Funny Fanny

She was working in a bridal shop in Flushing, Queens

‘Til her boyfriend kicked her out in one of those crushing scenes

What was she to do?  Where was she to go?

She was out on her fanny…

So over the bridge from Flushing to the Sheffield’s door

She was there to sell make up, but the father saw more

She had style, she had flair, she was there

That’s how she became the nanny!

Now, just in case you haven’t figured it out yet, that is the theme song to the 1990’s television sitcom, The Nanny.  Most of you probably knew that, because most of you reading this are probably Jewish.  Or gay.  Or Jewish and gay.  Jews and gays love The Nanny.  In fact, most of you were probably singing along with it in your head.  Or maybe out loud.  But why am I posting the lyrics to the theme song from The Nanny here on my blog?  I’m doing it as a comparison.  Below is an interpretation of how Australians hear the lyrics to the theme song from The Nanny:

She was working in a bridal shop in Flushing, Queens

‘Til her boyfriend kicked her out in one of those crushing scenes

What was she to do?  Where was she to go?

She was out on her VAGINA…

Oh, that’s right.  I said vagina.  That’s because Australians use fanny as another word for vagina.  Seriously.  I was shocked to find this out one day at work when someone was talking about a “bum bag.”  I was like “What the heck is a bum bag?”  And that person explained it to me and I shouted out “Oh, you mean a fanny pack!”

Did I mention that the word fanny isn’t anatomical like the word vagina?  It’s more slang like the word pussy.  So basically, I yelled out pussy at work.  A few people laughed.  A few people shushed me.  I didn’t get it.

Fanny means your butt in the United States and Canada.  It’s a fairly innocent word that is appropriate for little kids to use – in the same way that little boys use the term “wee wee” for their penises.  It’s so non-offensive that it was in a TV theme song and it wasn’t censored and nobody thought anything about it.  But here, fanny means pussy.  It’s a dirty word.  And I can only imagine that every time The Nanny came on the TV, every Australian watching cringed a little in their chairs.

I don’t know how this definition dichotomy came about and Google wasn’t very helpful this time, so I’m going to write it off to the Brits and Aussies being dirty ole buggers.  Now, I just need to remember not to sing The Nanny theme song in public… in Australia... anymore…