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A couple of meathods of reffering to someone as a cunt, in britain at least are missing. I suggest the following be added: - Imannuel Kant, in the for of "you bloody Immanuel!" - King Cnut. Not rhyming slang, but the king's name is used quite often as an allusion to "Cunt". 87.194.7.55 23:32, 2 December 2006 (UTC)
The article claims that cunt is more offensive when it is used to refer to a body part then it is when it is used to refer to a person. There is no source for this claim and it seems totally made up. Ask a woman about her cunt, and you are likely to get a raised eyebrow and a sigh. Call a woman a cunt, and you are likely to get slapped. 65.125.163.221 10:53, 30 July 2006 (UTC)
No I don't have a source just personal experience, but the point is that the contrary claim made in the article is also unsourced. Per Wiki policy I think the article should just limit itself to stating that "cunt" is offensive to many, and not attempt to specify ewhich use is worse 65.125.163.221 07:11, 1 August 2006 (UTC)
wikipedia is not a dictionary. how is this relevent to an encyclopedia? Kingturtle 22:51 Apr 30, 2003 (UTC)
The Oxford English Dictionary does not cite any Latin cognate of this word and in fact states that beyond its cognates in the Germanic languages, its "ulterior relations are uncertain". The relationship with Latin cunnus therefore appears to be guesswork (even if it is guesswork by a feminist academic) and not linguistic fact. Rjp_uk 14:21 23 Dec 2003 (UTC)
I dont understand why this word is some major terrible word, it refers to the vagina, but if you call someone a "vagina" or "twinkle" or "fanny" or some other word meaning the same thing, it is not seen as remotely near as offensive. I just dont understand how one single word can notoriously be some majorly bad word when its just a word, one of many referring to something normal. Its the same with other words, why is "fuck" more vulgar than "screw" ? They mean the same thing! Its silly really! TR_Wolf
Isnt there supposed to be some link to the word "cunning" and an argument suggesting its to do with men seeing women as untrustworthy (vaguely recalling a feminist on tv) Ps in the UK, there is the phrase "oh ya cunt!" as an exclamation of surprise or shock and though its not encouraged, I dont think its thought of as badly as when you refer to somebody in particular as one:} 80.192.59.202 03:51, 22 October 2006 (UTC)
Somewhere it should be mentioned that the equivalent word for the main male sexual organ ("prick") has not nearly the taboo attached to it the way "cunt" has
It says this at the moment: "One of the first persons to use the word on British television was the ITN news reader Trevor MacDonald, who accidentally mispronounced Kent." er - so - he didn't say it, did he? - he mispronounced Kent, which is not "saying cunt" by any strecth of the imagination. It may be interesting to quote who did say it, but this isn't it. I am removing it. 82.35.17.203 21:20, 11 Mar 2004 (UTC)
I don't wanna add this info yet, but I've heard somewhere that cunt is considered to be the most offensive word in the English language, can anyone confirm? Obli 18:42, 27 Jun 2004 (UTC)
{{source}}
Yeah, right. 67.113.2.180 20:29, 18 Dec 2004 (UTC)
When Twelfth night is quoted....shouldn't it be Cs &c. instead of C's &c.?
Cunt can be considered as a term of endearment in the UK? I've never heard that, and I lived there for 13 years. Is it just a regional thing? Chewyman 21:49, 13 Oct 2004 (NZT)
Cunt is definately a term of endearment in the UK. It is regularly used as an effectionate term of abuse amongst close friends. Tone of voice and inflection are vital to differentiate from abuse. 62.3.70.68 20:47, 11 June 2006 (UTC)
The most frequent use as an endearment I have encountered in the UK has been "you daft cunt". However, this can also be used malevolently. Nickorando 22:44, 22 January 2007 (UTC)
---
"The last genuinely unprintable word". Genuinely unprintable where? In North America? At least two major, serious British newspapers (The Guardian and The Independent) have printed this word on numerous occasions. The word appeared in British newspapers for the first time in the late 1980s. ---
I completely disagree with what this article says, suggesting that the word is less offensive in the UK. It is the most offensive word you could possibly say here! Definitely taboo as much here as in the US.
Thats nonsense, racist words are far more offensive. Ive heard "ya cunt" "ya wee cunt", "ya stupid cunt", "ya cunt faced prick" and other variants used between friends and whenever tony blair is explaining his latest thoughts on my tv screen 80.192.59.202 04:04, 22 October 2006 (UTC)
Latin is not a romance language according to romance language.
"similar-sounding Romance language words such as the Latin"
I think it's important to maintain the highest standards of scholarship so Wikipedia may maintain a positive public image, especially in this case since this article may be the only one the majority of people ever look at. 64.160.47.239 12:35, 18 Dec 2004 (UTC)
Gringo300 04:37, 17 October 2005 (UTC)
I believe it is incorrect to call it a slang term. In high school Latin class, where we read only the Aeneid for 2 years, "vagina" just means sheath, as the normal term.
Liber IV (thanks to gutenberg.org)
... Dixit, vaginaque eripit ensem
fulmineum, strictoque ferit retinacula ferro.
... He said, and his scabbard delivered forth his flashing sword, he struck the cable with sharp iron.
from The New College Latin and Englsh Dict.
by Traupman 1966:
"vagina f sheath, scabbard; sheath (of ear of grain), hull, husk; vagina"
Surely if it's in the Aeneid, the Roman state myth, it's the most correct linguistic paradigm, not slang.
I hope this note, and all consuming interest in the topic of this Wikipedia article, will encourage multitudinous thousands of high students to study the language of the greatest empire, whose influence remains pervasive; as I write, I use their letters. 67.113.2.180 20:22, 18 Dec 2004 (UTC) N.B. We just did this section in class today and yes it is worth learning latin jst for the teachers face.
The Latin word vagina does indeed simply mean "sheath"; it has counterparts in such fields as biology and botany, where words like "invaginate" refer to pouches in cell membranes and other such structures. The word penis means "tail"; I find the lack of correspondence between the terms of male and female genitalia somewhat odd. You would think anatomists would have called the male reproductive organ something like gladius (Latin for "sword"). It was once, after all, common in paintings to euphemistically depict sexual penetration with the metaphor of stabbing. Perhaps the anatomists deliberately wished to avoid such connotations and therefore chose an innoffensive word like "tail." -- Nonstopdrivel 12:42, 9 November 2006 (UTC)
"It is an old and native English word, replaced after the Norman Conquest by the Latin, vagina,..." "Cunt is an old Germanic word,..."
If it's Germanic, then it's not native English.
The Norman Conquest was 1066. The Romans conquered England a 1000 years previously. Wouldn't that add more plausibility to the etymological roots being in the Latin cunnus ?
I hope cunt scholars all over the world, with the help of government grants and the support of modern scientific networking and computer computations will be able to solve this important mystery. 64.160.47.72 20:46, 18 Dec 2004 (UTC)
I don't understand what you're saying. the English are Anglo-Saxon, i.e Germanic - like their language, English. if you're talking about a "Native" language to the area of Britain known as England, then you might mean an ancient dialect of Welsh. Or some kind of pre-Celtic stone age language. The Welsh might be cunts, but I wouldn't know about cavemen. -- 81.134.54.129 21:07, 22 Dec 2004 (UTC)
Please do not use this word in Muslim countries, especially prefaced by the word for the woman who married your father, possessive case, unless you intent to start a jihad.
That's not all that funny, but anyway I believe it makes a good point: that in other cultures some language is a lot more extreme, to the point of being "fighting words". In would be unfortunate for a nonnative English speaker to use certain language with the abandon of Americans, in the wrong foreign country. 64.168.30.47 09:17, 29 Dec 2004 (UTC) chut main bulla dalo
No idea why, in an encyclopedia, we have such a long quote on the etymology - the etymology of this word is no more interesting (in such cases, less) than that of thousands of other words in the encyclopedia.
Also, the article states that "The historical normality of Cunt can be shown by the existence of the River Kennet which derives its name from the same source." Do we have a source for this, please? The Popular Dictionary of English Places (A. D. Mills, Oxford University Press, 1991) says that "Kennet" is a Celtic name of doubtful origin. -- Rjp08773 00:19, 9 Jan 2005 (UTC)
I've certainly heard it said in several places that Kennet derived from Cunnit which is the same word as Cunt. It's mentioned in The Sun and The Serpent ISBN:, 0-9515183-1-3 and on http://www.matthewhunt.com/cunt.html http://www.searchword.org/cu/cunt.html and so on. I dunno if that counts as a source or not. Mjgd
On this subject, should we asterisk the PIE roots, since they're hypothetical? dmesg 20060710
Since this page gets vandalized a lot, let's try following the advice in Wikipedia:Troll#The value of slow reverts.
I'd like to point out that adding "James Blunt" as rhyming slang isn't vandalism, as the phrase has become fairly widely known - this is usually sufficient grounds for the OED to include entries, so I don't see why Wikipedia should be any different.
"It has cognates in most Germanic languages, such as the Swedish and Norwegian kunta"
The italicized text above was removed. The edit label was "kunta" is not used in modern Swedish or Norwegian, and there is no evidence that it has ever been used with the same meaning as "cunt". In fact the note that the word is cognate with the word kunta implies neither. Perhaps it should be noted that kunta is not a modern Swedish or Norwegian word. -- Tony Sidaway| Talk 21:38, 11 Mar 2005 (UTC)
The first sentence reads: "Cunt is an English term that refers to the human female genitals." Can someone confirm that it only refers to human genitals? Can cats or apes or other mammals not have cunts?
Gringo300 04:45, 17 October 2005 (UTC)
Isn't the term, when used against men, most often used against gay men, as an anti-gay slur?-- 67.123.232.156 00:41, 10 May 2005 (UTC)
The only time i've ever heard this word used on mainstream television was on the tv show 'Sex and the City'. An american tv show.
In the south park movie they claim that the word 'Fuck' is the worst word you can say. I was brought up to believe cunt is the worst word you can say.
From this i've gained the impression that the word is more acceptable in the US than it is in the UK or Australia.
...An Ausssie
I totally agree and have edited, cunt is not an acceptable word in either US or Commonwealth countries -JDnCoke
"Sex in the City" is pay-per-view, which is very different from what's allowable on free to air in America, from my understanding. They beep out "bitch", and blur the finger on NBC. I find cunt is very acceptable in parts of Australia, and have worked in jobs where people pepper their conversation with the word and nobody bats an eyelid. In fact, there could be an expansion on other Austeralian slang, derived from cunt - cunthook and cunt-struck are words I've heard used in conversation that also appear in the Macquarie dictionary.
...Another Aussie I don't really know what the fuss is all about with the word "cunt". I have offen been called a cunt, or a cunt of a bloke, or told to fuck of you cunt,along with some of my work couluges,(RAAF). The thing is. Cunts are usefull, and if I was a Cunt, I'd be very well off. But of course I'm not, but I'd be proud to be a cunt, I reckon, I'd be a nice cunt, the sort every bloke or lesbos would swoon over.
I'd smell pretty every day and night, yes I saw that show, sex in the city, and I quite liked it, How about when the girls were having a glass of water at a out door cafe, and she said something to the effect of " I hope my cunt isn't as big as this glass of water, while looking at her girlfriend whom promptly through down her glass of water, while her girl friend continued about her boyfriend cock and wondering if eh polished because it was shiny. However I digress, in the end we couldn't live with out cunts, reglass on how they present them selves.
Hay this is ment to be just a bit of light humor, please don't take offence People
An Aussie Male
I'm an American who spent a year studying in London in college and I watch a lot of British films and read British literature. I can vouch that "cunt" is much more offensive in the US than in the UK.
Ahh yeah, la puta... "the whore" in Spanish... LOL....quite a fucking cunt indeed. :) 165.230.149.169 22:48, 13 Jun 2005 (UTC)
There is band going by this name on the North east of England pub rock scene. Perhaps they deserve some kind of mention?
"North Americans generally find the word more offensive than the British and Australians; in Britain, unlike in America, "cunt" can be used as a jovial term of endearment in very limited specific contexts. Most Britons however do find the word extremely objectionable. In Britain, it is known as the worst swearword that can be said, and is rarely used."
The paragraph says that Britons don't find the word as offensive as North Americans, then goes on to say they think it's the worst swear. I'm assuming this should read "In North America, it is known as the worst..." P0per 03:36, 24 Jun 2005 (UTC)
I have removed this sentence, which is not accurate:
"It was replaced after the Norman Conquest, in jargon but not in the common tongue, by the Latin vagina."
As the article itself indicates, it was not "replaced" at all - what "in jargon" means I don't know. No evidence is provided that the Norman Conquest had anything to do with the adoption of the word vagina in English. I rather doubt it. It emerges from the use of latin in medical discourse.
I've altered the feminist section because it confuses together two issues - the use of the word for female genitals and the use of the word as an instulting label for a person. It also inaccurately stated that male-genitals are not used in an equivalent insulting way. They certainly are in British English. Paul B 16:19, 3 July 2005
I am removing the section that states Australians use 'cunt' as generically or liberally as 'fuck' and so on. It is blatantly false, indeed absurd; the word is as offensive in Australia as the US or any of the other Commonwealth countries, and I cannot imagine even the most vulgar redneck saying "Could you pass me the cunt".
Silent C, no disrepect, but you're a pretty silly cunt. I direct you to the Macquarie Dictionary book of slang: http://www.macquariedictionary.com.au/anonymous@FFC64234139+0/-/p/dict/slang-c.html , definition 4. Cunt is a common word where I work. I'm guessing your job keeps you in an office, not at a factory or outside. KRC
The word cunt is used often to refer to inanimate objects. If you've ever had a job in a workshop, or a construction site in Australia you'd know this. Whoever removed the section on Australian usuage, you don't know just how much the word is used. It's used more liberally than fuck in some circles.
Don't throw around words like "blatantly false, indeed absurd;", when you obviously are ignorant on the subject.
"Start up the cunts" (start up a truck) "pass the cunts" (pass me the screws) etc "What are you cunts doing" (what are you people doing?) obviously context becomes very important with the word cunt
-- rom
Can we agree on this - in some circles cunt is used quite liberally in Australia but I'd think you'd find that its only amongst people who know each other relatively well on some level. However if you do not think it is the most offensive word I'd like to know what is. Whilest fuck might be more commonplace now in some Australian television and media, cunt is still crossing another line altogether and I've seen it regularly as c**t in The West Australian newspaper - 25/1/2006 -
User:RoyalDave
Some circles is right, but not just isolated groups. Used alot by people who work with their hands or outside. Knowing someone well is not required, in those industries usuage of cunt(to refer to anything) is expected in Australia. Also in many pubs, the word cunt will be used among strangers liberally and not be intended to cause offence. --rom
I spoke to a few mates about this topic, when I asked them how much the word cunt was used in australia they all said "alot", "heaps" or that it's "overused", we debated the definition of sus-cunt, and agreed that cunt was not always intended to be offensive.
Then I showed them the current australian usage section, after laughing about how comprehensive wikipedia was, they agreed the article was accurate. The only sticking point being, that the term is also used in a similar way in New Zealand, and possibably the UK.
Could some kiwi or british wikipedians fill us in on whether cunt is used as a pronoun in your countries? Logically affirmitive responses carry more weight than negative since to say a word isn't used in this fashion is to say that you've heard a large enough cross section of society speaking over a long enough period of time, in enough situations to say the term isn't used with certainty. On the other hand, the burdern of proof is on positive statements (and i'm saying Cunt is an Australian pronoun).... you can rest assured that cunt is a pronoun among working class Australian males and it's usage as such is not at all uncommon. I think most australian wikipedians would agree.
As a working class Australian male, I can indeed confirm that the word is used extensively (perhaps too much?).
Fat cunt, stupid cunt, silly cunt, funny cunt etc, aren't used as compund words anywhere I've seen them in print, and I've removed them accordingly.
I don't think you can make a linguistic comment about a socio-economic class in Australia. I work an office job and the word "cunt" is something I hear on the odd occasion and it is not something people (particularly males) make a fuss about. In social circles that I associate with I find that economic class does not relate at all to usage of the word. I think it is rediculous to suggest it is a working class word.
This is a stupid argument and it needs to be stoppped. Its turning into a flame war by one group who use it all the time and another that use it occasionally. Its very simple. In construction site etc. environment its quite normal to use it, if you said that to your boss, he wouldnt even blink. If you worked in an office, you would be told to not swear so much in some places, and in others you would be fired. This is obviously a generalisation however I hope that non australians will understand the point. Australians who say 'i say blah blah at my work', stop talking shit. Your work isnt the whole of Australia.-- Dem 23:37, 14 March 2006 (UTC)
That's why most of this section should be culled - it's largely anecdotal. Isn't there some "no original research" rule? And an office worker and a plumber can both be "working class" so that appelation is pretty fucking useless.
Racial terms of abuse like Redneck, usually referring to fair skinned people who live in warmer climates aren't helpful. Infact, wikipedia was founded by such people. And many of these industries are you describing as shit shovelling have the highest average wages in Australia, and are responsible for most of the exports. I don't know or care what you do, but your criticisms are way off the mark.
You cunts carry on about cunt a lot. Who gives a fuck?
Does anyone actually have a citation for the OED claim, other than a blog? We don't accept blog comments as adequate citations.
There are some other peculiar claims in the article; for example, in which "Commonwealth countries" is the word "occasionally used as a jovial term of endearment (e.g. 'he's a good cunt')"? And how "occasionally" are we talking about? -- Mel Etitis ( Μελ Ετητης) 09:14, 19 August 2005 (UTC)
Well, my apologies if I've offended you, but in fact going back before that diff it's clear that the material that I deleted was in fact first added by Coqsportif (together with the photo of the fake street sign), as part of his attempt to keep the image, and was deleted by Viriditas as well as by me. Bad faith didn't have to be assumed; it was hitting us round the head with cries of childish anger. Secondly, though, I didn't automatically delete the material because it had been added by him; I read it, and judged that it was inappropriate for the summary of this article (certainly in its original form). That wasn't only because it was inadequately cited (which is very often taken to be good reason to remove a claim whoever added it), but because it was at best suitable for a section on the origins of the word rather than the summary. Thirdly, the version that I deleted in the diff you provide was also inaccurate; there's no reason to suppose that the word was less frowned upon in those places. -- Mel Etitis ( Μελ Ετητης) 18:03, 21 August 2005 (UTC)
coqsportif is permanently blocked, so all this is moot, no? Gamaliel 03:22, 22 August 2005 (UTC)
I agree, but Chocolateboy is clearly worked up about this, and a few responses might help. I agree that I had a conflict with Coqsportif, and I was also hurried (having other extensive vandalism issues in hand); if that made me overhasty in not explaining myself, I apologise. I can only repeat, though, that I did take enough time to consider my deletions. I didn't (still don't) think that the reference to Groipecuntlane" was relevant to the summary (nor is it etymological; it tell us nothing about the word's etymology, only its first appearance, in a context that shows it to have been already in common use). I also agree that the OED doesn't need secondary citations, but an unreliable editor's claim as to what the OED says needs corroboration. -- Mel Etitis ( Μελ Ετητης) 09:43, 22 August 2005 (UTC)
1) The "origin" or "source" of a word includes its first recorded use, so three of those citations, along with the Longman Dictionary of the English Language ("The history of the origin and development of a word") confirm the "disagreement".
2) "Secondly, though, I didn't automatically delete the material because it had been added by him" vs "you know full well which editor I was referring to". It wasn't added by coqsportif. It was added by Rich Farmbrough, and edited by myself, and Paul Barlow, among others. You claim that you "did take enough time to consider [ your ] deletions", but keep gamboling away from this simple and trivially verifiable fact.
3) "Now you're being needlessly confrontational". I'd categorize blind reversions as "needlessly confrontational", particularly when the reverter stubbornly refuses to concede that the reverts were taking out good faith edits caught in the crossfire.
chocolateboy 17:54, 23 August 2005 (UTC)
What, no mention of \"See you next Tuesday\"?
--- you forget \"see you auntie\" (phone-et-ik-alley)
also See You Newt
I've turned the euphemisms paragraph into its own section, with a list - I think it was in dire need of tidying up...
Any chance of a picture? -- 211.218.1.177 15:55, 23 October 2005 (UTC)JohnO
In the US I've noticed the term is usually used to insult females, in Britain almost always men. This isn't mentioned in the article. Should it be? -- Sachabrunel 20:52, 20 December 2005 (UTC)
This article isn't bad but I think it needs some tightening up -- maybe choose a few very relevant cultural uses and consolidate them into one section, and define a clear structure for the article to follow. I'll work on it later if I have time. Tim Pierce 00:03, 23 December 2005 (UTC)
See Ref: http://whitlamdismissal.com/speeches/00-05-24_politicians-humour-debate.shtml
In December 1997 Alan Ramsey, who has an unrivalled memory for the peccadilloes of politicians, wrote that Menzies had called Calwell "a piece of scum" and that I had called Billy McMahon "a runt". I sent him a fax:
I used the word for an aspiring Prime Minister, not a Prime Minister (Abiding Interests, page 23). It was apt but cruel. A person as tall as I should not have used it. Never in the House did I use the word which comes to mind.
"The nearest I came to doing so was when Sir Winton Turnbull, a member of the cavalleria rusticana, was raving and ranting on the adjournment and shouted: "I am a Country member". I interjected "I remember". He could not understand why, for the first time in all the years he had been speaking in the House, there was instant and loud applause from both sides."
The above might be worth a mention.
~~JohnI~~
My anecdotal impression from Scottish authors and films is that cunt is very commonly employed in much the same manner the article describes cunt's usage in Australia--far more casually than it is used in the rest of the United Kingdom. If this impression is correct, maybe this should be mentioned. If not, please disabuse me.
I would agree with the above. I would also suggest that Irvine Welsh would be an appropriate example of a high-profile author who uses the term prevalently in his novels, as part of popular language. Misterduffy 20:12, 9 January 2007 (UTC).
Yes it is occasionally used in a friendly manner but im not sure if it is so common as to merit a mention. An Siarach
I have lived in Scotland all my life, and I would say it most definitely deserves a mention. Such phrases are in common usage...
"aw cunt" = everybody, "a good cunt" = a nice guy,
Well, I live in Glasgow and I would have to say it is more prevalent in Glasgow and the surrounding areas. I myself (ashamedley!) use many of the phrases every day......
"any cunt" - anybody e.g. "Any cunt coulda guessed that!" - "Anybody could have guessed that" "every cunt" - everyone/everybody e.g. "I've tellt every cunt tae get the bus to toon" - "I've told everyone to get the bus into town" "nae cunt" - nobody e.g. "Make sure nae cunt buys it!" - "Make sure nobody buys it"
It can also be used as an adjective ...
"He's a gid cunt" - "He's a good lad" "Whae's that cunt there?" - "Who's that there?"
It's also a term of endearment - especially in the form of "ya cunt"....I think a suitable translation for some people would be "buddy".... e.g. "It's alright ya cunt!" - "It's alright buddy/dude."
Just my thoughts!!
00:59, 28 December 2006 (UTC) Regards, Callum Lawson Callum Zephir, 28th December 2006
In "Chewin' the Fat" there were a series of sketches were a grandfather type figure was out walking with his grandson and they would walk past a variety of situations e.g. man posing in his convertable Porsche, and he would say to his grandson "Some people can and some people can't, and he's a can't." Bigmcben 17:57, 30 December 2006 (UTC) Keith J Bell
I think Deadwood has outdone any of the mainstream media listed as far as usage of the word. They've said it more often and with a range of emotion from comical to pure hatred.
As far as the jovial British usage, Shaun Of The Dead would serve as a good example.
It appears that there are at least three etymologies for cunt given in the article, one tracing it back to PIE *gwen-, "woman", another to PIE *gen-, "to beget", another to PIE *ku-, "to cover"; in addition, a non-Indo-European origin is suggested. However, the article does not clarify the situation enough. Alexander 007 20:47, 6 February 2006 (UTC)
What about cunning? The relationship to this word is very political and ought to be mentioned.
Why should it be mentioned? They're not related. Don't be a silly cunt.
May I comment that this page is far too short. 4000 words on the subject of "cunt" is far too few, we really need more details. This is, after all, a critical subject! Thank you. --05:53, 14 March 2006 (UTC)
I think that it is quite clear from discussions here that certain people in the English-speaking world find the word acceptable in general conversation, using it as often as other 'swear words' such as shit and fuck, and in contexts where shock and offence are not intended, whilst others find the word generally offensive or disgusting in most, if not all circumstances. I think that the article should relay the fact that there is this range of attitudes towards the word in the 'usage' section.
I don't think, however, that we ought to be pointing out which people find the words acceptable and which do not by means of very broad demographic generalisations. The implication that Australians find the word more acceptable than the British or Americans is quite a gross generalisation, as is the generalisation that the word is more associated with the 'working classes'. These generalisations seem to be based on people's personal experiences more than anything else and come over as quite flimsy arguments. I also feel that we're getting into rather dangerous territory when we mention subjective definitions such as 'class' which I feel are best left to other articles.
By all means, make note of changing attitudes towards the word, but not like this. Perhaps something more tangible such as accounts of how the media use and censor the word would be a better way of going about things?
The following ridiculous and unverifiable assertion was removed 2006-03-22. It was added on 2006-03-17 by an anonymous user who has no previous or subsequent edits; I think it's safe to consider it vandalism. Rpresser 19:16, 22 March 2006 (UTC)
Found this in the text, not sure its totally accurate
"Often when cunt is intended to offend it is used to mean George Bush - the biggest dick licker on the planet earth."
It's accurate, though I wish I could have put it in his mom's ass... Dexter111344 23:48, 19 April 2006 (UTC)
Is that section really intended to be a list of every single time the word is mentioned in a book, movie, or TV show? Some of the entries seem pretty trivial, like "Used in The Exorcist, and the vehicle driven by "Pimp Bob." Joyous | Talk 14:38, 29 April 2006 (UTC)
I removed the odd footnote that states that "kunta" does not exist in modern Swedish and that there is no evidence that word ever meant the same as the English one. As currently phrased, this is inappropriate. There is no point adding a note that seems simply to contradict the main text. All the sources I have consulted state that the term does exist in Swedish as a dialect word. It is difficult to understand what purpose this footnote is supposed to serve, since it merely confuses the reader by stating the opposite of what the text says without any qualification. Incidentally, being linguistically cognate does not require that the word have an identical meaning. Paul B 11:45, 3 May 2006 (UTC)
Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Meco"
I've always understood the RCH to be the smallest measurement. Lou Sander 02:43, 28 May 2006 (UTC)
"Drop kick and punt" is also rhyming slang. It is usually shortened to dropkick, where it then becomes less vulgar (The federal treasurer of Australia used it against an opposition MP last week and didnt get told to withdraw his comment or anything)
Someone edited out the point that a more polite but less accurate word for "cunt" is "vagina." I think they were mistaken in doing that.
In my experience, "cunt" refers to the collection of all externally visible female genitalia, including the vagina. A cunt is what one would see when viewing a so-called "spread shot" on a porn site. Also in my experience, there are significant numbers of people who confuse the word "vagina" with the whole cunt (so to speak). Rush Limbaugh is one of these -- when talking of a piece of candy shaped like a woman's "thing," he said it was shaped like a vagina. IMHO, many others make the same error. Lou Sander 04:07, 15 June 2006 (UTC)
In my experience in the U.S., men are rarely referred to as cunts. A cunt is first and foremost a cunt, or a woman's "thing." As a synecdoche, the word is sometimes used to refer to a woman or women, usually in a slightly derogatory way (though some of them seem to be greatly offended by such usage): "That dumb cunt Hillary," or "Duke University is just a bunch of cunts teaching feminist claptrap to unsuspecting rich kids." There's often a connotation of stupidity, foolishness or silliness when the word is used in this way.
Also in the U.S., when a man is referred to with a female genitalia term, in my experience the preferred word is "pussy," and the meaning connotes effeminacy or non-manliness. "You're such a pussy, John... you never join us for beers," or "The Marine Corps is looking for a few good men, and the Air Force is looking for pussies."
I've never heard the sort of cunt-calling towards men and towards oneself that seems to be common in the U.K. and Australia. Lou Sander 00:56, 16 June 2006 (UTC)
I've decided to be bold and do some copy editing on this long article. The first step was to shorten the introduction and make it summarize the word, its definitions, and some of its other aspects. Everything (except the proto-German reference) that I removed from the introduction was moved elsewhere, often to Usage.
I added the stuff about synecdoche because this usage is so massively covered in the article, so probably should be explained. (If you read the article, you'd think that the word applies to people rather than anatomical parts.)
I put "Vulgarity and offensiveness" in its own section. (There's other material in the article that probably belongs there, too. I'll collect it all and move it.)
Unless people hate what I've done so far, I'm planning to tackle other sections of the article soon. As of now, it seems to me that both the etymology and the examples of use are seriously overlong. I'd appreciate feedback on that view, of course. Lou Sander 17:24, 17 June 2006 (UTC)
Continuing to copy edit. Moved things around, but didn't change anything. Changed "Usage" to "Usage: Contemporary," and combined U.S. and non-U.S. material under that heading. A new heading, "Breaking taboo," covers use of the word on television, in films, etc. Next I plan to work on "Usage: Contemporary," probably having subsections on use as an anatomical word, about women, about men, and about inanimate objects. So far, nobody has complained about my copy editing, so I'm going to continue it along the same general lines. Lou Sander 20:19, 11 July 2006 (UTC)
We could use help from someone familiar with Indian languages based on Sanskrit. I believe our words on yoni are proper and correct, but I'm far from an authority. Someone could provide confirmation, or correction, or ???? Lou Sander 19:33, 5 July 2006 (UTC)
It would also be nice to know if other languages have non-vulgar words for the anatomical area denoted by cunt. Lou Sander 12:55, 14 July 2006 (UTC)
I'm thinking that we should all work hard to make this article as good as we possibly can. Reasons: 1)The sensitive nature of the subject (no pun intended), and 2) Young people no doubt visit this article in huge numbers, looking for "dirty words." We shouldn't let "cunt" disappoint them. Lou Sander 13:57, 14 July 2006 (UTC)
Half this talk page seems to be Aussie. Anyway do people in Australia use cunt in a friendly manner (he's a silly cunt) as is indicated by the article. I haven't heard that anywhere but british TV/movies (i'm an aussie). The bellman 09:59, 15 July 2006 (UTC)
The external link to Yoni Yagna - Celebration of Cunt seems to have some legitimate application to this article, but the home page of the site cautions that it is only for people over 21. Also, the linked-to page is more about sexual stimulation than it is about the word "cunt." I'm thinking that it should be removed on those two grounds. What do you think? Lou Sander 15:12, 22 July 2006 (UTC)
The link being only appropriate for over 21s is no grounds for it not to be considered appropriate for wikipedia, because that would be cesnorship. IF it's about masturbation or sexual stimulation and not about CUNT per se than that is grounds for it to be removed.
While the contemporary clinical use of the term "pudendum" in English is relatively neutral, it should probably be noted that this Latin derived term's literal meaning is actually very negative. The word "pudendum" is derived from the neuter gerundive of pudēre, "to make or be ashamed".
Why? To make the article even longer, and cuntier?
I've removed the sentence which stated that this word is ‘clearly related’ to the English word cut, which is not true. Widsith 10:06, 18 August 2006 (UTC)
Do vaginas really exist? Can some cunt tell me?
"kott" is no German word, as it says here. It might be a word of some German dialect I don't know, but that dialect would be a very exotic one and the word would be spelt with a capital K anyway. Does anyone know if there is a German word with the same etymology?
Well, I am German and don't know the word "kott" or a similar word with the same meaning as "cunt". The most suitable translation would be "Fotze" or "Futt".
But it COULD be an old german word, which I never heard of..
I have heard in UK that this word was used to refer to the scabbard that a field-hand kept his sharpening stone in for a scythe.
Also in UK, Lloyd Bridges underwater series on TV, "Sea Hunt" was interpreted as C-unt.
Dmp224 20:17, 7 October 2006 (UTC)
The following uses are weasel words:
- Davodd 08:31, 10 October 2006 (UTC)
Google gave no help for the source of the quote "I use the word cunt a lot, because the only way to get through to the youth of today is to use words that will grab their attention" -- CliffC 02:21, 30 October 2006 (UTC)
Is is worth noting that Stephen Fry recently defined "countryside" as "the act of killing Piers Morgan"?
Yes, we must write about every single time the word cunt was ever used. Including the sentence just written.
There seems to be some disagreement on this topic in the editing, so I thought I'd bring it to the Talkpage. I've heard variations on "thin as a cunt hair" and "move it over just a cunt hair" in almost every region of the U.S. While it certainly enjoys popular usage, you can't reasonably expect to find it in a technical dictionary. A ref from a dictionary of slang would seem to be appropriate under the circumstances; that's what the usage is. -- Doc Tropics Message in a bottle 04:53, 9 November 2006 (UTC)
A cunt cap. This one happens to be worn by a woman, but most are worn by men.
i lol'd. 2nd Piston Honda 11:19, 12 November 2006 (UTC)
Might I suggest that British usage differs from American usage in that, in Britain (or possibly just England), a woman wouldn't be referred to as a "cunt", where in American usage the word seems reserved for this purpose.
This isn't just out of protectiveness towards women, to save them from the harshest swear word, but to call a woman a "cunt" just sounds wrong and out of place. A man is often referred to as a cunt or a twat, but not a woman. You can call a woman a bitch, a whore, a slag, a slapper, but not a cunt. A cunt is what they have, not what they are. It just doesn't "feel" right. Calling them a slag sounds far worse.
Most insults against women refer to their promiscuity, while men are more often referred to in terms of body parts or excrement.
I have heard "twat" used in reference to women, but only by other women. A man can cause far more damage by calling them a whore etc. In British usage, almost anything can be called a "cunt" by a man, but not a woman. Perhaps this is worse than American usage, as British men don't even dignify women with their "own" insult, but just refer to them in disparaging sexual terms?
Can I alter the article to reflect this? Or are there any British people who disagree with me? It's just that I have heard the word used (in my opinion) wrongly by British characters in American films and TV shows, and it annoys me. Incorrectly scripted swearing sounds like a Stradivarius violin being played out of tune!
I have just spent 3 hours reading this, are'nt I a dumb cunt an aussie again
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![]() | This is an archive of past discussions. Do not edit the contents of this page. If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, please do so on the current talk page. |
Archive 1 | Archive 2 | Archive 3 | → | Archive 5 |
A couple of meathods of reffering to someone as a cunt, in britain at least are missing. I suggest the following be added: - Imannuel Kant, in the for of "you bloody Immanuel!" - King Cnut. Not rhyming slang, but the king's name is used quite often as an allusion to "Cunt". 87.194.7.55 23:32, 2 December 2006 (UTC)
The article claims that cunt is more offensive when it is used to refer to a body part then it is when it is used to refer to a person. There is no source for this claim and it seems totally made up. Ask a woman about her cunt, and you are likely to get a raised eyebrow and a sigh. Call a woman a cunt, and you are likely to get slapped. 65.125.163.221 10:53, 30 July 2006 (UTC)
No I don't have a source just personal experience, but the point is that the contrary claim made in the article is also unsourced. Per Wiki policy I think the article should just limit itself to stating that "cunt" is offensive to many, and not attempt to specify ewhich use is worse 65.125.163.221 07:11, 1 August 2006 (UTC)
wikipedia is not a dictionary. how is this relevent to an encyclopedia? Kingturtle 22:51 Apr 30, 2003 (UTC)
The Oxford English Dictionary does not cite any Latin cognate of this word and in fact states that beyond its cognates in the Germanic languages, its "ulterior relations are uncertain". The relationship with Latin cunnus therefore appears to be guesswork (even if it is guesswork by a feminist academic) and not linguistic fact. Rjp_uk 14:21 23 Dec 2003 (UTC)
I dont understand why this word is some major terrible word, it refers to the vagina, but if you call someone a "vagina" or "twinkle" or "fanny" or some other word meaning the same thing, it is not seen as remotely near as offensive. I just dont understand how one single word can notoriously be some majorly bad word when its just a word, one of many referring to something normal. Its the same with other words, why is "fuck" more vulgar than "screw" ? They mean the same thing! Its silly really! TR_Wolf
Isnt there supposed to be some link to the word "cunning" and an argument suggesting its to do with men seeing women as untrustworthy (vaguely recalling a feminist on tv) Ps in the UK, there is the phrase "oh ya cunt!" as an exclamation of surprise or shock and though its not encouraged, I dont think its thought of as badly as when you refer to somebody in particular as one:} 80.192.59.202 03:51, 22 October 2006 (UTC)
Somewhere it should be mentioned that the equivalent word for the main male sexual organ ("prick") has not nearly the taboo attached to it the way "cunt" has
It says this at the moment: "One of the first persons to use the word on British television was the ITN news reader Trevor MacDonald, who accidentally mispronounced Kent." er - so - he didn't say it, did he? - he mispronounced Kent, which is not "saying cunt" by any strecth of the imagination. It may be interesting to quote who did say it, but this isn't it. I am removing it. 82.35.17.203 21:20, 11 Mar 2004 (UTC)
I don't wanna add this info yet, but I've heard somewhere that cunt is considered to be the most offensive word in the English language, can anyone confirm? Obli 18:42, 27 Jun 2004 (UTC)
{{source}}
Yeah, right. 67.113.2.180 20:29, 18 Dec 2004 (UTC)
When Twelfth night is quoted....shouldn't it be Cs &c. instead of C's &c.?
Cunt can be considered as a term of endearment in the UK? I've never heard that, and I lived there for 13 years. Is it just a regional thing? Chewyman 21:49, 13 Oct 2004 (NZT)
Cunt is definately a term of endearment in the UK. It is regularly used as an effectionate term of abuse amongst close friends. Tone of voice and inflection are vital to differentiate from abuse. 62.3.70.68 20:47, 11 June 2006 (UTC)
The most frequent use as an endearment I have encountered in the UK has been "you daft cunt". However, this can also be used malevolently. Nickorando 22:44, 22 January 2007 (UTC)
---
"The last genuinely unprintable word". Genuinely unprintable where? In North America? At least two major, serious British newspapers (The Guardian and The Independent) have printed this word on numerous occasions. The word appeared in British newspapers for the first time in the late 1980s. ---
I completely disagree with what this article says, suggesting that the word is less offensive in the UK. It is the most offensive word you could possibly say here! Definitely taboo as much here as in the US.
Thats nonsense, racist words are far more offensive. Ive heard "ya cunt" "ya wee cunt", "ya stupid cunt", "ya cunt faced prick" and other variants used between friends and whenever tony blair is explaining his latest thoughts on my tv screen 80.192.59.202 04:04, 22 October 2006 (UTC)
Latin is not a romance language according to romance language.
"similar-sounding Romance language words such as the Latin"
I think it's important to maintain the highest standards of scholarship so Wikipedia may maintain a positive public image, especially in this case since this article may be the only one the majority of people ever look at. 64.160.47.239 12:35, 18 Dec 2004 (UTC)
Gringo300 04:37, 17 October 2005 (UTC)
I believe it is incorrect to call it a slang term. In high school Latin class, where we read only the Aeneid for 2 years, "vagina" just means sheath, as the normal term.
Liber IV (thanks to gutenberg.org)
... Dixit, vaginaque eripit ensem
fulmineum, strictoque ferit retinacula ferro.
... He said, and his scabbard delivered forth his flashing sword, he struck the cable with sharp iron.
from The New College Latin and Englsh Dict.
by Traupman 1966:
"vagina f sheath, scabbard; sheath (of ear of grain), hull, husk; vagina"
Surely if it's in the Aeneid, the Roman state myth, it's the most correct linguistic paradigm, not slang.
I hope this note, and all consuming interest in the topic of this Wikipedia article, will encourage multitudinous thousands of high students to study the language of the greatest empire, whose influence remains pervasive; as I write, I use their letters. 67.113.2.180 20:22, 18 Dec 2004 (UTC) N.B. We just did this section in class today and yes it is worth learning latin jst for the teachers face.
The Latin word vagina does indeed simply mean "sheath"; it has counterparts in such fields as biology and botany, where words like "invaginate" refer to pouches in cell membranes and other such structures. The word penis means "tail"; I find the lack of correspondence between the terms of male and female genitalia somewhat odd. You would think anatomists would have called the male reproductive organ something like gladius (Latin for "sword"). It was once, after all, common in paintings to euphemistically depict sexual penetration with the metaphor of stabbing. Perhaps the anatomists deliberately wished to avoid such connotations and therefore chose an innoffensive word like "tail." -- Nonstopdrivel 12:42, 9 November 2006 (UTC)
"It is an old and native English word, replaced after the Norman Conquest by the Latin, vagina,..." "Cunt is an old Germanic word,..."
If it's Germanic, then it's not native English.
The Norman Conquest was 1066. The Romans conquered England a 1000 years previously. Wouldn't that add more plausibility to the etymological roots being in the Latin cunnus ?
I hope cunt scholars all over the world, with the help of government grants and the support of modern scientific networking and computer computations will be able to solve this important mystery. 64.160.47.72 20:46, 18 Dec 2004 (UTC)
I don't understand what you're saying. the English are Anglo-Saxon, i.e Germanic - like their language, English. if you're talking about a "Native" language to the area of Britain known as England, then you might mean an ancient dialect of Welsh. Or some kind of pre-Celtic stone age language. The Welsh might be cunts, but I wouldn't know about cavemen. -- 81.134.54.129 21:07, 22 Dec 2004 (UTC)
Please do not use this word in Muslim countries, especially prefaced by the word for the woman who married your father, possessive case, unless you intent to start a jihad.
That's not all that funny, but anyway I believe it makes a good point: that in other cultures some language is a lot more extreme, to the point of being "fighting words". In would be unfortunate for a nonnative English speaker to use certain language with the abandon of Americans, in the wrong foreign country. 64.168.30.47 09:17, 29 Dec 2004 (UTC) chut main bulla dalo
No idea why, in an encyclopedia, we have such a long quote on the etymology - the etymology of this word is no more interesting (in such cases, less) than that of thousands of other words in the encyclopedia.
Also, the article states that "The historical normality of Cunt can be shown by the existence of the River Kennet which derives its name from the same source." Do we have a source for this, please? The Popular Dictionary of English Places (A. D. Mills, Oxford University Press, 1991) says that "Kennet" is a Celtic name of doubtful origin. -- Rjp08773 00:19, 9 Jan 2005 (UTC)
I've certainly heard it said in several places that Kennet derived from Cunnit which is the same word as Cunt. It's mentioned in The Sun and The Serpent ISBN:, 0-9515183-1-3 and on http://www.matthewhunt.com/cunt.html http://www.searchword.org/cu/cunt.html and so on. I dunno if that counts as a source or not. Mjgd
On this subject, should we asterisk the PIE roots, since they're hypothetical? dmesg 20060710
Since this page gets vandalized a lot, let's try following the advice in Wikipedia:Troll#The value of slow reverts.
I'd like to point out that adding "James Blunt" as rhyming slang isn't vandalism, as the phrase has become fairly widely known - this is usually sufficient grounds for the OED to include entries, so I don't see why Wikipedia should be any different.
"It has cognates in most Germanic languages, such as the Swedish and Norwegian kunta"
The italicized text above was removed. The edit label was "kunta" is not used in modern Swedish or Norwegian, and there is no evidence that it has ever been used with the same meaning as "cunt". In fact the note that the word is cognate with the word kunta implies neither. Perhaps it should be noted that kunta is not a modern Swedish or Norwegian word. -- Tony Sidaway| Talk 21:38, 11 Mar 2005 (UTC)
The first sentence reads: "Cunt is an English term that refers to the human female genitals." Can someone confirm that it only refers to human genitals? Can cats or apes or other mammals not have cunts?
Gringo300 04:45, 17 October 2005 (UTC)
Isn't the term, when used against men, most often used against gay men, as an anti-gay slur?-- 67.123.232.156 00:41, 10 May 2005 (UTC)
The only time i've ever heard this word used on mainstream television was on the tv show 'Sex and the City'. An american tv show.
In the south park movie they claim that the word 'Fuck' is the worst word you can say. I was brought up to believe cunt is the worst word you can say.
From this i've gained the impression that the word is more acceptable in the US than it is in the UK or Australia.
...An Ausssie
I totally agree and have edited, cunt is not an acceptable word in either US or Commonwealth countries -JDnCoke
"Sex in the City" is pay-per-view, which is very different from what's allowable on free to air in America, from my understanding. They beep out "bitch", and blur the finger on NBC. I find cunt is very acceptable in parts of Australia, and have worked in jobs where people pepper their conversation with the word and nobody bats an eyelid. In fact, there could be an expansion on other Austeralian slang, derived from cunt - cunthook and cunt-struck are words I've heard used in conversation that also appear in the Macquarie dictionary.
...Another Aussie I don't really know what the fuss is all about with the word "cunt". I have offen been called a cunt, or a cunt of a bloke, or told to fuck of you cunt,along with some of my work couluges,(RAAF). The thing is. Cunts are usefull, and if I was a Cunt, I'd be very well off. But of course I'm not, but I'd be proud to be a cunt, I reckon, I'd be a nice cunt, the sort every bloke or lesbos would swoon over.
I'd smell pretty every day and night, yes I saw that show, sex in the city, and I quite liked it, How about when the girls were having a glass of water at a out door cafe, and she said something to the effect of " I hope my cunt isn't as big as this glass of water, while looking at her girlfriend whom promptly through down her glass of water, while her girl friend continued about her boyfriend cock and wondering if eh polished because it was shiny. However I digress, in the end we couldn't live with out cunts, reglass on how they present them selves.
Hay this is ment to be just a bit of light humor, please don't take offence People
An Aussie Male
I'm an American who spent a year studying in London in college and I watch a lot of British films and read British literature. I can vouch that "cunt" is much more offensive in the US than in the UK.
Ahh yeah, la puta... "the whore" in Spanish... LOL....quite a fucking cunt indeed. :) 165.230.149.169 22:48, 13 Jun 2005 (UTC)
There is band going by this name on the North east of England pub rock scene. Perhaps they deserve some kind of mention?
"North Americans generally find the word more offensive than the British and Australians; in Britain, unlike in America, "cunt" can be used as a jovial term of endearment in very limited specific contexts. Most Britons however do find the word extremely objectionable. In Britain, it is known as the worst swearword that can be said, and is rarely used."
The paragraph says that Britons don't find the word as offensive as North Americans, then goes on to say they think it's the worst swear. I'm assuming this should read "In North America, it is known as the worst..." P0per 03:36, 24 Jun 2005 (UTC)
I have removed this sentence, which is not accurate:
"It was replaced after the Norman Conquest, in jargon but not in the common tongue, by the Latin vagina."
As the article itself indicates, it was not "replaced" at all - what "in jargon" means I don't know. No evidence is provided that the Norman Conquest had anything to do with the adoption of the word vagina in English. I rather doubt it. It emerges from the use of latin in medical discourse.
I've altered the feminist section because it confuses together two issues - the use of the word for female genitals and the use of the word as an instulting label for a person. It also inaccurately stated that male-genitals are not used in an equivalent insulting way. They certainly are in British English. Paul B 16:19, 3 July 2005
I am removing the section that states Australians use 'cunt' as generically or liberally as 'fuck' and so on. It is blatantly false, indeed absurd; the word is as offensive in Australia as the US or any of the other Commonwealth countries, and I cannot imagine even the most vulgar redneck saying "Could you pass me the cunt".
Silent C, no disrepect, but you're a pretty silly cunt. I direct you to the Macquarie Dictionary book of slang: http://www.macquariedictionary.com.au/anonymous@FFC64234139+0/-/p/dict/slang-c.html , definition 4. Cunt is a common word where I work. I'm guessing your job keeps you in an office, not at a factory or outside. KRC
The word cunt is used often to refer to inanimate objects. If you've ever had a job in a workshop, or a construction site in Australia you'd know this. Whoever removed the section on Australian usuage, you don't know just how much the word is used. It's used more liberally than fuck in some circles.
Don't throw around words like "blatantly false, indeed absurd;", when you obviously are ignorant on the subject.
"Start up the cunts" (start up a truck) "pass the cunts" (pass me the screws) etc "What are you cunts doing" (what are you people doing?) obviously context becomes very important with the word cunt
-- rom
Can we agree on this - in some circles cunt is used quite liberally in Australia but I'd think you'd find that its only amongst people who know each other relatively well on some level. However if you do not think it is the most offensive word I'd like to know what is. Whilest fuck might be more commonplace now in some Australian television and media, cunt is still crossing another line altogether and I've seen it regularly as c**t in The West Australian newspaper - 25/1/2006 -
User:RoyalDave
Some circles is right, but not just isolated groups. Used alot by people who work with their hands or outside. Knowing someone well is not required, in those industries usuage of cunt(to refer to anything) is expected in Australia. Also in many pubs, the word cunt will be used among strangers liberally and not be intended to cause offence. --rom
I spoke to a few mates about this topic, when I asked them how much the word cunt was used in australia they all said "alot", "heaps" or that it's "overused", we debated the definition of sus-cunt, and agreed that cunt was not always intended to be offensive.
Then I showed them the current australian usage section, after laughing about how comprehensive wikipedia was, they agreed the article was accurate. The only sticking point being, that the term is also used in a similar way in New Zealand, and possibably the UK.
Could some kiwi or british wikipedians fill us in on whether cunt is used as a pronoun in your countries? Logically affirmitive responses carry more weight than negative since to say a word isn't used in this fashion is to say that you've heard a large enough cross section of society speaking over a long enough period of time, in enough situations to say the term isn't used with certainty. On the other hand, the burdern of proof is on positive statements (and i'm saying Cunt is an Australian pronoun).... you can rest assured that cunt is a pronoun among working class Australian males and it's usage as such is not at all uncommon. I think most australian wikipedians would agree.
As a working class Australian male, I can indeed confirm that the word is used extensively (perhaps too much?).
Fat cunt, stupid cunt, silly cunt, funny cunt etc, aren't used as compund words anywhere I've seen them in print, and I've removed them accordingly.
I don't think you can make a linguistic comment about a socio-economic class in Australia. I work an office job and the word "cunt" is something I hear on the odd occasion and it is not something people (particularly males) make a fuss about. In social circles that I associate with I find that economic class does not relate at all to usage of the word. I think it is rediculous to suggest it is a working class word.
This is a stupid argument and it needs to be stoppped. Its turning into a flame war by one group who use it all the time and another that use it occasionally. Its very simple. In construction site etc. environment its quite normal to use it, if you said that to your boss, he wouldnt even blink. If you worked in an office, you would be told to not swear so much in some places, and in others you would be fired. This is obviously a generalisation however I hope that non australians will understand the point. Australians who say 'i say blah blah at my work', stop talking shit. Your work isnt the whole of Australia.-- Dem 23:37, 14 March 2006 (UTC)
That's why most of this section should be culled - it's largely anecdotal. Isn't there some "no original research" rule? And an office worker and a plumber can both be "working class" so that appelation is pretty fucking useless.
Racial terms of abuse like Redneck, usually referring to fair skinned people who live in warmer climates aren't helpful. Infact, wikipedia was founded by such people. And many of these industries are you describing as shit shovelling have the highest average wages in Australia, and are responsible for most of the exports. I don't know or care what you do, but your criticisms are way off the mark.
You cunts carry on about cunt a lot. Who gives a fuck?
Does anyone actually have a citation for the OED claim, other than a blog? We don't accept blog comments as adequate citations.
There are some other peculiar claims in the article; for example, in which "Commonwealth countries" is the word "occasionally used as a jovial term of endearment (e.g. 'he's a good cunt')"? And how "occasionally" are we talking about? -- Mel Etitis ( Μελ Ετητης) 09:14, 19 August 2005 (UTC)
Well, my apologies if I've offended you, but in fact going back before that diff it's clear that the material that I deleted was in fact first added by Coqsportif (together with the photo of the fake street sign), as part of his attempt to keep the image, and was deleted by Viriditas as well as by me. Bad faith didn't have to be assumed; it was hitting us round the head with cries of childish anger. Secondly, though, I didn't automatically delete the material because it had been added by him; I read it, and judged that it was inappropriate for the summary of this article (certainly in its original form). That wasn't only because it was inadequately cited (which is very often taken to be good reason to remove a claim whoever added it), but because it was at best suitable for a section on the origins of the word rather than the summary. Thirdly, the version that I deleted in the diff you provide was also inaccurate; there's no reason to suppose that the word was less frowned upon in those places. -- Mel Etitis ( Μελ Ετητης) 18:03, 21 August 2005 (UTC)
coqsportif is permanently blocked, so all this is moot, no? Gamaliel 03:22, 22 August 2005 (UTC)
I agree, but Chocolateboy is clearly worked up about this, and a few responses might help. I agree that I had a conflict with Coqsportif, and I was also hurried (having other extensive vandalism issues in hand); if that made me overhasty in not explaining myself, I apologise. I can only repeat, though, that I did take enough time to consider my deletions. I didn't (still don't) think that the reference to Groipecuntlane" was relevant to the summary (nor is it etymological; it tell us nothing about the word's etymology, only its first appearance, in a context that shows it to have been already in common use). I also agree that the OED doesn't need secondary citations, but an unreliable editor's claim as to what the OED says needs corroboration. -- Mel Etitis ( Μελ Ετητης) 09:43, 22 August 2005 (UTC)
1) The "origin" or "source" of a word includes its first recorded use, so three of those citations, along with the Longman Dictionary of the English Language ("The history of the origin and development of a word") confirm the "disagreement".
2) "Secondly, though, I didn't automatically delete the material because it had been added by him" vs "you know full well which editor I was referring to". It wasn't added by coqsportif. It was added by Rich Farmbrough, and edited by myself, and Paul Barlow, among others. You claim that you "did take enough time to consider [ your ] deletions", but keep gamboling away from this simple and trivially verifiable fact.
3) "Now you're being needlessly confrontational". I'd categorize blind reversions as "needlessly confrontational", particularly when the reverter stubbornly refuses to concede that the reverts were taking out good faith edits caught in the crossfire.
chocolateboy 17:54, 23 August 2005 (UTC)
What, no mention of \"See you next Tuesday\"?
--- you forget \"see you auntie\" (phone-et-ik-alley)
also See You Newt
I've turned the euphemisms paragraph into its own section, with a list - I think it was in dire need of tidying up...
Any chance of a picture? -- 211.218.1.177 15:55, 23 October 2005 (UTC)JohnO
In the US I've noticed the term is usually used to insult females, in Britain almost always men. This isn't mentioned in the article. Should it be? -- Sachabrunel 20:52, 20 December 2005 (UTC)
This article isn't bad but I think it needs some tightening up -- maybe choose a few very relevant cultural uses and consolidate them into one section, and define a clear structure for the article to follow. I'll work on it later if I have time. Tim Pierce 00:03, 23 December 2005 (UTC)
See Ref: http://whitlamdismissal.com/speeches/00-05-24_politicians-humour-debate.shtml
In December 1997 Alan Ramsey, who has an unrivalled memory for the peccadilloes of politicians, wrote that Menzies had called Calwell "a piece of scum" and that I had called Billy McMahon "a runt". I sent him a fax:
I used the word for an aspiring Prime Minister, not a Prime Minister (Abiding Interests, page 23). It was apt but cruel. A person as tall as I should not have used it. Never in the House did I use the word which comes to mind.
"The nearest I came to doing so was when Sir Winton Turnbull, a member of the cavalleria rusticana, was raving and ranting on the adjournment and shouted: "I am a Country member". I interjected "I remember". He could not understand why, for the first time in all the years he had been speaking in the House, there was instant and loud applause from both sides."
The above might be worth a mention.
~~JohnI~~
My anecdotal impression from Scottish authors and films is that cunt is very commonly employed in much the same manner the article describes cunt's usage in Australia--far more casually than it is used in the rest of the United Kingdom. If this impression is correct, maybe this should be mentioned. If not, please disabuse me.
I would agree with the above. I would also suggest that Irvine Welsh would be an appropriate example of a high-profile author who uses the term prevalently in his novels, as part of popular language. Misterduffy 20:12, 9 January 2007 (UTC).
Yes it is occasionally used in a friendly manner but im not sure if it is so common as to merit a mention. An Siarach
I have lived in Scotland all my life, and I would say it most definitely deserves a mention. Such phrases are in common usage...
"aw cunt" = everybody, "a good cunt" = a nice guy,
Well, I live in Glasgow and I would have to say it is more prevalent in Glasgow and the surrounding areas. I myself (ashamedley!) use many of the phrases every day......
"any cunt" - anybody e.g. "Any cunt coulda guessed that!" - "Anybody could have guessed that" "every cunt" - everyone/everybody e.g. "I've tellt every cunt tae get the bus to toon" - "I've told everyone to get the bus into town" "nae cunt" - nobody e.g. "Make sure nae cunt buys it!" - "Make sure nobody buys it"
It can also be used as an adjective ...
"He's a gid cunt" - "He's a good lad" "Whae's that cunt there?" - "Who's that there?"
It's also a term of endearment - especially in the form of "ya cunt"....I think a suitable translation for some people would be "buddy".... e.g. "It's alright ya cunt!" - "It's alright buddy/dude."
Just my thoughts!!
00:59, 28 December 2006 (UTC) Regards, Callum Lawson Callum Zephir, 28th December 2006
In "Chewin' the Fat" there were a series of sketches were a grandfather type figure was out walking with his grandson and they would walk past a variety of situations e.g. man posing in his convertable Porsche, and he would say to his grandson "Some people can and some people can't, and he's a can't." Bigmcben 17:57, 30 December 2006 (UTC) Keith J Bell
I think Deadwood has outdone any of the mainstream media listed as far as usage of the word. They've said it more often and with a range of emotion from comical to pure hatred.
As far as the jovial British usage, Shaun Of The Dead would serve as a good example.
It appears that there are at least three etymologies for cunt given in the article, one tracing it back to PIE *gwen-, "woman", another to PIE *gen-, "to beget", another to PIE *ku-, "to cover"; in addition, a non-Indo-European origin is suggested. However, the article does not clarify the situation enough. Alexander 007 20:47, 6 February 2006 (UTC)
What about cunning? The relationship to this word is very political and ought to be mentioned.
Why should it be mentioned? They're not related. Don't be a silly cunt.
May I comment that this page is far too short. 4000 words on the subject of "cunt" is far too few, we really need more details. This is, after all, a critical subject! Thank you. --05:53, 14 March 2006 (UTC)
I think that it is quite clear from discussions here that certain people in the English-speaking world find the word acceptable in general conversation, using it as often as other 'swear words' such as shit and fuck, and in contexts where shock and offence are not intended, whilst others find the word generally offensive or disgusting in most, if not all circumstances. I think that the article should relay the fact that there is this range of attitudes towards the word in the 'usage' section.
I don't think, however, that we ought to be pointing out which people find the words acceptable and which do not by means of very broad demographic generalisations. The implication that Australians find the word more acceptable than the British or Americans is quite a gross generalisation, as is the generalisation that the word is more associated with the 'working classes'. These generalisations seem to be based on people's personal experiences more than anything else and come over as quite flimsy arguments. I also feel that we're getting into rather dangerous territory when we mention subjective definitions such as 'class' which I feel are best left to other articles.
By all means, make note of changing attitudes towards the word, but not like this. Perhaps something more tangible such as accounts of how the media use and censor the word would be a better way of going about things?
The following ridiculous and unverifiable assertion was removed 2006-03-22. It was added on 2006-03-17 by an anonymous user who has no previous or subsequent edits; I think it's safe to consider it vandalism. Rpresser 19:16, 22 March 2006 (UTC)
Found this in the text, not sure its totally accurate
"Often when cunt is intended to offend it is used to mean George Bush - the biggest dick licker on the planet earth."
It's accurate, though I wish I could have put it in his mom's ass... Dexter111344 23:48, 19 April 2006 (UTC)
Is that section really intended to be a list of every single time the word is mentioned in a book, movie, or TV show? Some of the entries seem pretty trivial, like "Used in The Exorcist, and the vehicle driven by "Pimp Bob." Joyous | Talk 14:38, 29 April 2006 (UTC)
I removed the odd footnote that states that "kunta" does not exist in modern Swedish and that there is no evidence that word ever meant the same as the English one. As currently phrased, this is inappropriate. There is no point adding a note that seems simply to contradict the main text. All the sources I have consulted state that the term does exist in Swedish as a dialect word. It is difficult to understand what purpose this footnote is supposed to serve, since it merely confuses the reader by stating the opposite of what the text says without any qualification. Incidentally, being linguistically cognate does not require that the word have an identical meaning. Paul B 11:45, 3 May 2006 (UTC)
Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Meco"
I've always understood the RCH to be the smallest measurement. Lou Sander 02:43, 28 May 2006 (UTC)
"Drop kick and punt" is also rhyming slang. It is usually shortened to dropkick, where it then becomes less vulgar (The federal treasurer of Australia used it against an opposition MP last week and didnt get told to withdraw his comment or anything)
Someone edited out the point that a more polite but less accurate word for "cunt" is "vagina." I think they were mistaken in doing that.
In my experience, "cunt" refers to the collection of all externally visible female genitalia, including the vagina. A cunt is what one would see when viewing a so-called "spread shot" on a porn site. Also in my experience, there are significant numbers of people who confuse the word "vagina" with the whole cunt (so to speak). Rush Limbaugh is one of these -- when talking of a piece of candy shaped like a woman's "thing," he said it was shaped like a vagina. IMHO, many others make the same error. Lou Sander 04:07, 15 June 2006 (UTC)
In my experience in the U.S., men are rarely referred to as cunts. A cunt is first and foremost a cunt, or a woman's "thing." As a synecdoche, the word is sometimes used to refer to a woman or women, usually in a slightly derogatory way (though some of them seem to be greatly offended by such usage): "That dumb cunt Hillary," or "Duke University is just a bunch of cunts teaching feminist claptrap to unsuspecting rich kids." There's often a connotation of stupidity, foolishness or silliness when the word is used in this way.
Also in the U.S., when a man is referred to with a female genitalia term, in my experience the preferred word is "pussy," and the meaning connotes effeminacy or non-manliness. "You're such a pussy, John... you never join us for beers," or "The Marine Corps is looking for a few good men, and the Air Force is looking for pussies."
I've never heard the sort of cunt-calling towards men and towards oneself that seems to be common in the U.K. and Australia. Lou Sander 00:56, 16 June 2006 (UTC)
I've decided to be bold and do some copy editing on this long article. The first step was to shorten the introduction and make it summarize the word, its definitions, and some of its other aspects. Everything (except the proto-German reference) that I removed from the introduction was moved elsewhere, often to Usage.
I added the stuff about synecdoche because this usage is so massively covered in the article, so probably should be explained. (If you read the article, you'd think that the word applies to people rather than anatomical parts.)
I put "Vulgarity and offensiveness" in its own section. (There's other material in the article that probably belongs there, too. I'll collect it all and move it.)
Unless people hate what I've done so far, I'm planning to tackle other sections of the article soon. As of now, it seems to me that both the etymology and the examples of use are seriously overlong. I'd appreciate feedback on that view, of course. Lou Sander 17:24, 17 June 2006 (UTC)
Continuing to copy edit. Moved things around, but didn't change anything. Changed "Usage" to "Usage: Contemporary," and combined U.S. and non-U.S. material under that heading. A new heading, "Breaking taboo," covers use of the word on television, in films, etc. Next I plan to work on "Usage: Contemporary," probably having subsections on use as an anatomical word, about women, about men, and about inanimate objects. So far, nobody has complained about my copy editing, so I'm going to continue it along the same general lines. Lou Sander 20:19, 11 July 2006 (UTC)
We could use help from someone familiar with Indian languages based on Sanskrit. I believe our words on yoni are proper and correct, but I'm far from an authority. Someone could provide confirmation, or correction, or ???? Lou Sander 19:33, 5 July 2006 (UTC)
It would also be nice to know if other languages have non-vulgar words for the anatomical area denoted by cunt. Lou Sander 12:55, 14 July 2006 (UTC)
I'm thinking that we should all work hard to make this article as good as we possibly can. Reasons: 1)The sensitive nature of the subject (no pun intended), and 2) Young people no doubt visit this article in huge numbers, looking for "dirty words." We shouldn't let "cunt" disappoint them. Lou Sander 13:57, 14 July 2006 (UTC)
Half this talk page seems to be Aussie. Anyway do people in Australia use cunt in a friendly manner (he's a silly cunt) as is indicated by the article. I haven't heard that anywhere but british TV/movies (i'm an aussie). The bellman 09:59, 15 July 2006 (UTC)
The external link to Yoni Yagna - Celebration of Cunt seems to have some legitimate application to this article, but the home page of the site cautions that it is only for people over 21. Also, the linked-to page is more about sexual stimulation than it is about the word "cunt." I'm thinking that it should be removed on those two grounds. What do you think? Lou Sander 15:12, 22 July 2006 (UTC)
The link being only appropriate for over 21s is no grounds for it not to be considered appropriate for wikipedia, because that would be cesnorship. IF it's about masturbation or sexual stimulation and not about CUNT per se than that is grounds for it to be removed.
While the contemporary clinical use of the term "pudendum" in English is relatively neutral, it should probably be noted that this Latin derived term's literal meaning is actually very negative. The word "pudendum" is derived from the neuter gerundive of pudēre, "to make or be ashamed".
Why? To make the article even longer, and cuntier?
I've removed the sentence which stated that this word is ‘clearly related’ to the English word cut, which is not true. Widsith 10:06, 18 August 2006 (UTC)
Do vaginas really exist? Can some cunt tell me?
"kott" is no German word, as it says here. It might be a word of some German dialect I don't know, but that dialect would be a very exotic one and the word would be spelt with a capital K anyway. Does anyone know if there is a German word with the same etymology?
Well, I am German and don't know the word "kott" or a similar word with the same meaning as "cunt". The most suitable translation would be "Fotze" or "Futt".
But it COULD be an old german word, which I never heard of..
I have heard in UK that this word was used to refer to the scabbard that a field-hand kept his sharpening stone in for a scythe.
Also in UK, Lloyd Bridges underwater series on TV, "Sea Hunt" was interpreted as C-unt.
Dmp224 20:17, 7 October 2006 (UTC)
The following uses are weasel words:
- Davodd 08:31, 10 October 2006 (UTC)
Google gave no help for the source of the quote "I use the word cunt a lot, because the only way to get through to the youth of today is to use words that will grab their attention" -- CliffC 02:21, 30 October 2006 (UTC)
Is is worth noting that Stephen Fry recently defined "countryside" as "the act of killing Piers Morgan"?
Yes, we must write about every single time the word cunt was ever used. Including the sentence just written.
There seems to be some disagreement on this topic in the editing, so I thought I'd bring it to the Talkpage. I've heard variations on "thin as a cunt hair" and "move it over just a cunt hair" in almost every region of the U.S. While it certainly enjoys popular usage, you can't reasonably expect to find it in a technical dictionary. A ref from a dictionary of slang would seem to be appropriate under the circumstances; that's what the usage is. -- Doc Tropics Message in a bottle 04:53, 9 November 2006 (UTC)
A cunt cap. This one happens to be worn by a woman, but most are worn by men.
i lol'd. 2nd Piston Honda 11:19, 12 November 2006 (UTC)
Might I suggest that British usage differs from American usage in that, in Britain (or possibly just England), a woman wouldn't be referred to as a "cunt", where in American usage the word seems reserved for this purpose.
This isn't just out of protectiveness towards women, to save them from the harshest swear word, but to call a woman a "cunt" just sounds wrong and out of place. A man is often referred to as a cunt or a twat, but not a woman. You can call a woman a bitch, a whore, a slag, a slapper, but not a cunt. A cunt is what they have, not what they are. It just doesn't "feel" right. Calling them a slag sounds far worse.
Most insults against women refer to their promiscuity, while men are more often referred to in terms of body parts or excrement.
I have heard "twat" used in reference to women, but only by other women. A man can cause far more damage by calling them a whore etc. In British usage, almost anything can be called a "cunt" by a man, but not a woman. Perhaps this is worse than American usage, as British men don't even dignify women with their "own" insult, but just refer to them in disparaging sexual terms?
Can I alter the article to reflect this? Or are there any British people who disagree with me? It's just that I have heard the word used (in my opinion) wrongly by British characters in American films and TV shows, and it annoys me. Incorrectly scripted swearing sounds like a Stradivarius violin being played out of tune!
I have just spent 3 hours reading this, are'nt I a dumb cunt an aussie again
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