Swears, Insults, Off-Color Language, Stereotypes

I do not find the C word offensive. If I did, I would have to find men calling other men a Richard nickname offensive. Frankly, sometimes it is and sometimes it is not.

Now, I told Butterfly net the story behind what made me feel jerk is a for men only insult. The woman who verbally assaulted the pregnant woman was a C word.

But, it took me years to put together a feminine equivalent of jerk.

I think that swearing is like a spice. A little makes a dish exciting. Too much ruins it.

I will use a swear word as an exclamation point.......................to get my thoughts across in a more forceful way.

Does everyone remember Michael Moriarity, when he played the A.D.A. on Law and Order many years ago? He was a very laid back person, and usually chose his words very quietly and thoughtfully. But, every once in awhile, when he was angry, he would come out with, "son of a bitch".

That expression, coming from Moriarity, was extremely effective, because it contrasted so sharply with his usual demeanor. If he cussed throughout the show, those words would have been meaningless.

Have you noticed that the vast majority of cuss words refer to either the male or female genitals, or eliminative organs? I would bet that the Freudians amongst us could have a picnic tearing into that subject.

it's interesting, listening to the Opie & Anthony show (an XL channel on Sirus/XM), they had an Australian/British (born in OZ, now living mostly in GB) comedian, Jim Jefferies on the show, he was sort amazed at the taboo of c*nt, its usage in Britain, Australia & New Zealand is more of a general curse not specifically aimed at women, and can some times be as a positive if vulgar compliment (he's a funny c*nt)

rather than any sense of propriety, i think it's just a harsh sounding word, too abrupt in its pronunciation

Exactly!

I have told this story before, but I think it it fits here.

When Mija (my daughter) was 3, many of her friends weren't allowed to say the word "stupid" (I guess some parents want to make this a swear word). I happen to use the word out of frustration as a better alternative to the other words that could be used.

I don't really believe in banning any word... so we made this rule. You can't call your brother "stupid" because your brother has feelings, but calling the computer "stupid" is fine, because the computer doesn't have feelings.

One day (during the political season) my daughter looks at me and asks "Daddy, do Republicans have feelings?"

((You know... I still haven't figured out the answer to that one))

Thanks for reminding me of that. I had heard the Brits have a different take on the word, but forgot it.

from the mouths of babes . . .

If you're asking if A2K will censor our posts when we use Carlin's Seven Dirty Words---****, piss, ****, ****, **********, ************, and tits---the answer is no. I'm sure Robert and Jes prefer civilized language, but at the moment they're not enforcing this preference. (It used to be different in the past, so I'm guessing it might change in the future if they see a need.)


I think effectiveness is key. I don't usually use swear words either, but when I do, I make them count. The worst thing, to my taste, is to use swear words and then apologize for them: "This guy can kiss my ass, excuse my French". If you don't think you need a swear word, don't use it. If you need it don't apologize. Using and apologizing is hypocritical bullshit.

It seems to me that one of the earliest words kids use is asshole. Well, my mother was up-in-arms about that word, so my brothers and I decided to substitute the word cloaca. Mom had no idea what it meant. It was fun. We enlarged it to cloaca breath which was very funny to us.

Now, my ex-husband, a redhead and the embodiment of the stereotypical redhead's temper, swore like a sailor. My youngest did as well, particularly after the divorce when he was angry at both of us. I went out one day to the grocery store and came home to discover my three kids sitting in the dining room with my daughter's friend Matt. My daughter and Matt were in high school, my older son in middle school and the youngest was seven or eight.

The three older kids were telling the youngest that a terrible swear in German was (phonetically) einz, fei, drei, fear, phumph. (Sorry, I have no German!) I immediately knew what they were doing and thought it was clever. So I told the kids that you really had to emphasize the phumph and that it helped to hit your open palm with your opposite fist.

They also told him that "chausette" the French word for sock was a terrible swear.

For a couple of years, he would count to five in German each time he was angry. Then, one day, on the playground, a kid told him that it wasn't a swear, just numbers. He was angry to have been fooled but at least he didn't swear.

We instituted a cuss jar in our house. The 3 year old has no qualms about using the word stupid. If any of the rest of us uses it, he promptly advises us that we owe money in the cuss pot. I guess he figures that is the only way the pot will grow.

Oops---guess I should have read the whole thread before responding. Robert already answered your question more authoritatively than I did.

Mija, now 5, is very verbal and can express herself very proficiently.

A few weeks ago, her older brother tried to force her away from the computer she was using. She was quite upset, so turned on him and said, "Go away faggot!".

I was both shocked, and a little amused. She had used the word "faggot" completely correctly for the context. She clearly wanted a forceful word that would communicate her level of contempt at the moment. I don't think there was a better word for that context.

Talking with her later, I am pretty sure she learned that word from her 13 year old nephew.

((Yes, I did make it clear to her that that word wasn't acceptable.))

The word would be found to be acceptable in England, but would be considered offensive in North America.

I don't think she was calling him a ciggie...

I was referring to ebrown's post and the word "faggot"

so am I...

wow.

she could have been calling him a bundle of sticks or a sausage
meet The Faggot Family
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/scottmills/2009/08/our-joe-in-meet-the-faggot-fam.shtml

Oh, I am not familiar with the word ciggie. I thought you were referring to another word for the "C" word.

actually in Britain, a cigarette is a fag, a faggot is a bundle of sticks or a sausage

In Britain, a faggot is also "a ball of chopped meat and liver mixed with bread and herbs, eaten fried or baked"

Those terms are not used in the U.S. where the main meaning is a demeaning meaning.