BBC Comedy QI: A Chav Called Kevin

[sextonqpr]

I once farted near a pond

[godlikeangel]

C H A V = Council House And Violent.

[numanuk2011]

chav IS a word for twat

[howerut]

@numanuk2011 No chav is a word for someone who lacks class. Like people from the east end, and people who speak with a cockney accent. Twat is someone who is a annoying, but is more when someone is generally annoying, rather than just annoying to you.

[DefeatedElitist]

@howerut What an utterly absurd generalization. Your regional dialect/accent does not determine your level of class, your actions do; what you say and how you act is far more important than how you speak.

There are many very intelligent people who don't pronounce the language in the King's English, but to write someone off as having no class because of it, is really a sign that you have no class yourself. Substance is far superior to etiquette.

[howerut]

@DefeatedElitist Dialect is pretty indicative of class. I am not from Britain, but in Australia we have 'bogans'. You can pretty much tell them by their speech vast majority of the time. Also coming from a linguistics student, class is a very very good indicator of social standing and by extension class, since it is discriminated against and assimilated by speakers of the dominant dialect.

[DefeatedElitist]

@howerut Well, differing views, I guess. There is a difference between an accent, and the way in which you speak. I do admit that the Chavs in England, and the Bogans in Australia (I dated an Aussie girl for a while) have a distinct lack of class in their speech. But on the other end of the spectrum, you have Michael Cane, who has a very thick Cockney accent, but also has a tremendous amount of class. I'd say it depends on the speaker.

[DefeatedElitist]

@DefeatedElitist Yes, I am aware I spelt his name wrong.

[howerut]

@DefeatedElitist Well a dialect and an accent tend to go hand in hand, although the dialect's actual language is easier to unlearn, I just watched Michael Caine speak and I do not think he speaks with a cockney accent. The thing is people who move up from the origin of their dialect tend to adopt the dialect of wherever they move to so they can fit in, and in many cases it is necessary to adopt the dialect first just to be accepted, but sure we can agree to disagree.

[DefeatedElitist]

@howerut You make a good point, and I can agree with you somewhat, but I still disagree to an extent. Growing up, I observed different people with pretty much exactly the same regional accent, who spoke in distinctly different ways. One person may have delivered their speech in a more sloppy manner, while the other chose to speak more correctly, but yet they still maintained the same accent.

This could be what you were getting at all along, if so, I apologize. Thank you for the discussion.

[howerut]

@DefeatedElitist Hmmm, I am not too familiar with British Dialects, having never lived in Britain. I will look into it I guess, I would suggest that maybe you might have say jordie dialects, but you have a higher socioeconomic jordie dialect and a lower socioeconomic jordie dialect, or what have you. Does that make sense? Like in australia we have what is called broad, general and cultivated which are lower, middle and upper class respectively, but that's to do with phonology not vocabulary.

[DefeatedElitist]

@howerut From my limited knowledge, accents aren't class based in England, they are determined entirely on the region you hail from. There are people who strive to speak eloquently, but can still, most of the time, very easily be traced to a certain region. There are exceptions to the rule, such as Brian Blessed - a Yorkshire boy who has almost lost his regional accent entirely.

I could have this all wrong, and if so, I apologize. I feel as if you are much more educated on the subject than I.

[howerut]

@DefeatedElitist Oh yea sure, it could be mainly class based, I don't know. It would seem that its a combination of the two, if you know what I mean? Its an interesting topic, and I think i should read more about it, sociolinguistics isn't my forte, I know more about syntax and phonology.

[DefeatedElitist]

@howerut I do see what you mean, and I agree, it can be a combination. It's something I guess I'm really not qualified to speak on in detail. But thanks to this conversation, I will do some research. Thanks for the debate, it's always good to hear another side, and to learn something new.

[ZeldAoSniPzZz]

haha i flagged 1 of the top comments as spam haha

[Greengiant223]

Rory McGrath is known for being the only contestant who INSISTS on knowing the questions in advance, so he can get them right. He did something similar on TTIAO. What a tosser

[ThouTuber]

@Greengiant223 is that actually true? Source?

[Greengiant223]

@ThouTuber Well it's defintely true about TTIAO, and I know that Stephen Fry has publicly complained about an unnamed frequent guest who does the same on QI. So it's only conjecture at this point, rather than proven fact (apologies if I was originally misleading), but it's a decent conclusion

[Greengiant223]

@ThouTuber Well it's defintely true about TTIAO, and I know that Stephen Fry has publicly complained about an unnamed frequent guest who does the same on QI. So it's only conjecture at this point, rather than proven fact (apologies if I was originally misleading), but it's a decent conclusion

[eddieoxford]

or Non Educated Delinquent ( Ned )

[AngelBiLove]

@eddieoxford ned, the abriviation of the netherlands, in both their own language, as german and flemish ^^

does explain why theyre so shit at.. well... loads

[trlkly]

When your jokes are predictable, you need to go back work on your material.

How long have they been anticipating joke answers instead of just common misconceptions? I saw it one other time with a joke about Jo Brand's husband.

[guhrrlno]

@trlkly Jo Brandbeats the husband jokes to death. I think the QI folks were trying to make just the point you did with her, but likely she'll keep joking about him.

[MrDirrtyg]

its a term for a child a little chavy or nower days it means a little fucker with hid cap to high

[dgmnine]

Council House And Violent (Chav).

[Saruman38]

@dgmnine No it's not. It comes from Romani.

[yunged]

They actually explain in one of the qi books that chav comes from old Romani (gypsy) language, it's derived from the word chavi or chavo and means young boy

[LemonZeppelin]

I'm from Newcastle and I was under the impression that the term 'chav' is a bastardisation of 'charv' which originated in the North East of England. People from the South just picked up on the term and dropped the R for some reason. I could be wrong but I'm 20 and I've heard the term 'charv' since 1998/9. I didn't hear 'chav' until years later.

[Mattelliott1234]

@LemonZeppelin Yeah dude it pretty much is, Chav being a scumbag, wears trackies, is on the dole, does crime and shit haha.

[SamUKest89]

@LemonZeppelin true, im from Co. Durham and 22, when I was 14/15 'chavs' were called 'charvers'. Then overtime shortened to 'charv', then when the term really took off it eventually got to 'chav'. This confuses me when researchers claim the word 'chav' comes from some ancient Greek blablabla, when I know its just a shorter word for charver... wherever that originated!

[yunged]

@LemonZeppelin Chav comes from the Romani (gypsy) word chavi, which means child

[StoneProductionsUK]

@LemonZeppelin born i 96 and alwy heard charver in newcastle like, then everyone started on chav..

[01slinky]

@LemonZeppelin I think you just pronounced it wrong...

[Myzelfa]

I like that he knew the answer the whole time, but waited until he had forfeited twice before giving it.

[lordjimbob01]

chav is a police term used for "council house and violent" sort of people in the UK my dad is in the force. thats where it origonated from but obviously it has grown now to mean anyone whos standard of living is not middle class or higher

[ICantBeFaged]

chav is a Romany word "chavi" which means traveller

[blueboyblue]

I heard recently that CHAV was a shorted version of CHildren of AVerage intelligence.

Could be wrong ... or not.

[DaniGirlRules]

@blueboyblue it is more likely to have come from the Romany word "chavi" meaning youth. however, as always there is no definite origin of a word. xx

[iloveleonskenny2much]

Chav's watch QI, look at me, I watch it and I like to stab cats in the face...

[iqra1235]

@iloveleonskenny2much then you have the trait of a serial killer dude

[InjexDnB]

LOL at everyone trying to look smart because they watch QI

[weatherallc05]

@InjexDnB i know man, annoys the life out of me who comment on this trying to be smart.

[iamthestig2100]

@InjexDnB I am smart. I watch QI. I am also middle class.

[joncobber]

7 Chavs dislike....

[Snight101]

@joncobber how fucking witty of you..

[malarbusto]

@Snight101 No. How very witty of YOU!

[MtheGate]

They're spelt differently, of course!

[rayhs1984]

i'm american so none of that made since to me "a chav called Kevin"? WTF???

[44Beats]

@rayhs1984 Chav & Kevin are both slang words used to slander a person who is working class, dress in designer brand name clothing and acts tough. Hence a double quip, 'a chav called kevin'. Oh and I think 'sense' is the word you meant.

[frickinradical]

@rayhs1984 it's also an acronym for 'Counsil Housing and Associated Vermin', which i find kinda offenssive cause i'm not a chav but i do live in a counsil house

[TheLkvoice]

@frickinradical and also can't spell Council.......or offensive

[frickinradical]

@TheLkvoice yeah......when i touch type i have a habit of spelling stuff wrong....i guess i'm doin a really bad job at trying to prove i'm not a chsv :)

[frickinradical]

@TheLkvoice SHOOT.... that was supposed to be 'chav' :(

[TheLkvoice]

@frickinradical DOH!

[frickinradical]

@TheLkvoice i know...i think my flat mates right, i am a retard :s

[Nilephan666]

I have fallen in love with this show...and Stephen's accent is just epic, no homo.

[allbymysmelf]

Chav was never short for anything, it just came about. Then people made up what it could stand for. Either way it dosnt really matter haha. QI is the best :)

[alewisgb]

for all you who want to know chav dose not mean council house antisocial violence or whatever

it actually means Cheltnum average, in Cheltnum the had boys schools and girls schools for the Rich and "average" schools for everyone else. The average people were just Cheltnum average or CHAV's to the rich.

[Frenchdayz]

FUCK PAUL MC CARTNEY AND HIS POXY TOUR

[simonabiziniche]

Thank you. It's good to be home. Especially on Chistmas.

[simonabiziniche]

Rory McGrath picks all the right wrong answers ...

What a smart guy! sometimes we all should do the same.

[BrokenBrilliance]

he came to my college run, was fun overtaking him in 15 seconds when he had a 20 second head start.

[malarbusto]

I only discovered QI today (22 years living abroad). I'm fascinated at how it attracts so many comments from the pedantic and the petty - doesn't matter what clip. I blame beans on toast.

[PedanticAndWhimsical]

@malarbusto : Indeed! ;)

[towneslives]

@malarbusto

i blame self important tossers

[WhiteTiger225]

@malarbusto Its the internets. Everyones related to 3 danish kings, 4 physicists, 38 differently specialized doctors and physicians, 2 college professors, a stock broker, and James Blunt.

I am amazed how cancer has not been cured since everyone on youtube says they know bloody well EVERYTHING.

[Snight101]

@malarbusto stfu

[TeacupsFromSpace]

@malarbusto beans on toast are ruining our economy and taking our jobs! vote bnp! LOL JK

[bulked]

It doesnt matter what chav stands for-you just have to know what to look for-dicks in track suits,or if female, probably wearing Ugg boots, or possibly their pygamas outside, pushing a pram with a kid called chantelle-and they probably go on holiday to Spain, and think Benidorn and the costa del cunt is classy

[Rachiejane1]

@bulked I know that comment was months ago but that made me laugh. These are exactly the sort of people I try to avoid! But their Uggs are fake - boughy daaaaan the market innit!

[AICabal]

You're wrong weefeatures, it's spelt:

C U N T.

[Omigawd0Pie]

All of it acctually.

[weefeatures]

everyone here is spelling Chav wrong. It's spelt

B A S T A R D

[sodia1]

yeh the word comes in natural spells... like same way the food comes in natural colours :P

[weefeatures]

weird how my post was voted down, and yours was voted up. That's youtube I guess.

[Omigawd0Pie]

Yus, wierd o.O

[TBotAlpha]

"A Chav Called Kevin" sounds like a song or album title, doesn't it? :D

[synchc]

"Chav apparently stands for Council House And Violent". thats telling people what it stands for. its wrong. i corrected you. next time ill know better and leave you to spout bullshit everytime you talk about it.

ignorance isnt bliss, love.

[lesterclaypool1]

Actually, by using the non committal prefix of "apparently" and starting her second sentence with, "If this is true..." MissKitty clearly shows that she doesn't personally believe the acronym to be the origin of the word. You're the one in the wrong here, syschc.

[FunBoy15]

LOL at your ridiculous post.

[MissKittyGoesRawr]

Chav apparently stands for Council House And Violent...

If this is true, I now fear for my life.

Lol

[synchc]

nah it comes from charver. NE english slang for children, usually teenagers who misbehave. think it came from the gypos originally.

[MissKittyGoesRawr]

I didn't say anything about where it comes from. I just said that's what it APPARENTLY stands for.

[synchc]

lol calm down. im correcting you not attacking you. it doesnt stand for anything. it comes from 'charver'. its slang, not an acronym.

[MissKittyGoesRawr]

And you don't have to correct me cause I'm not saying what it stands for or where it bloody comes from. Jeez.

[hand2gland]

Youre a real person, dont let others scare you !

[leapoffaith20]

Thats what i was always told it stood for.

[GOTHICLORD69]

i honestly thought chav was just another word for twats

[epsleon]

@GOTHICLORD69 Council Housed And Violent = CHAV.

[TornadoCreator]

@GOTHICLORD69

It is another word for twat.

[rspivotmaster]

@GOTHICLORD69 Well, essentially it is.

[westyrulez]

@GOTHICLORD69 it basicly is

[rspivotmaster]

@GOTHICLORD69 Well, it is.

[mikeot85]

@GOTHICLORD69 seen as a twat is a pregnant fish, you're quite correct!

[patchyace]

@GOTHICLORD69 It stands for Council House And Violent.

[Heresathought]

@patchyace Council Housed Antisocial Vermin.

[NAHHG]

@patchyace no it doesnt. thts made up.

[patchyace]

@NAHHG

No. It really isn't.

[JonathanBloggs]

@patchyace Yes it really is. It's called a backronym i.e. an acronym someone made up to explain a word that already exists. The real etymology of Chav is the Romany word for child. Romanies being gypsies, gypsies being the kings of all chavs

[leaguesmanoframsgate]

@JonathanBloggs Well, as I was given to understand it, there's no really solid etymology for the word 'chav', just a lot of competing theories with their own arguments for and against them. It's a bit like religion - one (or many) divine being/s, take your pick, and likely find out on your deathbed that you were wasting your time.

[Underground906]

@leaguesmanoframsgate Jonathan got the etymology correct. Be humble enough to accept that that you don't know everything.

[Megadoomface]

@patchyace Their are alot of variations, but the CH usually stands for Council House.

[NickyLess]

@GOTHICLORD69 Chav is an acronym for Council House And Violence. Which is basically applied to anyone who is a twat so you're still right lol

[blainyrules]

@GOTHICLORD69 True, true...

[JDLupus]

@GOTHICLORD69 Pretty much.

[Moustachio101]

I know a chav called kevin...

i may call him Chevin next time i see him.

[Sammyy46]

now... what if he saw your comment ???????

[mattovboro]

just after the vid cuts out jimmy says how he saw the word chav in the paper before he ever heard it said out loud and thought it was pronounced sharv. 'oh i must go and meet these sharv's they sound denlightful' lol

[teufelstaub]

Meanwhile,back to the programme,doesn't chav mean boy or yobbo from the Romani?...And to deal with those annoying adverts I tend to scroll down and read the comments posted...whiles away the moments and I'm not so irritated afterwards...and occasionally I even learn something!

[BeibaAX]

A 'chavvy' is a Romani gypsy name for a child. Well done! :]

[kikakat16]

in england, a chav is normally someone who thinks they're all cool. There's a lot of them at school..... TOOO MANY

[usernameofpain]

the term chav is far too widespread these days

all of them are just scum, you hardly ever find anyone genuine. its a shame but most of the time you find that you have to do all of the work and that happiness doesn't just slot into place. Chav is just a term used to explain the amount of nastiness.

lol

[ycanionlyevafind1sok]

Surely having clips on youtube only helps to enhance the BBC's reputation worldwide, especialy with quality programes like this.

[MissMonsty]

i discovered QI on youtube, as i don't get it in my country. without it i would never have been able to watch the episodes - i loved them so much i went on to buy the dvds..

i cannot understand why companies keep taking clips off..they're free advertising for them

[robotrix]

You answered it yourself...."free". They want us to even pay to watch their advertsing these days.

What's considered an "extra" on a DVD? The trailer. An ad for the same damn movie you just bought!

[Raida7]

Why is it not all movies have trailers anyway? You'd think it'd be the only freakin special feature they would've already paid for and made regardless of the film! Gabriel had great trailers, but none on the disc... mutter... gripe....

[pifras]

lets not forget the trailers before the movies as well as the mandetory pirated dvds are as bad as stealing a car

[pagwant]

yh but what you need to remember is it's all about the money. if the pirates (not sea-men) are making money, the film industry isn't, so they have to put people off, and what does nearly everyone have and like, a TV and a car. so its almost like saying buy a pirate dvd and we'll take your car. also i enjoy traillers at movies, but i do hate those "extra's" on dvds

[mattovboro]

does anybody only buy pirate dvds so they dont have to sit through the copyright advert?

[mandowarrior123]

BUY pirate dvds? you HAVE the internet jebus xD you odnt have to BUY them thats like buying the free pencils you get at IKEA

[lukegortonislegend]

I LOVE IKEA!!!!!

[martinrandle]

I bought a Pirate DVD it was brilliant - it had Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom in it.

[heald111111111111111]

@martinrandle I bought 3.

[leapoffaith20]

I DO!

[Vetis213]

Agree. Its stuff like that and DRM that makes it feel criminal to buy things.

[AllWordsAreDust]

The pirate DVDs I have come WITH the copyright adverts. No joke.

[BryanMaddocks]

@AllWordsAreDust The .AVI files I download don't. Lucky me.

[KevL75]

No an extra on a DVD can be deleted scenes or interviews and even bloopers.

Do you even own any DVDs...

[Kazumaster]

Are you serious? Read his comment again until you understand what it means.

[youvebeenthunderstru]

Ruin the experience for everybody by having youtube delete the videos just because they're mortified by the idea of free video clips. You're not losing money you god damn corporate fucking whores. Money is all you understand, people enjoying videos via the internet medium you'll never realize so you have lawyers do all your fucking dirty work for you. Get off youtube, you're being completely useless.

[youvebeenthunderstru]

On a serious note though (and sorry for triple posting) what I'm trying to get across is that it's fucking stupid for the BBC to act like it's a privilege to stake an official channel here and "grace" us with uploading these free clips from their generous nature, when they themselves claim copyright on just about every QI clip on the site and have them removed. It's hypocritical. Fuck off, you stupid idiots. I'm tired of this shit, where companies (continued in next post)

[youvebeenthunderstru]

What a wonderfully kind gesture of the BBC to put up clips of the wonderfully esteemed television show QI. However, I feel that simultaneously claiming copyright on all the other QI videos merits me to say fuck off and die instead of hearty congratulations. No hard feelings, I hope.

[FluorescentRose]

Thumbs up!

BBC is free... (well, not in Ireland where I am, but still) so *WHY* do they have to take the episodes down??

Watching something on Youtube will *never* stop me from buying a box set - it will encourage me, if anything! I watch something for the 1st time here, then think 'ooh, I think I want to own that!'.

Grr BBC...

[youvebeenthunderstru]

And I just realized that I used the word 'wonderfully' twice in a row making my post horribly redundant. I fail.

[FluorescentRose]

Ah but it gets your sarcasm across nicely.

Those wonderfully wonderful wankers.

[Shewaplayer]

haha don't worry - it looks like you did it intentianally - adds to the sarcasticness (that even a word lol) :D

[rgwholt]

I think its because the BBC is in actual fact not free.....ever heard of the TV licence ?.........

[famlaya]

yes! and further more we are forced to purchase the dvd / real world material that cost capitalist credits! For we love what we see , hear and learn! If i knew it were going to Fry , i would buy.

[meaning1]

Since when did it matter who somebody quoted? (Also, learn to spell and write properly).

[CPGallagher89]

You strike me as a deeply unpleasant person.

[AnimaRaptor]

I note you removed your comment...

[meaning1]

Why are people all verbally attacking Carr?...

I've met him and he's an intelligent and polite guy; as well as comical.

[meaning1]

If you don't think so then pay him no attention. Humour, as Jimmy once stated, is like your sexuality: "you can't choose it". So I don't hold your biased opinion against you - I'll just advise you to watch other videos.

[mattkirby10]

jesus i cannot believe someone is quoting jimmy bloody carr. and especially in a response to a a statement that in the response it is claimed is purely subjective so there is no need for a response especially one championing subjectivity but criticsing my opinion. aptly pointless.

[liftwaffe]

It does annoy me as well,but at the same time I find it funny in it self.

[liftwaffe]

Thank you,now go play with the other "special" children.

[liftwaffe]

Thank you,now go play with the annoying children.

[liftwaffe]

What house,I live in a box...There is no room for you.

[mecrazy5]

lol. ok