AMERICAN REACTS 16 BRITISH FOOD INSULTS YOU NEED TO KNOW!

TL, what's popping? We are on Twitch, not live, but you can leave a like, comment, comment, subscribe, turn on your uh post notification bells. Let's continue to grow the family from Chicago to the UK. Right behind me, you see it. Warning, we will not need it, [laughter] but it's there. You feel me? Uh, twitch.com is where you can catch a live stream. Usernames at the bottom of the screen. And we also got Patreon Monday through Sunday. Premier League highlights, UK TV shows, and some movies. Got it all there, man. Uh, but this British English teacher Roy, I'm here. I'm ready for class. Thank you for not making me take off my hat like most teachers would. 16 British food insults you need to know. Uh, yeah, cuz I'll be seeing some stuff in my comments. You know, I want to make sure I don't want to be left in the dark. Talk to me, Roy. >> Copyright disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976. Allowance is made for fair use for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Nonprofit, educational, or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use. No copyright infringement intended. All rights belong to their respective owners. >> If a British person looks you straight in the eye and calls you a donut, do not say thank you. >> I've been called a donut. I have been called a donut. Uh I've been called a waffle. I've been called all types of Let me hear that 16 now. In >> Britain, food isn't just for eating. Apparently, it's also a precision weapon for polite disrespect. Now, in many cultures across the world, if you want to show someone love, you give them a compliment. Yeah, we do that, too. But in Britain, if we really like you, we might insult you by calling you some random food words. So, this is the one thing like a couple things I like to compliment the Brits on when they're addressing people um with insults. They're at the cutting, what's the word? How would y'all describe this? Cutting edge of technology when it comes to disrespect. Britain is one of the top most wordbound, creative, disrespectful countries that I've ever heard in my life. It's because you and you know what makes it so disrespectful? The accent. As an American, the accent makes it disrespectful. Like I'm listening and you, oh, everything sounds so polite. Everything sounds so well-mannered and behaved and all of a sudden hard cu n t and I'm just baffled. You know what I'm saying? In this lesson, we're going to rank British food insults from warm affection all the way up to kind of argument words, including how a simple compliment like the words smart cookie becomes lethal sarcasm with the wrong tone. Before we rank the words, you need to understand the golden rule of British culture. Politeness often equals distance. >> Okay? Politeness equals distance. >> And insults often equal intimacy. Ah, so when y'all insulting me, y'all feel closer to me. That's why I get the disrespect in the comments cuz y'all feel like we homies and like we can have that type of banter. Okay. If a British person is overly polite and constantly saying things like, "Oh, after you. No, no problem at all. Not not to worry." It usually means that they don't know you very well, that they're not overly comfortable with you. And sometimes if we really become overpolite, it can mean that we secretly want you to leave. However, if you say something that somebody thinks is maybe a bit silly and they say, [laughter] "Nice one, you donut." Congratulations. You're possibly in the inner circle because, >> okay, so I shouldn't take nothing as offense. When it's overly offensive, that mean you love me. It's like women. My bad. >> Insulting each other playfully is how British people show affection without having to get emotionally vulnerable. And before we move on to the first of our words, there is a free PDF that you can download in the description to learn even more about this lesson. You can find that Wait, [laughter] Roy, you got the PDF for this? That link in the description. Please do remember to like, you going above and beyond. But I like the video just because of that. >> And hype the lesson. It helps other learners. >> I hype it. This a hype. No, that's ass. Share. No. No. How we hype? Where the hype button at this video? I can't hype it. Uh, subscribe though for sure. All right. >> Watch it again. But now, let's start right at the top. Tier one affectionate and playful >> harmless banter. First up we have sausage. This is reserved for those small cute mistakes. So if your friend >> that doesn't feel small or cute paws like if somebody calls me a sausage like that's like I feel disrespected but I'mma listen to the lesson. And accidentally wears old socks or forgets where they parked. Oh, you silly sausage. What do you like? Notice that we commonly use it with the word silly. Silly sausage. Now, parents may say this to children when they do something cute but a bit silly. Partners may say it to each other and it carries zero malice. We also do use it on its own. Oh, sausage. It's just a very But what if you say f word sausage? F word ing with the ing on the back of the f word and then you say sausage cuz I heard that too Roy and I that's where I felt disrespected because you put that that harsh word before it. >> Cute way of referring to somebody's silliness. Next we have butter fingers. This is an instant reaction when somebody drops a glasses a catch or fumbles the keys. You know those people that are a bit >> We have this in America. >> Clumsy like they Oh, oh, oh. They drop things. Have you dropped your phone again? Butter fingers. We also sometimes use it to talk about ourselves when we drop something. Oh, butter fingers. Uh when we drop things on the floor and we know I've never c I've never used it against myself. I don't think I've actually ever I haven't heard butter fingers since I was in high school. Maybe it could be before that >> that we've been a bit overly clumsy. Also, on a side note, as a kid, I was awful at catching things. So, my father would throw things to me and I would try to catch it. I would miss it. My father would say, "Oh, butter fingers." Heard that one a lot. It's playful. [laughter] It's harmless and almost always delivered with a chuckle. Butter fingers. Then we >> But it sounds like it could be detrimental to your childhood. have donut. Now, this one completely confused my wife. This is a light classic bit of British banter for when somebody makes a harmless slip up, a bit of a mistake, and they fundamentally the word donut kind of means idiot, but in a lovable way. You absolute donut. You left the front door wide open. The cats could have got out. Now, it does sound a bit sound disrespectful, too. Sausage and donut. Like what if somebody called you the sausage and then ended the same sentence by calling you a donut? What? Now there's nuances to this, right, Roy? What if they put this sausage and donut in the same sentence? That's got to be disrespectful. >> Harsh on paper. And I will say actually the word idiot is pretty harsh. I wouldn't really use it. But donuts, well, calling someone a pastry softens the blow completely. And I told >> it doesn't. [laughter] I just don't feel like it does. Like, if somebody literally called me a donut, like I look at I have to really look at him like I'd rather you call me an idiot almost. Like, just call me an idiot, you idiot. And then laugh after. But if you call me a donut with a straight face, I don't know, Roy. I just don't know. This one really confused my wife. My wife was talking with her close friend. My her close friend is British. My wife's Brazilian. She said something that the friend thought was a bit silly. And she said, "You donut." And my wife was left wondering why somebody would ever call her a donut. Well, now she knows. And you do, too. A classic across the English-speaking world, but heavily used in Britain. >> Well, we use this. Yeah, that's this is Yeah. >> is couch potato. Now, this one probably originated in the US, but it is so widely used in the UK. In fact, we don't often use the word couch either in British English. We'd call it a sofa or a seti. But in this expression, we do say couch potato. It basically means >> a seti. Is that what I just heard? Go back. Or a seti. But >> I got to fact check that. >> In this expression, we do say couch potato. It basically means somebody who's being a bit lazy or unproductive. Mate, stop being such a couch potato and come outside. It's got this very visual image that it puts in your head of somebody turning into this kind of fat potato on the sofa. It's very mild and very relatable. But Homer Simpson was a donut and a couch potato. Shadow Homer Simpson. >> Obviously, if somebody's using it with a bit more malice to describe somebody that they don't really like and they call them a couch potato, then it does carry more weight. But in general, we'd use it to maybe encourage our friends to stop being lazy, to stop being unproductive, to come out and join us. Oh, I don't want to go out tonight. I'm a bit tired after work. Come on, don't be such a couch potato. Come and join us at the pub. >> Wow. this idea of somebody sitting in front of the telly which is the British slang word for television and just spending hours as they kind of >> I don't there's not an American slang word for te television it's we call it a TV and I think that's uni like as far as America goes like that's interesting that there's a slang word for television in the UK telly we just call it TV I'm what else could we call the telly cuz We call the telly a hotel. That might just be Chicago, but like, hey, where you at? I'm at the telly. That's a hotel in Chicago. Think into the sofa. Now, for most of the words on this list, we are talking about a kind of neutral tone, but yours do need to be careful with the tone in British English. For example, this expression, smart cookie. You need to pay attention to this one because smart cookie is where British English gets tricky. Now, I imagine this is another one that didn't originate in the UK, but it is also widely used. Now, on paper, smart cookie is a compliment. It means clever. He's a smart cookie if I mean it genuinely. But tone of voice changes everything. Now, if I use a genuine tone, it sounds like a genuine compliment. She solved that puzzle in 10 seconds. >> She's a smart cookie. So, that sounds like I'm genu the like. No, let's time out real quick. When did Who started calling people insults by food? This is quintessentially British because what is it's like indirect. What's the word I'm looking for? Put it in the comments where you like say something but it's indirect. Like there's a word for it. And that I feel like that's very British that action >> genuinely calling that person intelligent, clever, smart. However, listen to this tone of voice. This is a more sarcastic tone. And did you just pour boiling water instead of milk into your cereal bowl? You are a smart cookie, aren't you? You can see the difference. Yeah, I see it. I see it, Roy. It's like It's like the Chicago term goofy. Goofy. Like, you could say it and it could be playful like, "Oh my god, you're so goofy. [laughter] You goofy." But then when I switch it like this, look at this goofy. Like you feel it like did you feel like it hurt a little more? Like in Chicago if you have that tone like you was a goofy. Like those are fighting words. Do you call somebody a goofy in Chicago? You might fight. So I I completely understand tone when it come to that one. Got you. zero facial expressions and my tone of voice is a lot flatter. There's a lot less energy and enthusiasm. The same two words. The first is genuine praise and the other is pure concentrated British sarcasm. Always listen to the >> Hold on. See, let me call a Let me call a Chicago connoisseur. Let me see if he pick up. Let me see. [snorts] Let me see if he pick up. Call good right now. Let's see. >> Your call has been forwarded to voicemail. The person you're >> This is ridiculous. Sometimes you got to call him on Instagram. He going to call me back later. I'm getting ratio. This is crazy. the pain I feel. Well, if he called back like he like he like y'all say I don't sound like he sound like he from Chicago. And I'm trying to get y'all with the with the his act like the way he would say goofy like you want to fight him. Oh god of voice. And of course, the more sarcastic and more potentially passive aggressive we become, the the harsher the insult. But now we're stepping up to tier two. These are mild teasing. >> That was tier one. I forgot that was t sausage and donut. That might be on the on the on the cusp of tier two. >> Now, these are normally endearing pet names. You use these when somebody genuinely makes a foolish mistake, acts incompetent, or gets on your nerves. And first up, we have plum. A plum is someone who's done something visibly, undeniably stupid or foolish. >> I ain't heard that. >> He turned up to the airport without his passport. What an absolute plum. >> I might have heard that on Only Fools and Horses, like a older sitcom out the UK. Don't forget, tune in on um Patreon. >> It highlights that someone made a completely avoidable mistake. And before we continue, I will also say that context is key. So, the stronger the relationship, the stronger the friendship, the more you may get away with some of these words in tier 2 as well, but I wouldn't in general use these for people you don't really know or for people you're not overly comfortable with. Next, we have melon. >> This is used when someone shows zero common sense or maybe even spatial awareness. I didn't know that there were specific words to be plugged in in specific situations. Like he's given the word and he's given when you should use this word and why people use it. Like this like it's really deep. I didn't think it was this deep. You just walk straight into a lamp post. Oh, look where you're going, you melon. Calling someone kind of an oversized [laughter] fruit adds just enough humor to keep it from starting a real argument. Then we have lemon. In British slang, a lemon can be a defective object that doesn't work. Or >> go back said calling somebody a oversized fruit. Oh, that's he's unintentionally funny. >> A person who's completely useless in a crisis or situation. He he tried to fix the tap and he ended up flooding the entire kitchen. What a lemon. Nutty can be used to describe someone or their behavior and it basically means >> we use this one too. >> Eccentric, wild, or completely illogical. Did you hear what she said to that bloke at the bar? She is proper nutty. >> We use that, too. I don't know if we just use it in Chicago. I can only speak for Chicago at the like, you know what I'm saying? So, we use nutty, man. That's nutty. Like like if we're trying to say something that's crazy and it's beyond crazy, we say that's nutty. Like damn, that's nutty as hell, bro. Or if we or or we can describe somebody as a nut. You're a nut, dude. Like, you know what I'm saying? Pause. Proper is a British slang word to mean really or very. We can also use nutty to talk about an idea that we think is pretty much insane. Going for a swim in the sea in the middle of January. That is nutty. It's slightly less intense than calling someone crazy, which makes it perfect for light bering. And yes, sometimes we may even use this with our friends if they do something really ridiculous. Again, context is key. Relationships matter. An alternative to nutty is nuts. We use that as an adjective as well. She is nuts. Next up, turnip. >> That's disrespectful. First and foremost, I just discovered turnipss two years ago when I was making a full No, what was I making? Sunday roast for the first time. Turnips taste good. They're really good. Roasted turnup. Fire. Root vegetables make brilliant British insults because they imply someone is dense, slow, and lacks basic brain power. He didn't check the map before driving 2 hours in the wrong direction. Oh. Oh, he's a turnip. And finally, >> okay, I'm going to actually reference this video before I come back to the UK because he's really given the proper situations and it's not just a guess. You actually have to use these words in the right spot. >> For tier two, we have prune. This is also used to mean that somebody is a bit of an idiot, a bit stupid, and they kind of stand out because of their stupidity. You thought that Africa was a country, not a continent. You prune. We also use it when somebody does something absolutely ridiculous as well. You went to the bar to order drinks and you came back with a jug of water. Mate, you you're such a prune. It can also be >> That's them trying to get out of paying his portion. I heard a very common thing to do in like UK bar or pub culture is somebody pays for rounds. Everybody pays for a round. So, all right. I got this round. Then the next person gets this round. And then the next person say, "I got it." And goes up and comes with water and you're a prune. Okay, I think I got it. He used to say that somebody looks like a bit of an idiot. What are you wearing? That's awful. You prune. Again, it's this idea of standing out and being a bit ridiculous at the same time. Now, before we make it to tier three, please remember to like and hype this video and let me know your favorite food insult from Couldn't hype it, but yeah, let me let I'mma let you know mine right now. Let me see where is the comment. Where I can't comment, Roy, what is h Oh, here it go. There it is. Let me see. sausage. I'm surprised I haven't heard waffle yet. Did we hear waffle? No, I'mma save it. I'mma save my comment. Hold on. Because it might get better. Hold on. >> The ones you've heard today. But we have finally arrived at tier three. These are high danger. These are no longer playful pet names or light teasing. When British people use these food words, they are attacking well, they're directly attacking someone's character, backbone, sanity, or even their trustworthiness. And first up, we have melt. This is modern British. >> Never heard it. Never heard of this one. Okay. >> Slang that became huge through reality TV and it is quite a sharp insult. Now, of course, the relationship of the two people saying it to each other really does matter. But a melt is someone who's soft, pathetic, and sometimes completely overeotional about, you know, over tiny things. He started crying because [laughter] because his football team LOST A FRIENDLY MATCH. WHAT AN absolute melt. Calling someone a melt basically means they lack emotional toughness. And we often use it as well to just basically mean they're an idiot. But it is quite a sharp word. >> I ain't never heard that one. We just call people soft. Are you soft as hell? You soft as or whatever soft we put behind it. You soft as cotton. Some whatever. I wouldn't want a friend of mine to call me a melt. Next up, wet lettuce. Picture a piece of soggy. Wow. limp lettuce just hanging out the side of a sandwich. >> Can I use that in a sentence, please? >> That is basically what you're calling this person and sort of referring to their spine. He was in a restaurant and the the waiter brought over the soup and it was freezing cold. It was absolutely disgusting. No, it wasn't gaspacho. It was meant to be warm. And he didn't even ask the waiter to send it back. He just sat there and at it. Oh, he's a complete wet lettuce. Wow. Okay. I think I get it. So, let me use it in my terms. If we was in Chicago. Okay. Okay. Hold on. Okay, man. Bro, you ain't seen him just slap your girl butt. You ain't going to do nothing. Wet lettuce. Good. Wet lettuce. Okay, I like that. Wet lettuce. Can we call them moist lettuce? Lettuce is someone who is weak, timid, or sort of refuses to stand up for themselves. And sometimes we also use it to talk about somebody who's just really emotional, over emotional, just crying all the time. He watched that film and he just cried all the way through. He's such a Oh, he's such a wet lettuce. While fruit cake is a traditional gross British cake and I absolutely love we >> as an insult it >> in America when I was a kid. Oh yeah, we use this but it I don't think it's politically correct anymore. Uh love who you love. Shout out to the community that someone is completely unhinged or unpredictable often sort of eccentric. He keeps three wild foxes in his living room. The man is a total fruitcake. It just basically means somebody who's completely lost their mind now. >> Okay. I'm I'm I'm have to [clears throat] Okay. Okay. Over there. That might mean that over here. Yeah. This is level three for sure. You got to fight. If you call somebody this off the rip, you might not even make it to the door. >> I love fruit cake. I love eating it. And I also love this word. I may use it in banter with some of my friends, but neutrally with somebody I didn't know, I wouldn't use it because I wouldn't want to offend them. Again, in British culture, the closer you are as friends, the the the the stronger the friendship. >> In the comment section, if you actually taking your time to watch this video, get I want everybody to give me a level tier three disrespectful insult in the comments. I want to see your best tier three. I'm the target. Thank you. Make me laugh. >> The stronger the insults can become. And with my close friends, I might just use >> if there's enough of them. Maybe we do a video on it. Use the word fruitc cake to describe them if they do something that I think is completely insane or eccentric. With somebody I don't really know, I would avoid this word as I think it could actually be quite offensive. The word fruitcake is often paired with the phrase nutty as a fruit cake. Oh, he's as nutty as a fruit cake. And there's that word nutty again. >> Oh, so you you compounded them. I asked about this earlier and I'm glad you're touching on it because I I asked you what if you start with one and you end with one in the same sentence, does it double down and make it even worse? >> Which brings me on to the word nut. Nut as a noun. Now, I would say nuts and nutty, they're a bit weaker than using the noun form. Nut basically means insane, unhinged, and potentially even aggressive. He is an absolute nut. He just started a fight with the barman. I don't know why. I don't know what the problem was. Oh, goodness me. I I think I need to stop coming out with him. He is a nut. It's basically questioning the sanity of that person. While fishy can often be used to describe a smell, that smell of fish, calling a situation or a person fishy means that something seems to be wrong either ethically or legally. It's basically another >> I think we use this a lot in America, too. In Chicago, we would say this is set up. Seems a little setup. Chicago people, if you really around one for long enough, like we we genuinely think everything is a setup. Why is this person being so nice to me? This is a setup. Why is this person being so mean? This is a setup. Everything's a setup. A way of saying seems a bit dodgy. In other words, I don't really trust the person, the situation, or what they're saying. And that's why it could be quite rude. You're effectively saying I don't believe you or your story. He says he's lost his wallet for the third time this week. I mean, it seems a bit fishy to me. In other words, a bit suspicious. Now, the last two are ones that I would never ever use even with my friends. So, >> uh, let me hear. >> First of the last two, we have bad, >> a bad egg, or even the rarer, harsher version, a rotteneck. This isn't about being silly. This is a moral judgment. >> My teacher called me a bad egg in third grade and then I accidentally broke her nose. It was an accident. I didn't know she was following me, but you know, >> bad egg is someone who's dishonest, dodgy, and untrustworthy. That's why I would never use it with my friends because I don't hang around with these sort of people. I don't spend time with dishonest or untrustworthy people. I wouldn't leave your phone around him. He seems to be he's a bit of a bad egg. If someone calls you a bad egg, you are officially out of the inner circle. They, you know. >> Yeah. I was out of the inner circle of teachers. I was in third grade. How old are you in third grade? I was like seven. >> Oh well. Why would you want to spend time with that kind of person? And as I say, Rotten Egg could be even harsher. He's a bit of a rotten egg. >> Then she told my mom she could put me on pills if she wanted to, and my mom almost fought her. [laughter] Uh, good times. On the flip side, we do have the compliment good egg, which means a good person, but we don't really use it. It's not very common. I wouldn't say, oh, you know, he's a good egg. You might hear it from time to time, but it's not that common, but it exists. Finally, butters is a massive piece of modern British street slang. Butters basically means unattractive, ugly. >> Whoa, I ain't never heard this one. THANK GOD. OH, >> AND that's why it's really harsh because it is harsh to call a person ugly. This word is more commonly used by younger British people. So Sandra said she went on a date with some guy and the picture on his >> I don't think nobody's ugly if if like people some somebody out there for you. Let's be real. Somebody is out there for you. >> Profile didn't really match what he looked like in real life. Basically, she said he was Butters and she's not going to go on a date with him again. In my opinion, Sandra needs to well, stop being so superficial. She uh she needs to date people for who they are, not what they look like. >> And I never tell nobody that either. Shoot. Love who you love, gang. You got standards, how your standards. >> I really got into that then, didn't I? [laughter] You may also hear people using the word butters to describe things as well. I tried on those new shoes in the shop, but honestly, they were proper butters. That word proper again. You may get away with it in that sense when you're talking about a thing external from the group. But if my friend were wearing those shoes, I wouldn't say your shoes are butters, mate, because again, that's really rude. But again, this one is more commonly used by younger people. But >> your shoes weak, they weak. I'm I'm telling you, rude or not, >> it's worth knowing. So, from calling your best friend a silly sausage or a donut to calling an untrustworthy person a bad egg, British food vocabulary covers the entire spectrum of human emotion. Now, what I want to know in the comments is which of these food insults surprised you the most? >> Oh, yeah. Let me put I'm let me let me put my I'm surprised waffle was not on the list top tier. >> And what food is used as an insult in your country? Let me know below. What food is used as an insult in in my country in America? Let me get back. Hold on. I honestly can't think of a food we use to disrespect. Uh, hey, that's it. TL, leave a like, comment. >> Thank you very much for watching. >> Very um very informal. I appreciate the knowledge.