The C Word

Rufus2, I agree with you, always first thought was the big 'C', cancer, which sadly we all have so much experience of. Needed to post to you because we're now 310-9, boo hoo! Stokes won't make it. Great test match.

Yes why not? As both a word for women's genitalia and as an insult.Not often but then I think it has more shock value if you don't overuse it.

You may hear it Trisher but would you use it?

Nothing matter with the word cunt- I wonder why people won't even write it? Sometimes affectionately shortened to cunny and perhaps related to cunnilingus
Lots of genitalia words and sex words can be used as swear words and relate to both sexes. I could list them but I can't be bothered, and it's not just to do with women. How often have you heard someone called a prick or a knob?

there are some to describe men, although at the time of writing I can't think of any
Hazel; Please don't try! It's a tasteless topic and proves nothing. "Down Under", "C-Word" is commonly used by the squeamish when referring to"Cancer."

Swear words don't bother me unless they are used in front of children or my mother. What I dislike are derogatory phrases, like, snake with t*ts, when referring to women and I am sure there are some to describe men, although at the time of writing this I can't think of any.
I do however always have a knee jerk and aggressive reaction to the use of the word, cow, when directed at someone, my ex hubby would use the word toward his mam and said it was as a term of endearment for him!?!?!
That always baffled me but I did notice it was used frequently by people where we lived at the time, and I do know that my ex did love his mam very much. In my opinion he was, a mammies boy, he even described himself as one.
I think it's the disrespect that offends more than the words, I would never disrespect someone by swearing in front of them if I knew they found it offensive, and that also governs how I speak when in public. I do swear, but infrequently and only when I know the company I am in would not be offended. I cannot remember the last time I swore at someone.

mods

I'm amazed how much 'c' and 'f' words are creeping in to social media without being challenged by mobs.

Went to see 'The Argument' in Bath this week and the C word was used and drew a shocked gasp from the (mainly older) audience. I heard someone behind me mutter that it was probably why someone else hadn't liked the play. It seems to be becoming more commonly used but is a rather horrible word even if it is Chaucerian

I hated the film The Favourite because all they used the c word so many times. I was shocked.

True GabriellaG54, I used to work with a particularly uncouth team, of all ages, both genders used the F word with abandon but I don't think I have ever heard a female use the C word, nor write it (eg on social media).

Usually used by the male of the species.
I hate crude language whether it's in jest or an olde English word.

c yu nxt tues. nasty word.... no need to swear anyway. you can say what you need to say without swearing..strongest work i have used is bloody. bugger .damn or ffffffffff, with out the rest added on...

Keep yer 'and on yer ha'penny (Alex Glasgow)

The Fivepenny Piece 1974

Keep yer 'and on yer ha'penny
Cover it well with yer palm
Keep yer 'and on yer Ha'penny
And Molly will come to no harm

When Molly began to go courtin'
Her Mother was anxious to tell
How certain young fellows would want her
To stray down the pathway to hell
So Molly's old Ma used to sing

Keep yer 'and on yer ha'penny etc

They'll hug you and kiss you so sweetly
Make you feel ever so nice
But handle the fellows discretely
And listen to this simple advice

Keep yer 'and on yer ha'penny etc

Now Molly and me went out cortin'
I told her she'd nothin' to fear
But down in the meadow last Sunday
I whispered these words in 'er ear

Take yer 'and off yer ha'penny
Look into me bonnie blue eyes
Take yer 'and off yer ha'penny
And I'll give you a lovely surprise

As my children have all now become 'adults' (46, 40 and 29 - I've told them all that, even though I don't condone the use of 'F's' and 'B's', I'll put up with them if somebody is really annoyed or angry at a situation ............................... BUT there is NO WAY ON THIS EARTH, that I'll tolerate 'T's' and 'C's' !

I use the word in its correct context - I have a bit of a mission to reclaim it. I find it strange it should be so offensive.

I detest the C word and the F word. I do sometimes use the F word if I'm swearing about something (or someone!) indoors on my own, but not in front of people. When I was a child you never used to hear the F Word or the C word. My mum only ever said bloody, bugger or sod, nothing worse than that.

And Hamlet says to Ophelia "Did you think I meant country matters?"

Interesting post, and have you noticed that the worst swear words are derogatory to women. The c word itself, bitch, slag and so on. There are very few, if any, equivalent male versions. Did you know that the word 'squaw' also means 'c...'? No respect.

Mamaa my mum used to say ‘Don’t come home with your knickers torn and sixpence in your hand”. I used to repeat it to my daughter and never realised what it was insinuating!!! ?

Some weeks ago I had to ask whether 'lady garden' meant the same as 'front bottom' I was assured by more knowledgeable posters that it does, I have reached the grand old age of 83 and had never heard the expression. Interestingly Google both ??.......

.. Having said that, I also hate euphemisms. And don't get me started on the prissy sorts who exclaim, "Oh sugar." as if they're too prim to say shit!

I have long thought the time has come to reclaim c* as a beautiful word instead of a bad one. It was used for centuries in a perfectly normal way (though always slightly rude, even back then). If you read Shakespeare's Troilus & Cressida there is an incident where the word 'quaint' is used quite naughtily as that is also a derivation. I do object strongly to a good old Anglo Saxon word for our most beautiful body parts being used as an insult.

Actually, I don't find c**t offensive in the sense of being shocked by it, probably because no-one I knew ever used it when I was growing up, and by the time I did hear it, I just thought "How odd"

That particular area of the female body was only referred to as "between the legs" when I was a child, even "crotch" was regarded as vaguely indecent.

This being said, I would love a mass return to the standards of my childhood with regards to what words can be said or written for public consumption.

But actually, I would like a "nice" word for the thing. To me "vagina" is a word I would only use when consulting a doctor, and the same goes for "vulva".

I may have been naive, but if anyone had told me when I was sixteen to keep my hand on my halfpenny I would have that they were warning me to be careful I didn't have my purse stolen.

I intensely dislike 'hard' swearing, including the c & f words and do regard them as beyond the pale.

Incidentally, re 'beyond the pale', I actually live ON the Pale'?. You may know that the 'Pale' was an area in the east of Ireland governed by England in the middle ages, surrounded by the PaleDitch to separate it from the rest of the country. I live on the line of the Pale Ditch. It's where the phrase 'beyond the pale' comes from?.