Preston von Gabbleduck6d ago

I had a US colleague ask me today whether Australians really say "we're not here to fuck spiders", which they'd heard on an Instagram reel but thought was a joke. 😂

The fun thing that came out of it was them realising that "Preston doesn't swear" is actually a work habit I follow, not my natural state.

Steve6d ago
Show threadPreston von Gabbleduck
Them: "So do you say the F word?"
Me: "Probably 30 times a day."
Them: "So do you say the ... the C word?"
Me: "You betcha."
Them: "But only when you're really mad?"
Me: "Um, no. That's not how the Australian language works."
Mar 19 at 10:56pmWeb
Show threadsortius 6d ago
@backupbear I was trying to explain this one to the kids. The c word is flexible
Show threadPreston von Gabbleduck6d ago
@sortius I ended up explaining it by comparing it to the almost infinite number of head-nods/wobbles that our Indian colleagues do for deeply subtle variances of agreement/disagreement/etc. And then mentioned a few different ways of saying "mate" to indicate true friendship or mortal enemyship.
Show threadsortius 6d ago
@backupbear yep, mate either starts a drinking session or a punch on
Show threadStephen Collins6d ago

@sortius @backupbear see also champ/champion.

Acceptable used with little kids, otherwise truly an insult.

Show threadsortius 6d ago
@trib @backupbear hehehe, champ is a dangerous one. More so than cunt
Show threadAnchinya5d ago
@sortius @backupbear the F word is punctuation in Australia
Show threadCycling Stu6d ago
@backupbear They have no idea... :)
Show threadKeira (She/Her)6d ago
@backupbear this is my go to, now ancient, meme for explaining it.
Show threadMikee6d ago
@backupbear
En(UK) english - traditional
En(US) English - simplified
En(Au) English - profane
Show threadBob Thomson5d ago
@Thegriffyn @backupbear Nah, not UK :) OH in Glasgow: "Yeah, that cunt's a prick" True story. C word in Glasgow probably influenced by Irish blood I think as they do love a good bandy around of 'coont'
Show threadBob Thomson5d ago
@Thegriffyn @backupbear see also: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/D0xgAgmRHnQ
Why in Glasgow certain words aren’t actually as harsh as they sound

YouTube
Show threadMrAndrewD6d ago
@backupbear Wait till you tell them "they're a good C."
Show threadPreston von Gabbleduck6d ago
@MrAndrewD Oh I explained the notion of using it to refer to your best friend. There was a lot of silence at that one.
Show threadDeanFarrell6d ago
@backupbear That's what many of my fellow Americans don't understand. In your part of the world, the C word is a gender-neutral insult.
Show threadJeffrey Haas5d ago

@backupbear My other half and I semi-regularly watch random Spanish language things (with captioning for me who only speaks a little), mostly South American.

We started Diableros, which is Mexico City Spanish.

Within the first 10 minutes, he saw my confusion when the captions were very much not matching the spoken words. What followed was a half hour explanation of how they regularly took a specific set of 10 curse words and made curse word salad out of it.

You might sympathize.