Words

[grayman]

Because of all the reading that I do, occasionally I discover a word I have never seen before, thus sending me off to the dictionary.

Today's word:

bumf

/bəmf/

noun INFORMAL•BRITISH

useless or tedious printed information or documents.

"most of his mail was just bumf, bills, and Christmas cards"

[Admin]

Ah, the joy of the opposite sides of the Atlantic. That's a word I've known all my life.

My parents were both Brits, but it was in wide usage here anyway. Up until the 1980s, NZ slang was entirely British. Sadly, US TV has made the greatest impact since then and half the kids in the country have a pseudo American accent to some degree.

[stanky]

here i thought it was short for "bumfuck".

[arthwollipot]

Ah, the joy of the opposite sides of the Atlantic. That's a word I've known all my life.

My parents were both Brits, but it was in wide usage here anyway. Up until the 1980s, NZ slang was entirely British. Sadly, US TV has made the greatest impact since then and half the kids in the country have a pseudo American accent to some degree.

I call it "cultural imperialism" and I've made a bunch of Americans very upset by explaining it to them.

[Admin]

That's a good term for it.

If you ever see a brown person in Aussie speaking and wonder why they have an American twang, ask if they're from Auckland.

Betcha they are - every Samoan and Tongan under 30 here does it.

[grayman]

That's a good term for it.

If you ever see a brown person in Aussie speaking and wonder why they have an American twang, ask if they're from Auckland.

Betcha they are - every Samoan and Tongan under 30 here does it.

Meanwhile, in the USA...

https://nypost.com/2023/05/16/why-so-ma ... h-accents/

[President Bush]

Somebody I went out with a long time ago would suddenly develop a British accent when she got drunk. When I heard that I knew it was time. Think she was the only woman I ever screwed in my cab.

[Admin]

They're both pretty funny.

Being British isn't seen as a good thing in NZ. Older Kiwis will remember the infamous "Punch a Pom a Day" campaign from the 1970s. My brother had the t-shirt.