So what are they for different countries? I was just having a discussion about this with a friend and the point came up that in England they throw the word cunt around fairly easily whereas in the states that is still considered pretty offensive.
Among people I know the level of offense goes something like:
Damn: Completely inoffensive
Asshole, Dick, Shit, Pussy: Very common, maybe use less around mom
Fuck: Common, don’t use around mom
Cock: Less common, but not particularly offensive
Cunt: Uncommon, offensive to most women
Twat: Worst word I can think of in English
Does this match with the experiences of other Americans? How does this vary in England or Australia for example? Are there words that we Americans find inocuous that would cause proper old ladies to faint away in those countries?
Note, I am not looking for phrases or insults. I could put together an insult that would make your hair curl from perfectly inoffensive words. I am interested on how individual words are interpreted by different people.
Oh, and since someone else is guaranteed to mention it: belgium.
Yeah, ‘twat’ is nuthin’ in Australia as well. If you want to deviate from ‘cunt’ and still be offensive, you might try ‘gash’ or even ‘minge’ (which I suspect is British).
I would only expect to hear fuck (which I consider ther rudest word to use in England) from teenagers, drunks, male sports fans and people who don’t express themselves well.
Yes, minge is mildly offensive, but in the UK it is fairly creative, calling someone a half shaved minge would create a thoughtful pause in a conversation.
Cunt is variable, it can indicate slightly disapproving approbation as in :-
he is a hard cunt
he is a cunt of a salesman
he is a stupid, opinionated cunt :-}
Twat is just dismissive
Sadly, we in the UK have run out of swear words, although I am not a good observer, as like Janet Street-Porter I am a bit long in the toof.
For you UK dwellers, just how offensive is the word wank?
As a Canadian who frequents a largely British message board, I’ve noticed this word self-censored more than a few times eg. W@nk. Personally I find this term mildly hilarious, and as such, regularly use it in general conversation. ( however not around tourists with UK, NZ,Aus accents.
I also find the word twat, funny, too, but I’d largely forgotten about it’s existence until reading this thread, I’ve never considered to be in the same league as cunt though, which IMO seems to generate the most offended reactions whenever I casually drop it in conversation. ( rarely )
My wife just echoed my sentiments about cunt , and says she finds twat juvenile. I do have a hard time wrapping my head around the British tradition of applying the word cunt to a man, Oh. and when in the UK, don’t ever refer to that little pouch strapped around your waist as a fanny pack, it’ll gaurantee peals of laughter.
But we do exactly that, for example: who have we got prowling around Southern Afgahanistan, the Paras - and they are hard vaginas, and the seriously nasty vaginas are doing a bit of informal liason inside Pakistan.
Factually probably correct, but that is just supposition, linguistically you would get comprehension from the majority of the UK population.
That one creases us up, ‘fanny’ means vagina, but it is a rather juvenile word, pretty much on a par with willy.
Be quiet or I’ll pat your fanny/willy
it is so kindergarten or first grade that it is comical.
I guess I could be misestimating the offense of Twat as I almost never hear it. So, in the UK and Australia have you guys come up with anything to be really offensive or you just rely on creative combinations of what you already have? Anybody from someplace like India where English is fairly common have some input?
Johanna’s right. In the US, the most shocking and offensive words are racial epithets not sexual. The worst one of all is nigger. Said in the wrong tone, fairy/faggot are the most offensive and insulting non-racial offensive words.
One of the most offensive phraises in England is “Manchester United Supporter”
Wanker in England is a bit like “son of a bitch” it can be used for anything from friendly banter, to grave insult, depending on intonation and the relationship between curser and cursee.
the best words are those like Bippy’s wanker. Where the level of offense depends on the situations. In many hispanic countries, “marico” which would roughly translate to a milder form of “faggot” is a word I could safely direct to my brother, at the table, in front of my grandma asking for a piece of toast. Direct it to the dude pumping your gas at the station and he will certainly knife you to death.
Girl sayin’ “word.” Much worse than “twat,” though I wouldn’t take kindly to being called a twat either. “Twat” related fun-fact: Robert Browning included “twat” in a poem of his, apparently thinking it was an article of clothing, when in fact it meant then precisely what it means now. Sheltered life Mr. Browning must have led.
Fuck/fucking/fucked is in everyday usage young and old and hardly merits a mention (listen to Colin Fecking Farrell for an example of how we speak in polite company)
Feck is the Irish variation of Fuck and likewise no one pays any attention Jesus, Mary and Joseph can cause offence to fundie Xtians, but we pay no attention Motherfucker tends to startle people.
Don’t hear too many people saying damn or goddamn cunt is guaranteed to cause a sharp intake of breath.
AFAIK in England cunt is almost a term of endearment - I’d a member of my [old] MB who would always ask me “how are you, you old cunt?”
Remembering that ‘cunt’ is only used for men here, I can relate a story that shows how extremely neutral and without offence it can be - just as a synonym for ‘person’ or ‘guy’:
I was at Wollonggong railway station, and there were two scumbag feral junkie types arguing over money. One was telling the other that the only reason he didn’t pull a knife was that there were too many witnesses: “You’re lucky there’s cunts here or I’d slice ya!”