suzimc

After all the fuss over the new Australian tourist board ad 'where the bloody hell are you' phrase, you can imagine my surprise this morning when a new Virgin Atlantic advert came on the radio, and Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols rounded up his praise of VA's Upper Class flights with 'don't be a w*nker'!!!! I nearly fell off my seat, and my husband had to check that he had heard it right.

How is it ok to say w*nker when bloody was not acceptable. I know all the religious connortations etc, but surely not?

suzimc

Am I the only one that finds this slightly shocking? That has shocked me too....

Wendy

Nothing suprises me anymore....

stutess

it's all a load of b*****ks anyway

Wendy

Bloody hell, stop swearing, the UK may ban you

MartinLuther

Is this because w*nker is not considered a rude word in the US? I remember that one episode of Mork and Mindy had some characters called Mr & Mrs Wanker.

ezvanetree

I would say that is very much the case. I am from Canada and I had never heard the word, let alone understood what it meant, until I lived with some British people overseas who used it frequently. I haven't live in North America for ages, but in my day one would never use the word "wanker" as slang for any sexual act--it just wasn't part of anyone's vocabulary. I am sure this is still the case today and the use of the word 'wanker' in this advert is probably considered just a word British people use to mean "idiot" or whatever. For a lot of people listening to this ad, I wouldn't be surprised it is the first time they hear the word.