Quote: Nat Wicks @ October 9 2010, 4:05 PM BSTYeah, familiar with as in seen most of them on TV or movies, but not used in general conversation. With the exception of scarper maybe. And loaf very rarely. I've never heard of almost half of them.
The unmistakable sound of goalposts being uprooted and replanted. 
Quote: Nat Wicks @ October 9 2010, 3:09 PM BSTI think maybe you meet the wrong sort of children.
True.
Quite thankful I didn't go to school with you, Ming and Don!
Quote: Ming the Mirthless @ October 9 2010, 4:25 PM BSTThe unmistakable sound of goalposts being uprooted and replanted.
Absolutely not. I think 'very rare' is still an adequate description.
Quote: Ming the Mirthless @ October 9 2010, 3:29 PM BSTVery rare?
I think most Northerners are familiar with words such as:
'bread' (money)
'china' (mate)
'bird' (time spent in prison)
'bristols' (breasts)
'butcher's ' (look)
'cobblers' (balls)
'ginger' (queer)
'J. Arthur' (wank)
'Khyber' (arse)
'loaf' (head)
'scarper' (go)
Are they not?
Depends, talking specifically about Cumbria here, I would know what they all meant, as I would have seen them used on TV and in films, but the only one we would have used is cobblers; and we would have used that to mean 'rubbish' as opposed to balls.
For goodness sake, we're not talking about someone suggesting an innocent use of the "n" or "p" word here. The English language is vast, fluid and flexible. Many, many words have different regional meanings and different contextual uses.
Quote: Tim Walker @ October 9 2010, 4:32 PM BSTFor goodness sake, we're not talking about someone suggesting an innocent use of the "n" or "p" word here. The English language is vast, fluid and flexible. Many, many words have different regional meanings and different contextual uses.
Quite.
Quote: Nat Wicks @ October 9 2010, 4:26 PM BSTI think 'very rare' is still an adequate description.
When I lived in Newcastle, I knew plenty of Geordie girls who thought 'Are you awake?' was adequate foreplay.
I can see how that's relevant.
Ming - FYI - No answer under rohypnol is still legally a 'no'.
Jelly-head. Twot(?) Melon-head.
'Polluto' for a kid who farts a lot (it's the name of the evil polluting character from Tommy Zoom).
Is 'Spoon' in no way derived from Mr Spoon of Button Moon? That has always been my understanding, but then like Tim I was always under the impression that 'Benny' resulted from Crossroads.
Quote: Die Hard @ October 9 2010, 5:33 PM BSTMing - FYI - No answer under rohypnol is still legally a 'no'.
That's right.
And it's for that reason I always ask a drugged girl "Do you mind if I f**k you?"
Quote: Tim Walker @ October 9 2010, 4:32 PM BSTThe English language is vast, fluid and flexible. Many, many words have different regional meanings and different contextual uses.
Nobody's disputing that.
What we are disputing, is whether or not a word, with racist connotations, can be used as an insult on a kids' TV show.
I don't think so, others disagree.
If anyone wants to know, once and for all, if the word is acceptable, an email/letter to the BBC is probably in order.
Quote: don rushmore @ October 9 2010, 6:41 PM BSTNobody's disputing that.
What we are disputing, is whether or not a word, with racist connotations, can be used as an insult on a kids' TV show.
I don't think so, others disagree.
No, if there is a form of the insult that comes from some racist slang, then obviously it's not suitable for a kids show. (And that's still an 'if' from me)
What we were disputing is the fact that Spoon is only a racist term, by pointing out that from our background, it emerged from a different saying that was in no way racist.
The word 'nignog' meaning a raw, untrained or incompetent person has a demonstrably (i.e. dictionary-verified) non-racist history dating back to the early 20th Century.
It is also, quite separately, a racist term being effectively a duplication of 'nigger'.
The fact that it has a non-racist meaning did not save Jim Bowen from being sacked from his radio show recently when he used the term in its non-racist sense.
Quote: Matthew Stott @ October 9 2010, 6:49 PM BSTNo, if there is a form of the insult that comes from some racist slang, then obviously it's not suitable for a kids show. (And that's still an 'if' from me)
What we were disputing is the fact that Spoon is only a racist term, by pointing out that from our background, it emerged from a different saying that was in no way racist.
Did you actually read this, Mr Ming...? 