Is wanker widely used or recognised in the US?

[Inkent]

Writing a piece where someone (a US citizen) uses wanker as a derogatory term against another person. In the piece I'm writing, the person has been living in the UK for a short while, and I'm hoping it's not a term commonly used in the US in the same way we Brits throw 'wanker' around in a way of expressing our feelings towards another!

 

[Escierto]

Not commonly used but we know what it means. Sometimes a person will use it here to be funny. You wanker!

 

[Inkent]

Thanks Escierto, that means it'll fit nicely into the context of the section of the story. Over here, it does get used in jest, amongst friends, but it can also be used in a more vicious sense too.

 

[Voyeurkenneth]

Thanks Escierto, that means it'll fit nicely into the context of the section of the story. Over here, it does get used in jest, amongst friends, but it can also be used in a more vicious sense too.

As an American, I'd default to reading wanker as an insult. But... depending on the context of the scene, the character's personality, I could also read it as a term used between friends.

Again, without having read the scene, I'd generally be thrown off by an American using the term wanker, even if they've been living in the UK for a few years. I'm curious if the use of the term coming from an American is consequential in any way to the story (ex: it shows assimilation?)

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

Not commonly used but we know what it means. Sometimes a person will use it here to be funny. You wanker!

What he said...

 

[SimonDoom]

Agree with Escierto. Not commonly used, but many readers would understand you. "That's one of those things the Brits say."

I think many reasonably literate Americans know the Brits have a lot more fun with the art of insults than Americans do. Here, it's usually "He's a dick/prick/loser/asshole/motherfucker/pussy."

I also think it's fairly common for Americans who have spent time in Britain, France, or Italy to adopt vernacular terms and habits in those countries and sometimes use them when they return to America.

So, if you did it right this wouldn't throw me out of the story at all. I could see it having its place.

 

[MillieDynamite]

In business, a term is used by people with the authority to fire people, "If you don't straighten up, you'll be outside kicking rocks." My dad used to say, "Be smart, sometimes stay inside reading books so you don't end up outside kicking bricks."

 

[Inkent]

Thank you all.

In the context of the story, English guy marries a Texan, she moves to England. Misunderstanding, he doe a runner abroad, she tracks him him down and the opening line of their "reunion" will be her saying something like "You stupid wanker, why did you run?" It's playing up to how the not-so-subtle vocabulary of ours has been picked up so quickly by his dearest beloved whilst living here

 

[RetroFan]

I remember in the sitcom 'Married With Children' back in the 1980s and 1990s Peggy Bundy's maiden name was Wanker, so obviously the term is known in America, but not used as much as England, Australia or New Zealand.

Another term I'm not sure of is the term 'Willy' for penis, which tended to be used more in the UK although its usage has declined in recent decades. Was the term 'willy' ever used for penis in the USA? I'm not sure, I don't recall hearing it used in American movies or TV shows, but I could be wrong.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

I remember in the sitcom 'Married With Children' back in the 1980s and 1990s Peggy Bundy's maiden name was Wanker, so obviously the term is known in America, but not used as much as England, Australia or New Zealand.

Another term I'm not sure of is the term 'Willy' for penis, which tended to be used more in the UK although its usage has declined in recent decades. Was the term 'willy' ever used for penis in the USA? I'm not sure, I don't recall hearing it used in American movies or TV shows, but I could be wrong.

Yes. We use that here as well. Not as common these days as it was when I was younger, though.

 

[RetroFan]

Yes. We use that here as well. Not as common these days as it was when I was younger, though.

Thanks Shelby, that's the same in Australia, the term Willy is very rarely used for penis nowadays.

 

[Bamagan]

Yes. We use that here as well. Not as common these days as it was when I was younger, though.

The decline in its use seems suspiciously coincident with the release of The Goonies, a movie where a bunch of kids go searching for One-Eyed Willie's treasure...

 

[SyleusSnow]

Yeah, most people in the US and Canada would know what it means, but as an insult 'wanker' is about as toothless "dirtbag". It might be used as a playful insult but it's not commonly used.

Kinda like how "bloody" is considered rude in Brit culture (or at least, it was) but meaningless in north america.

 

[Abbafan]

Not commonly used but we know what it means. Sometimes a person will use it here to be funny. You wanker!

Yeah, people seem to like a lot of British slang and insults, even though they aren't really part of our everyday speech.

 

[Escierto]

Yeah, people seem to like a lot of British slang and insults, even though they aren't really part of our everyday speech.

Yeah, it's fun!

 

[alohadave]

The decline in its use seems suspiciously coincident with the release of The Goonies, a movie where a bunch of kids go searching for One-Eyed Willie's treasure...

Nah, Free Willy came out years later, and there were jokes about that for a long time.

 

[jehoram]

But, oddly, the verb "to wank" doesn't carry the derogatory tone that the noun does.

 

[AwkwardMD]

I have a theory that, given two words with the same meaning, Brits will default to the word that sounds sillier/funnier to say out loud (wanker), and Americans will default to the word that sounds more vulgar (jerkoff). In other words, the Brits are a bit more performative (Brilliant!) and Americans will unironically jump the shark (Awesome!).

Don't fact check that. I will not be answering any questions at this time.

 

[PennameWombat]

According to Wikipedia, the origin of this place name is actually from a 19th century German family named Wanker, claimed to be pronounced "wonker." I was familiar with the intersection as I drove through there often when I lived in that part of the world, but no one I asked could ever answer why it was named as it was. So I cannot vouch for nor against the Wikipedia article. But the Wikipedia article mislocates the current Wankers Corner Saloon and Cafe to this location, not where it really is.

Wankers Corner, Stafford, Oregon

Dub's Tavern at that intersection has, well, used to have as it's been going on most of a decade since I was last there, a good beer selection and decent pub grub. Wankers Country Store is also there, and behind both is a miniature golf course.

The Wankers Corner Saloon and Cafe used to be located at the intersection above. However, it moved to Wilsonville, a town alongside Interstate 5 south of Portland.

The current Wanker's Corner Saloon and Cafe

The point of all this is that while plenty of Americans are in on the joke, enough of them aren't that the ones who are simply get strange looks when they laugh at the name.

 

[vanmyers86]

Thank you all.

In the context of the story, English guy marries a Texan, she moves to England. Misunderstanding, he doe a runner abroad, she tracks him him down and the opening line of their "reunion" will be her saying something like "You stupid wanker, why did you run?" It's playing up to how the not-so-subtle vocabulary of ours has been picked up so quickly by his dearest beloved whilst living here

As a native Texan myself, I would be surprised to hear a Texan use that insult when the state's slang has so many excellent insults of its own. But prolonged proximity to a Brit could change that. It might be fun to create a Texas-British hybrid insult, like "pendejo-wanker" or some such.