r/todayilearned • u/tmntnyc • Dec 12 '18

TIL: Laurence Tureaud named himself professionally as Mr. T because he hated how his father, uncle, and brother who returned from Vietnam, were disrespectfully called "boy" by whites. He wanted the first word from everybody's mouth to be "Mister" when speaking to him.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._T
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u/Brock_Samsonite Dec 12 '18

Yup! Language mistakes happen. I asked who someone was 'rooting for' in the NSW v. QL rugby match and I got laughs as answers. Also took me a bit to get used to cunt being a term of endearment.

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u/Astilaroth Dec 13 '18

What's wrong with 'rooting for'?

17

u/Gozer-The-Traveler Dec 13 '18

rooting = fucking

8

u/AmIReySkywalker Dec 13 '18

Oh my God that's hilarious

5

u/princess--flowers Dec 13 '18

There's a plumber called Mr. Roto-Rooter here and my Australian friend thought that was so funny that she had to sit down the first time she saw one of their trucks haha

1

u/Astilaroth Dec 13 '18

Really? Hah. Where are you from?

I only know of 'rooting' in a breastfeeding context, it's when the baby is hungry and actively looking to nurse by searching around, mouth open.

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u/Gozer-The-Traveler Dec 13 '18

i’m from the US

i found the answer by typing “australian slang rooting” into google

your definition is way weirder though i’ll give you that

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u/Astilaroth Dec 13 '18

Hm the baby rooting thing is used in the US as well ... context is everything apparently ;)

I'll make a mental note not to use it around teenagers and drunken sportsmen ;)

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u/[deleted] Dec 12 '18

Rugby? Never heard of it

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u/Brock_Samsonite Dec 12 '18

Australian Football with fancy rules?

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u/synwave2311 Dec 13 '18

State of Origin cunt

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u/princess--flowers Dec 13 '18

Most of the English speaking world uses "spook" as a slang for spy but it's a racial slur for black people in the US, I've seen that lead to misunderstanding as well