Earlier I received a text from the Chilean Mother of one of No. 1's school friends. This particular Mother is a bit posh and proud of her English, which is ok.
The message included the line...
"WTF, they are all going to finish on the same day".
I read, paused, re-read, paused again and then decided I had to ask.
The answer was....
"Oh yes, I read one of my daughter's messages to her friend that had 'WTF' in it. She told me it means 'Well, that's fantastic'; I thought it was so nice that I use it all the time now".
I quite like her daughter who does speak quite good English and I am loath to drop her in it. On the other hand, painful as the Mother is, she'll embarrass herself if I let her go on using it.
Right now I'm thinking that I need to be grown up, totally bottle it and get No. 1 to tell her friend to come clean to her Mother.
Whichever, I am still chuckling.
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Tell her it has a dual meaning.
'Well that's fantastic' is acceptable usage...but.. the 'other one' is becoming more prevalent and she'll drop herself in it if she's not careful.
The she'll think her daughter is still o.k. and you are a rough sort who mixes with who knows what...;-)
Last edited by: Westpig on Sun 5 Jul 15 at 20:01
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She knows perfectly well what it means. It's just faux ignorance.
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>> She knows perfectly well what it means. It's just faux ignorance.
FI?
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I rather doubt it. I've come across an English slang expression used in German that they think is just a bit naughty, whereas you'd certainly tell off a kid of yours for using it in the UK.
It's a bit like the scatalogical term in French that isn't as rude in that language as the Anglo Saxon term in English it sort of translates to, is generally taken to be.
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>>
>>
>>
>> "Oh yes, I read one of my daughter's messages to her friend that had 'WTF'
>> in it. She told me it means 'Well, that's fantastic'; I thought it was so
>> nice that I use it all the time now".
>>
>
The daughter has a wicked sense of humour, and seems to be progressing well in English.
Do I sense she perhaps despises her mother a little?
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>>she perhaps despises her mother a little?
Despise? That's a bit strong.
And in any case, no. I think the daughter just said the first thing that came into her head when her Mother asked about a particular text message.
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>> And in any case, no. I think the daughter just said the first thing that
>> came into her head when her Mother asked about a particular text message.
>>
Oh well, sorry, it was just a thought. I wondered whether the mother was perhaps a slightly embarassing snob and the daughter couldn't resist setting her up for a major faux pas.
It's an appealing idea - I've sometimes fed untrue social useages into conversations for the fun of seeing whether anyone picks them up.
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Reminiscent of Cameron, Brooks and LOL...
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Check first with No.1, in case it really is innocent, and then (whether it is or not), suggest that school friend advises mum that she has been mislead, and real meaning is not really to be repeated ?
Mum may still be embarassed, but how much worse could it be ?, and she might respect daughter's honesty ??
Mum will thank you in the end
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I've checked with No. 1.
Its innocent insofar as it was just a fast thought out answer when trapped. But it is now felt to be quite amusing.
I will attempt to exert some influence. I think Westpig has got the right approach. Tell her that there are two meanings etc. etc.
And if she asks me about the company I keep I shall explain about some dodgy ex-copper who has gone native in the West Country.
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>> And if she asks me about the company I keep I shall explain about some
>> dodgy ex-copper who has gone native in the West Country.
>>
Touché
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English slang according to a Chilean. - Westpig
