An American woman has shared how she and her partner made the mistake of using a certain word in the United Kingdom, which led to them getting called out for it.
Originally from the U.S., TikTok user Brianna Morton spoke of the cultural difference between America and Britain as she now resides across the pond with her partner.
In the clip, which went viral with more than 220,000 views, she said that British people apparently “hate” to be called a common term of respect used in the States to address strangers or service workers.
@mortonsmunchies/TikTok
Morton shared a clip of her partner in the driver’s seat of their car as they speak with a British parking lot attendant.
The British man asks them a range of questions and the man in the driver’s seat responds with “yes, sir” multiple times, before he is called out for using the word.
“This is the second Brit that told Thomas to not call them sir in the last couple of months,” she wrote in the text overlay of the short clip, followed by laughing face emojis.
She said in the video: “That is very common/popular to do in America because that’s showing someone respect. Here, we learned that that is not the case.”
Morton said: “Ever since that last time, we have not addressed anyone as ‘sir’ or ‘ma’am’. We have learned our lesson and that is one of the beauties of living abroad.”
There is a large community of American-born people living in the U.K. As recently as 2021, there were around 116,000 U.S. citizens living in the UK, according to Statista.
Morton’s video received thousands of comments from other TikTok users who shared their thoughts and reactions to the clip.
Chris shared: “The guy’s reaction is being read wrong, him abruptly saying “no don’t call me sir”…. is him establishing that you are both equals in respect and a hint of offense that you would think him to be.”
“Calling someone sir here means they are above you,” said Connor.
“I think it’s a bit more nuanced than this,” Miker commented.
Steven wrote: “Sir is an earned title in the UK. Most will just ignore it knowing your being polite but most common people will feel slightly uncomfortable because we dont want to be associated with the toffs.”
“I think it’s perfectly respectful,” said Emmylou.
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