Is "stupid git" used by Americans and British alike?

[heidita]

I came across this word in this thread:

As I didn't know the word git myself, I had a look and found all these synonyms:

rotter, dirty dog, rat, skunk, stinker, stinkpot, bum, puke, crumb, lowlife, scum bag, so-and-so, git

I wonder if people use the word the same way all over the place. In Spanish the translation supplied doesn't seem to be that hard. It is tranlated as imbécil which simply means "stupid" or "idiot".

I wonder if it is used in the States and Britain alike and what kind of nuances are there for this word.

Thanks for your input.

saludos de España

[David L.]

'git' is a dialect word, meaning ''unpleasant or contemptible person'
So, one often hears, "the stupid git".
I doubt very much whether it has crossed the Atlantic. Americans much prefer 'a**hole'

[BobK]

'git' is a dialect word, meaning ''unpleasant or contemptible person'
So, one often hears, "the stupid git".
I doubt very much whether it has crossed the Atlantic. Americans much prefer 'a**hole'

I suppose it's possible that it crossed the Atlantic after the Beatles used it on the Revolver album, but I doubt it. When I was at school, there was a widely-held belief (widely-held among my peers, that is) that it originally meant 'pregnant camel', but the idea's pretty fanciful (though attractive in a quirky way ).

b

PS In that song, it rhymed with "cigarette" ('And cursed Sir Walter Raleigh - he was such a stupid get' - which links it with Anglika's Scottish derivation.

[Horsa]

I can only tell you that it is used in Britain - I have never heard any of my American colleagues use it but that doiesn't mean it's not used there. I'm afraid that I disagree with your translation 'a git' is a derogotory term for a contemptible person. We often say 'stupid git' being but being stupid is not necessary for a person to be described as a git. Sometimes when used between friends the term is critical but not so rude.

[Anglika]

And here is one suggested etymology: "worthless person", 1946, British slang, a southern variant of Scottish get "illegitimate child, brat," related to beget

[RedMtl]

And here is one suggested etymology: "worthless person", 1946, British slang, a southern variant of Scottish get "illegitimate child, brat," related to beget

It's used commonly enough in Canada. I use it myself.

I don't believe I've ever heard it in the USA though, except from an ex-patriot from the UK, or from Canada, or from someone with such a connection.

Since Canada is heavily Scots in many areas, this does make a certain amount of sense.

[Amigos4]

Within my circle of friends, we never use the term 'stupid git'. It is a fairly safe bet that the term is definitely not common usage in the USA.

David L. speaks the truth: "Americans much prefer 'a**hole'"

Cheers,
Amigo

[heidita]

Within my circle of friends, we never use the term 'stupid git'. It is a fairly safe bet that the term is definitely not common usage in the USA.

David L. speaks the truth: "Americans much prefer 'a**hole'"

Cheers,
Amigo

So it would be as strong as a***hole??

I had never heard this word before, good to know, just in case..!

By the way, used equally for men and women??

[DMickG]

Interesting discussion. I came on the site to check my hunch about the derogatory term 'git'. I thought it might be a contraction of "illeGITimate", in other words, "bastard". Unlike Anglika's suggestion "a southern variant of Scottish get - 'illegitimate child, brat', related to beget" I saw it coming directly from the word "illegitimate" itself.

Furthermore, I was brought up on Merseyside and can confirm that the form of the word used on Merseyside is "get", never "git", which is why the Beatles happilly rhymed it with "cigarette".

Incidentally, the Beatles did feed quite a few Merseyside colloquialisms into mainstream language: "made up", "chuffed", "the gear". One Liverpool phrase which didn't achieve common currency is "finger pie" (Penny Lane). Just as well!

[kathleen]

I've heard it used by Irish Americans also.