Don't Joke About Sex
Don't joke about sex
作者：ARIEL LOWN LEWITON 时间：2009-06-24
ENGLISH has more words than any other language, so it offers both fun and frustration for anyone trying to master it. A fluent speaker must have a good grasp of slang, but these casual expressions can vary drastically from one region to another.
Take these two popular expressions: knocked up and pissed. In American English, "knocked up" means "to be made pregnant" (usually by accident), and "pissed (off)" means "angry or irritated". In British English, however, "knock up" can mean "to arrange hastily" (similar to the American "to knock sth together") or "to wake up" or "call on a person by knocking on their door". And "pissed" is completely different, meaning "drunk".
So if a person is pissed because she's knocked up, she might be: angry that someone woke her when she was sleeping; angry because she's pregnant; out getting drunk because she's pregnant (not a healthy option); or out getting drunk because someone woke her up.
And if she's knocked up because she was pissed, she might be carelessly pregnant because she was drunk (and therefore had impulsive, unprotected sex), or pregnant because she was angry (at her boyfriend?) or woken up by someone because she was drunk (and therefore overslept) or awakened because she was angry (although that's hard to understand).
A person could be pissed (angry) because she was knocked up (awoken) with a headache after a night of getting pissed (drunk) and knocked up (pregnant).
Whew!
On a related note: American comedian David Letterman got himself in hot water recently when he made a joke about Alaska governor and former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Describing a recent visit the Palins had taken to a New York Yankees baseball game, Letterman joked: "One awkward moment for Sarah Palin at the Yankee game – during the seventh inning, her daughter was knocked up by [star third baseman] Alex Rodriguez."
The joke was meant to poke fun of Palin's oldest daughter Bristol, who became pregnant at age 17 during the height of last year's election season. Unfortunately for Letterman, it wasn't Bristol who attended the Yankees game but her younger sister Willow, a mere 14.
It's likely the Palins would have been offended by any impolite jokes related to their family, but since they thought Letterman was making a sexual remark about their young daughter, they were especially pissed off.
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