Why exactly is “cunt” considered so terrible in the US? I’ve lived there my entire life, but didn’t know it was viewed as much worse than calling someone a “bitch” or “motherfucker” until very recently.
Beats me. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s because unlike bitch, it’s referring to a woman by her genitals alone and our paternalistic nature says that men can handled being reduced to a cock, dick, ass, or prick but women are too fragile so we keep them safe by making the work verboten. Totally pulled from my butt, though.
I am somewhat tickled that the navy holds a position on the vulgarity of a word. 
My take? it is the uber-swear in the UK. Many people have differing opinions of how seriously we should take swearing generally. And most certainly there are regional and gender differences to take into account but even then it comes top of the list anywhere in the UK.
Personally I try to steer away from swearing in general, I don’t like it being used as punctuation as I think it cheapens and lessens the effect of the words when they are really called for. You need to keep something in reserve that has the power to shock.
My mantra is “always have a cunt up your sleeve”
If it’s up your sleeve it’s in the wrong place…
The danger of speaking for all… I would not say minge is obsolete at all.
Probably more for men than women. ‘Cunt’ meaning basically a bad person, whereas ‘twat’ is more like ‘idiot’.
I don’t think many people consciously think ‘I’m going to refer to you as a female body part’ in this context. So it seems relatively neutral as a general term of abuse (albeit not very nice), but if you call a woman a cunt, the word takes on a whole other level of offensiveness.
Ah, my subtle UK humour fails to cross cultural boundaries. Rather like the offending word itself.
minge as a specific noun (referring to female genitalia) does not seem to be generally used …
minging or minger (terms to describe something smelly, unsavory or an ugly person, by reference to female genitalia) are still very much in current use. Personally, I despise the terms.
Si
Reporting my personal findings from the North of England, Manchester area:
Cunt: Always used for men. If it’s used for a woman it’s American usage and by extension more offensive. It’s an offensive word. It’s more often used affectionately than offensively IME, and when it’s affectionately used it’s totally ok.
Twat: Mildly offensive. Can be used for men and women. It’s sort of funny to say as well. Would be completely acceptable, say, at work. Rhymes with “hat”.
Minge: Very much in use! “Isn’t that the celeb who goes around flashing her minge every time she gets out of a car” - would be a sentence you might hear at the hair dresser.
Yup, agreed. I mean, it’s not a word that you’d hear often anyway - how often do people casually refer to women’s genitals in everyday life? - but minge definitely wouldn’t strike me as an outdated word to use. Given that the writers of the Office are older than me, I don’t think they meant that to be the joke.
I posted about that in the other thread about the pronunciation before I saw this. Just thought I’d say that she doesn’t mention the pronunciation, just “Definitely slang, think British”.
Easy A "T" Clip - YouTube (approx 1 minute in).
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=15737635&postcount=34
With this and San Vito’s post, I stand corrected.
It must be a regional thing…
Although it is top of the offensive list it’s often used affectionately and inoffensively.
Maybe its an ‘across the Pennines’ thing, but I once deeply offended a Yorkshirewoman by using the word in her presence.
Can I get any of you cunts a drink?
Are you sure that “minging” and “minger” refer to female genitalia? The root “ming” is just Scots for a bad smell. “Minge” comes from Romany, and does refer to a lady’s bits.
Cheers me old China… Black and Tan for me…
Them’s fighting words!
I didn’t watch it myself, but apparently this lady’s first words in the Big Brother 6 house were “Ooooh, you can see my minge!” (whilst wearing this outfit and looking in the mirror).
And I’m sure Davina had told her she was live on Channel 4, and not to swear 
Or maybe just a personal thing? My granny would probably disapprove. She’s ok with “crap” or “shit” if it is warranted, but I don’t take it any further than that. But for example at uni mild swearing was fine, professor swore. “Twat” wouldn’t have been a problem (eg informal conversation: “Well, Camaron is a bit of twat, isn’t he?”), whereas “cunt” or “bitch” would not be acceptable.