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Not many people are aware that Berk is a piece of Cockney rhyming slang, although perhaps more now that it's listed on that Wiktionary entry. Berkeley Hunt =>
by b800h 2y ago
Not many people are aware that Berk is a piece of Cockney rhyming slang, although perhaps more now that it's listed on that Wiktionary entry.
Berkeley Hunt => C..
My grandmother used to use it all the time; she'd be horrified. Its meaning has diverged significantly from its origin.
- RugnirViking 2y ago> Not many people are aware that Berk is a piece of Cockney rhyming slang, I'd say at least the ~70M population of the uk would know it. Probably quite a few outside also
- robocat 2y agoIn my childhood in New Zealand I remember berk used to mean plonker/fool. Wiktionary says: berk (UK, Ireland, Commonwealth) a fool, a prat, a twit, etc. Although the term remains in fairly wide use, its specific origin and meaning in rhyming slang is less well known, lessening its vulgarity. Synonyms see fool and idiot.
- defrost 2y agoIn the AU / NZ domain the Burke and Wills expedition of 1860-61 helped, fairly or unfairly, cement the association of 'Burke' with foolish. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burke_and_Wills_expedition https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burke_and_Wills_expedition
- Loughla 2y agoMidwest United States we used to use the word Berk interchangeably with times we would use the word asshole. I never really understood why, but now that I understand it's rhyming slang I'm even more confused as to why we did that.
- opello 2y agoWhich part of the midwest?
- Loughla 2y agoMiddle of Iowa. Why?
- opello 2y agoInteresting, I wonder how localized it is? As for why, because I've never heard the term and am also from the area.
- Loughla 2y agoAh. I assume it was super local. We used to travel to Nebraska and/or Illinois quite a bit to see family, and they never said it.
- opello 2y agoInteresting! I enjoy local vernacular. But the way I read your original message was more like declaring a midwest generalized usage, which may not have been your intent.
- stavros 2y agoI've never once heard the word "berk" used in the UK.
- b800h 2y agoNot the case at all. I'd say, of those people who are familiar with the word, fewer than 5% are aware of its origins.
- WorldWideWebb 2y agoMoss used it in IT Crowd. That’s where I heard it first, and then looked up the origin.