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#2 (permalink) Wed Dec 01, 2004 13:43 pm Pissed off - drunk or upset? |
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OK;
So now we are going to cover the whole range of communication styles - from business correspondence down to colloquial or even slang.
In British English the expression means drunk while in American English it means angry, annoyed or upset. As a matter of fact, this can sometimes lead to confusion when Americans are talking to British people using the same expression and intenting to express different things. _________________ Test Of English for International Communication TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary |
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Torsten Learning Coach

Joined: 25 Sep 2003 Posts: 10060 Location: EU
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Rich7 I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 17 Nov 2004 Posts: 519 Location: Caracas, Venezuela
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#4 (permalink) Fri Dec 03, 2004 18:40 pm Pissed off - drunk or upset? |
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| Torsten wrote: |
| In British English the expression means drunk while in American English it means angry, annoyed or upset. As a matter of fact, this can sometimes lead to confusion when Americans are talking to British people using the same expression and intenting to express different things. |
to a point, pissed can mean angry or drunk. interpret which definition to use by seeing how the word pissed off is portrayed (shown) at the time.
like if someones yelling and has a short temper im sure you arent going to assume they are drunk haha |
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Yo You can meet me at english-test.net

Joined: 30 Nov 2004 Posts: 99 Location: Canada eh
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#5 (permalink) Sun Dec 07, 2008 13:40 pm What does 'pissed off' mean in US and UK English? |
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I realise this thread is 4 years old but just stumbled across it And the answers so far are completely inaccurate so I thought I'd redress the balance.
In the UK (as well as Australia etc), 'pissed' and 'pissed off' are completely different - the 'off' changes the meaning completely.
Pissed only ever means drunk, and pissed off only ever means angry.
ie. 'I'm so pissed off!' means 'I'm extremely angry'. 'I'm so pissed!' means 'I'm extremely drunk'.
In the US, 'pissed' or 'pissed off' usually just mean the same thing - the angry meaning. 'Pissed' to mean drunk might be used rarely but most people would assume the user just meant he was angry. Likewise, in Britain, you do ocassionaly hear people say 'I'm pissed' to mean angry, usually after an extended stay in the States or after watching too much cheap imported TV, but the meaning would be misconstrued by almost everyone that heard it. |
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Tom_Uk1972 New Member
Joined: 07 Dec 2008 Posts: 1
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#6 (permalink) Sun Dec 07, 2008 14:10 pm What does 'pissed off' mean in US and UK English? |
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Hi Tom,
Welcome to the site. I see your avatar includes 'uk'. Do you live in the UK?
Alan _________________ English as a Second Language You can read my ESL story Here comes 2004... |
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Alan Co-founder

Joined: 27 Sep 2003 Posts: 9209 Location: UK
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#7 (permalink) Sun Dec 07, 2008 22:57 pm What does 'pissed off' mean in US and UK English? |
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| In the US, both "pissed" and "pissed off" mean angry. |
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Jamie (K) I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 24 Feb 2006 Posts: 5334 Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA
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#8 (permalink) Mon Dec 08, 2008 2:46 am What does 'pissed off' mean in US and UK English? |
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In the US, to 'piss off' can be used as a verb also, i.e. to 'piss somebody off' or to make them angry. _________________ Plan to be spontaneous tomorrow.
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Skrej I'm here quite often ;-)

Joined: 03 Jul 2008 Posts: 863 Location: Not-quite exact central USA
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#9 (permalink) Tue Dec 09, 2008 6:47 am What does 'pissed off' mean in US and UK English? |
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"I see your avatar includes uk" What is the correct meaning for "SEE"?
SEE= it is shown/displayed to me/us = it is seen to me. OR
SEE= I saw it. |
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Sureshvemuri I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 19 Jul 2008 Posts: 310 Location: India, Hyderabad
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| Could or would: I see. Would/Could you ask her to call me? | Difference between dialogue and conversation? |