Here in the UK, 'Black Friday' might conjure up images of Allied bombing attacks, or dark moments from the history of women's suffrage.
But in the US it means only one thing: shopping.
The day after Thanksgiving in America is traditionally one in which basically everyone runs, as one, to the nearest shop and spends every dime they have on slightly discounted merchandise.
This occasionally violent pasttime of riot-shopping is not without its downsides.
Luckily, online things are a lot calmer. Many major retailers have abandoned waiting for 'Cyber Monday' and now put their best deals on the internet right away. And the good thing for us in the UK, is that many apply to us as well.
Here are some of the best Black Friday deals we've managed to find so far:
- Gaming download site Steam has an absolute boatload of deals. The amazing puzzle first-person action hybrid Portal 2 is just £3.74. Sleeping Dogs is 50% off at £14.99, and XCOM: Enemy Unknown is just £20.09 - a third off regular price.
- Amazon is offering its Kindle Fire tablet (not HD) for just £99.
- Apple have some pretty good deals, including £31 off an iPad 4, £21 off an iPad 2 and iPod Touch, and a hefy £81 off laptops.
- Meanwhile on the iOS App Store publishers like EA have discounted their top apps, including Monopoly and the Game of Life, to just 69p.
- At Maplin you can find a huge assortment of deals. Today they include an Optoma HDMI Projector for £299, and a 'professional wireless weather centre' for £39.99 - always useful.
- Five classic indie games for $10 (about £7) at Good Old Games.
- Currys is holding a '100 hour price crash' with some tasty deals included. Some of the best are £250 off a Sony Bravia 3D telly, £70 off a Samsung NX210 compact camera and £120 off an Acer Aspire touchscreen Windows 8 PC.
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People crowd the first floor of Macy's department store as they open at midnight (0500 GMT) on November 23, 2012 in New York to start the stores' 'Black Friday' shopping weekend. AFP PHOTO/Stan HONDA (Photo credit should read STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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People crowd the first floor of Macy's department store as they open at midnight (0500 GMT) on November 23, 2012 in New York to start the stores' 'Black Friday' shopping weekend. AFP PHOTO/Stan HONDA (Photo credit should read STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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People shop in Macy's department store as they open at midnight (0500 GMT) on November 23, 2012 in New York to start the stores' 'Black Friday' shopping weekend. AFP PHOTO/Stan HONDA (Photo credit should read STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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People crowd the first floor of Macy's department store as they open at midnight (0500 GMT) on November 23, 2012 in New York to start the stores' 'Black Friday' shopping weekend. AFP PHOTO/Stan HONDA (Photo credit should read STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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People shop on the first floor of Macy's department store as they open at midnight (0500 GMT) on November 23, 2012 in New York to start the stores' 'Black Friday' shopping weekend. AFP PHOTO/Stan HONDA (Photo credit should read STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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Crowds gather outside Macy's department store November 22, 2012 in New York in advance of the midnight November 23 opening to start the stores' 'Black Friday' shopping weekend. AFP PHOTO/Stan HONDA (Photo credit should read STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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People stand in line to make purchases in Macy's department store as they open at midnight (0500 GMT) on November 23, 2012 in New York to start the stores' 'Black Friday' shopping weekend. AFP PHOTO/Stan HONDA (Photo credit should read STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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People shop in Macy's department store as they open at midnight (0500 GMT) on November 23, 2012 in New York to start the stores' 'Black Friday' shopping weekend. AFP PHOTO/Stan HONDA (Photo credit should read STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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Crowds gather outside Macy's department store November 22, 2012 in New York in advance of the midnight November 23 opening to start the stores' 'Black Friday' shopping weekend. AFP PHOTO/Stan HONDA (Photo credit should read STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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People shop in Macy's department store as they open at midnight (0500 GMT) on November 23, 2012 in New York to start the stores' 'Black Friday' shopping weekend. AFP PHOTO/Stan HONDA (Photo credit should read STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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A boy sits with a toy guitar on a display in Macy's department store after the store opened at midnight (0500 GMT) on November 23, 2012 in New York to start the stores' 'Black Friday' shopping weekend. AFP PHOTO/Stan HONDA (Photo credit should read STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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Consumer Feng De Tong, right, shops for an American made Radio Flyer tricycle for her grandson, Jayden Hu, 2, at the Pre-Black Friday event at the Walmart Supercenter store in Rosemead, Calif., Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) (credit:AP)
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IMAGE DISTRIBUTED FOR KMART - Customers Soalina Agers, left, and Val Gray, both from Chicago, walk through the Kmart parking lot with their pre-Black Friday deals at the Addison Street store in Chicago on Thanksgiving Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012. Kmart was the first major retailer nationwide to kick off pre-Black Friday shopping on Thanksgiving morning at 6 a.m. (John Konstantaras/AP Images for Kmart) (credit:AP)
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Consumer Eva Cevallos with her eleven-month daughter, Quinn, shop for Thanksgiving celebrations at the Pre-Black Friday event at the Walmart Supercenter store in Rosemead, Calif., Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) (credit:AP)
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Several thousand shoppers wait in line, some since Wednesday morning, to be the first in the Pembroke Pines, Fla. Best Buy, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012 for bargains. Black Friday, traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year, has crept into Thanksgiving Day. A number of stores from Wal-Mart to Target are opening their doors on Turkey Day, but will Americans be willing to put down the pumpkin pie in order to start their holiday shopping a little early. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter) (credit:AP)
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Margaret Cole shops at the Pembroke Pines, Fla. Best Buy, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012 for a tv and other electronics. Black Friday, traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year, has crept into Thanksgiving Day. A number of stores from Wal-Mart to Target are opening their doors on Turkey Day, but will Americans be willing to put down the pumpkin pie in order to start their holiday shopping a little early. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter) (credit:AP)
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Ray Schwarz, 28, celebrates after waiting 24-hours to enter Best Buy Friday, Nov. 23, 2012, in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. The store opened at 12 a.m. on Friday. Schwarz is buying three televisions, a sound system and video games. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak) (credit:AP)
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Jovel Cetoute, after waiting in line for several hours at the Pembroke Pines, Fla. Best Buy, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012 got the tv he wanted. Black Friday, traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year, has crept into Thanksgiving Day. A number of stores from Wal-Mart to Target are opening their doors on Turkey Day, but will Americans be willing to put down the pumpkin pie in order to start their holiday shopping a little early. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter) (credit:AP)
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A shopper browses the aisles at the Times Square Toys-R-Us store after doors were opened to the public at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012, in New York. While stores typically open in the wee hours of the morning on the day after Thanksgiving known as Black Friday, openings have crept earlier and earlier over the past few years. Now, stores from Wal-Mart to Toys R Us are opening their doors on Thanksgiving evening, hoping Americans will be willing to shop soon after they finish their pumpkin pie. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) (credit:AP)
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Nelly Vasquez and several thousand people wait in line at the Pembroke Pines, Fla. Best Buy, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012 as they shop for bargains. Black Friday, traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year, has crept into Thanksgiving Day. A number of stores from Wal-Mart to Target are opening their doors on Turkey Day, but will Americans be willing to put down the pumpkin pie in order to start their holiday shopping a little early. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter) (credit:AP)
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Teaje Price, left to right, 22, and Kristi Marshall, 42, celebrate as they enter a Best Buy Friday, Nov. 23, 2012, in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. The store opened at 12 a.m. on Friday. They are buying a television and a blue ray player. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak) (credit:AP)
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A shopper uses her smart phone to shop for bargains at the Pembroke Pines, Fla. Best Buy, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012. Black Friday, traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year, has crept into Thanksgiving Day. A number of stores from Wal-Mart to Target are opening their doors on Turkey Day, but will Americans be willing to put down the pumpkin pie in order to start their holiday shopping a little early. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter) (credit:AP)
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Shoppers stand in line outside a Best Buy department store as another rushes to join in before the store's opening at midnight for a Black Friday sale Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tim Sharp) (credit:AP)
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IMAGE DISTRIBUTED FOR TARGET - Gregg Steinhafel, Target CEO, joins a team rally prior to the Black Friday store opening on Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012 in Bloomington, Minn. (Janet Hostetter/AP Images for Target) (credit:AP)
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A joyful shopper laughs as she attempts to load a 40-inch TV into her cart at Target during their Black Friday sales event in Flint, Mich. on Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012. (AP Photo/Flint Journal, Griffin Moores) (credit:AP)
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Tarrant County Sheriffs Deputy Nick Downs, right, watches a line of shoppers as Best Buy general manager Shaun Ogdie, standing at door, peers outside as he and his employees prepare to open at midnight Thursday Nov. 22, 2012, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez) (credit:AP)
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IMAGE DISTRIBUTED FOR TARGET - Gregg Steinhafel, Target CEO, checks out Black Friday sale items after Target opens its doors on Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012 in Bloomington, Minn. (Janet Hostetter/AP images for Target) (credit:AP)
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Christian Adorno, 13, walks out of a Best Buy with a 40-inch television Friday, Nov. 23, 2012, in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. The store opened at 12 a.m. on Friday. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak) (credit:AP)
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IMAGE DISTRIBUTED FOR TARGET - Gregg Steinhafel, Target CEO, joins a team rally prior to the Black Friday store opening on Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012 in Bloomington, Minn. (Janet Hostetter/AP Images for Target) (credit:AP)
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Shoppers make their way out of Target during their Black Friday sales event in Flint, Mich. on Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012. (AP Photo/Flint Journal, Griffin Moores) (credit:AP)
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IMAGE DISTRIBUTED FOR TARGET - Target team member Melba Breidenstein assists Angela McCrary and Rebecca Freeman during Black Friday shopping on Thursday, November 22, 2012 in Hurst, Texas. (Richard W. Rodriguez/AP Images for Target) (credit:AP)
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IMAGE DISTRIBUTED FOR TARGET - Shoppers line up at 8:30 p.m. outside a Dallas area Target store waiting for doors to open for Black Friday shopping on Thursday, November 22, 2012 in Hurst, Texas. (Richard W. Rodriguez/AP Images for Target) (credit:AP)
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Shoppers attempt to navigate snaking lines and clogged aisles during Target's Black Friday sales event in Flint, Mich. on Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012. (AP Photo/Flint Journal, Griffin Moores) (credit:AP)
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A customer examines shelves of toys during Toys "R" Us' Black Friday sales event in Flint, Mich. on Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012. (AP Photo/Flint Journal, Griffin Moores) (credit:AP)
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Shoppers line up around the Target building in Jackson, Mich. for Black Friday deals, half an hour after they had opened at 9 p.m. Thursday Nov. 22, 2012. (AP/Abbey Oldham, Jackson Citizen Patriot) (credit:AP)
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Melissa Gibson, a nursing student at Walter State College, studies for final exams while she waits in line at a Best Buy Store in Knoxville, Tenn. on Thanksgiving evening, Nov. 22 2012. Gibson got in line at 5:30 p.m. joining others to take advantage of Black Friday sales at midnight. (AP Photo/Knoxville News Sentinel, J. Miles Cary) (credit:AP)
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Stefan Rood, 20, folds blankets as he cleans out his tent outside a Best Buy Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012, in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. while waiting for the store to open at 12 a.m. on Friday. Rood, who has been camped out since Wednesday night, is looking to buy a new cell phone. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak) (credit:AP)
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Chris Pickwell stretches out on his sleeping bag on the sidewalk in front of a Best Buy in Knoxville, Tenn., on Thanksgiving evening, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012. Pickwell is looking to get a 40-inch television, a tablet computer and a Blu-ray player when the electronic store opens its doors at midnight on Friday. (AP Photo/Knoxville News Sentinel, J. Miles Cary) (credit:AP)
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People huddle under blankets as they wait outside a Best Buy Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012, in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. The store will open at 12 a.m. on Friday. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak) (credit:AP)
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Peggy Hoffman, left, and Cassidy Bibb talk outside a Best Buy in Knoxville, Tenn., on Thanksgiving night, Nov. 22, 2012. The two were waiting to take advantage of Black Friday sales at midnight. (AP Photo/Knoxville News Sentinel, J. Miles Cary) (credit:AP)
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Tristan Shaw, left, 16, reads articles from a magazine that Kristina Eckart, right, 25, brought to entertain herself while waiting in line at Best Buy on Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012, in Lynchburg, Va. While stores typically open in the wee hours of the morning on the day after Thanksgiving known as Black Friday, openings have crept earlier and earlier over the past few years. Now, stores from Wal-Mart to Toys R Us are opening their doors on Thanksgiving evening, hoping Americans will be willing to shop soon after they finish their pumpkin pie. (AP Photo/News & Daily Advance, Sam O'Keefe) (credit:AP)
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Shoppers wait on a check-out line in the Times Square Toys-R-Us store after doors were opened to the public at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012, in New York. While stores typically open in the wee hours of the morning on the day after Thanksgiving known as Black Friday, openings have crept earlier and earlier over the past few years. Now, stores from Wal-Mart to Toys R Us are opening their doors on Thanksgiving evening, hoping Americans will be willing to shop soon after they finish their pumpkin pie. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) (credit:AP)
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Shoppers wait on a check-out line in the Times Square Toys-R-Us store after doors were opened to the public at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012, in New York. While stores typically open in the wee hours of the morning on the day after Thanksgiving known as Black Friday, openings have crept earlier and earlier over the past few years. Now, stores from Wal-Mart to Toys R Us are opening their doors on Thanksgiving evening, hoping Americans will be willing to shop soon after they finish their pumpkin pie. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) (credit:AP)
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Black Friday shoppers wait outside of Best Buy on Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012, in Lynchburg, Va. While stores typically open in the wee hours of the morning on the day after Thanksgiving known as Black Friday, openings have crept earlier and earlier over the past few years. Now, stores from Wal-Mart to Toys R Us are opening their doors on Thanksgiving evening, hoping Americans will be willing to shop soon after they finish their pumpkin pie. (AP Photo/News & Daily Advance, Sam O'Keefe) (credit:AP)
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A shopper carries bags loaded with toys from the Times Square Toys-R-Us store after doors were opened to the public at 8 p.m. in the lead-up to Black Friday, Nov. 22, 2012, in New York. While stores typically open in the wee hours of the morning on the day after Thanksgiving known as Black Friday, openings have crept earlier and earlier over the past few years. Now, stores from Wal-Mart to Toys R Us are opening their doors on Thanksgiving evening, hoping Americans will be willing to shop soon after they finish their pumpkin pie. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) (credit:AP)
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Aaron Rodrigues waits in a line at Best Buy in the Van Nuys section of Los Angeles on Thur. Nov.22,2012. While stores typically open in the wee hours of the morning on the day after Thanksgiving known as Black Friday, openings have crept earlier and earlier over the past few years. Now, stores from Wal-Mart to Toys R Us are opening their doors on Thanksgiving evening, hoping Americans will be willing to shop soon after they finish their pumpkin pie. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel) (credit:AP)
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Shoppers wait in line for the 8 p.m. opening of the Times Square Toys-R-Us store, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012, in New York. While stores typically open in the wee hours of the morning on the day after Thanksgiving known as Black Friday, openings have crept earlier and earlier over the past few years. Now, stores from Wal-Mart to Toys R Us are opening their doors on Thanksgiving evening, hoping Americans will be willing to shop soon after they finish their pumpkin pie. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) (credit:AP)
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Shoppers wait in line for the 8 p.m. opening of the Times Square Toys-R-Us store in the lead-up to Black Friday, November 22, 2012, in New York. While stores typically open in the wee hours of the morning on the day after Thanksgiving known as Black Friday, openings have crept earlier and earlier over the past few years. Now, stores from Wal-Mart to Toys R Us are opening their doors on Thanksgiving evening, hoping Americans will be willing to shop soon after they finish their pumpkin pie. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) (credit:AP)
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Shoppers wait in line outside of a Best Buy store in Colma, Calif., Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012. While stores typically open in the wee hours of the morning on the day after Thanksgiving known as Black Friday, openings have crept earlier and earlier over the past few years. Now, stores from Wal-Mart to Toys R Us are opening their doors on Thanksgiving evening, hoping Americans will be willing to shop soon after they finish their pumpkin pie. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) (credit:AP)
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Michael Walsh waits in in line at a Target store in Colma, Calif., Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012. Walsh was the first person in line, showing up at about 6am Thursday morning. Stores typically open in the wee hours of the morning on the day after Thanksgiving known as Black Friday, named for the period when stores traditionally turn a profit for the year. But Black Friday openings have crept earlier and earlier over the past few years. Now, stores from Wal-Mart to Toys R Us are opening their doors on Thanksgiving evening, hoping Americans will be willing to shop soon after they finish their pumpkin pie. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) (credit:AP)
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IMAGE DISTRIBUTED FOR KMART - Customers wait in line for doorbuster deals at the Kmart on Addison Street in Chicago on Thanksgiving Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012. Kmart was the first major retailer nationwide to kick off pre-Black Friday shopping on Thanksgiving morning at 6 a.m. (John Konstantaras/AP Images for Kmart) (credit:AP)
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Consumer Eva Cevallos with her eleven-month daughter, Quinn, shop for Thanksgiving celebrations at the Pre-Black Friday event at the Walmart Supercenter store in Rosemead, Calif., Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) (credit:AP)
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Michael Walsh waits in in line at a Target store in Colma, Calif., Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012. Walsh was the first person in line, showing up at about 6am Thursday morning. Stores typically open in the wee hours of the morning on the day after Thanksgiving known as Black Friday, named for the period when stores traditionally turn a profit for the year. But Black Friday openings have crept earlier and earlier over the past few years. Now, stores from Wal-Mart to Toys R Us are opening their doors on Thanksgiving evening, hoping Americans will be willing to shop soon after they finish their pumpkin pie. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) (credit:AP)
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Shoppers wait in line for the 8 p.m. opening of the Times Square Toys-R-Us store in the lead-up to Black Friday, November 22, 2012, in New York. While stores typically open in the wee hours of the morning on the day after Thanksgiving known as Black Friday, openings have crept earlier and earlier over the past few years. Now, stores from Wal-Mart to Toys R Us are opening their doors on Thanksgiving evening, hoping Americans will be willing to shop soon after they finish their pumpkin pie. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) (credit:AP)
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Mercy and Ozzy Dominquez try to stay warm as they wait outside a Pembroke Pines, Fla. Best Buy store, late Thursday, Nov. 22, 212. While stores typically open in the wee hours of the morning on the day after Thanksgiving known as Black Friday, openings have crept earlier and earlier over the past few years. Now, stores from Wal-Mart to Toys R Us are opening their doors on Thanksgiving evening, hoping Americans will be willing to shop soon after they finish their pumpkin pie. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter) (credit:AP)
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Shoppers look for deals at the Pre-Black Friday event at the Walmart Supercenter store in Rosemead, Calif., Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) (credit:AP)