What does 'pissed off' mean in US and UK English?

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

I really can’t find the difference in british can you tell me?

2

OK;

So now we are going to cover the whole range of communication styles - from business correspondence down to colloquial or even slang.

In British English the expression means [color=blue]drunk while in American English it means [color=blue]angry, [color=blue]annoyed or [color=blue]upset. As a matter of fact, this can sometimes lead to confusion when Americans are talking to British people using the same expression and intenting to express different things.[YSaerTTEW443543]

TOEIC short conversations: A convention participant gets directions from the organizer[YSaerTTEW443543]

3

thanks once more, I really tried, but couldn’t find it.

I have no words to express my gratitude. :roll: :roll: :o

4

to a point, pissed can mean angry or drunk. interpret which definition to use by seeing how the word pissed off is portrayed (shown) at the time.

like if someones yelling and has a short temper im sure you arent going to assume they are drunk haha

5

I realise this thread is 4 years old but just stumbled across it :slight_smile: And the answers so far are completely inaccurate so I thought I’d redress the balance.

In the UK (as well as Australia etc), ‘pissed’ and ‘pissed off’ are completely different - the ‘off’ changes the meaning completely.

Pissed only ever means drunk, and pissed off only ever means angry.

ie. ‘I’m so pissed off!’ means ‘I’m extremely angry’.
‘I’m so pissed!’ means ‘I’m extremely drunk’.

In the US, ‘pissed’ or ‘pissed off’ usually just mean the same thing - the angry meaning. ‘Pissed’ to mean drunk might be used rarely but most people would assume the user just meant he was angry. Likewise, in Britain, you do ocassionaly hear people say ‘I’m pissed’ to mean angry, usually after an extended stay in the States or after watching too much cheap imported TV, but the meaning would be misconstrued by almost everyone that heard it.

6

Hi Tom,

Welcome to the site. I see your avatar includes ‘uk’. Do you live in the UK?

Alan

7

In the US, both “pissed” and “pissed off” mean angry.

8

In the US, to ‘piss off’ can be used as a verb also, i.e. to ‘piss somebody off’ or to make them angry.

9

“I see your avatar includes uk”
What is the correct meaning for “SEE”?

SEE= it is shown/displayed to me/us
= it is seen to me.
OR

SEE= I saw it.