boor

[GeneD]

What do you call people who behave in a rude way, say nasty things to others, etc? The dictionary I checked suggested "boor", but the word was marked as "old-fashioned". Is it still used? What other words would you use?

 

[teechar]

Try "ruffian" or "yob".

 

[Roman55]

What do you call people who behave in a rude way, say nasty things to others, etc? The dictionary I checked suggested "boor", but the word was marked as "old-fashioned". Is it still used? What other words would you use?

"Boor" may have fallen out of fashion, and it certainly isn't used by people with small vocabularies, but the adjective "boorish" is still in use, especially in the phrase "boorish behaviour".

 

[J&K Tutoring]

You might take a look at the word 'jerk'. Beyond that you're pretty quickly into profanities.

 

[probus]

A boor is just ill-mannered. Jerk is a much broader term covering people whose possible rudeness is far from their biggest failing. Urban dictionary is good on jerk.

I think jerk is exclusively American. Long ago when I lived in England their equivalent was berk. Maybe nowadays it's prat?

 

[emsr2d2]

Some people in my circle of family and friends still use "berk" and "prat". It should be noted that "berk" is a shortened form of Cockney rhyming slang for an extremely rude word (the one word that many people in the UK will not say and get very upset when they hear). I wouldn't say, though, that either of them describes someone who is rude and nasty to others, as stated in post #1. I'm afraid if they were that unpleasant, I'd probably be heading for something like "bastard" or "bitch".

 

[GeneD]

Do I understand correctly that "berk" sounds like a euphemism for the one rhyming with "hunt"? It's not that rude, is it?

 

[GeneD]

When you mentioned that there is some other word hidden and it has the real meaning of "berk", I instantly got intrigued and googled for the original. I think I may become a fan of Cockney slang with your help, Ems. :-D Thanks.

 

[emsr2d2]

"Berk" itself is not considered particularly rude at all. However, anyone who knows the origin of it might be rather upset if they thought you were calling them the word that rhymes with the end of "Berkeley hunt".

 

[jutfrank]

the word that rhymes with the end of "Berkeley hunt".

I've always known it as 'Berkshire Hunt'.

 

[jutfrank]

When you mentioned that there is some other word hidden and it has the real meaning of "berk", I instantly got intrigued and googled for the original. I think I may become a fan of Cockney slang

You probably ain't got a scooby what I'm rabbitting about 'ere, so use yer loaf—get off yer April, get on the sportsman's sharpish, an' 'ave a good butcher's.

 

[GeneD]

It's like an entirely different language! My loaf nearly exploded reading that, so I had to have a butcher's on the sportsman's to get a scooby to see what you rabbited about. :-D

I'm definitely becoming some kind of fan of Cockney slang. I wonder, though, how many people (in England, at least) understand the slang. I suspect there are some must-know words that every Englishman or Englishwoman has to know. Am I mistaken?

 

[jutfrank]

In England, I suppose pretty much everyone understands the use of the most common ones, even if they can't explain the derivations. Outside of England but still in the UK, I guess the number is quite a bit lower. Outside of the UK, I would imagine that most people know virtually nothing.

 

[JMurray]

In England, I suppose pretty much everyone understands the use of the most common ones, even if they can't explain the derivations. Outside of England but still in the UK, I guess the number is quite a bit lower. Outside of the UK, I would imagine that most people know virtually nothing.

Of the examples you've given I would say that "rabbiting on" (usually in that form) is quite common in Aust/NZ, while "butcher's" and "loaf" are occasionally heard.

 

[GoesStation]

I wonder, though, how many people (in England, at least) understand the slang.

The first time this American heard Cockney slang was in late December, 1975. While driving from Los Angeles to Toronto, I picked up a hitchhiker. He started chatting in an accent I couldn't identify, and frequently threw in mysterious vocabulary that he emphasized in a way that made me think he was making a joke.

Eventually he asked me if I could guess where he was from. I said "Germany?" He laughed and said "No, Wales!" I can't imagine now how I could have heard a Welsh accent as German, but I did. He explained Cockney rhyming slang to me, too.

 

[probus]

Great joke about language.

A Welshman goes into a Chinese restaurant in Wales and is amazed to find that the menu is in Welsh and the Chinese waiter speaks Welsh. The owner comes by and the man stops him and says "How on earth did you find a waiter who speaks Welsh?" The owner replies "Ssshhh! He thinks he's learning English."

 

[GoesStation]

The owner replies "Ssshhh! He thinks he's learning English."

That reminds me of a true story. My aunt’s father, a Mr. Czarny, immigrated to the United States from Poland and settled in a German-speaking area. "Czarny" means "black" and, wanting to Americanize his name, he asked someone what the American word for black was.

That's how my aunt grew up as Miss Schwartz.

 

[J&K Tutoring]

We used to tell this one in elementary school:
A guy is walking down the street when he sees a sign, "John Johnson's Chinese Laundry". He's curious, so he goes in and an Asian man asks if he can help him. "Are you the owner?" "Yes I am!" "You're John Johnson?" "Yup!" "Well, if you don't mind me asking, how did you get that name?" "It was like this: when I was standing in line at Immigration, the guy two places in front of me stepped up, they asked his name, and he said, 'Ja, my name is John Johnson!', and then the guy in front of me stepped up, they asked him, and he said, 'My name is John Johnson!'". "So then it was my turn. They asked me what my name is and I said, Sam Ting..."

 

[probus]

Wow, J&K your schoolboy tale has a solid basis in American immigration law.

About 30 years ago my brother was forced by his Fortune500 employer to move from Canada to the United States. Needless to say they got him a green card, and after living in the US for several years he decided to stay permanently and take up US citizenship. The process concluded with an interview at the end of which the immigration officer asked "What do you want to be known as?" to which my brother replied "What?"
This question and answer were repeated several times until my brother eventually understood he was being offered the chance to choose an entirely new name for his life as an American. Having had no time to think about it, and having a bunch of expensive degrees, he decided to stick with his birth name. Now he says he regrets it and wishes he had chosen "James Dean ."

 

[GeneD]

J&K, did he say "Sam Ting John Johnson"?