies, Rude Boys, Mods, The Who, A Clockwork Orange, Amy Winehouse, Vespas, Soccer Hooligans, The Clash, Charlie Bronson, the best Ska scene to ever exist....you know all the basic stereotypes lol.
I'm no football hooligan but these are stereotypes I'm ok with: )
What’s up with your royal family?
I dunno, it's pretty creepy.
Long ago I asked a Brit why there’s still a royal family. I immediately got the impression that I was an asshole for asking.
I havent a baldie - they are just sort of there nothing, I can do about them !
One of them is going to marry an American.
Most of the time we know the Royals are there - like Pluto is there.
But I have a sneaking admiration for the queen. She trained as a technician in the ATS and drove a truck. She now drives Land Rovers on joyrides over her estates. (I've driven a Land Rover - I hope the brakes on hers are better than the brakes on mine.)
She is more astute than all of our prime ministers - as they quickly find out.
And (please excuse the religious language) she has got WWIII covered:
I was married to a Brit for 10 years, and enjoyed trips to see the motherland several times. Knowing full well that people are people anywhere you are, and not all alike, I’ll have to say he and his family were a bit ‘clamped’. Locked down tight. Like they were terrified of showing any emotion or weakness. Great, dry sense of humor though. Very witty at times.
I visited london and all seemed normal. What's a pinko?
A communist sympathiser. Not quite Red but..
Good for you! I think Americans are intimidated by the British because most of them seem to "know stuff." They even travel to other countries!