Oh..for goodness sake grow up.....anyone who has lived in Asia for any amount of time knows that Yanks are called Septics.......it reminds me of the old saying ..." Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me '................. that seems to be lost on you......prcscct wrote:HMMM, it seems like our satire is going to turn very nasty. Please 'blue nose" clarify your statement?blue nose wrote: There is a standard word in English for USA citizens...........Septics....
Your word "Septics" does not exist. The word "Septic" does with the following definition:
"Of, relating to, having the nature of, or affected by sepsis.
Causing sepsis; putrefactive."
I hope you are very careful with your reply. Pete
Do Europeans outnumber Americans living in Hua Hin ?
To hopefully help clarify the 'septic' phrase - in the UK we have a habit of using Cockney Rhyming Slang, mainly as the name suggests in Londons East End.
A phrase or word will be substituted by another that rhymes or sounds like it - eg Brahms and Liste = pissed, apples and pears = stairs.
In this case septic tank = yank, shortened to septic or spectics.
A phrase or word will be substituted by another that rhymes or sounds like it - eg Brahms and Liste = pissed, apples and pears = stairs.
In this case septic tank = yank, shortened to septic or spectics.
Your a long time dead!
septic tank?
And, as an American, being called a "septic tank" is supposed to make me feel .. .what . . . . happy? pleased? friendly? welcome? respected? tolerated? I am supposed to laugh at this and feel warm toward my British friends when they refer to me or my countrymen/women as septic tanks?? There are other expressions like this out there: nigger, kike, spic, queer, etc. I don't like these or ever use them because they are insulting. I happen to love British humor, so don't jump on me for that. This is just over the edge. If its a habit, its a bad habit and ranks right up there with smoking! Despite the old saw, names CAN hurt people and hurt them deeply.
Yeah, come on people.
English, which is my nationality, are regularly referred to as "Poms" or "Limeys" etc etc.
I don't mind it to my face because almost always it's meant in good humour and I know the person who's saying it.
But a forum board is different.
So, please keep words that can be taken as derogatory by others off here.
Thank you.
English, which is my nationality, are regularly referred to as "Poms" or "Limeys" etc etc.
I don't mind it to my face because almost always it's meant in good humour and I know the person who's saying it.
But a forum board is different.
So, please keep words that can be taken as derogatory by others off here.
Thank you.
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Guess
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Chas,
Do not get insulted by Cockney Rhyming Slang. It is a rhyme only and the end result has no direct implication to the subject.
I agree terms like nigger, paki, queer, wop, dago and spic have a distasteful inference. Septic tank however is purely used becasuse it is a term that rhymes with yank (which some alone may consider distasteful).
The original purpose behind Cockney Slang was that a complete converstaion could take place in earshot of another English speaker without the listener understanding one word.
The reason I pointed out the the far more common and older term was Sherman Tank was that I anticipated that septic tank could cause offence to someone not in the know.
I spent all my school years in London so picked up nearly all of it. There are many terms that on the surface sound derogatory but in reallity can be endearing.
Anyway to answer the original question. The answer is absolutely yes.
I have only found Americans in a wooden carved form hanging on bar walls. The Thai name is Poo Chai India Deang.
Do not get insulted by Cockney Rhyming Slang. It is a rhyme only and the end result has no direct implication to the subject.
I agree terms like nigger, paki, queer, wop, dago and spic have a distasteful inference. Septic tank however is purely used becasuse it is a term that rhymes with yank (which some alone may consider distasteful).
The original purpose behind Cockney Slang was that a complete converstaion could take place in earshot of another English speaker without the listener understanding one word.
The reason I pointed out the the far more common and older term was Sherman Tank was that I anticipated that septic tank could cause offence to someone not in the know.
I spent all my school years in London so picked up nearly all of it. There are many terms that on the surface sound derogatory but in reallity can be endearing.
Anyway to answer the original question. The answer is absolutely yes.
I have only found Americans in a wooden carved form hanging on bar walls. The Thai name is Poo Chai India Deang.
[color=blue][size=134]Care in the community success story.[/size][/color]
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Guess
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Quite right but I can symapthise with Chas a little. Being called red faced by one group of expat Englishmen and white faced by another group of expat Englishmen may not be taken the same way as being compared to a container designed for holding large quantities of turds.lomuamart wrote:Yeah, come on people.
English, which is my nationality, are regularly referred to as "Poms" or "Limeys" etc etc.
I don't mind it to my face because almost always it's meant in good humour and I know the person who's saying it.
But a forum board is different.
So, please keep words that can be taken as derogatory by others off here.
Thank you.
Hence my earlier résumé regarding Cockney Rhyming Slang.
[color=blue][size=134]Care in the community success story.[/size][/color]
Thanks
Didn't mean to make a big issue of this as I am really easy-going and not very thin-skinned. I have been called lots of things in my life. Most have rolled off my back, some have hurt. Sure, the speaker and the situation make a huge difference. I teach for a US university online and I have this discussion in both classes every semester. You just cant tell how a person who is a stranger to you means something by words alone.( Smileys sometimes help) 
I haven't ever been called "Yank" to my face, or "Yankee", but these are mild and even hurled at me in anger they wouldnt upset me. The same, I would suppose with Limey or Pom for Brits which are like "Yankee",
evolved from history and used in common speech without anyone getting upset.
I can think of a LOT of expressions which rhyme with Yank. .including thank ( promised myself I wouldn't go historical here) water tank, fish tank, , think tank, frank, blank, crank, drank, lank, plank sank. . .something else is involved when the expression that gets used is the most foul and possibly least creative. ( I had never heard of it until this thread and I have read and travelled widely!)
To go back to an original question of what to call us. . . try AMERICANS! People in Mexico and Central America. . .take this from someone who lived there for 15 years... use the term "norteamericanos" for Americans and do NOT call themselves Americans. (They call themselves Mexicans or Costa Ricans or Panamanians or whatever) As for Canadians, they would die before admitting that they are in any way "Americans" or even that they share a continent or a border with the US.
Say "American" anywhere in the world and people will immediately identify a person from the US. . .NOT someone from Mexico or Costa Rica.
Back at ya . . . what do you call people from the UK? ( I want to hear from a Scot on this one)
I haven't ever been called "Yank" to my face, or "Yankee", but these are mild and even hurled at me in anger they wouldnt upset me. The same, I would suppose with Limey or Pom for Brits which are like "Yankee",
evolved from history and used in common speech without anyone getting upset.
I can think of a LOT of expressions which rhyme with Yank. .including thank ( promised myself I wouldn't go historical here) water tank, fish tank, , think tank, frank, blank, crank, drank, lank, plank sank. . .something else is involved when the expression that gets used is the most foul and possibly least creative. ( I had never heard of it until this thread and I have read and travelled widely!)
To go back to an original question of what to call us. . . try AMERICANS! People in Mexico and Central America. . .take this from someone who lived there for 15 years... use the term "norteamericanos" for Americans and do NOT call themselves Americans. (They call themselves Mexicans or Costa Ricans or Panamanians or whatever) As for Canadians, they would die before admitting that they are in any way "Americans" or even that they share a continent or a border with the US.
Say "American" anywhere in the world and people will immediately identify a person from the US. . .NOT someone from Mexico or Costa Rica.
Back at ya . . . what do you call people from the UK? ( I want to hear from a Scot on this one)
Re: Thanks
Apart from perfect, you mean?Chas wrote:Back at ya . . . what do you call people from the UK?
"Brits" seems to have become the norm?
Although increasingly, I will answer "English" to questions about my nationality.
A Scotsman may provide a different answer, but one thing he cannot get away from is the fact we share these islands with its common name!
Chas
You seem to be missing the point here. Its not what YOU want to be called as citizens of the USA..its how the rest of the world percieves you.
You may not like the unflattering terms that you are called..but maybe the world sees you in that way.
Iran calls the Us ' the great satan"..is that more damaging than being called a septic ?
There was as very famous Scottsh poet called Rabbie Burns..who said..( and I will quote in modern langauge ).."would'nt it be great to see ourselves as others see us "..
It is very true..and the perception we have of ourselves is often the opposite of what the world sees....
You seem to be missing the point here. Its not what YOU want to be called as citizens of the USA..its how the rest of the world percieves you.
You may not like the unflattering terms that you are called..but maybe the world sees you in that way.
Iran calls the Us ' the great satan"..is that more damaging than being called a septic ?
There was as very famous Scottsh poet called Rabbie Burns..who said..( and I will quote in modern langauge ).."would'nt it be great to see ourselves as others see us "..
It is very true..and the perception we have of ourselves is often the opposite of what the world sees....
Your are full of it dude.Guess wrote:The polite version is "Shermans" as in Sherman Tanks. A Sherman Tank was an American tracked war vehicle that if assembled in numbers of 50 or 60 or more could actually take on a Tiger.
Michael Wittman Tiger ace of the Eastern Front was ultimately defeated by the Firefly Sherman piloted by a Canadien crew. It took about three well placed side shots but it blew up and nobody got out.
If the job is big call the Pig