Comments on: What America has learned of the UK justice system from UK Law & Order

By: JamesMason

JamesMason — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

If “knackers” = testicles, then what does “knackered” mean? I always took it from context to mean tired. But this newfound knowledge changes things dramatically!

By: Ari B.

Ari B. — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I’m just waiting for Detective Munch to show up. He’s been on every other L&O, including the French version.

Bonus fun-fact, former Doctor Who Peter Davison will be joining L&O:UK for their forthcoming fifth season.

By: MrFox

MrFox — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

“That brown stuff” is far more likely to be heroin than food, although walking into a pre-gastro pub you might be forgiven for the confusion.

By: mdh

mdh — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

cue yakktiy sax

By: Ian Irving

Ian Irving — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Someone should do a “What the UK has learned of the America justice system from Law & Order”!

By: rdi

rdi — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

British encompasses Scots and (debatably) Irish…did you mean “can’t really picture an English person being that wound up and angry”? Consider Clive Owen, or Ben Kingsley’s character from Sexy Beast.

By: knoxblox

knoxblox — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Hmmm…teabagged, maybe?

By: Brainspore

Brainspore — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

As in, “Boy, I’m knackered. Last night I met this hottie with incredible knockers and it wasn’t long before I was on my knees with my knockwurst in her knickers, if you know what I mean. I just hope she doesn’t get knocked up or my wife will take a knife to my knackers.”

By: vonacle

vonacle — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Thanks Cynical for the etymology! I’d always known that Knackered does mean tired out, and it does sometimes have a sexual connotation, so good to find out why. Confusingly, “knackers” “bollocks” and even “wedding tackle” all refer to testicles!
Incidenally, this business of a UK version of a US show is less common that the US version of a UK show phenomenon.
For instance, did you know even “All in the Family” was not original? It was a UK show called “Till Death Us Do Part” which ran for years and ended in a spinoff called “In Sickness and in Health”. “Sanford and Son” came from a British show called “Steptoe and Son” etc.
The Office is the most recent example of this US reworking of UK shows. But there will be more!
Apparently there is soon to be a US version of the UK’s long-running “Shameless” set in Chicago instead of Manchester and starring William H Macy (The only difference between then and now seems to be that now they keep the name of the show the same – so we are aware one of them has to be a rip-off! Don’t get me wrong, I like rip-offs, why not rip off a good idea?
The UK newspaper “The Guardian” calls the new show it “remarkably faithful”. http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2011/jan/07/shameless-remake-us-tv-debut
Dunno. Might be worth a look.

By: Ugly Canuck

Ugly Canuck — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Yes indeed, “knackered = tired”, but I also have heard this usage: “knackers = slaughterhouse”, ie, “Send that old mare to the knackers”. Perhaps these uses are related.

OTOH, come to think on it, I have not heard that “knackers = testicles”, except above on this thread.

So I can’t really vouch for its accuracy.

By: Ugly Canuck

Ugly Canuck — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Ah, thanks for the example.

Too bad your name isn’t “Knut”…or is it?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Knackered is now commonly used to mean sexually exhausted

By: knoxblox

knoxblox — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Please tell me you’re responsible for the “bong, bong” that opens every new scene.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

‘knackered’ does mean tired but ‘knackers’ is also slang for testicles.

different meanings altogether even tho the words are fairly similar :P

By: Brainspore

Brainspore — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Kno it’s knot.

By: Matt J

Matt J — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve never seen an armed police officer except at an airport.

By: mdh

mdh — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Martha Jones and Apollo, exactly. It’s a pretty good show. Much of the BBCA lineup doesn’t suck.

By: Antinous / Moderator

Antinous / Moderator — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Why would you have a UK slang term for something that only happens in other countries?

By: Ugly Canuck

Ugly Canuck — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

“That brown stuff” = vindaloo

See here for a photo:

http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-photography-beef-vindaloo-3-image3012977

nom nom nom

By: Ugly Canuck

Ugly Canuck — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

For those curious to know more about vindaloo, an image showing the post-vindaloo experience:

http://image.spreadshirt.net/image-server/image/composition/10227945/view/1/producttypecolor/1/type/png/width/378/height/378/white-vin-da-loo-organic-products_design.png

Now you know.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

http://www.londonslang.com/

By: alxr

alxr — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

It’s true that TV vomit can be problematic. It’s even spreading beyond the Anglosphere â€“ just look at Sweden.

By: george57l

george57l — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Just nearly spurted tea over my laptop. The mind boggles.

You win the (British) internet for today!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Try looking for a show called ‘The Bill’. It just ended a 25 year run and was one heck of a good show.

By: danegeld

danegeld — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

“knackered” is a term used to describe an old horse that’s no longer fit for pulling ploughs or for working on a farm. The knacker’s yard is where knackered horses are sent to be made into glue. It generally means tired and unable to do anything.

“Knackers” plural, present tense are your bollocks / balls / testicles. – if you’re hit in your knackers then you’d be knackered.

By: astrochimp

astrochimp — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I learned that police can arrest suspects without using guns. Every. Single. Time.

I’m still surprised.

By: SonOfSamSeaborn

SonOfSamSeaborn — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve never seen it, and way prefer US legal dramas (here’s hoping I never get arrested because I know bugger all about the UK system), but Elderly Julian Assange fucking killed me.

My contribution to the “knackers” discussion is that I’ve never heard it used to describe balls. ‘Nads, yes, but not knackers. But then contextually pretty much anything can sound about right.

By: sapere_aude

sapere_aude — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Thanks. I will.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Grouse!

ps: Captcha = chopinat prejudices

By: Cynical

Cynical — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Further to the “knackered” comments, it actually has an old meaning of “tired after sex”. The idea is that after a racehorse has finished racing, it is put out to seed (made to breed to make new racehorses) and when it is no longer capable of doing that, it is “knackered”; i.e. sent to the knacker’s yard and boiled down for glue.

From that meaning we have the multiple meanings of “tired”, “broken”, “incapable of fulfilling purpose” and still, although the meaning is almost entirely archaic now, “tired after sex”.