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The Americans coined 'boob' and left it to the British, I think, then now prefer 'tits', I think

Can you tell me which one is more acceptable in polite context or if they are equivalent, what is their connotation? Do you consider them vulgar? When I was in England boob seem to be an acceptable word

user157860
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    Neither one should be used in polite company if you are using them to refer to breasts. You can call someone a “boob” to mean “fool” or “bumbler” though. If you want to refer to breasts in a polite context, say breasts. – Dan Bron Nov 13 '19 at 14:49
  • @DanBron, are they exactly on the same level on both sides of the ocean? – user157860 Nov 13 '19 at 14:52
  • There aren’t really well-established “levels” as you suggest. Both are relatively crude but innocuous ways to refer to breasts. Something 11 year old boys would say to try to attract attention. I can’t speak for the Brits, all my comments apply to American English (though I do believe it’s the same for the Brits). – Dan Bron Nov 13 '19 at 14:55
  • American here: I've heard both boob and tit, as well as many other colorful references. Usually not something I'd say in polite company. Generally, talking about sexual areas in polite company and outside of a health context would be gauche, so I'd stick to clear terms used in medicine, like breast. – TaliesinMerlin Nov 13 '19 at 14:57
  • @TaliesinMerlin, can you suggest a reference colorful yet more polite than boob? – user157860 Nov 13 '19 at 15:00
  • Chartreuse breast. (Less jokingly, I'll spend a minute thinking, but the issue isn't just the term, but the subject - there are only a narrow set of topics for which it is appropriate to refer to lady bits or gentleman bits in polite conversation (i.e., people you may not know well or only know professionally, through church, and so on), and most slang terms don't fit that.) – TaliesinMerlin Nov 13 '19 at 15:00
  • @TaliesinMerlin, the link was very helpful, it seems to corroborate my view that 'boob' is by far more acceptable – user157860 Nov 13 '19 at 15:05
  • why the downvote? – user157860 Nov 13 '19 at 15:05
  • If that's your conclusion, read closer: "

    The usage to associate tits with boobs however, is purely sexist. In polite society you should mention neither, referring instead to the bosom that @Robusto mentions, or breast, but only when you must. "

     – TaliesinMerlin Nov 13 '19 at 15:05
  • Breast-feeding is a lovely/affectionate use; showing a sublime relationship. I don't think 'breast' can be replaced with either boobs or tits, here. – Ram Pillai Nov 13 '19 at 18:42
  • In America, "tits" was one of George Carlin's "7 words you can't say on TV". Standards have relaxed and it's now used on TV, but "boobs" is still considered less crude. – Barmar Nov 13 '19 at 23:00
  • 'Boobs' is definitely considered less crude than 'tits' in Britain - see for instance, the name for this item of clothing – peterG Nov 14 '19 at 23:51

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