Americanisms

WriterDude · Jul 8, 2012

British guy hoping his filth will appeal to the big market across the pond. So, do Americans say arse at all? As in Arsehole? Or is it ass all the time.

E.g. That guy is an ass, or he popped a cap in my ass.

Does arse have any mileage on the other side.

Regards

alleycat · Jul 8, 2012

Someone in the US might say arse with a bit of emphasis to make sure someone knows they're being an arsehole, but it's uncommon. Most of the time it would just be ass or butt.

DiloKeith · Jul 8, 2012

Until I read the post that snuck in while I was typing, I would have said we don't say "arse". However, we read plenty of UK authors and know many filthy and not-so-filthy UK expressions.

Chasing the Horizon · Jul 8, 2012

I've never heard an American say 'arse' unless they were intentionally trying to sound British.

ETA: I understood the OP to be asking if an American character would use 'arse'. Certainly almost all Americans know 'arse' is an alternative pronunciation/spelling for 'ass' and wouldn't be confused.

alleycat · Jul 8, 2012

Fanny is one you might want to watch our for; the meaning here is butt. I know it's different elsewhere (and yes, I know what it means there).

WriterDude · Jul 8, 2012

alleycat said:
Fanny is one you might want to watch our for; the meaning here is butt. I know it's different elsewhere (and yes, I know what it means there).

We didn't half laugh when we found out that a bum-bag was called a fanny pack in the US.

smoothseas · Jul 8, 2012

WriterDude said:
We didn't half laugh when we found out that a bum-bag was called a fanny pack in the US.

Bum bag? I didn't know that.

WildScribe · Jul 8, 2012

Chasing the Horizon said:
I've never heard an American say 'arse' unless they were intentionally trying to sound British.

ETA: I understood the OP to be asking if an American character would use 'arse'. Certainly almost all Americans know 'arse' is an alternative pronunciation/spelling for 'ass' and wouldn't be confused.

This. I use it sometimes to be silly, but only with my husband, who is used to me throwing random British words at him when I am in a silly mood. Otherwise, ass, but I think we all pretty much know what it means, even if we don't use it.

M.Macabre · Jul 8, 2012

When I was like 15 I saw some British tourists in LA call their fanny packs bum bags. To the immature me, it was the funniest thing in the world for some reason. I think it was cause of the alliteration.

As for the actual question, honestly, I've never heard anyone say arse IRL. I've only seen it either posted online or used in fiction. I don't think any Americans would be confused if they saw arse, but I also don't know anyone who uses it.

Chazevelt · Jul 8, 2012

My family is loosely religious country folk and I remember my grandmother, mom, and aunts using arse quite a bit instead of the more rash "ass". My mom would scold me for using "butt". She said she'd rather hear "arse" or "bum". Not a bit uncommon where I come from, but used by females more than males. ("Hell" and "damn" were fair game, though.)

Jessianodel · Jul 8, 2012

Americans don't use it but we understand what it means. However I don't know whether in England "arse" is as inappropriate as "ass" is in the US. See, to me arse is not really a curse. So if it is used as a strong curse in your book, that really won't translate the same even though we understand what it means.

RevanWright · Aug 15, 2012

The only time I've ever heard the word 'arse' used was when I was in Barbados, by a couple of brits. It's always going to be ass, my friend.
I'm not sure it's going to matter much anyway. If you're published in both the UK and US, the versions will probably differ. They'll Americanize things like that, I would think.

Filigree · Aug 16, 2012

Also, it depends on the publisher. Some will bend and don't mind British usage. Others are paranoid that their sheltered American readers won't comprehend a thing. They weed out UK words and phrases with a vengeance - even when used by a British character.

Your mileage may vary, of course.

scarletpeaches · Aug 16, 2012

Filigree said:
Others are paranoid that their sheltered American readers won't comprehend a thing. They weed out UK words and phrases with a vengeance - even when used by a British character.

I've experienced this.

My attitude is, "My characters are British. I won't put American words in their mouths."

I've had to put my foot down on the matter on a number of occasions. A couple of times I've given in and always regretted it; I felt like a sell-out.

I don't give a damn if American readers don't 'get it'. Besides, they're not as thick as some publishers seem to think they are. How else are Americans supposed to learn what other nationalities say, unless they read about them?

One staff member at a nameless publisher said to me, "American readers won't understand this." I said, "They will if they read it in context." I just don't understand the insistence on making Brits sound like Americans.

Well, there are plenty of other publishers willing to take me on... :Shrug:

shadowwalker · Aug 16, 2012

If it's an American character saying it, then 'ass'. If you're worried Americans won't get 'arse', they will.

scarletpeaches · Aug 16, 2012

To get back to the OP:

WriterDude said:
So, do Americans say arse at all?

Who cares?

What nationality is your character? Write his/her speech accordingly.

dangerousbill · Aug 19, 2012

WriterDude said:
British guy hoping his filth will appeal to the big market across the pond. So, do Americans say arse at all? As in Arsehole? Or is it ass all the time.

E.g. That guy is an ass, or he popped a cap in my ass.

Does arse have any mileage on the other side.

Regards

Not much. And fanny has a completely different meaning, too. And on it goes. You might want to snuggle up with urbandictionary.com , where you can locate Americanisms galore.

On the other hand, lots of Americans are accustomed to the spooge that floats across the Atlantic, and will pay for it. You Brits have a special take on kink that goes down well in many quarters over here. Perhaps you don't have to try to pander to the Yankee market it all. The Inet is making us all more internationally focused.

frimble3 · Aug 19, 2012

I'm Canadian, and, caught in the middle, we're used to translating. Ass to arse is pretty straightforward. I'm assuming that erotica readers are getting lots of context.

It probably adds a little extra thrill. "Ooh, I'm reading foriegn smut!" Which, as we all know, is always dirtier than the home-grown stuff. :evil

If it's an American character using it, I'd say either he's trying, for whatever reason, to sound British. Or, it's just the British writer's normal pronunciation/spelling.
I'd say, leave it as it is. Let your publisher worry.

Goblynmarket · Aug 26, 2012

This might be a regional thing, but I have started hearing it a lot at the trendier of the two coffee shops I like to write at. Arse is foreign and classy I guess. Ass is not. This is Texas so I guess that makes it hick.

That being said we have alot of Brits and Aussies come through with the oil companies. So maybe arse has become an invasive phrase for the Southeast Texas dialect. Houston may be becoming the next Country in the Commonwealth.

I hope so. That actually sounds kind of fun. I can't wait until I start to hear people say 'loo'. 'Buggered' and 'cheers' are fun too.

dangerousbill · Aug 26, 2012

Goblynmarket said:
This might be a regional thing, but I have started hearing it a lot at the trendier of the two coffee shops I like to write at. Arse is foreign and classy I guess. Ass is not. This is Texas so I guess that makes it hick.

But "This coffee tastes like arse" just doesn't have the same je ne sais quoi as "This coffee tastes like ass."

Satori1977 · Sep 3, 2012

It completely depends on the nationality of your character. If they are a Brit, say arse. We will understand what it is. But if the character is American, use ass. I will type arse sometimes, just because of talking to Brit friends online it kinda comes out, but Americans don't say it.

Not that there is anything wrong with it. I think arse is a cuter word than ass or butt. We would just sound stupid saying it. Like Americans that fake a British accent to sound cool or sophisticated (yes, some do that). It just comes across as cheesy and fake.

DiloKeith · Sep 5, 2012

frimble3 said:
... I'm assuming that erotica readers are getting lots of context.

Usually, yes, but as Bill mentioned, "fanny" is a problem because the two meanings refer to anatomical neighbors.

The site http://www.peevish.co.uk/slang/index.htm is especially useful because they note UK vs US usages for some words and the uncluttered pages are easy to browse.

calieber · Sep 16, 2012

Americans I've seen use "arse":

Friend studying at LSE, whose boyfriend is at Cambridge (or she's at Cambridge by now too, I'm not sure, point stands either way)
Girlfriend's ex-husband, a painter who worked for an English company for nearly a decade.

Americans I've seen confused by other people using "arse":

So there ya go

MaCain · Oct 3, 2012

Sometimes I use "arse" but it's when I'm faking a British accent to come off a little "hoity-toity". If you're worried about cross-over appeal, maybe another word altogether? Douche? Bastard?

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