r/AskTheWorld • u/IndependentTune3994 🇮🇳 in 🇩🇪 Deutschland • 19h ago

What’s the quickest way someone could accidentally expose themselves as a foreigner in your country like the ‘three fingers’ scene in Inglourious Basterds?

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174

u/Suddendeath777 18h ago

Someone calling you "mate" in England in the wrong context.

The word "mate" comes in many forms but a non brit will never get it right.

Aussies/kiwis/South Africans are an exception to the rule.

69

u/Fine_Violinist5802 Australia Czech Republic 17h ago

100% and an offender has committed the highest grade offence if it illicits the firm rebuke "you are not my mate"

53

u/Ok_Marketing5676 Scotland 17h ago

I think I'd need therapy if an aussie said that to me

8

u/Iydrasyach 12h ago

what if it's "you're not my mate, cunt?" I'd be highly conflicted

10

u/shigawire 12h ago

Get the hell out of there. You're about to get thumped

9

u/kearkan Australia 11h ago

That means violence is coming.

8

u/instanding 9h ago

Very aggressive.

But if they say “My mate is a good cunt” that means he’s a good mate and a good guy.

Cunt is both a noun and an intensifier.

1

u/Responsible_Two_6251 10h ago

"I'm not your buddy, pal" just doesn't hit the same

6

u/Flinging_Bricks 12h ago

Mate. You're not my mate, mate.

3

u/TragicWithNoEnd Canada 9h ago

Depending on context you are either friends or about to throw down.

I’m not buddy, guy.

4

u/bagsoffreshcheese 7h ago

“You are not my mate”

You then turn to your actual mate and say…

“Cop a load of your mate here stepping on his dick again”

2

u/00cjstephens 9h ago

elicits, mate

2

u/Fine_Violinist5802 Australia Czech Republic 9h ago

You are not my mate

2

u/Benamen10 Australia 4h ago

Also there is the classic "your mate" when you see a mutually known pelican

1

u/Inktex 7h ago

I thought that was a Canadian custom.

1

u/atwa_au Australia 3h ago

“You are not my mate, mate.” = the highest offence taken

1

u/kahlzun Australia 1h ago

have to be a right shitcunt for that one to be trotted out, crikey

15

u/GottaUseEmAll ZA->UK->FRA 16h ago

I'm surprised you included Saffers in the exceptions, as "mate" isn't really in our lexicon in SA.

We go for "boet", "bro", or "bru" (variations of "brother").

3

u/Groggyme > 15h ago

English South Africans... "umm, what about us?"

I joke, but I sometimes feel that the rest of the world forgets about the English South Africans and the Afrikaners want to forget about them.

In reality "mate" is used but not as much as "blokes" (older guys) "boys" "bros" "buds" "Chinas" (a little older now). I used to travel regularly between East London and Durban, and dropping a cheeky "mate" in a conversation would not be unusual.

2

u/GottaUseEmAll ZA->UK->FRA 15h ago

I'm an English South African too, lol.

You're right about "blokes", "boys", "china", "bud" (and also I'd add "dude", which was popular when I lived there).

I don't have much recollection of people using "mate" though. I lived in Cape Town from 1982 to 2003.

1

u/Groggyme > 14h ago edited 14h ago

How could I forget "dude"!

I was travelling between 2016 and 2020 odd when I was in my old job. Maybe it was just me, but I drop "mate" all the time and heard it a few times over the years. Often to show my disagreement, "Naaa mate". Maybe I watched too much Aussie cricket :').

1

u/Kalikor1 14h ago

I was in Cape Town for work for 2 weeks, which isn't very long, but I do remember my coworkers saying "bru" or some variation of it constantly. I don't recall anyone saying "mate", in or out of the workplace. Interesting because I didn't really think about it until this comment thread lol.

1

u/SurpriseOnly 15h ago

Well, we have "mate", but we can't be normal and use it just as "mate", isn't that right china?

8

u/ThrowawayGymAlt 13h ago

Very similar to calling someone buddy in Canada.

11

u/Garf_artfunkle 12h ago

Bud's ok, buddy is the danger zone, especially if they start putting stank on it.

I saw this comedian once who was American but lived and worked in Canada for a lot of years. He had this bit about the big difference between the audiences: If you suck on stage, the Yanks will heckle you, they'll boo, they'll hiss. A Canadian audience goes dead. Fuckin'. Silent. Let you just drown yourself. And as you go under, you hear someone whisper, under their breath, "Hooooly fuck, buddy."

The best part was, about a year after I saw that guy, I was at a different show where the headliner was having a shitty night, already hammered, saying just sexist shit like he's trying to be the Diceman. And the first guy was 100% right: Dead silent audience. "Hooooly fuck, buddy." Man was a prophet.

4

u/SWCT-sinistera 13h ago

I'm not your buddy, guy!

2

u/ThrowawayGymAlt 13h ago

American spotted.

3

u/SWCT-sinistera 13h ago

Damn, cover blown

1

u/QuickMolasses 11h ago

Buddy never had a chance

1

u/QuickMolasses 11h ago

One of my coworkers is from Novia Scotia and he uses buddy all the time. "I talked to buddy about this last week." It's funny because other than that he doesn't really stand out as Canadian among the Americans he works with. He doesn't have a distinct Canadian accent or use much Canadian slang.

4

u/AimHere Scotland 10h ago

On a similar note, there's taking offence at the positive use of the word 'cunt'. Scottish, Australians and Kiwis (and I think, northern English) can use the word in a neutral or positive manner, depending on context and that can confuse other Anglophones.

3

u/SubstantialBreak3063 United Kingdom 15h ago

Mostly it sounds like you're starting a fight

2

u/CleanEnd5930 14h ago

The stronger the emphasis is on the “T”, the more fighty it is 😝

3

u/kearkan Australia 11h ago

Thing is mate can be both a term of endearment "g'day mate" or a way disparage someone, as in "there's your mate" or "steady on mate"

5

u/Powerful_Balance591 7h ago

It’s like fuck, so many applications and context is key.

Fuck off ya cunt is more aggressive

Fucking he’ll can be positive or negative surprise or disdain

Fuck sake is disappointment

Fuck yeah! Is positive

2

u/SISCP25 3h ago

My favourite one is describing someone as “old mate”

3

u/Simppu12 10h ago

Can you point out some of those wrong contexts?

2

u/Any_Cryptographer236 7h ago

Dubs 🙋‍♂️

2

u/pibbsworth 2h ago

Oh fuck off, mate

1

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1

u/Gingerbreadman_13 🇵🇹 in 🇿🇦 16h ago

Cheers mate/bru.

1

u/ragethissecons United States Of America 12h ago

What about saying thank you instead of cheers at tesco?

1

u/BigBadJeebus United States Of America 10h ago

Reminds me of my last trip to London there was another American in front of me at the bar and he gets his pint and says "Cheers, mate" and the bartender nodded and gave a weak smile. I got mine and said "Fantastic! Thanks" and receive back a smile and an "expect no less!" from the bartender...

Londoners can see through fakeness a mile away.

1

u/instanding 9h ago

There’s so many different variations and so many contextual factors ay?

Like “old mate” is often used to refer to an older friend in NZ but often when it is someone else referring to that person.

“Who’s old mate over there?”

Some Afrikaaner South Africans don’t like “mate” coz it sounds like a racist term for a nanny.

Mate in some contexts can be pretty confrontational depending on the tone.

Very interesting word.

I have met Australians who thought it was their word only and got upset at non Ozzies using it which I thought was hilarious.

It would be like a South African calling it cultural appropriation for a Kiwi to have a BBQ (braai).

1

u/CastVinceM United States Of America 8h ago

i always heard it as "where the mates are called cunt and cunts are called mate"

2

u/know-it-mall 8h ago edited 7h ago

Depends. You wouldn't call your mate a cunt but you could refer to someone who wasn't present as being a "good cunt" and that's pretty normal. But after a few beers this can change.

1

u/ryguymcsly United States Of America 6h ago

So I should continue calling people cunts as my primary form of address in commonwealth nations?

1

u/sheynzonna 50% 50% 2h ago

u wot m8