The Bum In America- For A Bottom

[joko]

Twice over the last few days i have noticed americans using the word bum the way we do - to mean a bottom, rather than a tramp


one was in pineapple express - which i watched today - but is a few years old, but the other was a recent thing - though I cant remember what now

is it used much over there?

thnaks

[dr b]

I think you'd only hear it over here if someone is trying to sound affectedly British. We say "butt" as in a pain in the butt.

[joko]

not in either of these two examples

here's one of them - its at about 2.17

[dr b]

Your question was "is it used much over there?" Answer: twice is not "much".

[joko]

you said you'd only hear it if someone was affecting a British accent

obviously not.

clearly its popular enough to be used in a hollywood film

[Clanad]

Problem is, Hollywood isn't part of the U.S. Here in the western U.S., 'bum' would only be attached to the noun 'lamb'... an orphan lamb whose mother won't claim him/her for some reason.

Bum may still be used for the aforementioned 'tramp', but political correctness has changed that for the most part to 'homeless' person. Used for butt? Not likely unless one of the kids that went away to an eastern "Ivy League" college came home and didn't watch their mouth. Dad, Grand-Dad and various Uncles would soon take care of that problem though... (I can hear it now... "Bum, my ass!").

[joggerjayne]

Don't Americans say "ass"?

A word which I really dislike.

[Graham-W]

Or even a kick up the "fanny" which is entirely something else in the UK.

[joko]

they do generally say ass - hence my question, i had never really heard it used to mean bottom in america - yet in the space of a few weeks there were two.

he clearly says it in that clip - " he is punching my bum", while a man punches his bum.
i wish i could remember what the other one was, but i didnt give it much thought until i heard this one.

[bibblebub]

Just as Americanisms have infiltrated our language via films and tv there has also a gradual uptake of a few of our idioms over there in recent years by the same means.

[EDDIE51]

I thought 'Fanny' was the American term for the part of the body we call 'Bum'
That use of the 'F' word always causes amusement over here.
There are other British expressions that Yanks do not understand.
A girl I know once had to catch an early flight back to the UK from Chicago, she said to the male hotel clerk '' Can you knock me up at 6am as I have to get the early flight?'' She could not understand why he thought that was amusing . I also had to explain to a Yank that a 'power cut' was what he called a 'power outage'

[joko]

haha eddie - i bet he thought his luck was in there!

i guess thats it bibblebub, perhaps it will get more common

just a thought though - is it common in canada perhaps?
seth rogan is canadian, maybe the director or writers are too and just thought it sounded funny...?
the accents are similar so i just assumed america.

[FredPuli43]

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition (2012) gives bum: buttocks, and doesn't do what in normally does with British usage viz add (Br. or chiefly Br.). Could be that it is current in some parts of the States or that it once was