# Is "Twats" OK here? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [October 19, 2011, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-twats-ok-here/600112 "2011-10-19T05:08:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-twats-ok-here/600112/1 "2011-10-19T05:08:36Z")
Not “Are ‘twats’ ok here”? I think I know the answer to that. But[I didn’t know we could use this. Ruling, please?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=628351) ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-twats-ok-here/600112/2 "2011-10-19T05:29:55Z")
Of course you can say twats. For that matter, I’m pretty sure you can say cunt. And you can call non-posters a cunt if you want. You cannot call a poster or mod a cunt. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-twats-ok-here/600112/3 "2011-10-19T06:01:22Z")
My guess is that you can’t call another poster a twat, except in the Pit, for the same reason you can’t call them a cunt: because it’s an insult. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-twats-ok-here/600112/4 "2011-10-19T07:00:31Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > My guess is that you can’t call another poster a twat, except in the Pit, for the same reason you can’t call them a cunt: because it’s an insult. Wait, can you call another poster a cunt in the Pit? I thought they outlawed that… Joe ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-twats-ok-here/600112/5 "2011-10-19T08:00:39Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > My guess is that you can’t call another poster a twat, except in the Pit… [Not suggested.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=508858) ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-twats-ok-here/600112/6 "2011-10-19T08:01:35Z")
Reading the restricted language sticky in the Pit, it says, > [@](#): > > The following expressions should not be directed at other posters. > > cunt and variants, e.g., cuntlapper… So, I would take “twat” as being a variant of “cunt.” So, as long as you don’t call any Doper a twat, as **Oakminster** said, you’re OK with calling non members twats. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-twats-ok-here/600112/7 "2011-10-19T08:23:10Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > So, I would take “twat” as being a variant of “cunt.” Although it might, in its original sense, have the same denotation, I don’t think “twat” is a variant of “cunt”. In British English it’s a much milder insult than “cunt”. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-twats-ok-here/600112/8 "2011-10-19T09:39:03Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > Although it might, in its original sense, have the same denotation, I don’t think “twat” is a variant of “cunt”. In British English it’s a much milder insult than “cunt”. Yes, it has a connotation around foolishness, often accompanied with “silly” or “stupid”. Kind of on a par with dickhead - if you were slagging your mates and called them either a twat or a dickhead - or an idiot - the level of insult would be roughly the same. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-twats-ok-here/600112/9 "2011-10-19T13:07:26Z")
You know, no one ever asks if it’s okay to refer to someone by a flattering name. 🙂 It’s always meant to insult. Why is that? ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-twats-ok-here/600112/10 "2011-10-19T13:13:48Z")
> [@TubaDiva](#): > > You know, no one ever asks if it’s okay to refer to someone by a flattering name. 🙂 > > It’s always meant to insult. Why is that? It’s because we are all twats. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-twats-ok-here/600112/11 "2011-10-19T14:02:12Z")
I saw that thread title and didn’t think twice about it, since, as several have said, if it’s used to talk about a non-member, it’s not against the rules. **twickster** , Cafe Society moderator ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-twats-ok-here/600112/12 "2011-10-19T14:29:58Z")
> [@bucketybuck](#): > > It’s because we are all twats. If that’s true I’m going to have to rethink how I envision most of you. (Though only a few of you are dicks.) no names please ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-twats-ok-here/600112/13 "2011-10-19T14:42:35Z")
\*\*Is “Twats” OK here? \*\* Dey ah’ight ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-twats-ok-here/600112/14 "2011-10-19T14:59:02Z")
My favorite “twat” story: When Andrew Lloyd Webber and Ben Elton’s musical “The Beautiful Game” was released in the US, for some reason they decided to get rid of every “twat” in the libretto. They dubbed them over with “cunt.” ---
**Author:** ![Lestrade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Lestrade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lestrade)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-twats-ok-here/600112/15 "2011-10-19T19:12:48Z")
> [@TubaDiva](#): > > You know, no one ever asks if it’s okay to refer to someone by a flattering name. 🙂 > > It’s always meant to insult. Why is that? Can I call posters flattering names in a starkly sarcastic fashion? ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-twats-ok-here/600112/16 "2011-10-19T23:41:24Z")
Yeah, we’re fine. Thanks for asking. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-twats-ok-here/600112/17 "2011-10-20T00:22:08Z")
If we ban provide proof of a speech impediment, ban we ball people bunts? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-twats-ok-here/600112/18 "2011-10-20T00:55:55Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > If we ban provide proof of a speech impediment, ban we ball people bunts? Are we allowed to ball people at all in ATMB? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-twats-ok-here/600112/19 "2011-10-20T01:14:40Z")
> [@wheresgeorge04](#): > > Wait, can you call another poster a cunt in the Pit? I thought they outlawed that… > > Joe “Cunt” is disallowed in the Pit, but synonyms are okay, including “twat” or “pussy.” **cochrane** , by “variations,” we mean compound constructions using the word “cunt.” ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-twats-ok-here/600112/20 "2011-10-20T03:06:40Z")
**Ed Zotti** > [@](#): > > The following expressions should not be directed at other posters. > > cunt and variants, e.g., cuntlapper > motherfucker > cocksucker > fuck you and variants, e.g., go fuck yourself, fuck off and die > suck/lick my dick/cock and variants > > Expressions not referred to above but which are normally considered vulgar (e.g., asshole, dick, prick, bitch, kiss my ass) are subject to the following limitations: > > - occasional use only > - no posts consisting solely or mainly of vulgarities. **Miller** > [@](#): > > “Cunt” is disallowed in the Pit, but synonyms are okay, including “twat” or “pussy.” … by “variations,” we mean compound constructions using the word “cunt.” Not trying to nitpick, but IMHO ‘pussy’ and ‘twat’ _ **are** _ “variations” of the word ‘cunt’. All are used to describe the female genitalia, (albeit, in a vulgar, derogatory way) are they not? And depending on the context, all can be construed as insults. 😕 And since we’re on the subject, why the disparity? ‘Dick’ and ‘prick’ (vulgar and derogatory terms used in place of penis) _ **are** _ allowed to be used occasionally. To disallow _ **any** _ of the V & D terms used in place of vagina seems discriminatory. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-twats-ok-here/600112.md?page=2)