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Comment by trollied | Hacker News Reader

I've heard a few Americans say "wanker" recently. It just doesn't sound right in their accent.

I know several people in the US who use the verb and noun forms of "wank" synonymously with "whine" (perhaps because they both have the same starting consonant sound) without realizing how vulgar it is. I've gently pointed out to them what it means in British English and none seem to care.

"Twat" is another one that sounds weird. Americans sound like they're replacing the a with an o

Interestingly, both twat and cunt are far more severe (and aimed at women) in US English than they are in UK/Aus/NZ English.

'The c word' is still pretty offensive in the UK. Except, perhaps, in places like Glasgow.

Interestingly c*t and quaint have the same etymological roots.

>c*t and quaint have the same etymological roots

that is bizarre, if true, since my internal monologue cant chose the q word to replace the c

https://www.reddit.com/r/etymology/comments/2hg815/the_word_...

Southern England seems to have more American sensibilities with respect to those words - but in Scotland "cunt" is pretty common and 99% of the time not gendered.

Yeah I was saying in UK/NZ/Aus (plus I guess Ireland too come to think of it) it's ungendered and not necessarily a severe swear word. I didn't think it was that harsh anywhere in UK but maybe I can't speak for England.

I’m in my 50s and a Brit from London . For me ‘cubt’ has always been the absolute nuclear option- probably used 2 or 3 times in my life

I'm sure Peg's character's maiden name in "Married...with Children" ("Wanker", from "Wanker County") was chosen deliberately.

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