I wouldn't want to mispell it. That would be just rude.
UPDATE! - And while we're working on this problem, let's try a couple of other ones as well.
1) 'Arsehole' or 'Asshole'? It depends what website you log on to. Being an Australian, I favour the Macquarie Dictionary spelling ('Arsehole').
Dictionary.com (an American website) also has one entry under 'Arsehole':
arsehole
n : excretory opening at the end of the alimentary canal [syn: anus, arse, asshole]
What do you think, readers? Both spellings have certain advantages.
2) Is there such a thing as a 'fucktard'? The word is not listed in Macquarie Dictionary, not even if it is hyphenated. Ditto Dictionary.com (which asks 'Did you mean "fucated"?)
If the word 'fucktard' is not listed in any dictionary, then do fucktards exist? Or are they just the figment of our collective imaginations?
3) Are there any synonyms for the term 'bitchface'? Macquarie, Dictionary, and Thesaurus give no help whatsoever. It's almost as if ... they're censoring the English language!
UPDATE ON THE UPDATE! - A conversation I had a while ago about the dichotomy between "Ass" and "Arse":
how do you distinguish between an ass (donkey) and an arse (backside)?
Pedantically yours, TimT
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I read somewhere that the difference between "arse" and "ass" is the difference between Rugby and American Football.
But I find "ass" to be a bit more vulgar and thus more american. "Arse" to American ears sounds a little formal. It seems the impact would be lost if I shouted "Kiss my Arse!" to somebody over here. And if you threatened to kick somebody's arse, you'd probably be laughed out of the bar.
***
I think that's a good point. In general, 'ass' probably suits the American accent better; Australians prefer to extend their vowels. But I also like the 'formality', so-called, of the Australian 'arse': the 'r' rounds the word off; metaphorically shaping the word in the same way as an arse gives shape to the body.
A final point: going back a few hundred years, we find the spelling 'Ers' by Chaucer:
But with his mouth, he kiste hir naked ers
Full savorly
And also:
And out his ers he putteth pryvely
Over the buttok, to the haunche-bon;
Hmmm. 'Arse', 'Ass', or 'Ers'. Your thoughts?
8 comments:
I think American spelling is vulgar. Or maybe just word use. Example 'fanny' - bad enough that anyone would use such a mothballed term and worse that they should get the meaning wrong whilst doing it.
If American spelling is vulgar, that might be the point. This is the nation that gave to the world such cultural icons as Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, for example. Then again, American English can be downright formal in some cases.
The American 'fanny' translates into the Australian English 'arse', does it not?
For this word, in general, I use the spelling 'arse', but there are one or two phrases were 'ass' is more appropriate (bad-ass, for instance).
i think you'll find that fucktard is a combination of two emotive terms - 'fuckwit' and 'retard'. this phenomenon is gaining some popularity (eg. 'chillax').
Chillax? Never heard of it. Is it a breed of octopus? Can you eat it?
Tim - Arse is a good one, I use it a lot having picked it up from my Aussie and NZ blogger friends. But there's nothing has he punch of the good old American "Kiss MY ASS!"
Fucktards exist, on a blog recently someone got all pushed out of shape about the reference to retard. I blogged about it:
http://knockinonthegoldendoor.mu.nu/archives/150203.php
I'm blogrolling you. Got room on your blogroll for me?
BTW - Here's a bit on the word "bint":
http://knockinonthegoldendoor.mu.nu/archives/153065.php
Great word, some bint insinuated that I enjoyed the use of the word because it was an offensive term with an Arabic derivation. Since I'm pro-Israel I guess it stands to reason that I'm anti-Arab by default. Some of these people are really just asstards.
;o)>
I like the Aussie drawl in phrases like "Kiss my bloody ARRRRRRSE!"
On the matter of Bints - you could do worse than consult Bint Magazine.
I'll add you site when I get home from work. You a friend of Red's?
Yeah, I just left Red a comment yesterday!
I was sad to see her have to return to SA. A pox on the US Immigration service! Can't wait to dig into Bint Mag!
Man, I have some posting to do!
Fucktard
http://theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,1860505%255E12273,00.html
Nuff said.
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