If someone is an actual bastard, that is the offspring of an illicit union that leads to bastardom, can they get away with stuff by simply saying, “well, I’m a bastard”? Can they cut people off in traffic, sneeze on their food, stand in front of their TVs, and just say, “what do you want, I am a bastard”?
One of my “friends” from high school was a bastard. Unfortunately, whenever he did something like that it was pretty much because he was a loser, not because of the b thing.
The word is bastardy, not bastardom.
Considering that having unmarried parents carries little or no stigma these days, perhaps it would be better if everyone started spelling the epithet “bass-turd,” implying that the jerk of a person being disparaged is worth no more than fish poop - i.e., crappy AND low-down.
Not to mention slimy, smelly, having the consistency of very thin mud.
I have a cousin who’s a bastard. A few years ago it was kinda amusing to think of someone saying “You bastard!” to him and him being like “yes, and?”
A friend of mine who is a bastard just said “Yes. I do it all the time.”
Remember when I first looked up “bastard” in a dictionary at primary school, just after I’d been told the truth about my origins. I showed one kid (a parson’s son!) who then said the word out loud. Teacher heard it. Parson’s son points to me, and says I told him the word, IIRC.
I just smiled sweetly, and said, “Yes. It’s a sparkling Spanish wine.” (Look it up – it’s true!)
Bastards, sometimes, can get away with murder … heh, heh …