Somehow I missed the firestorm that Tiger Woods started by using the term “spaz” to refer to his own putting style during the Masters. While in the US the term is only mildly insensitive, in the UK it’s evidently considered right up there with the “N” word for rudeness (though, according to this BBC study, “spastic” is still somewhat less offensive than the “N” word, though less so than “dickhead”).
Which just goes to show that you not only have to be polite these days, but multi-culturally polite.
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It’s always interesting to see what ends up being acceptable on one side of the pond and scandalous on the other.
I remember some episode of Angel in which Wesley told Angel to “stop being such a wanker.” I doubt that flew well over in the UK. And of course there was Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.
And then there’s the current Australian tourism slogan, “So where the bloody hell are you?” Though according to This Is True, Canada’s not upset by the swearing, just by the suggestion of off-brand beer!