“What Does It Mean, Hanky Panky?” Little Knowledge of American Slang Left Arnold Schwarzenegger Embarrassed in a Resurfaced Interview From 1994

But there has always been one thing that has eluded the native Austrian. One thing that Arnold struggled with for as long as he can remember. And that has been him having expansive knowledge and grasp of American slang.

Arnold Schwarzenegger had no clue about the meaning of a popular American slang

With his bulky build and chiseled physique, a prime Arnold Schwarzenegger never looked like someone with a weak point. But to the surprise of many, Arnold did have one weakness, although it was never a major talk of the town. With English being his second language, Arnold has always done well to understand it clearly.

But a thick Austrian accent veiling his words was not Schwarzenegger’s only problem with the language. It was also difficult for him to understand the slang used by Americans daily.

An example of the same emerged in the taping of a popular talk show hosted by Jay Leno years ago. Arnold appeared as a guest on the show, where they rolled an embarrassing but entertaining clip of the ace bodybuilder. The clip saw Arnold asking a female host an awkward question. He said, “I’ve only been in this country for five years. And there are some expressions I still don’t understand. What does it mean, ‘Hanky Panky?'”

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The host tried to give him the easiest of suggestive explanations as she said, “Well, let’s see if you understand this — playing around.” But it wasn’t enough for Schwarzenegger as he asked, “Playing around with what?” The host joked around in reply, as she said, “we might have to take a little time with you.” An embarrassed Arnold smiled along as the clip ended.

Slangs were a problem for him, but Arnold’s accent was a problem for the others

As Arnold tried to make his Hollywood debut, his lack of ability to understand slang did not cause him any trouble. What caused him trouble was his thick Austrian accent.

The gym was not the only place where the famed actor worked hard. Schwarzenegger admitted to working on his accent for up to five hours a day to make it better. During an interview with Howard Stern, Arnold even joked about his accent coach not being much help. Schwarzenegger added his coach should give him his money back.

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The bodybuilder-actor who faced rejection owing to his accent became a global sensation because of it. Apart from his bodybuilding accolades, Arnold garnered a massive fan following because of his unique but hard-to-understand accent.