Even if you don’t study languages and don’t particularly like reading literature, you cannot escape the main tool we use to communicate every day. And we all enjoy a good play on words or a smart metaphor. So you don’t need an education in linguistics to be interested in that field.
What is also often enjoyable is learning how people use different languages, what words are the same and for what concepts they have or don’t have words. Even in the same language there are variations. An interesting case is the English language as it is spoken in different parts of the world and has become lingua franca, so it inevitably will have changes.
Twitter user Rob Delaney wanted to explore the differences in the English language. Being American, he asked his followers to present him with the best insults British people use and that made a very entertaining thread.
Image credits: Rob Delaney
Image credits: Ralf Steinberger
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Rob Delaney is an American comedian who helped to write the script for the TV show Catastrophe (2015) and starred in it. He is also known for appearing in such films as Deadpool 2 (2018) and Hobbs & Shaw (2019).
However, the platform that brought him to the spotlight was Twitter, where he started posting in 2009, and by 2016 he had over 1.2 million followers. He is considered to be the one of the first comedians who cracked his jokes on social media.
Now he has a following of 1.5 million people and still continues to entertain his audience. Recently, he wanted to be entertained himself and asked “What are some good British insults these days?”
He mentioned that he knows of “roaster”, “flannel”, or “weapon” that always makes him chuckle. And now he knows a lot more as 3k people joined the conversation to illuminate Rob about the awesome ways the Brits have to insult someone.
It is weird to think that both Americans and British people speak the same language, but it sounds so different and the lexicons are diverse as well. On the other hand, it is the people who adapt the language to be a convenient tool to communicate, so it is only natural that in different places, even the same language will have variations.
The biggest difference between American and British English is probably the pronunciation. The vocabulary is mostly the same but some nouns, verbs and phrasal verbs are used differently. There are also minor differences in grammar, for example, the use of present perfect or how they express possession with the verbs have and have got.
And apparently, there are loads of insults that only the British use. The ones that were mentioned in the thread are quite funny and clever. They are often based on comparison, like ‘dry lunch’ or ‘muppet.’
Twitter user Arietta made a good point by explaining how you can make up your own insult: “The best ones are the random nouns that aren’t technically insults but are made into one by putting the word 'absolute' in front of it. Saw a comment calling someone an 'absolute f*****g pelican' the other day and I’m still not over it.”
Do you find differences between variants of English interesting? Which variant do you prefer to use? Also, do you know of any British insults that were not mentioned in this list? Let us know in the comments below!
It's yer da sells Avon - needs to be enunciated correctly for full effect
Maybe from being a 'spanner in the works', dunno though. & douche-canoe is always a good one.
Also a derogatory term for the poor souls that were known as thalidomide babies, "spanner" is not a nice one.
Spanner used to be used to mean a bit slutty i.e. you turn nuts with it.
In the U.S. Navy, we used to call people a 13/16" wrench. Because there was nothing that size in the power plant, so it effectively meant "useless tool". I know, it doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, though.
I have no idea how "melt" is supposed to be insulting. I think that people are just using any random words nowadays.
Spanner, it tightens your nuts. As in I call my wife/girlfriend spanner.
in Oz a spanner is also a very attractive female (tightens your nuts)
Spanner came from a similar sounding, really unpleasant performative term for a person with a disability. I remember it being changed when I was at school. It has the same rhythm and sound, so could fit into the existing vernacular.
A spanner is the antithesis to the sharpest tool in the box, there are few tools that are less sharp than a spanner.
I was clueless re "footy stickers". Why is that an insult? Isn't team support a huge thing everywhere?
Though, didn’t making a fist, bending your arm, and pushing it forward rapidly used to mean sex?
Note: this post originally had 57 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
The absolute pinnacle of British insults has to be the (probably about to be censored by BP) "c0ckwomble"
If used about politicians, then it's usually because there's been another "omnishambles".
Load More Replies...
A popular insult from my own Scottish youth was "Yer maw's got baws an' yer dad's jealous!"
These are hilarious 😂 in my family its ‘oi cloth ears’ because we’re all a bit deaf 🤣
I like to call people Balloons sometimes, it implies they're full of air instead of brains. "You bloody balloon"
Someone once told me that "my mother was a hamster and my father smelt of elderberries." It made my day.
I quite like douche canoe as an insult. But living in Scotland we do have a huge range of insults at our disposal
Spunktrumpet. T***t. Walloper. And my beloved's pet name for me, "you daft bint"
I’ve been told that there’s nothing inherently British about these insults. They don’t recognize them as such over there.
You utter dip-stick has been my go-to for years. I also once overheard someone exclaim "you son of a donkey's left nut!" to a driver who almost ran into them at a zebra crossing and that made me giggle a bit.
My new one is “Jam Shed “ after wine I saw in the Spar. Totally sounds like slang for f***y.
Wanker is my favourite. But these are suppose to be covert/subtle insults?
When I was a teenager in the 70's, men & boys called pretty girls a spanner as a compliment. Spanners tighten nuts!
“What a TOOL” or “You LEMMING” Are a couple that spring to mind, an old college friend in my group used to refer to really stupid people as ‘Plankton’ eg:”You plankton!”
I guess because I live in America, I dont get most of these but I find it hilarious as I can imagine it being said. Fun post.
Here are some funny American insults . My favorite is one my dad used to say is "dumber than a bag of hammers". When I was in high school , in the 90's .. we called people lunch boxes , door knobs , or tools . Sort of lame , especially without the British accent
I find myself trying to say all-nighter these insults in British English. I'm not impressed with myself . #canadian
Guys you have to hear capetonian insults. They are so OTT they are hilarious.
I find Americans think of the English as British, but not the Scottish or the Welsh
Best insult I ever heard - teenage boy had piled on insults, teenage girl - you are so irrelevant. Probably works in any language
Go forth and multiply you incompetent invertebrate is definitely my favourite
The absolute pinnacle of British insults has to be the (probably about to be censored by BP) "c0ckwomble"
If used about politicians, then it's usually because there's been another "omnishambles".
Load More Replies... A popular insult from my own Scottish youth was "Yer maw's got baws an' yer dad's jealous!"
These are hilarious 😂 in my family its ‘oi cloth ears’ because we’re all a bit deaf 🤣
I like to call people Balloons sometimes, it implies they're full of air instead of brains. "You bloody balloon"
Someone once told me that "my mother was a hamster and my father smelt of elderberries." It made my day.
I quite like douche canoe as an insult. But living in Scotland we do have a huge range of insults at our disposal
Spunktrumpet. T***t. Walloper. And my beloved's pet name for me, "you daft bint"
I’ve been told that there’s nothing inherently British about these insults. They don’t recognize them as such over there.
You utter dip-stick has been my go-to for years. I also once overheard someone exclaim "you son of a donkey's left nut!" to a driver who almost ran into them at a zebra crossing and that made me giggle a bit.
My new one is “Jam Shed “ after wine I saw in the Spar. Totally sounds like slang for f***y.
Wanker is my favourite. But these are suppose to be covert/subtle insults?
When I was a teenager in the 70's, men & boys called pretty girls a spanner as a compliment. Spanners tighten nuts!
“What a TOOL” or “You LEMMING” Are a couple that spring to mind, an old college friend in my group used to refer to really stupid people as ‘Plankton’ eg:”You plankton!”
I guess because I live in America, I dont get most of these but I find it hilarious as I can imagine it being said. Fun post.
Here are some funny American insults . My favorite is one my dad used to say is "dumber than a bag of hammers". When I was in high school , in the 90's .. we called people lunch boxes , door knobs , or tools . Sort of lame , especially without the British accent
I find myself trying to say all-nighter these insults in British English. I'm not impressed with myself . #canadian
Guys you have to hear capetonian insults. They are so OTT they are hilarious.
I find Americans think of the English as British, but not the Scottish or the Welsh
Best insult I ever heard - teenage boy had piled on insults, teenage girl - you are so irrelevant. Probably works in any language
Go forth and multiply you incompetent invertebrate is definitely my favourite
