Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 1 of 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
#60823 03/12/02 02:50 PM
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 322
B
boronia Offline OP
enthusiast
OP Offline
enthusiast
B
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 322
During a chat in the hall, a co-worker asked for examples of insults that don't refer to originally neutral things. For example, why is "You cow" so insulting? There's nothing essentially wrong with cows, or with various body parts; bitches and bastards aren't actually rotten or evil. I came up with jerk, but that wasn't insulting enough. Ditto for rotter. So - what is an insult that really insults?
Have a field day - I promise not to be offended, no matter what names you throw my way.


#60824 03/12/02 03:09 PM
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
W
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
You turkey!

You dog!

Milksop!

Pirate varmint!

Lily-livered coward!

Pusillanimous buzzard breath!

Bottom feeder!

Slime!

...but the best of the insulters are found among Shakespearean characters--the bard has long lists of terrific insults. I know none of them by heart.

Bad remarks,
WantonWords


#60825 03/12/02 03:22 PM
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
W
wwh Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
That reminds me of a Winston Churchill story

Whilst at some extremely posh function WC was indulging in his usual heroic consumption
of brandy and weaving around the place a bit , upon seeing this the hostess Lady
something-or -other strolled up to WC
and said loudly and disapprovingly "YOU SIR ARE DRUNK!" to which WC replied "AND YOU
MADAM ARE UGLY BUT I WILL BE SOBER IN THE MORNING"

the Duncster

#60826 03/12/02 04:17 PM
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,605
K
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
K
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,605
but the best of the insulters are found among Shakespearean characters--the bard has long lists of terrific insults

Actually, as I recall, the bard was rather tame by the standards of his day, and some of his contemporaries were much more creative in their invective.

Can't quite recall who were examples (Ben Jonson?); can anyone help?


#60827 03/12/02 05:00 PM
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
In a review, Dorothy Parker once panned a stage performance by the great Katherine Hepburn saying that "Her performance ran all the gamut of emotions from A to B."


#60828 03/12/02 06:02 PM
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 320
S
enthusiast
Offline
enthusiast
S
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 320
Combine one word from each of the three columns below, prefaced
> with "Thou":
> Column 1 Column 2 Column 3
>
> artless base-court apple-john
> bawdy bat-fowling baggage
> beslubbering beef-witted barnacle
> bootless beetle-headed bladder
> churlish boil-brained boar-pig
> cockered clapper-clawed bugbear
> clouted clay-brained bum-bailey
> craven common-kissing canker-blossom
> currish crook-pated clack-dish
> dankish dismal-dreaming clotpole
> dissembling dizzy-eyed coxcomb
> droning doghearted codpiece
> errant dread-bolted death-token
> fawning earth-vexing dewberry
> fobbing elf-skinned flap-dragon
> froward fat-kidneyed flax-wench
> frothy fen-sucked flirt-gill
> gleeking flap-mouthed foot-licker
> goatish fly-bitten fustilarian
> gorbellied folly-fallen giglet
> impertinent fool-born gudgeon
> infectious full-gorged haggard
> jarring guts-griping harpy
> loggerheaded half-faced hedge-pig
> lumpish hasty-witted horn-beast
> mammering hedge-born hugger-mugger
> mangled hell-hated jolthead
> mewling idle-headed lewdster
> paunchy ill-breeding lout
> pribbling ill-nurtured maggot-pie
> puking knotty-pated malt-worm
> puny milk-livered mammet
> quailing motley-minded measle
> rank onion-eyed minnow
> reeky plume-plucked miscreant
> roguish pottle-deep moldwarp
> ruttish pox-marked mumble-news
> saucy reeling-ripe nut-hook
> spleeny rough-hewn pigeon-egg
> spongy rude-growing pignut
> surly rump-fed puttock
> tottering shard-borne pumpion
> unmuzzled sheep-biting ratsbane
> vain spur-galled scut
> venomed swag-bellied skainsmate
> villainous tardy-gaited strumpet
> warped tickle-brained varlet
> wayward toad-spotted vassal
> weedy urchin-snouted whey-face
> yeasty weather-bitten wagtail

http://www.renfaire.com/Language/insults.html


#60829 03/12/02 06:31 PM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Thank you, slithy! I was just gonna ask if anyone had a link to those.


#60830 03/12/02 06:48 PM
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 55
O
newbie
Offline
newbie
O
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 55
I must be dazed or something here, but I don't count three columns in the insulting list.

Do I need my eyes checked?

Stary-eyed,
OrB~


#60831 03/12/02 06:50 PM
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
try the link instead; it doesn't copy well unless you use preformatting.


#60832 03/12/02 07:07 PM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
try the link instead; it doesn't copy well unless you use preformatting.

Yeah, OB~. Like that tottering knotty-pated mumble-news said.





Page 1 of 6 1 2 3 4 5 6

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,912
Posts229,283
Members9,179
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV, Heather_Turey, Standy
9,179 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 444 guests, and 3 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
tsuwm 10,542
wofahulicodoc 10,510
LukeJavan8 9,916
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5