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Post by Dame Bouncy Castle on Mar 2, 2020 17:59:52 GMT
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Post by yankee on Mar 2, 2020 18:13:36 GMT
Colloquially (here at least) it seems that neither "bastard' or "son of a bitch" is said with literal reference to either being born out of wedlock or born to either a dog or the pejorative meaning of unpleasant woman. People say them to insult the person without any direct relevance to their parents.
In fact, in recent years, "bitch" has become more of an insult that a man says to another man to show his asserted dominance over him, than in reference to a woman. Especially in taunting a fight "Bring it on bitch" or threatening sodomy "I'm about to make you by bitch!"
Often when women call each other "bitch" these days its become a term of friendship, same as when black men call each other the "n" word. "Hey bitch, whatcha doing this weekend, lets go to the club."
Its funny how these things evolve over time.
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Post by goodhelenstar on Mar 2, 2020 18:20:40 GMT
Expletives are very culture-bound. British ones tend to be related to sex, which says something about our attitude to it! Yankee, are you familiar with the term 'wetback'? In my brief career as a lexicographer some years ago, I was working on an American version of a British dictionary and my American colleague could barely bring herself to utter the word, which I had never heard before. It means an illegal immigrant but it's very insulting, apparently, and not used in polite society.
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Post by yankee on Mar 2, 2020 18:30:43 GMT
Sure. Wetback was very commonly used pejorative for Mexicans in the 60s and 70s but died out.
I haven't heard anyone say it in many years and I am sure most millennials never heard it or if they did they would need it explained to them.
One of my local repeat stations plays the old series "Green Acres" in regular rotation. Green Acres was about a Harvard educated New York lawyer who leaves the city along with his glamorous Hungarian wife to buy a dilapidated farm in a small midwestern town. Its very light hearted fish out of water humor.
But one of the running gags was the locals always thought he moved there because he was disbarred, and he was accused of smuggling, running or employing wetbacks in at least 10 episodes.
Those comments have not been edited out of the repeats. I can only assume its because no one remembers they are in there.
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Post by yankee on Mar 2, 2020 18:35:40 GMT
Here is a very interesting one. In this brief clip from "Sanford & Son" (which by the way is based on your Steptoe & Son) Fred Sanford (the amazing Redd Foxx) is arguing a traffic ticket in court and uses the N-word several times. This was circa the early 1970s, but when they show repeats its not edited out even today.
I cant imagine a sitcom on network, non-subscription cable channel tossing around the n-word now.
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Post by vicky on Mar 2, 2020 19:13:50 GMT
I am pretty sure that would be edited out here now. I think I'm right in saying it has been edited out of the film The Dambusters even though it was genuinely the name of Guy Gibson's dog. Incidentally, I was in a shop this morning buying wildbird food. Standing alongside me were an elderly man and a younger woman who was probably his daughter. He pointed out that there were bags of niger seed but mispronounced it (and I must say it came as a bit of a shock to hear it) and then asked her if he had done so. "Yes", she curtly replied through gritted teeth. I suspect she was horribly embarrassed.
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Post by bidiein on Mar 2, 2020 19:15:08 GMT
My mother will still refer to a dark brown garment as being n-word brown...
There is a similar problem with the old Major in Faulty Towers. When recalling an old girlfriend - "I must have been keen, I took her to see India. At the Oval" he tells Basil that she "kept referring to the players as N-words. No, no no, I told her - these people are not n-words, they're W*gs!"
Another time.
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Post by Miranda on Mar 2, 2020 19:18:31 GMT
I don't know if young women where I live call each other bitch but in my generation it could earn you a smack in the mouth.
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Post by cakewalk on Mar 2, 2020 19:20:18 GMT
The shade of brown that my secondary school uniform used to be was officially called *n* brown. Even back then (mid-70s), I was uncomfortable about it.
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Post by cakewalk on Mar 2, 2020 19:22:57 GMT
I don't know if young women where I live call each other bitch but in my generation it could earn you a smack in the mouth. Reading my Facebook feed these days, it seems to be a 'thing'! Even amongst people I actually know  |
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Post by Miranda on Mar 2, 2020 19:27:59 GMT
Maybe it's just in Birmingham then. I don't often see it. 'Bitching', as 'stop bitching and moaning', I see that and say that but not the noun as an insult. I remember going to a local dog show for charity and the woman on the microphone wasn't a local. She announced the judging was about to start for the 'prettiest bitch' competition. Almost everyone looked at her with their eyebrows raised.  |
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Post by goodhelenstar on Mar 2, 2020 19:37:43 GMT
So did mine, Bidie. It's generational. She would have been mortified to know how much offence it causes now. She didn't like the F word and the C word would have been unthinkable, but the N word was not, to her.
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Post by marion on Mar 2, 2020 19:41:05 GMT
The shade of brown that my secondary school uniform used to be was officially called *n* brown. Even back then (mid-70s), I was uncomfortable about it. I have a reel of brown cotton from years back in my sewing box which has that name on the label. |
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Post by cakewalk on Mar 2, 2020 21:17:59 GMT
The shade of brown that my secondary school uniform used to be was officially called *n* brown. Even back then (mid-70s), I was uncomfortable about it. I have a reel of brown cotton from years back in my sewing box which has that name on the label. Unless it's particularly useful, I'd dump it if I were you marion. |
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Post by Geoffers on Mar 3, 2020 6:53:29 GMT
And back to the programme....
Because of life,had to watch this in bits when time allowed.
So nice,light hearted crime drama, of course it is not realistic,but doesn't really matter.
The actual murder depended on so many things actually panning out,but never mind the detail.
Not a bad bit of telly.
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Anymore to come?
