Settle an argument - is the word 'arse' posh?
Posted by Fabulous_Top4029@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 151 comments
I have always used the word arse, and my friend says ass. To me ass is American (we are both Brits). But he says he can't say arse because it's 'too posh'. I do not believe that the word arse is posh. What's the verdict?
thelordknows@reddit
Definitely nothing posh about it.
Any_Willingness_9085@reddit
Looks in Irish
Ok_Row_4920@reddit
Not posh, your friend's just been watching too much American TV/hanging out in to many American subs. He probably also calls a lead a leash, rubbish trash or maybe if he's really far gone mum mom
Thurallor@reddit
What, Britons don't use the word "leash"? What's your word for "unleash" then?
At my signal, unleash hell! -Maximus Decimus Meridius
Mr_lovebucket@reddit
I suspect Americans assumed when they heard arse we were saying ass but with an English accent so started saying ass
Thurallor@reddit
When Americans started saying "ass" they were English
ProsodySpeaks@reddit
Arse is old English. Literally older than the Norman conquest. It predates English being a language you or I could even understand.
It's about as salty as any earth could be.
sim-o@reddit
Anyone posh is not using ass or arse
Ginger_Tea@reddit
Terence is a rather cavernous sphincter is he not.
seven-cents@reddit
I got temp banned from the AITA sub for using the word arse 🤭
Competitive_Art_4480@reddit
I got a warning yesterday for using the C word in a post about C words.
Also been banned for using the F cigarette word in the specific context of providing a translation.
Darent even say owt anymore.
.once got banned from aita for saying I would finish them if it was me. They took it as kill, As if I talk like a WWE commentator or something.
You can't make it up at times.
Ginger_Tea@reddit
They took offence to Karen and man babies, bunch of wet blankets.
pinkthreadedwrist@reddit
AITA loves the ban hammer.
seven-cents@reddit
Amusing since it's 99% bot posts
ClementAttlee2024@reddit
"AITA for breaking up with someone because they cheated on me"
"AITA for telling someone no when I didn't want to do something"
"AITA for telling off my dog"
Istg it's these same posts
Round-Spite-8119@reddit
"My roommate stole my organs - AITA for not making them dinner"
Maleficent_Depth_517@reddit
All with twins and lawyer friends!
ClementAttlee2024@reddit
AITA loves everything that it isn't
Flowa-Powa@reddit
No, arse is democratised - I'm pretty sure Chaucer mentioned arse and he was basically council estate scum
martzgregpaul@reddit
His father inherited a huge estate and Chaucers brother in law was John of Gaunt. So not quite "council house scum" 😄
Rocky-bar@reddit
This is where the council house misunderstanding comes from - he lived on a huge estate!
LordGeni@reddit
Yes, but that isn't true of the characters he wrote.
Flowa-Powa@reddit
Yeah, but it sounded funny, and the guy was kind of sketchy regardless of his obvious education
Steamrolled777@reddit
"They can't even afford new furniture!"
TheGrumble@reddit
What about Brits that use "cringe" as an adjective?
yuelaiyuehao@reddit
I've been using cringe as an adjective since the late 90s
TheGrumble@reddit
Wow, that was before it was cool!
yuelaiyuehao@reddit
Wow, you're being a knob! I was obviously making the point calling something cringe worthy or shortening it to cringey/cringe has been around for quite a long time in the UK.
TheGrumble@reddit
Definitely since before anyone in the UK used the word "ass".
Fluffy_Juggernaut_@reddit
What about people complaining about using "cringe" as an adjective?
TheGrumble@reddit
What about sunrise? What about rain?
Evening-Tomatillo-47@reddit
What about the snowstorm coming down the lane?
AantonChigurh@reddit
lol referencing Chaucer in an effort to prove it’s not posh is really not helping your case imho
GrandDukeOfNowhere@reddit
I don't think anyone who was literate in the 14th century could be considered "council estate scum"
octohussy@reddit
I’m working-class Geordie and the only times I’ve heard someone British use the word “ass” IRL are: in reference to a donkey; an American quote/reference; or if they’re so posh that they travelled constantly back and forth between various countries which use Commonwealth and American English.
Eoin_McLove@reddit
Working class Welsh here and we pronounce it ‘ass’.
Phyllida_Poshtart@reddit
The only people in Wales I've heard say ass have been under 25 :)
Eoin_McLove@reddit
I’m 34 and has always been thus for me.
Phyllida_Poshtart@reddit
Then you've spent too long online with Americans hahaha
cyberllama@reddit
No
Eoin_McLove@reddit
Come to Newport and say ‘arse’ and you’ll get some funny looks. I don’t get why I’m being downvoted for staying a fact.
I’m sure it varies across the country.
cyberllama@reddit
I am in Newport. You're talking shit.
Eoin_McLove@reddit
I have literally no reason to lie. I’ve lived here all my life and every one I know pronounces it ‘ass’. I am 34 years old. Perhaps our socio-economic background is different? I don’t know. I’m just telling you my experience.
cyberllama@reddit
And I'm telling you mine. Perhaps you're confusing the Newport twang with people actually using 'ass'.
Eoin_McLove@reddit
Perhaps the stronger accent sounds like ‘ass’, but I would ask what’s the difference?
Nobody questions it when people from the Midlands say they use ‘mom’.
cyberllama@reddit
You are talking shit. First, you claimed all working class Welsh said it, then you claimed you'd 'get funny looks' in Newport. That's a load of bollocks.
It's a very specific accent that the majority of people in Newport don't have. For want of a better description, it belongs to chavs who listen to too much GLC. What's the difference? Hard to say in text. It's the difference between the sound of the 'ar' in car, Spar, Mars bar vs the 'ass' in mass.
Eoin_McLove@reddit
I don’t sound like a member of the GLC, neither do any of my friends. We all say and write ‘ass’. It definitely is a real accent that exists though, my job brings me into contact with people who have it every day. Who are you to dismiss it?
You really would get laughed at if you said you were going to ‘kick someone’s arse’ down Duffryn for example.
Anyway, we can agree to disagree. Our experiences obviously differ. I have better things to do. Peace.
cyberllama@reddit
I didn't say it wasn't real, I said it's a subset of people that have it. You're getting more and more laughable by the minute. I worked in Duffryn Neighbourhood office when it was open, I'm sitting in my kitchen, a stone's throw from Duffryn. I know what Duffryn people sound like and you wouldn't get laughed at for saying that at all. You sound like a massive arsehole. Can't admit you're wrong. Probably best you do run away before you dig your hole even deeper
just_some_guy65@reddit
I am Welsh, I have never heard anyone say "ass" other than to mean donkey.
octohussy@reddit
I didn’t know this but that’s very interesting. All the Welsh people I’ve met have said “arse”, despite being working-class.
Is it something which differs substantially with regional accents within Wales? Not too many Welsh up my neck of the woods!
ahoneybadger3@reddit
Find a coal today or no joy?
BrokenFist-73@reddit
What is "a coal"?
TinyDemon000@reddit
When seismic activity and oil love each other very much, sometimes a coal can be born
octohussy@reddit
I’ll have you know that we replaced our coal mining industry with Greggs branches.
2 coal; 6 sausage rolls for today’s excavation.
Exotic_Life_8016@reddit
Hope not, I use it instead of ass all the time!
Flat_Fault_7802@reddit
In Scotland it's Erse.
lalalaladididi@reddit
No such thing as posh words just people with their heads stuck up their arses
glasgowgeg@reddit
Not at all.
I'd say posh people would say "rear end" or "bottom" to try and appear more civilised.
SilyLavage@reddit
Posh people don’t care about appearing civilised; it’s stereotypically the middle classes who wring their hands over the language they use
Adamsoski@reddit
"Posh" doesn't mean "upper class". Plenty of middle class people are posh.
SilyLavage@reddit
Posh does mean upper class.
Adamsoski@reddit
That is not the way in which people use the word at least any time in the last few decades. No-one is using "posh" to solely mean "aristocratic" (which is what upper class essentially means in the UK).
thecheesycheeselover@reddit
Very true, when I was small my nanna wouldn’t let me say ‘bum’ because it was rude, I had to say ‘bottom’.
Not upper class at all, firmly middle. I’m sure the upper class kids were allowed to say bum, arse and much worse.
Competitive_Art_4480@reddit
But surely you must be able to see how relative to working class folk, the middle class are posh? Also fantastic mental gymnasts at times.
mordac_the_preventer@reddit
“Kiss my rear end” does sound a bit posh
Gary_James_Official@reddit
The properly-posh - anyone with a title, that has been living in the same home for generations - are completely beyond giving a fuck about what anyone thinks. The people who want to be posh (nouveau riche, middle class, whatever) are precisely the kind to use "rear end" in front of their friends, while the 90 year old whose family have lived on an immense estate for the last few hundred years is likely to say arse.
Douglas______@reddit
Jim Royle isn't posh.
Oli99uk@reddit
Arse is a part on the body. Ass is donkey.
Nothing posh about it.
Sounds like your friend has been colonised. Language is a great way to influence power. Resist the Americanisation of your language
David_W_J@reddit
It was probably "Arse" was before Anglo-Saxon, as part of the germanic languages (where English originated).
As an example, in German they have the wonderful insult "Arsch mit Ohren" that translates to "Arse with ears" - someone who is actively disliked, an unpleasant person.
veryblocky@reddit
Quite the opposite actually, I’ve always considered it a common word
stuaxo@reddit
Some parts of the UK say ass where their accent fits it, the rest of us say arse, it's not posh at all.
nameunknown345@reddit
True. A West Country accent works for both, aaaaaass or arrrrrrse.
trysca@reddit
Yep when I was growing up it was 'ees a proper assow' not so much now
Weirfish@reddit
Arse is less severe, IMO. Ass is a better expletive, if it's an expletive you're after; it's shorter and has a harsher fricative.
tmstms@reddit
You are right.
Your friend is an ass (=asinine).
Miserable_Action_421@reddit
Ask Jim Royale, my arse!
AonghusMacKilkenny@reddit
It's not posh but some people are so Yorkshire they say Ahhhse, instead of arse.
lavenderacid@reddit
Arse itself is not posh. However, when I moved down south, I noticed people saying "bad-arse" or "kick arse" instead of badass and kickass. That, is posh.
Swimming_Possible_68@reddit
Arse is not posh.... Arse is just the proper spelling for arse rather than what our American cousin's use...
_Isosceles_Kramer_@reddit
This may not apply to your friend, but I've noticed some people these days have started to think that "arse" is just "ass" in a southern English accent (a lot of TV subtitles render "arse" in British shows as "ass" for example) rather than being an actual word that all brits pronounce that way regardless of which side of the trap/bath split their accent falls on.
Numerous-Manager-202@reddit
Ass is American and just incorrect. Brits who say ass need a slap.
throwawaysis000@reddit
You're friend's an arse.
Incidentally are you Brummies? It's the only place in the UK I've noticed people fairly commonly use "ass"
Wind-and-Waystones@reddit
I know in my accent, south Yorkshire, arse sounds more like aass/ahss. Similar to how car sounds like Caa/cah. The r fades into the background which could leave it sounding like ass to an untrained ear until I say ass which is like a-ss.
I'm strongly working class by upbringing.
NoIntern6226@reddit
"My arse" is synonymous with Jim Royle, the fictitious working class scouser who would sit in a chair all day watching tv in his vest. It's not posh.
ASDowntheReddithole@reddit
'Arse' in our local accent definitely does not sound posh.
Sincerely - Merseyside.
SaaryBaby@reddit
Arrrrrse is a bit posh. If you are posh. Otherwise no arse is not posh.
Ass is 100% USA. We like donkeys here and don't insult donkeys by calling people donkeys.
Yes I know an ass is a bit different to a donkey.
OldSky7061@reddit
It’s not posh at all.
Not British person should ever say “ass”
Glad_Act_8587@reddit
Arse is English, and not posh. Ass is American (or a donkey)
the_merkin@reddit
This is the only correct answer.
MMH1111@reddit
Yes, yes and thrice yes.
theother64@reddit
Pretty sure the Irish say it even more than the English
Gildor12@reddit
It was used as a euphemism in the US for arse and became as bad as the original. Arse is a great word; British and definitely not posh
liquidspanner@reddit
My arse!
Nrysis@reddit
I can confirm that 'arse' definitely doesn't sound posh in a Scots accent...
'Ass' does just sound weird though.
Beer_Of_Champagnes@reddit
Can confirm. Live in Glasgow, the only person who I've heard say "ass" is my 9-year-old and I forgave her as she's only wee and has time to learn
GlennSWFC@reddit
Where abouts in the country do you and your friend live and where is your friend from? As far as I was aware “arse” is pretty common in every part of Britain.
Agitated_Ad_361@reddit
Does your friend refer to coolers and sidewalks? Do you call him Tex because he likes American things?
CharringtonCross@reddit
You’ll be telling me “poo” is posh, and “poop” is common next.
Mediocre_Bridge_9787@reddit
Your friend is wrong
Praetorian_1975@reddit
No, but derrière is
spliffwizard@reddit
Glaswegian here, arse isny posh
BeastMidlands@reddit
Arse is in no way posh. And ass is definitely American. Your friend seems like he has been americanised without realising it.
blueblacklotus@reddit
I think different uses work for each, eg. arsehole and I wanna fuck your ass
Hopeful_Strategy8282@reddit
Definitely not posh, but I am ashamed to say that I find the American pronunciation more appealing. It’s all Reginald D Hunter’s fault, he once mocked our way of saying arse by putting on a toff accent and saying “Could you parse that arse” and I’ve never been able to unhear it
badgersruse@reddit
There’s a fine line between the two if the ‘a’ is pronounced as ‘ah’ and the ’r’ isn’t pronounced as in most of the UK. It’s thus really wrong if it’s pronounced American style ‘ass’ instead of British ‘ass’. Think grass and grass.
Lammtarra95@reddit
Your mate is sort-of right in an historical sense.
Ass (idiot) was pronounced arse by posh people, and might well be where the spelling arse came from.
Proof: see eg Lord Charles repeatedly saying silly ass on prime time television in the 60s and 70s. He could not have said silly arse even though they sound the same.
Pale_Height_1251@reddit
Not posh.
velvetinchainz@reddit
I use both. It depends on the context and the pronunciation.
No_Education_4331@reddit
Canadian here, I pronounce it arse.
original_oli@reddit
Does he also drink Dr Pepper? It tastes like fizzy benylin.
Chadalien77@reddit
Some northerners and Welsh say ass and it sounds silly to me when said in context of British uses of arse. Just what you’re used to I guess?
LetTheBloodFlow@reddit
Father Jack would like a moment for rebuttal.
Mysterious-Stay-3393@reddit
Posh Spice is an Arse.
cmzraxsn@reddit
I probably just spend too much time online but I have a really hard time believing all the people who say they'd never hear "ass" from a brit. I swear I grew up hearing both, with a preference for "arse" sure but definitely both. (this was in Edinburgh, btw, make of that what you will) I just think my vocabulary is richer for having both 😛 🤷
They're different words, etymologically. But the difference sounds almost like how glass is pronounced with a long a sound by southerners. As if arse is a respelling of ass as said by posh southerners. And I've heard Londoners (and Australians) pronouncing "jackass", like the name of the TV series, as "Jack arse", which is just... wrong. But it's like they've interpreted ass and arse as the same and applied their accent to it which sounds posh to outsiders.
Gatodeluna@reddit
He just hasn’t had much of any exposure to British culture, vocabulary, or class system. I was very interested, coincidentally, that in an old Midsomer Murders about the posh being posh jerks, that it was the working class and tradespeople who said arse and the posh characters specifically said ‘ass’ and not arse, with a point being made that I’d missed. I was slightly surprised. But no, this American does not think arse is posh, lol.
Objective_Echo6492@reddit
I have seen a lot of attempts to redefine an American word to justify it's use, and this seems a lot like that.
People usually don't like to admit that they're easily manipulated by the media, it's kind of embarrassing, so it's easier to pretend that they're using an English word than to accept how easy we are to influence.
Practically, I love hearing people using a few too many Americanisms. It helps me separate the free-thinkers from the regurgitators. It's also useful for picking out who is the most pliable.
thecheesycheeselover@reddit
No, arse is English and ass is American. You’re correct.
He’s annoyed me with this.
PetrolSnorter@reddit
Your friend is a proper arse
Fabulous_Top4029@reddit (OP)
Yeah he is
UserCannotBeVerified@reddit
Is he secretly posh too?
BlueTrin2020@reddit
Tell him he’s a non-posh arse
Rymundo88@reddit
Posh? My arse! - Jim Royle
Tattycakes@reddit
Finger food? Finger my arse
Mumfiegirl@reddit
I think this kinds of answers the question perfectly
theoht_@reddit
i spell it ass but say arse
Azuras-Becky@reddit
Arse is not posh.
Meowskiiii@reddit
I've lived in lots of different parts of the UK. Some say ass, some say arse (pre-americanisms too). It mostly comes down to accent.
Agreeable_Fig_3713@reddit
Well we say ‘erse’ and arse is a bit posh and leaning to RP but ass is definitely American
StDesolation@reddit
My arse is definitely not posh.
allthingskerri@reddit
If I'm being posh I call you an arsehole
Tarjhan@reddit
Posh people are sweary fuckers.
hallerz87@reddit
Arse isn’t posh or not posh. It’s just British slang for your bum. Ass is American slang for the same.
OctopusIntellect@reddit
The BBC, who have at least some influence on what is considered posh or not, have had opinions on the word, although not on its poshness: When Fairytale of New York was first performed on Top of the Pops in 1987, "the BBC requested that MacColl's singing of 'arse' be replaced with the perceived-less-offensive 'ass'".
"When Katie Melua performed the song with the Pogues on CD:UK in December 2005, ITV censored the word 'arse', but left 'faggot' uncensored ... The MTV channels in the UK also removed and scrambled the words 'slut', 'faggot' and 'arse' from the song".
One BBC local radio presenter described the song as "downmarket chav bilge".
"Arse", "buttocks" and "bottom" are all Anglo-Saxon in origin, so I'm not sure why one of them has ended up as slang, and less polite, than the others.
Scarboroughwarning@reddit
WTF?!
Hell no, it's standard English
commanderdiana@reddit
Sounds like a reyt arse’ole!
Competitive_Art_4480@reddit
Some areas use "ass". It's possible they might have wrongly come to the conclusion arse is posh if they've only heard poshos say it, especially if everyone in their region and worming class uses ass.
Probably just young though.
I had a gf for a while who said "pants" some regions do and it's not an Americanism. Still annoyed me though.
Arsewhistle@reddit
Your friend is a moron
VerbingNoun413@reddit
Is it more or less posh than "bum"?
RPG_Rob@reddit
Bum is polite.
Arse is not.
Patient_Debate3524@reddit
Short arse wouldnt sound so good if it was Short ass lol
PM-ME_UR_TINY-TITS@reddit
Arse is not posh it's just correct.
Ass is American or the animal.
TeaNotorious@reddit
I find that 'Arsehole' is universal - we all have one.
DrMetters@reddit
No, it is far from posh.
Comprehensive-Two888@reddit
Of course not. Ass is Americanised rubbish.
SickPuppy01@reddit
It depends on the accent. Say it in a certain accent and it can sound very posh - Imagine the Royal family saying it. Say it in a different accent and it will sound down to earth - Imagine the Royle family saying it
Inkblot7001@reddit
Certainly not posh.
I hear the staff using the word all the time when describing me.
ComprehensiveAd8815@reddit
Not posh.
bonshui@reddit
Not in Scotland!
wildOldcheesecake@reddit
You’re correct. Friend is a traitor. Send him down under.
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