D***tionary corner
Countdown’s Susie Dent gets naughty explaining the origins of swear words like c***, f*** and s***
The history behind some of these obscenities may surprise you...
WHEN a situation gets heated and passions run high, it can be hard to hold back from using “highly charged” language.
Whether it’s for emphasis or to shock or because no other word quite hits the spot, sometimes the use of a swear word can really add some extra punch to your statement.
5
But have you ever considered why these four-letter words are quite so powerful? Or where they actually came from?
Well don’t worry as Countdown's Susie Dent, 52, is on hand to explain the ins and outs of your favourite expletives.
In an online series for All4 called Susie Dent's Guide To Swearing, the professional wordsmith lifts the lid on the history for the foul mouthed phrases we hear so often.
MOST READ IN LIVING
C***
5
This particular obscenity has apparently been one of the most offensive words in the English language for more than two centuries.
Susie said: “C*** refers to the genitals. Specifically it is a word for the woman’s vagina.”
The word hasn’t always been so controversial, but comes from the middle age's word kunta and Dutch word kunte – it was even used in medical journals and place names.
But by 1785 that had all changed and author Francis Grose described it as “nasty word for a nasty thing” in his Classical Dictionary For The Vulgar Tongue.
Susie’s alternative: “Too cautious for c***? Try 'grumble' Cockney Rhyming Slang for 'grumble and grunt'.”
F***
5
According to Suz this is the most frequently used swear word online, with the f-bomb representing a third of all rude words on Twitter.
It is thought to be of Germanic origin and is commonly believed to relate to “ficken” the German word for rub, “fock” which is Swedish for penis or “fokken” which means to breed in Dutch.
But apparently, these words can all also relate to hitting, rather than having sex, which Susie explained is how the word was originally used.
But it slowly became associated with the horizontal hoopla after a number of literally references with a sexual tone.
Susie’s alternative: She suggests using mollocking instead, term from the 1930’s meaning frockling between the sheets.
B******S
5
Susie said: “B******s was categorised as a medium strength swear word for TV viewers, sort of the chicken balti of the swearing world.”
The word, when used as a noun refers to testicles, but can also be a word meaning “nonsense” and also an expletive for venting frustration.
The word's origins date back to the 1300s when people used the word ballacks for testicles and back then it was thought of as a polite.
By the 1950s the word had become rude and was often used for when a situation had gone horribly wrong.
Susie’s alternative: “How about Rantallion? It’s a weirdly specific and rather graphic sounding word meaning one whose scrotum is longer than his penis."
S***
5
Susie said: “As a noun we have been referring to excrement as s*** since the 14th century and it has gone on to be applied to unpleasant people, places and situations.”
There are some people who believe that the word is an acronym for Ship High In Transit – which has something to do with store cow's manure on boats to avoid explosions. But Susie reassured viewers this isn’t the case.
The word was originally used for cowpat, but the first record of a person being a s*** was in 1508 when someone said: “Thou art a s*** but wit.”
Susie's alternative: “Bescumber, a verb from the early 20th century meaning “to spray poo upon.”
Topics