# cigarette



## Artrella

Hola foreros!

Cómo digo en inglés esto "Me puedes convidar un cigarrillo?" other than "Can I have a cigarette (of you/from you)???"  I would like to say it in a more polite way than the direct "Can I have a cigarette?".  Is there any other way to express that question? Of course, one that is currently used.

Thank you, Art


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## Focalist

Some Britishisms:

You couldn't let me have a cigarette, could you?
You wouldn't have a spare ciggy, would you? I'm gasping.
Any chance of a ciggy?
Can I bum a fag off you? 
Can I touch you for a fag?

_I'd be careful about using either of the last two in the States!_  

F

PS - 





> Can I have a cigarette (of you/from you)???


Can I have a cigarette *off* you? _(colloquial)_


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## Artrella

Thanks Profe!!! You are always a helping hand!!!

Art ( the Russkaya from Italy)


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## paultucker79

Focalist said:
			
		

> Some Britishisms:
> 
> You couldn't let me have a cigarette, could you?
> You wouldn't have a spare ciggy, would you? I'm gasping.
> Any chance of a ciggy?
> Can I bum a fag off you?
> Can I touch you for a fag?
> 
> _I'd be careful about using either of the last two in the States!_
> 
> F
> 
> PS - Can I have a cigarette *off* you? _(colloquial)_




can I "touch" you for a fag??? Where have you heard this?? If someone asked me for that then they're more likely to get a left hook!!!


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## Artrella

paultucker79 said:
			
		

> can I "touch" you for a fag??? Where have you heard this?? If someone asked me for that then they're more likely to get a left hook!!!




Well, we say sth similar but not exactly for a whole cigarette but for a "pitada" (??? I don't know the word in English).

"Me das un toque?" = "Do you give me a touch?"


Art


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## belén

Pitada (or calada) in English = a puff


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## esance

jajajaja que bueno!!!

Aquí en Barcelona se dice sobre todo calada o a veces pipada!!!

Focalist intuyo que eres fumador??


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## Focalist

paultucker79 said:
			
		

> can I "touch" you for a fag??? Where have you heard this?? If someone asked me for that then they're more likely to get a left hook!!!


All over. (Though I don't get down to London much.)

Strictly speaking, though, to "touch someone for something" is to ask to borrow it, not just to have it given.

*touch sb for sth* (informal):

to borrow or take money from someone 
He touched me for ten dollars yesterday.

(Cambridge International Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs)​
Can I touch you for a fiver? (Or are your rates higher?)

F


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## Focalist

esance said:
			
		

> jajajaja que bueno!!!
> 
> Aquí en Barcelona se dice sobre todo calada o a veces pipada!!!
> 
> Focalist intuyo que eres fumador??


Lo era...!

F


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## paultucker79

Focalist said:
			
		

> All over. (Though I don't get down to London much.)
> 
> Strictly speaking, though, to "touch someone for something" is to ask to borrow it, not just to have it given.
> 
> *touch sb for sth* (informal):
> 
> to borrow or take money from someone
> He touched me for ten dollars yesterday.
> 
> (Cambridge International Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs)​
> Can I touch you for a fiver? (Or are your rates higher?)
> 
> F




Ah very interesting - I apologise for my cultural ignorance of my own country. Maybe when I was up North and I got asked this I just assumed they were asking for something else.... haha only joking


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## kopol342

Focalist said:
			
		

> Some Britishisms:
> 
> You couldn't let me have a cigarette, could you?
> You wouldn't have a spare ciggy, would you? I'm gasping.
> Any chance of a ciggy?
> Can I bum a fag off you?
> Can I touch you for a fag?
> 
> _I'd be careful about using either of the last two in the States!_
> 
> F
> 
> PS - Can I have a cigarette *off* you? _(colloquial)_


 
Nobody would say any of these in the U.S.   I'm not a smoker myself, but I think the most common amongst friends would be "Can I bum a cig"  More politely I guess would be "If you don't mind, I would appreciate a cigarette"  There really isn't a standard polite form for asking and if you say it with a Spanish accent, you can get away saying a lot more than a native english speaker.


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## Edwin

Focalist said:
			
		

> Some Britishisms:
> 
> You couldn't let me have a cigarette, could you?
> You wouldn't have a spare ciggy, would you? I'm gasping.
> Any chance of a ciggy?
> Can I bum a fag off you?
> Can I touch you for a fag?
> 
> I'd be careful about using either of the last two in the States!







			
				kopol342 said:
			
		

> Nobody would say any of these in the U.S.   I'm not a smoker myself, but I think the most common amongst friends would be "Can I bum a cig"  More politely I guess would be "If you don't mind, I would appreciate a cigarette"  There really isn't a standard polite form for asking and if you say it with a Spanish accent, you can get away saying a lot more than a native english speaker.



Hmm... I think the first request sounds like something an estadounidense might say: 
*You couldn't let me have a cigarette, could you?*

The ''ciggy'' and ''fag'' parts probably wouldn't  fly over here though.  But you could replace them by cigarette in any of the phrases.  ---Althought ''ciggy'' might be said by a women trying to be cute.  Of course, ''fag'' sometimes means ''homosexual''.


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## kopol342

That first one is the one that most makes sense, but you don't hear it said ever.  I think instead of couldn't/could, you would most likely hear wouldn't/would.


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## Edwin

kopol342 said:
			
		

> That first one is the one that most makes sense, but you don't hear it said ever.  I think instead of couldn't/could, you would most likely hear wouldn't/would.



''Would you/could you?'' Is this a new version of the game "May I?"  I imagine those in need of a cigarette don't make such fine distinctions.   Could might be used, especially if one doesn't know if the other person has a cigarette or not.


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## kopol342

Maybe that's one of the differences between north/south.  I think up here if you weren't sure that someone had a cigarette, you usually just ask "do you smoke", and if the answer is yes, then proceed with the asking.  In the format of the "couldn't" phrase, more commonly you hear "you wouldn't happen to have...."  I'm not saying the other one wouldn't be understood, it just wouldn't be used around here and you wouldn't want to teach people things that aren't said, would you?


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## Focalist

Be aware, folks, that I was being _über-Britisch_ on purpose... Nothing like it for bringing out all the alternative versions!

F


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## Edwin

kopol342 said:
			
		

> *Maybe that's one of the differences between north/south.*



Bueno.... Florida is not exactly the South. It is in the south, but is not a typical southern state. So don't blame it on that. We Floridians are not homogeneous like you Wisconsinites, so cannot say with certainty what some other Floridian might say when mooching a cigarette.  (Besides neither you nor I smoke, so what do we know?)  

Cheers...


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## Focalist

Sorry, this is straying off topic, I know (but when has that ever stopped me?), but every time I see that one-word thread title "cigarette" I think of the scene in the war film where the British soldier has been taken prisoner and the German officer says, after a long pause:

"... Zigarett, Tommy?"

Did that scene ever really happen, or did I just dream it?

F


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## mjscott

Can I get a hit off your cigarette?


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## lauranazario

Focalist said:
			
		

> Can I bum a fag off you?
> Can I touch you for a fag?
> 
> _I'd be careful about using either of the last two in the States!_
> 
> F



Ah, Focalist... these two had me in stitches. 
Priceless gems!!!!

Saludos,
LN


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## Edwin

Focalist said:
			
		

> Sorry, this is straying off topic, I know (but when has that ever stopped me?), but every time I see that one-word thread title "cigarette" I think of the scene in the war film where the British soldier has been taken prisoner and the German officer says, after a long pause:
> 
> "... Zigarett, Tommy?"
> 
> Did that scene ever really happen, or did I just dream it?
> 
> F



Very likely. That's the first thing they teach POW interogators to do: try to bribe the prisoner by giving him a cigarette.  [Well, that was prior to 9/11, Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib.]  --and now we are really off topic!

I will ask a friend who is a long time movie buff and let you know if he recalls the scene.


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## David Carter

Hola a todos,

Humphrey Bogart or a "G.I." after D-Day might say "Got a smoke?"

David


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## Richie

You should stop smoking Art. Its bad for you.

May I have a cigarette please?


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## Artrella

Richie said:
			
		

> You should stop smoking Art. Its bad for you.
> 
> May I have a cigarette please?




Oh, I'm sorry Richie! I've just run out of cigarettes and don't want to go to buy a packet!! So... tell me... you couldn't let me have a cigarette, could you?

Maybe I can get a hit off your cigarette mjscott???

Any chance of a ciggy foreros???

Can I touch you for a fag F???


Smoky Art!!!


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## gatoviejo

> Any chance of a ciggy foreros???


*ART!
PLEASE DON'T SMOKE!​*Look what the cigarettes done with g@to when he smokes.​  ​


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## Artrella

gatoviejo said:
			
		

> *ART!
> PLEASE DON'T SMOKE!​*Look what the cigarettes done with g@to when he smokes.​  ​






JA JA JA JA JA JA JA !!!!!!!!!!!!!  Dass ich nicht lache!​
*Hey! Look at me!! No cigarettes on the table!!!! Art *


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## kopol342

Edwin said:
			
		

> Bueno.... Florida is not exactly the South. It is in the south, but is not a typical southern state. So don't blame it on that. *We Floridians are not homogeneous like you Wisconsinites*, so cannot say with certainty what some other Floridian might say when mooching a cigarette. (Besides neither you nor I smoke, so what do we know?)
> 
> Cheers...


haha, have you ever been to Wisconsin?  It appears that you have not.  On the other hand, I've been to Florida quite a few times so I was just claiming difference to stop the madness!


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## Magg

Hi guys

I remember a lesson on 'smoking' language. It referred to British English mainly, but the magazine article recommended us to not ask for a cigarette unless the person was closer to us, since it wasn't a good thing in Britain. Maybe due to how a pack of cigarettes is.

Is it true?


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## Edwin

kopol342 said:
			
		

> haha, have you ever been to Wisconsin?  It appears that you have not.  On the other hand, I've been to Florida quite a few times so I was just claiming difference to stop the madness!



Bueno, kopol342 , si Wisconsin no es homogéneo, tú me has hecho mi punto*: No es posible dicir que ahí nadie nunca, jamás va a decir,''You couldn't let me have a cigarette, could you?''.  
------------------
*es correcto decir así que ''you have made my point for me.''?


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## Masood

Magg said:
			
		

> Hi guys
> 
> I remember a lesson on 'smoking' language. It referred to British English mainly, but the magazine article recommended us to not ask for a cigarette unless the person was closer to us, since it wasn't a good thing in Britain. Maybe due to how a pack of cigarettes is.
> 
> Is it true?



No, Magg. Don't ask for ciggies from strangers over here     'cos they cost too much to give away to just anyone...Have you seen the price of a packet of ciggies in England?!    
http://www.the-tma.org.uk/statistics/EU/UK_versus_EU_Average.htm


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## kopol342

Edwin said:
			
		

> Bueno, kopol342 , si Wisconsin no es homogéneo, tú me has hecho mi punto*: No es posible dicir que ahí nadie nunca, jamás va a decir,''You couldn't let me have a cigarette, could you?''.
> ------------------
> *es correcto decir así que ''you have made my point for me.''?


 
Do you really care that much?  Ok, tu ganas.  Sientes mejor?


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## Edwin

kopol342 said:
			
		

> Ok, tu ganas.  Sientes mejor?



¿Gané yo? ¡Fantástico! 
!Voy a tomar champán para celebrar!   ​


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## David Carter

Hola a Todos,

"Can you spare a smoke or cigarette?" or "Can I bum a smoke or cigarette?" These are from someone who was a teenager in the 50s and 60s and is seriously "out of date", as my 18 y/o daughter continually reminds me. I will query her tonight.

David


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## Edwin

David Carter said:
			
		

> Hola a Todos



David, when I first saw this my brain processed it as ''Holy Toledo!''--an expression you may have heard.  --Edwin


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## Magg

Masood said:
			
		

> No, Magg. Don't ask for ciggies from strangers over here     'cos they cost too much to give away to just anyone...Have you seen the price of a packet of ciggies in England?!
> http://www.the-tma.org.uk/statistics/EU/UK_versus_EU_Average.htm


Good Heavens! It's a luxury good.


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