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What do you think ‘slut’ meant?

(88 Posts)
Mollygo Wed 25-Aug-21 07:17:18

Nigella Lawson has evidently renamed her dessert with ‘slut’ in the title, because she says the word has taken on a coarser meaning.
I always thought it meant a woman of questionable morals, but she relates it to slattern which I thought meant untidy or messy. Weird names for any food anyway.

chrissy08 Thu 26-Aug-21 11:02:53

I once called my daughter a dirty slut because her bedroom was always in a mess but she was furious thinking I meant she was putting it about ?

LynneH Thu 26-Aug-21 11:00:18

Very amusing, but you wouldn't call them that, would you? At least not if they weren't in an Eton Mess

Alioop Thu 26-Aug-21 10:59:45

In my part of the world you would never want to be called a slut as you would be 'easy' sexually, also the names tart and slag are used this way. A man is congratulated by his friends for being like this!

Moggycuddler Thu 26-Aug-21 10:59:26

I've always taken it to describe a woman of loose morals.

BlueBelle Thu 26-Aug-21 07:50:05

I think Ms Lawson likes to shock I ve never watched her only in clips and found her need to turn all food in to such sexiness is a load of tripe (now make tripe sexy Ms L )

M0nica Thu 26-Aug-21 07:45:21

Words are always evolving and changing their meaning.

The word slut, like slattern, meant some on who was sloppy, untidy, didn't obey the great god cleanliness.(I suspect that slut, slattern and sloppy, probably have much the same root word behind them.) From there it is easy to suggest that a woman whose home and person is dirty and is probably disorganised, is probably as careless, dirty and disorganised in her relationships.

Now that a womans worth is no longer judged by how white her doorstep and her washing is, it is easily to see how one meaning is used less and the other meaning becomes dominant.

grandtanteJE65 Wed 25-Aug-21 13:56:44

"Slut" is either a slatternly housewife or housemaid, slut's wool being the fluff found under beds in rooms that are not swept often enough, or a woman of loose morals.

These days it is perfectly possible to call a promiscuous male a slut as well.

How Nigella was unaware of this I cannot think, as the dictionary has no politer definitions of the word.

Ailidh Wed 25-Aug-21 13:55:12

Slut to me is a put down word for a woman with perceived loose sexual morals. Not a professional sex-worker, just a "no better than she should be" woman.
The kind of woman who, if she were a man, would be called "a bit of a lad(wink wink)" but as she's a woman, double standards apply.

I think it's a damn funny thing to call your pudding.

MayBee70 Wed 25-Aug-21 13:45:04

My son was once really upset when I referred to myself as a slut but I meant it as someone who was rubbish domestically and he thought it meant promiscuous.

trisher Wed 25-Aug-21 13:42:49

I thought Katherine Whitehorn redefined slut in the 60s when she wrote her wonderful piece about women coping with life, taking clothes out the laundry basket because they had nothing clean etc.
It's here if you want to read it. Almost 60 years since it was written!
uploads.guim.co.uk/2018/10/10/Whitehorn_sluts.jpg

NfkDumpling Wed 25-Aug-21 13:33:16

I thought a slag was a prostitute who didn't charge. Slang for a nymphomaniac without class!

Callistemon Wed 25-Aug-21 11:08:32

LauraNorder

Happy to be a slut as I’m still in bed at 10.15 and can see dust on the dressing table. Not a slag though as Orlin is the only man ever allowed to share said bed.

???

Callistemon Wed 25-Aug-21 11:08:04

BlueBelle

Slut is untidy a bit mucky
Slag is a woman who is sexually putting it around in my dictionary
Nigella Lawson just likes to shock so it doesn’t surprise me at all I don’t follow her so I wouldn’t bother using her made up names for puds

That is my definition too but I think the word slut may have changed somewhat over the years.

However, I wouldn't have fancied eating a mucky dessert even though mine often look a bit untidy.

I'll stick to Mary and Delia, thanks.

LauraNorder Wed 25-Aug-21 10:15:18

Happy to be a slut as I’m still in bed at 10.15 and can see dust on the dressing table. Not a slag though as Orlin is the only man ever allowed to share said bed.

timetogo2016 Wed 25-Aug-21 10:14:21

Has she been sniffing something again ?.
I would love to see the look on dh`s face if i said you can have a slut for dinner.

Galaxy Wed 25-Aug-21 10:14:01

Is there a word for a woman who uses derogatory words about women to gain publicity.

DillytheGardener Wed 25-Aug-21 10:12:36

A man whore? My son used to refer to one of his more promiscuous friends as that.

Grannynannywanny Wed 25-Aug-21 10:07:36

What is the word that refers to a man of similar morals?

Spotted Dick? ?

Newatthis Wed 25-Aug-21 09:55:20

Quite often we’ll hear slut (or slag) when referring to a woman with loose morals as far as sex is concerned. What is the word that refers to a man of similar morals?

Lucca Wed 25-Aug-21 09:24:23

Oops. This

Lucca Wed 25-Aug-21 09:24:01

I agree with this

NfkDumpling Wed 25-Aug-21 09:09:45

I thought it means a can't be bothered attitude to life. Can't be bothered to clean or tidy, neither the home or person; can't be bothered to say no or put up a fight, morally, idealistically or in any other way. A bit of a waste of space really.

M0nica Wed 25-Aug-21 08:52:45

A slut to me is a slovenly person with a mucky house and probably dirty appearance.

I know the modern meaning, but, surely, as with so many words, context is all.

grannyactivist Wed 25-Aug-21 08:08:57

I called my mother a slut once, when I was thirteen. She slapped my face so hard that my ears rang for a week! blush

In fairness to my younger self I had no idea of the connotation relating to morals, I’d read the word in a book and it referred to a selfish woman who did no housework. With hindsight my mother’s life at the time was such that she had cause to think I meant the latter.

FannyCornforth Wed 25-Aug-21 07:54:36

Lucca [grin
I think that she’s being disingenuous (not for the first time), of course she knew what slut meant.

Nigella used to be a really good serious journalist; I remember when she wrote a column on current affairs for the Sunday Times.
Now she just writes the occasional thing on makeup for them.