English is weird! » slang http://englishisweird.com Clever tricks to conquer the quirks of English Sun, 26 Jul 2009 23:38:25 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Alternatives to motherf*cking http://englishisweird.com/alternatives-to-motherfucking/ http://englishisweird.com/alternatives-to-motherfucking/#comments Mon, 25 May 2009 21:37:59 +0000 admin http://englishisweird.com/?p=90 The late American comedian George Carlin ranked motherf*cker in the top 7 most obscene words of the English language. Along with its derivative, motherf*cking, it’s become a trademark for actors like Samuel L. Jackson who portray aggressive badasses.

Of course, when a TV edit comes out, interesting changes suddenly happen:

monkey-fighting, Monday-to-Friday

Snakes on a Plane:

The best part for me is that there’s a writer out there whose job is to come up with clever substitutions for these taboo words. What a cool job for poets, phoneticians and other experts at the sounds of language. You have to keep roughly the same number of syllables and lip and tongue positions for the new word to fit smoothly over the censored one.

Here are some more popular or strange replacements for those naughty words: 

Mr. Falcon

Die Hard series:

fairy godmother

Usual Suspects:

little sucker

Pulp Fiction:

mother crusher

Robocop:

money fueller

Snakes on a Plane:

money lover, stupid sucker

Casino:

 If you know any other ones, let me know!

]]> http://englishisweird.com/alternatives-to-motherfucking/feed/ 2 Tricky twins 1 http://englishisweird.com/words-that-mean-the-exact-opposite-of-themselves/ http://englishisweird.com/words-that-mean-the-exact-opposite-of-themselves/#comments Tue, 19 May 2009 14:56:53 +0000 admin http://englishisweird.com/?p=58 Be careful. Some English words and phrases can mean the exact opposite of themselves!

anxious

  1. worried, nervous, full of dread for — I’m so anxious about the economy!
  2. eager, looking forward, full of excitement for — I’m so anxious for spring!

down with

  1. get rid of, reject — Down with the king!
  2. (slang) accepting of, in agreement with — Wanna go see a movie? I’m down with that.

liege

  1. a superior or lord — Look, my liege, Camelot!
  2. a vassal or loyal subject sworn to the service of a lord — You are all the king’s lieges.

stakeholder

  1. a person or organization with a vested interest in an issue or business
  2. a neutral person who holds the wagers in a contest and has no interest in the property held

table

  1. (British, Canadian and Australian) to submit for discussion, propose, suggest
  2. (American) to cancel discussion of, postpone, shelve

terrific

  1. excellent, superb
  2. terrifying, causing terror
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