Give me some lip

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dedicatedenglish

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Vietnamese
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Is the phrase "give someone some lip" common in the US?

Example: He gave me some lip but I ignored it.
 
Oh, that takes me back! I don't think I've heard it in BrE for a few decades. When I was at school, someone who was cheeky or outright rude to a teacher would be met with a stern "Are you giving me lip?" That usually resulted in either a slightly cowed apology and a bit of silence, or a blatant "Yeah. I am. What are you gonna do about it?" The latter might be met with a clip round the ear or a swift visit to the principal's office.
 
It is common in AmE. I often use it when recounting one of my favourite anecdotes about crossing the border into the USA.
 
I still occasionally hear and even use it, although usually as a negative imperative - "Don't give me any lip."
It may also have dwindled in overall usage to just a regionalism, or pockets of regionalism.
 
I remember it best as "Don't give me any lip!"

I don't think younger people use it, but I could be wrong.
 
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I remember it best as "Don't give any lip!"

Like Skrej, I would expect to see/hear "me" after "give". "Give" is, in this context, a transitive verb.
 
"Don't give me any lip."
What would be a common context for this? Is it appropriate between adult friends? Parent-child relationship? Teacher-student relationship? Or is it good for any situations where one person is making disrespectful comments?
 
Usually it comes from a person of authority to a subordinate. That might be a parent/child, supervisor/employee, or teacher/student relationship. Anyone who's in charge might say it to someone they're trying to get to get a result or answer from. Note in the clip above, it's a police officer talking about a teenager.

I might use it jokingly with an adult friend if I'm trying to convince them to do something, but it's generally not used between peers. There's an element of authority (presumed or real) with it.

It's often used when someone's being argumentative or making excuses for why they won't do what you're asking them to. It doesn't necessarily have to be for deliberately disrespectful comments.

There's also an alternate version that's kind of an abbreviated imperative: "None of your lip!"
 
My parents used to use "Don't talk back to me" all the time.
 
Another double negative with the same meaning is "Don't give me no sass", and its related variant "Don't sass me".

Another variation on the first example with the double negative is "Don't give me none of your sass".
 
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