# The "C" word. **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 29, 2014, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-c-word/699916 "2014-09-29T23:58:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2014, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-c-word/699916/21 "2014-09-30T13:27:10Z")
> [@crucible](#): > > Sorry, when I research ‘cunt’ in England vs. America, all sources I find say the use is casual and not that offensive in England, while considered ‘fighting words’ in the US. > > Oddly, when this twat called me a ‘bell-end’, even his Brit buddies told him to back off before he was banned from the (English based) forum. It is of casual use. However, its of casual use in certain circumstances. As with many words it depends on how it is used. It can be a throwaway word or it can be used offensively. ---
**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2014, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-c-word/699916/22 "2014-09-30T13:28:03Z")
So I guess if you want to call someone for a stupid nigger cunt, you’d say: You stupid n-word c-word! Or is this X-word something you only do in writing? ---
**Author:** ![Pjen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2014, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-c-word/699916/23 "2014-09-30T13:47:06Z")
> [@crucible](#): > > It seems to me that Englishmen call each other the ‘c’ word all the time, probably with good reason, but its use is not as pejorative there as in the US. One Brit dickhead called me that every day for a year or more on a forum…and said I shouldn’t be horribly offended, it simply indicated that I was annoying. Dickhead and barely objectionable in the Uk; a recent comedy sketch show had a regular catch phrase “Don’t be a Dick”. Cunt is a term of endearment in Glasgow, and is becoming normalised in both British and American society- why, I even heard it used in Transparent last night! On the other hand, Nigger has become much more strongly offensive over the past few decades-much of that a conscious movement of the politically correct and morally careful. Words change meaning and shock value over time. ---
**Author:** ![Pjen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2014, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-c-word/699916/24 "2014-09-30T13:52:00Z")
A favorite little ode of mine: The portions of the female Which appeal to a man’s depravity Are fashioned with particular care And what at first appears to be A modest little cavity Is really an elaborate affair. Now Doctors who have studied these Most feminine phenomena With numerous experimental dames Of the gentle sex’s abdomena Have given them some charming latin names. There’s the vulva, the vagina, And of course the perineum, And the hymen that is often found in brides. And there’s lots of little things You’d love 'em if you could see 'em, The clitoris and God knows what besides. What a pity it is then When we common people chatter Of these mysteries to which I have referred, That we use use for such a delicate and complicated matter Such a very short and ugly little word. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2014, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-c-word/699916/25 "2014-09-30T14:01:13Z")
Reminds me of the most obscene limerick ever: Bleep bleep bleep bleep bleep bleep bleep bleep Bleep bleep bleep bleep bleep bleep bleep bleep Bleep bleep bleep bleep bleep Bleep bleep bleep bleep bleep Bleep bleep bleep bleep bleep bleep bleep cunt ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2014, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-c-word/699916/26 "2014-09-30T14:02:26Z")
Q: Why is a vagina just like the weather? A: When it’s wet, it’s time to go inside. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2014, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-c-word/699916/27 "2014-09-30T14:08:15Z")
I love in Avengers when Loki calls Black Widow a “mewling quim”. I laughed and Mrs. Cad asked what was so funny. I said, “He basically just called her a cunt in an American film.” :eek: FTR: I asked this same question a few months back but added “fuck” to the mix. ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2014, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-c-word/699916/28 "2014-09-30T14:36:32Z")
> [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > You know, I’m gonna go with [Louis CK](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dF1NUposXVQ) - _just say the fucking word_. Cunt. It’s not that hard, and it doesn’t turn your tongue to ash, and after checking the rules I’m 99% sure it’s allowed. Saying “The ‘C’ word”… We _all_ know you mean “cunt”, and now _we’ve_ got it in our heads. And all it really accomplishes is inviting countless other people to make responses like, well, quite a few above. _We all know what the C-word is, after the first time it stops being funny_. At least Catafalque is… Unique? Very much this. I think part of the reason that words get and stay offensive is that people are afraid to say them even when they’re perfectly appropriate to say in context. If we’re talking about racist or sexist or just plain offensive words, I think it’s important to actually say cunt or nigger or fuck or whatever precisely because it helps to show that the word itself isn’t inherently good or bad, it’s the context in which it’s used. For example, I’m not the least big concerned or offended if, say, someone is talking about 12 Years a Slave and talks about how they so casually used the word nigger in that movie. Hell, I was specifically having a conversation about that a week or two ago with my coworkers, some of whom are black. It’s not racist of me or my coworkers to talk about how that word was used then and how it reflects on American history. And any context where it’s not appropriate, I don’t replace those words with \*-word. For instance, if I’m in polite company, I won’t say fuck, but perhaps if I’m talking about censorship, I’ll just say they cut out his cursing. And I think that’s exactly why particularly a word like cunt has the power that it has, because as a society we’ve given it power. I remember when it was a big deal to hear ass on tv. Then I remember when shit was a big deal. I hear both on occasion now. I do think that to some extent words like cunt and nigger alude to our society’s shame with the lack of gender and racial equality, hence why it was okay when we were okay with it, but it’s less okay now. The interesting thing, though, is that I’ve even started hearing the word nigger on TV without it being censored, at least when it was in appropriate context. That said, I also think that comparing cunt to dick isn’t a good comparison. Calling someone a dick is more akin to saying pussy, where neither should be used in polite company and have more polite versions (jerk and wimp), but I doubt I’d see either censored. Cunt is probably more analogous to cock, if that were used as an insult with any regularity, but you’re not going to hear either of those uncensored on TV. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2014, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-c-word/699916/29 "2014-09-30T15:36:22Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > Regarding US vs. British usage, I hear my British friends say it from time to time, but I never hear my American friends say it. Also, I read it in British books more often than American books, except when said by the roughest of American characters. It’s pretty unspeakable here in the US. That may be so, I’m not suggesting it is or isn’t more common here than in the states (it doesn’t carry any sexist connotations here so that may well explain its more frequent use) but, for example, in a work context you are much more likely to hear a “fuck” than a “cunt” > [@](#): > > **Novelty Bubble** , maybe you’re from a British sub-culture where it’s more forbidden or something. ah, if you knew me you’d know how funny that sounds. Nope, I’m from a very working class background from the north-east of England and well familiar with all kinds of sweariness. [Roger’s Profanisaurus](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger's_Profanisaurus) is a constant source of joy. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2014, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-c-word/699916/30 "2014-09-30T21:28:36Z")
> [@MyFootsZZZ](#): > > I HATE HATE HATE the word “tits”!! Can we make that a word nobody says… ever? I’ve got nothing against [a nice pair of tits](http://ibc.lynxeds.com/files/pictures/Bushtits_PR_9829.jpg) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Jinks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d9b06d/32.png) [@Jinks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinks)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-c-word/699916/31 "2014-10-01T02:03:05Z")
I’m from a working class background in the East Midlands in England. When I was younger (80’s, early 90’s) ‘cunt’ was completely verboten, to speak it would be unthinkable. Now it’s pretty common and mostly harmless, it’s often used in a joking way between friends (male or female) and for lazy comedians to get a cheap laugh. It remains however the ultimate stakes-raiser when used in an aggressive way. The only words amoungst my groups of friends that go almost completely unused, even in joke form, are the harshest racial epithets such as ‘nigger’ and ‘paki’. Twat, bloody, bell-end, etc are all so completely inoffensive that they’re almost quaint. ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-c-word/699916/32 "2014-10-01T02:36:30Z")
> [@Blaster\_Master](#): > > Hell, I was specifically having a conversation about that a week or two ago with my coworkers, some of whom are black. It’s not racist of me or my coworkers to talk about how that word was used then and how it reflects on American history. Nah. Everyone at work thinks you’re racist now. They won’t say anything to you, but they’ll be whispering behind your back. ---
**Author:** ![Pjen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-c-word/699916/33 "2014-10-01T05:24:13Z")
Why no discussion of the ultimate profanity- Belgium? ---
**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2014, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-c-word/699916/34 "2014-10-01T10:17:07Z")
> [@Pjen](#): > > Why no discussion of the ultimate profanity- Belgium? The B-word! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-c-word/699916.md?page=1)