Need help with my British lingo…

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What’s the “oi” thing - is that like, “hey,” like when you’re trying to get someone’s attention?
Extremely disrespectful. Anyone tried it on me would take delivery of a bunch of fives. Call me old fashioned, but I am always amazed why a foreigner in any country would take the risk of using slang and getting it wrong. For example, I have seen knives pulled at the inopportune use of the word "wanker", but amongst friends it could be almost affectionate. There is no substitute for spending time in-country to get acquainted with all the nuances and undertones!
 
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Extremely disrespectful.

I wouldn't call it "extremely" unless usage where you live is different to my experience. Meaning will also vary between spoken and written. For example "Oi! You! Outside now!" has a very different meaning between spoken directly (also depending on tone of voice) and when written for example on an internet forum.
 
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Anyone tried it on me would take delivery of a bunch of fives.
and see...yet another one I hadnt heard before. Kinda like a good old Knuckle Sandwich in the US.
 
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I wouldn't call it "extremely" unless usage where you live is different to my experience. Meaning will also vary between spoken and written. For example "Oi! You! Outside now!" has a very different meaning between spoken directly (also depending on tone of voice) and when written for example on an internet forum.
Yep, quite right. Also possibly a generation thing - I was told it was for misbehaving dogs not people, but things change. This is all separate from
2. Oi - Noun (vulg.) = theory and practice of white urban English "skinhead" subculture, sometimes associated with violence and white supremacism
 
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Yep, quite right. Also possibly a generation thing - I was told it was for misbehaving dogs not people, but things change.

I'm pretty sure that in the 1964 film A Hard Days Night by director Dick Lester and the Beatles the lads are addressed as "Oi!" by the owner of a field they are running, jumping and standing still in. That particular "Oi!" was the voice of authority. At the end of the film a helicopter lands in the field to transport them to their next gig but it doesn't get Oi'd.
 
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I think OI Oi can be a bit gender specific…. and the intonation makes a big difference.
An Oi Oi saveloy from the artist Adele for example (considered I think to have a lower / working class background like myself) would be seen as positive. Oi from a male would be much more dependent on the context and intonation. A double Oi Oi is probably more likely to be friendly or at least not overtly confrontational, but depends on the context…..
 
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Context always matters...like when you say "hey buddy"...

 
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Often heard yelled out at international sporting events :
“AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE…OI OI OI” this cry in used by Aussie supporters to cheer their fellow Aussies on as they compete.
No offence is meant or should be taken…..indeed anyone offering a bunch of fives, in response to this will probably win an ambulance ride for their trouble
 
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“Oi” is a funny one. Numerous potential meanings but more often than not, a single “oi” is likely to mean something along a the lines of a semi accusatory and possibly confrontational “what are you doing?”.

E.g. Someone leaning on your parked car.

Obviously it can be toned down slightly if you know the person to a semi joking “Oi” E.g. you find your kid/mate with their hand in the biscuit jar.
 
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H
The one expression that Aussies use that confuses foreigners the most is when we answer a question with: yeah…nah.
It means: yes I understand what you’re asking, but the answer is no.

There was quite a lot of that in the coverage of last weekend's Australian Grand Prix. Thanks for the warning.
 
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In the UK, however, is it accurate that preferred word is “arse,”

Surprisingly well accepted. If you watch the 1964 movie of My Fair Lady Eliza Dolittle shouts something like "C'mon <horse's name> move your arse!". [So she fails the 'acceptability at Ascot races' test....] Wasn't Alfred Hitchcock still fighting the Hayes Code at the time?
 
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Also, when something is completely rubbish it is a "bunch of arse". Or "a complete bunch of arse".

Or my other favourite - "just bobbins".
 
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On a motor coach (bus, anywhere but Britain), we were in Banbury. Our driver told me, before he moved to motor coaches, he drove a lorry (truck, anywhere but England) delivering weeohs! I asked him to repeat. Weeohs, was his reply. Just then, we were passing an Aston Martin auto factory. He pointed, and said again, weeohs, you know, weeohs! Wheels!
 
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I've thought of this thread a couple times since it went dormant. A true treasure of OF. I'm glad it has been revived.
 
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On a motor coach (bus, anywhere but Britain),

I know it wasn’t he purpose of yo anecdote @Canuck but For clarity, we Brits do use the word bus but it is generally when referring to public transport (I.e. adhoc fair paying trips on demand)

A Coach ( the term motor coach probably went out of common use in the 70s) generally refers to a higher grade of ‘bus’ for longer distances and one that is chartered ( for coach-trips) or paid for in advance.
 
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I know it wasn’t he purpose of yo anecdote @Canuck but For clarity, we Brits do use the word bus but it is generally when referring to public transport (I.e. adhoc fair paying trips on demand)

A Coach ( the term motor coach probably went out of common use in the 70s) generally refers to a higher grade of ‘bus’ for longer distances and one that is chartered ( for coach-trips) or paid for in advance.

Also tend to be a different style. A bus would have a very low floor (whether single or double decker) to enable frequent passenger entry / exit. A coach always has stairs after you get in the door and passengers sit higher up. Most coaches are single decker too.
 
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I think OI Oi can be a bit gender specific…. and the intonation makes a big difference.
An Oi Oi saveloy from the artist Adele for example (considered I think to have a lower / working class background like myself) would be seen as positive. Oi from a male would be much more dependent on the context and intonation. A double Oi Oi is probably more likely to be friendly or at least not overtly confrontational, but depends on the context…..

And then there is
Aussie Aussie Aussie
Oi Oi Oi

Funny as I was at work a year back and a high ranking Marine military officer was just about to walk into a spot where he would get hit with a pressure washer spray and I said loudly “Oi” - the looks from the entourage 😲.…… 😁😁 he turned and smiled 👍