Lew said:
In the U.S., "to take a piss" means "to urinate".
"To piss" in that sense is almost certainly universal, since it pre-dates the
expansion of English across the world.
But I think the specific form "take a piss" is a US-ism. In British English
(B.E. hereinafter) it would be "have a piss"; I don't know about the other
English speaking nations.
(BTW, when I say "British English" I mean English as I hear and see it used
today -- which is by no means representative of all British subcultures.)
There is also "to piss off", "to anger or annoy";
Same in B.E. But the shorter form, "pissed", meaning annoyed, is not (although
it may be creeping in).
Incidentally, I gather that in US English "ticked off"/"ticked" is roughly
equivalent to "pissed off"/"pissed" -- that /doesn't/ carry through into B.E,
where "tick off" is a verb meaning "reprimand", and "ticked" is something that
a clock has done.
"pissed", "angry", "annoyed", or less
commonly, "drunk";
Nearly always in B.E "pissed", as an adjective, means "drunk" (inebriated with
alcohol -- other substances/causes don't count).
"a pisser", meaning in some regions, "a really good
time" or "an interesting thing"
Completely unknown in B.E. (and therefore highly likely to give offence).
"Pisser" in the opposite sense, meaning some unwelcome fact or occurrence, is
creeping in (as is "bummer").
; "piss off!" as a command, "go away!";
Common in B.E.
"piss-poor", "really penurious" or "incredibly bad";
Reasonably common, but only as a US import (I think).
"pissing in the wind", "engaging in futile effort";
Would have to be "pissing INTO the wind" to make sense in B.E; it's not a
common-enough phrase to have lost its roots as a pungent metaphor.
Though, now I come to think of it, I'm sure I've heard "pissing DOWN the wind"
too -- I'm not sure what special sense, if any, that has. To me, here, today,
it seems to suggest wasteful (as distinct from futile) activity.
"pissing on an electric fence",
"urinating on an electric fence" (a metaphor for innocently causing
oneself pain or harm);
Unknown in B.E, but would probably be understood as a one-off metaphor.
(Although I'm not sure that the implication of an /innocent/ mistake would come
across -- it might be understood as causing oneself harm through stupidity).
"pissing contest", "a conflict over an
insignificant issue";
Similar meaning in B.E. But the sense is more of a pointless /competition/.
Usually understood as a contest where the real issue is dominance and status,
rather than the (trivial) issue which is the nominal point of the contest. As
in masculine head-butting, or ego-driven competition between rival companies
(the name "Oracle" springs to mind ;-).
"piss test" (also "pissing in a cup", "pissing in a
jar"), "urinalysis to detect illegal substance abuse"; and likely others
with which I am not familiar.
Never heard that here -- but then we don't often talk about dope tests except
in the context of professional sport (where they tend to be called just "dope
tests").
I have never encountered "taking the piss"
in U.S. parlance.
In B.E. it can also be used for something like "abusing the system for gain",
or "taking unfair advantage of what's offered". The underlying sense is
"making a mockery", so it's not far off the usual meaning, but there is no
suggestion of (unkind) humour, and the tone is definitely disapproving.
A topical example: most Westerners see Japanese "research" whaling activities
as taking the piss.
-- chris
