American woman living in UK mortified to learn popular slang is actually 'dirty'

Daily Mirror

a day ago

An American woman who has lived in London for two and a half years shared the three 'spicy' things you should never say to a Brit, or you may get some funny looks
Slang across the pond is a little different – and when one woman shared one 'dirty' in the UK phrase, Brits were left spitting out their drinks at the true meaning. Devin, who posts on TikTok as @devinguccii, said that she "learned all of these the hard way".
So in a bid to stop other Americans falling into the same awkward situations, she urged them to be careful about the phrases they were using. California girl Devin, who has been in London for the last two and a half years, shared the three phrases you should avoid at all costs.
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"These are three American words I've discovered you should not be using in the UK, and what to use instead," she began the video by explaining. She then listed the following...
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1. Pants
She said she'd start off "with the most PG one," which is "pants". Devin explained: "In the US, it's a more general word for trousers, so it can be used in terms of tracksuit bottoms, jeans, slacks, khakis, anything that's a long version of a trouser.
"But in the UK, it generally refers to men's boxers, so if you say 'Oh, I like your pants,' they'll take that as you can see my underwear, and you like my underwear".
This is the case for most Southerners, but in Northern areas of the UK it isn't uncommon to hear the word 'pants' used in a similar context to America.
2. Fanny pack
Devin joked that this one is a "little bit spicier". In America, they call a bum bag a fanny pack. But of course, in the UK, a 'fanny' is slang for women's genitals.
However, now bum bags are "more popular" in the UK, you can usually also get away with calling it a fanny pack if you want to.
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3. 'Double fisting'
Devin found out this was inappropriate through "trial and error". In America, 'double fisting' means having two drinks at the same time.
But awkwardly, it means "something way dirtier in the UK". She said that this is "not a term that they use in the UK," so it's best to avoid, but instead, you can use "double parked".
People were very amused by Devin's blunders and took to the comments section to leave their thoughts.
Someone joked: "You cannot get away with fanny pack anywhere in the UK or Ireland, people still go ffs in their minds even if you don't actually get a weird look off them".
Another penned: "Yeah, definitely don't say the last one, just say you've got your hands full".
Meanwhile, a third social media user pointed out that pants can also refer to something being "rubbish or no good". It really is a minefield!