# Is there a significant difference in saying someone is ACTING like a bitch vs BEING a bitch? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 15, 2016, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-significant-difference-in-saying-someone-is-acting-like-a-bitch-vs-being-a-bitch/743222 "2016-01-15T13:36:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 16
**Author:** ![\_Raven](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/_raven/32/20435_2.png) [@\_Raven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_Raven)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-significant-difference-in-saying-someone-is-acting-like-a-bitch-vs-being-a-bitch/743222/16 "2016-01-16T19:53:33Z")
On another thread, _ **Is it offensive to call someone a “tard” or a “retard”?** _, I had remarked: > [@Is it offensive to call someone a "tard" or a "retard"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-offensive-to-call-someone-a-tard-or-a-retard/743270/11): > > Wellll… it’s not just the root word itself, but how it’s used. Note that the clinical term “mentally retarded” really means “slowed down in progress”, a somewhat neutral way to describe what’s happened _ **to** _ someone, and it’s not a noun, not necessarily an encapsulation of the entire person (unless so used in a sentence). Make it a noun, call someone a “retard” or “-tard”, and suddenly you’re summing up their entire being; that’s what really makes it insulting. I think the same observation is being made here, and I present the above example to reinforce it. --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-significant-difference-in-saying-someone-is-acting-like-a-bitch-vs-being-a-bitch/743222)._