The history of the C Word

[Shelley Louise]

I was chatting at work today about how people feel about the word 'cunt' and thought I would do a bit of research on it.

How does it make you feel when people use the C word? at the end of the day it is just a word with one syllable, Shakespeare hinted at it in his plays, and the word was an accepted euphanism for a womans private parts in the 16th Century and actually derived from the word queynte.

A common street name in the 1200s was gropecuntlane and was often the red light area, type it into Google to find out more.

Also when Metallica covered So What by The Anti Nowhere League they changed the word Cunt to Fuck so is it really that offensive to The Yanks?

So foumites do you like a bit of cunting every now and again?

[RugbyDave]

I think it depends on the circumstances. I'm not keen on hearing it at a football match for instance as I think that's taking it too far and (in my opinion) shows a lack of education and repect from the person saying or shouting it; especially when you see some ladies cringing when they hear it.
However, I also think it has a place in society, especially in bed when the alternatives sometimes simply aren't up to the job!
RD

[Jacques]

Cunt (n) 4. used as an insult for cunts

[Mysteryman]

Funny story from the late great Humph Lyttelton told when introducing a prog from Nottingham:

Welcome to Nottingham. Before the Norman invasion the town was known as Snottingham but, fortunately for the inhabitants up till then known as Snotts, the Normans couldn't pronounce a word where the letter S was followed by a consonant.

They dropped the S and the inhabitants became known as Notts.

Good news for them but not for the inhabitants of Scunthorpe.

[Jonone]

To get an idea of how offensive it is to Yanks, there's a really good episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm where Larry exclaims 'You cunt' at the end of a game of poker. One of the consequences is that one of the players has to take time off work such is their distress.

There's quite an amusing incidence of the use of the word 'twat' by Robert Browning here it's as if he's completely unaware that it's offensive and he's just used it blithely. What a c*nt !

[steve56]

Captain Sensible says it in Happy Talk im sure

[Pervert]

Have to say I was a wee bitty shocked to find it in Patrick O'Brien's Jack Aubrey novels. In one of the early books, a sail is referred to as a cuntsplitter.