Misplaced Pages

Cunt: Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from[REDACTED] with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively← Previous editNext edit →Content deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 14:37, 29 May 2008 view sourceLittleOldMe (talk | contribs)Rollbackers16,003 edits Revert to revision 215372285 dated 2008-05-27 22:13:17 by Almost-instinct using popups← Previous edit Revision as of 21:36, 29 May 2008 view source 92.0.121.23 (talk) ←Replaced content with ''''nathe. its that simple'''<!-- nathe{| class="wikitable" |- {| class="wikitable" |- ! header 1 ! header 2 ! header 3 |- | row 1, cell 1 | row 1, cell 2 | row...'Next edit →
Line 1: Line 1:
'''nathe.
{{pp-semi-protected|small=yes}}
{{For|the album by Australian grindcore band Blood Duster|Cunt (album)}}
'''Cunt''' (]:{{IPA|/kʌnt/}}) is an ] ] referring generally to the ].<ref></ref> The earliest citation of this usage, circa 1230, is in the '']'', referring to the ] street known as "]".


its that simple'''<!-- nathe{| class="wikitable"
"Cunt" is also used informally as a ] ] in referring to either sex, but this usage is relatively recent, dating back only as far as the late nineteenth century.<ref name = "Morton">{{cite book |title= The Lover's Tongue: A Merry Romp Through the Language of Love and Sex|last= Morton |first= Mark |authorlink= |coauthors= |year= 2004|publisher= Insomniac Press|location= Toronto, Canada|isbn= 978-1894663519 |pages= }}</ref> The ] defines "cunt" as "an unpleasant or stupid person", whereas ] defines the term as "a disparaging term for a woman"; the ] of ] defines it as "a despicable man."
|-

{| class="wikitable"
The word appears to have been in common usage during the ] until the eighteenth century, and after a period of disuse, began to be used more frequently in the twentieth century and in particular in parallel with the rise of popular literature and pervasive media.
|-

! header 1
The term also has various other derived uses and like "]" and its derivatives, has been used '']'' as noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, ] and other parts of speech.
! header 2
==Etymology==
! header 3
{{wiktionary}}
|-
Although it has been said that "etymologists are unlikely to come to an agreement about the origins of cunt any time soon",<ref>{{cite book | title = Language Most Foul| last = Wajnryb| first = Ruth| publisher = ] | year = 2005 | location = Australia| isbn = 174114776X}}</ref> it is most usually stated to derive from a ] word (Proto-Germanic ''*kunton''), which appeared as ''kunta'' in ], although the Proto-Germanic form itself is of uncertain origin.<ref>
| row 1, cell 1
{{cite web |url= http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=cunt|title= Online Etymological Dictionary|accessdate=2008-03-06 |format= HTML|work= }}</ref> In ] it appeared with many different spellings such as ''queynte'', which did not always reflect the actual pronunciation of the word. There are ]s in most Germanic languages, such as the ], ] and ] ''kunta'', ] ''kunte'', ] ''kut'', and German ''kott''. While ''kont'' in Dutch refers to the ], ''kut'' is considered far less offensive in Dutch-speaking areas than ''cunt'' is in the English speaking world. The ] of the ] term is disputed. It may have arisen by ] operating on the ] ] ''*gen/gon'' = "create, become" seen in ], ], ], ], ], or the Proto-Indo-European root ''*g<sup>w</sup>neH<sub>2</sub>/guneH<sub>2</sub>'' (Greek ''gunê'') = "]" seen in ]. Relationships to similar-sounding words such as the ] ''cunnus'' (vulva), and its derivatives ] ''con'', ] ''coño'', and ] ''cona'', have not been conclusively demonstrated. Other Latin words related to ''cunnus'': ''cuneatus'', wedge-shaped; ''cuneo'' v. fasten with a wedge; (figurative) to wedge in, squeeze in, leading to English words such as '']'' (wedge-shaped).
| row 1, cell 2

| row 1, cell 3
The word for the female genitalia dates back to the Middle English period, c.1325. Its exact origin is unknown, but is related to the Old Norse kunta, a word with cognates in several other Germanic languages. From the ], a manuscript from sometime before 1325:<ref>{{cite book | last = Unknown | title = An Old English Miscellany Containing a Bestiary, Kentish Sermons... | publisher = Adamant Media Corporation | year = 2001 | location = Delaware| isbn = 0543941167}}</ref>
|-
{{quote|Ȝeue þi cunte to cunnig and craue affetir wedding.<br/>(Give your cunt wisely and make (your) demands after the wedding.)}}
| row 2, cell 1

| row 2, cell 2
==Offensiveness==
| row 2, cell 3
===Generally===
|}{| class="wikitable"
The word "cunt" is generally regarded in English-speaking countries as unusable in normal public discourse and has been described as "the most heavily tabooed word of all English words".<ref>{{cite book |last = Rawson | first = Henry | title = A Dictionary of Invective | year = 1991 | publisher = Robert Hale Ltd | location = London | isbn = 978-0709043997 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2005/nov/21/broadcasting.uknews | title = TV's most offensive words | date = ] ] | accessdate = 2008-05-05}}</ref> Nevertheless, its use is documented as the ] of some sections of society.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.gusworld.com.au/nrc/thesis/ch-5.htm | title = "HE'S AN UGLY CUNT, ISN'T HE?": cunt | accessdate = 2008-05-05}}</ref> However, in recent years attempts have been made to mitigate connotations of the word by promoting positive uses.
|-

! header 1
===Feminist perspectives===
! header 2
Some radical ]s of the 1970s sought to eliminate disparaging terms for women, including "bitch" and "cunt".<ref>{{ cite book | last = Johnston| first = Hank| coauthors= Bert Klandermans|title = Social Movements and Culture | publisher = Routledge| location = | year = 1995| pages = 174 | isbn = 185728500X}}</ref> In the context of pornography, ] argued that use of the word acts to reinforce a dehumanisation of women by reducing them to mere body parts;<ref name = Lacombe>{{cite book | last = Lacombe | first = Dany | title = Blue Politics: Pornography and the Law in the Age of Feminism | year = 1994| publisher = University of Toronto Press| pages = 27 | location = Toronto| isbn = 0802073522}}</ref> and in 1979 ] described the word as reducing women to "the one essential - 'cunt: our essence ... our offence'".<ref name = Lacombe/>
! header 3

|-
Despite criticisms, there is a movement within feminists that seeks to ] cunt not only as acceptable, but as an honorific, in much the same way that '']'' has been reclaimed by ] people<ref>
| row 1, cell 1
{{cite web |url= http://www.academia.org/campus_reports/2000/december_2000_1.html|title= Penn State Feminists Stage X-Rated Event on Students' Dime|accessdate=2008-03-06 |format= HTML |work= }}</ref>. Proponents include ] in her book, '']''<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.ingalagringa.com/cunt/|title= Cunt: A Declaration of Independence|accessdate=2008-03-06 |format= HTML|work= }}</ref> and ] in "Reclaiming Cunt" from "]".
| row 1, cell 2

| row 1, cell 3
The word was similarly reclaimed by ] who used it in the title story of "]"; a female character describing female genitalia in a pornography book: “her cunt a split fig below the great globes of her buttocks”.<ref>{{cite book
|-
| last = Carter
| row 2, cell 1
| first = Angela
| row 2, cell 2
| authorlink = Angela Carter
| row 2, cell 3
| title = The Bloody Chamber
|}
| publisher = London: Vintage
|} -->
| series =
| year = 1979
| doi =
| isbn = 0 09 958811 0 }}</ref>

], who had previously published a magazine article entitled ''Lady, Love Your Cunt''<ref>anthologized in Germaine Greer, ''The Madwoman's Underclothes: Essays and Occasional Writings'', (1986)</ref>, discussed the origins, usage and power of the word in the BBC series '']''. She suggests at the end of the piece that there is something precious about the word, in that it is now one of the few remaining words in English that still retains its power to shock.<ref>{{cite episode |title= Balderdash & Piffle|episodelink= |series= |serieslink= |credits= |network= ]|station= |airdate= 2006-02-06|season= |number= |minutes= }}</ref>

==Usage: pre-20th century==
''Cunt'' has been in common use in its anatomical meaning since at least the 13th century. While ]'s 1785 ''A Classical Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue'' listed the word as "C**T: a nasty name for a nasty thing"<ref>Grose, Francis. ''A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue. London 1788 (pages not numbered)]</ref> it did not appear in any major ] of the English language from 1795 to 1961, when it was included in '']'' with the comment "usu. considered obscene". Its first appearance in the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' was in 1972, which cites the word as having been in use since 1230 in what was supposedly a current ] street name of "]." It was however also used before 1230 having been brought over by the Anglo-Saxons, originally not an obscenity but rather a factual name for the vulva or vagina. "Gropecunt Lane" was originally a street of prostitution, indicating a ] ]. It was normal in those times for streets to be named after the goods available for sale therein, hence the prevalence in cities having a medieval history of names such as "Silver Street", "Fish Street", and "Swinegate" (pork butchers). In some locations, the former name has been ]ised, as in the City of ], to the more acceptable "Grape Lane".<ref>Baker, N & Holt, R. (2000). "Towards a geography of sexual encounter: prostitution in English medieval towns", in L. Bevan: Indecent Exposure: Sexuality, Society and the Archaeological Record. Cruithne Press: Glasgow, 187-98</ref>

The word appears several times in ] ] (c. 1390), in ] contexts, but it does not appear to be considered obscene at this point, since it is used openly. A notable use is from the ] "Pryvely he caught her by the queynte." The ] also uses this term, "For certeyn, olde dotard, by your leave/You shall have queynte right enough at eve . . . What aileth you to grouche thus and groan?/Is it for ye would have my queynte alone?" In modernised versions of these passages the word "queynte" is usually translated simply as "cunt" <ref></ref><ref></ref>. However, in Chaucer's usage there seems to be an overlap between the words "cunt" and "quaint" (possibly derived from the ] for "known"). "Quaint" was probably pronounced in ] in much the same way as "cunt." It is sometimes unclear whether the two words were thought of as distinct from one another. Elsewhere in Chaucer's work the word ''queynte'' seems to be used with meaning comparable to the modern "quaint" (charming, appealing).

By ] day, the word seems to have become obscene. Although Shakespeare does not use the word explicitly (or with derogatory meaning) in his plays, he still plays with it, using ] to sneak it in obliquely. In Act III, Scene 2, of '']'', as the castle's residents are settling in to watch the ], Hamlet asks ], "Lady, shall I lie in your lap?" Ophelia, of course, replies, "No, my lord." Hamlet, feigning shock, says, "Do you think I meant ''country matters''?" Then, to drive home the point that the ] is definitely on the first ] of ''country'', Shakespeare has Hamlet say, "That's a fair thought, to lie between maids' legs."<ref>Partridge, Eric, ''Shakespeare's Bawdy'', Routledge, London, 2001, p.111</ref> Also see '']'' (Act II, Scene V): "There be her very Cs, her Us, and her Ts: and thus makes she her great Ps." A related scene occurs in ''Henry V'': when Katherine is learning English, she is appalled at the "''gros et impudique''" English words "]" and "]," which her English teacher has mispronounced as "''coun''." It has been suggested that Shakespeare intends to suggest that she has misheard "foot" as "''foutre''" (French, "]") and "coun" as "''con''" (French "cunt", also used to mean "idiot").<ref>] alludes to the obscene meaning of the word without being explicit in his poem ''The Good-Morrow'', referring to sucking on "country pleasures".

The 1675 ] '']'' also features such wordplay, even in its title.

By the 17th century a softer form of the word, "cunny," came into use. A well known use of this derivation can be found on the 25th October 1668 entry of the diary of ]. He was discovered having an affair with Deborah Willet: he wrote that his wife "coming up suddenly, did find me imbracing the girl con my hand sub su coats; and endeed I was with my main in her cunny. I was at a wonderful loss upon it and the girl also....".<ref>Abbot, Mary, ''Life Cycles in England, 1560-1720: Cradle to Grave'', Routledge, 1996, p.201</ref>

''Cunny'' was probably derived from a pun on '']'', meaning "]", rather as ''pussy'' is connected to the same term for a ]. (]: "A pox upon your Christian cockatrices! They cry, like poulterers' wives, 'No money, no coney.'")<ref>Ship, Joseph Twadell, ''The Origins of English Words: A Discursive Dictionary of Indo-European Roots'', JHU Press, 1984, p.129</ref> Largely because of this usage, the word ''coney'' to refer to rabbits changed ] from short "o" (like ''money'' and ''honey'') to long "o" (''cone'', as in ]), and has now almost completely disappeared from most ] of English; in the same way the word "pussy" is now rarely used in America to refer to a cat.

] used the word in his ''Merry Muses of Caledonia'', a collection of bawdy verses which he kept to himself and were not publicly available until the mid-1960s.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.robertburns.org.uk/merrymuses.htm | title= Merry Muses of Caledonia by Robert Burns | accessdate=2008-03-06 |format = HMTL}}</ref> In "Yon, Yon, Yon, Lassie", this couplet appears: "For ilka birss upon her cunt, Was worth a ryal ransom".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.robertburns.org.uk/Assets/Documents/merrymuses.PDF | title= Merry Muses of Caledonia by Robert Burns | accessdate=2008-03-06 |format = PDF}}</ref>

==Usage: modern==
====In modern literature====
] was one of the first of the major 20th century novelists to put the word "cunt" into print. In the context of one of the central characters in '']'', ], Joyce refers to the ] and to {{quote|..the oldest people. Wandered far away over all the earth, captivity to captivity, multiplying, dying, being born everywhere. It lay there now. Now it could bear no more. Dead: an old woman's: the grey sunken cunt of the world.<ref></ref>}}
Joyce uses the word figuratively rather than literally; but while Joyce used the word only once in Ulysses, with four other wordplays ('cunty') on it, ] used the word ten times in '']'', in a more direct sense.<ref> </ref> Mellors, the gamekeeper and eponymous lover, tries delicately to explain the definition of the word to Lady Constance Chatterley: {{quote|If your sister there comes ter me for a bit o' cunt an' tenderness, she knows what she's after}}. The novel was the subject of an unsuccessful ] prosecution for ] in 1961 against its publishers, ].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://books.guardian.co.uk/extracts/story/0,,367917,00.html|title= Cock-up and cover-up|accessdate=2008-03-06 |format= HTML|work= }}</ref>

*]'s novel ] uses the word extensively, ensuring its banning in ] between 1934 and 1961<ref>{{cite web | url = http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ZKsZfSSDuEgC&dq=%22henry+miller%22+%22tropic+of+cancer%22+cunt&pg=PP1&ots=MQ_86i72ZW&sig=MNoeB6EDcdl4F7SUrvT9_P3RvzU&hl=en&prev=http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=%22Henry+Miller%22+%22Tropic+of+Cancer%22+cunt&btnG=Google+Search&sa=X&oi=print&ct=title&cad=one-book-with-thumbnail | title = Tropic of cancer| accessdate = 2008-04-06}}</ref> and being the subject of the ] decision in ''Grove Press, Inc. v. Gerstein'', {{ussc|378|577|1964}}.

*] was an associate of ], and in his ] (1956), he writes: "His young wife had abandoned all hope of bringing him to heel, by means of her cunt, that trump card of young wives."<ref>{{cite book | title = Women in Beckett | year = 1990 | isbn = 0252062566 | publisher = University of Illinois | last = Ben-Zvi | first = Linda }}</ref>

*In ]'s 2001 novel '']'', the word is used in a love letter mistakenly sent instead of a revised version, and although not spoken, is an important plot pivot.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.yalereviewofbooks.com/archive/spring02/review15.shtml.htm|title= Ian McEwan's Fictional Act of Atonement.|accessdate=2008-03-06 |format= HTML|work= }}</ref>

===Usage by Meaning===
====Referring to women====
In referring to a woman, ''cunt'' is an abusive term usually considered the most offensive word in that context and even more forceful than '']''. In the film '']'', the central character McMurphy, when pressed to explain exactly why he doesn't like the tyrannical Nurse Ratched, says, "she's something of a cunt, ain't she, Doc?"<ref></ref> It can also be used to imply that the sexual act is the primary function of a woman; for example, see ] in relation to '']''.

In 2004, ] president ] fanned the flames of a ] rape case when, during a deposition, she was asked if she thought "cunt" was a "filthy and vile" word. She replied that it was a "swear word" but had "actually heard it used as a term of endearment".<ref></ref> A spokesperson later clarified that Hoffman meant the word had polite meanings in its original use centuries ago. In the rape case, a CU football player had allegedly called female player ] a "fucking lovely cunt".

Similarly, during the ] ] ] for obscenity in 1971, prosecuting ] asked writer ] "Would you call your 10-year-old daughter a cunt?" Melly replied "No, because I don't think she is".<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2003/feb/02/broadcasting.comment | title = It's enough to make you cuss and blind | accessdate = 2008-03-23}}</ref>

====Referring to men====
]'s 1929 book '']'', set in ], is a ] account of the lives of ordinary soldiers and describes regular use of the word by British ]. The word is invariably used to describe men:{{quote|And now the bastard's wearin' the bes' pair slung round ‘is own bloody neck. Wouldn't you've thought the cunt would ‘a' give me vingt frong for ‘em anyway?<br/>
What's the cunt want to come down 'ere buggering us about for, 'aven't we done enough bloody work in th' week?<ref>{{cite book
| last = Manning
| first = Frederic
| authorlink = Frederic Manning
| title = The Middle Parts Of Fortune Somme And Ancre 1916
| publisher = Kessinger Publishing
| series =
| year = 2004
| doi =
| isbn = 978-1419172748}}</ref>}}
Whilst normally derogatory in English-speaking countries, the word has an informal use, even being used as a term of endearment. Like the word '']'', use between youths is not uncommon, as exemplified by its use in the film '']'', where it is an integral part of the common language of the principal characters.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117951/quotes | title = Memorable quotes for Trainspotting (1996) | accessdate = 2008-03-22 }}</ref>

====Referring to inanimate objects====
''Cunt'' is used extensively in Australia, Ireland and also in some parts of the UK as a replacement ], more commonly among males and the working classes, similar to the use of '']'' or ''son of a bitch'' among some Americans in extremely casual settings. For instance, "The cunt of a thing won't start," in reference to an ]; or "Pass me that cunt," meaning "Pass me that item I need"; or "Those cunts down the road," referring to people in the vicinity. When used in this sense, the word does not necessarily imply contempt nor is it necessarily intended to be offensive. {{Fact|date=February 2007}}

====Other uses====
The word is sometimes used as a general ] to show frustration, annoyance or anger. "I've had a cunt of a day!" or "This is a cunt to finish."

Australians have a habit of pairing the word with another to give a more specific meaning such as cunt-rash (visible disorder of the female genitalia, again normally a general insult). The phrase "sick cunt" is sometimes used as a compliment by such sub-groups as Australian ]s; (Ironically, this term, though having become common ] ], originated within non-] groups who combined their use of the term "sick" with what they saw as a typically Aussie expletive.)

A modern derivative ], ''cuntish'' (alternatively, "cuntacious"), meaning frustrating, awkward, or (when describing behavior) selfish, is increasingly used in England and has begun to appear in other regions, such as Scotland and Ireland.

''Cunting'' is routinely used as an ], much like ''fucking''. It can also be used as a slang term for 'criticism' i.e "Did you see the cunting he got for saying that?", possibly a derivative of ''slagging'' or ''slagging off'' used in British slang.

The word ''cunty'' is also known, although used rarely: a line from ]'s '']'' is the definition of ] by a ]i immigrant as "eating hot buttered toast with cunty fingers," suggestive of hypocrisy and a hidden sordidness or ] behind the country's quaint ]. This term is attributed to British novelist ].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.theparisreview.org/media/GREEN.pdf#search=%22cunty%20fingers%22|title= The Art Of Fiction No. 22 - Henry Green|accessdate=2008-03-06 |format= PDF|work= }}</ref>

''Cunted'' can mean to be extremely under the influence of drink and/or drugs.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://en.wiktionary.org/cunted | title = cunted| accessdate = 2008-04-06}}</ref>

===Usage in modern popular culture===
====Theatre====
Theatre censorship was effectively abolished in the UK in 1968; prior to that all theatrical productions had to be pre-vetted by the ]; this relaxation made possible ] productions such as "]" and "]". But "cunt" was not uttered on a British stage for some years.<ref name = "Chubby"></ref>

====Television====
Broadcast media, by definition, reach wide audiences and thus are regulated externally for content.
To minimise not only public criticism but also regulatory sanctions, policies have been developed by media providers as to how "cunt" and similar words should be treated.<ref>BBC. </ref> In a survey of 2000 commissioned by the British ], ], BBC and ], "cunt" was regarded as the most offensive word which could be heard, above "]" and "]".<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.asa.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/1EAEACA7-8322-4C86-AAC2-4261551F57FE/0/ASA_Delete_Expletives_Dec_2000.pdf#search=%22%22delete%20expletives%22%22 | title = "Delete Expletives" | accessdate = 2004-04-02 | format = PDF}}</ref> Nevertheless, there have been occasions when, particularly in a live broadcast, the word has been aired outside editorial control:
*'']'', broadcast live on November 7, 1970: The first time the word was known to have been used on British television, by ], in an affectionate reference rather than offensively. This incident has since been reshown many times.<ref name="Indy">{{cite web |url= http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/the-c-word-524059.html|title= The C word|accessdate=2008-03-06 |format= HTML|work= }}</ref>
*] first said on television the line "They say you are what you eat. I'm a cunt." <ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19970201/ai_n14088564/pg_2|title= Books: A blast of Jacobson's Organ|accessdate=2008-03-06 |format= HTML|work= }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,1541264,00.html|title= No laughing matter|accessdate=2008-03-06 |format= HTML|work= }}</ref>
*'']'' broadcast the word in 2000, used by the ] ] while being interviewed live about her role in '']''<ref>{{cite web |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20020214201246/http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/media/story.jsp?story=114876 |url= http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/media/story.jsp?story=114876 |archivedate=2002-02-14 |title=Caprice accidentally breaks the last linguistic taboo on television |accessdate=2008-03-06 }}</ref>
However "cunt" has crossed over from accidental to purposeful use:
*The first scripted use of the word in the ] was in the ] drama "No Mama No", broadcast in 1979.<ref name = "Indy">
*'']'' was shown by the ] in January 2005. The performance included the phrase "cunting, cunting, cunting, cunting cunt" (a description of the Devil). However, more controversy was generated by the ] claiming that He "Might be 'a bit gay'" than by the use of "cunt".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2005/jan/09/broadcasting.religion|title = F*** you, says BBC as 50,000 rage at Spr*ng*r |accessdate=2008-03-06 }}</ref>
*In July 2007 ] dedicated a full hour to the word in a detailed documentary ("The 'C' Word") about the origins, use and evolution of the word from the early 1900s to the present day. Presented by British comedian ], viewers were taken to a street in ] once called 'Gropecunt Lane' and presented with examples of the acceptability of "cunt" as a word.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007sj0x|title= The C Word: How We Came to Swear By It|accessdate=2008-03-06 }}</ref>
In the ] the broadcast use of "cunt" is still rare; nevertheless, the word has slowly infiltrated into broadcasting:

*The ] TV shows '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', and '']'' also make frequent use of the word; and two episodes of the sitcom '']''<ref>"Beloved Aunt" and "The Shrimp Incident"</ref> are devoted to the comical repercussions of its inadvertent use.
*Another HBO program '']'' featured an episode, "]", revolving around Louie ruining his entire weekend by calling his wife a cunt.
*Similarly, ] uttered the word on a live airing of the '']'' in 2008 when speaking about the Vagina Monologues.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/02/15/fonda_slip/|title=Jane Fonda c-word slip shocks US |accessdate=2008-03-06 }}</ref>

====Film====
<!-- Additions here will need verifiable sources to avoid ] problems-->
The word has few, if any, recorded uses in mainstream cinema prior to the 1970s, the first known being in '']'' (1971) in which Jonathan (]) asks ''"Is this an ultimatum? Answer me, you ball-busting, castrating, son of a cunt bitch! Is this an ultimatum or not?"''<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066892/quotes | title = Memorable quotes for Carnal Knowledge (1971) | accessdate = 2003-03-16}}</ref> Its subsequent use was limited for a while to films ] to adult audiences, such as '']'' (1973) in which Burke Dennings (]) addresses the the butler, Karl (Rudolf Schündler): ''"Cunting Hun! Bloody damn butchering Nazi pig!"''<ref></ref> and '']'' (1976) in which Travis Bickle (]) describes himself as ''"A man who stood up against the scum, the cunts, the dogs, the filth, the shit. Here is a man who stood up."''<ref></ref><ref>Emmanuel Levy : Cinema of Outsiders: The Rise of American Independent Film Page 118 - NYU Press, 1999; ISBN ISBN 0814751245</ref><br/>
'']'' (1977) was released in two versions, 'R' (Restricted) and 'PG' (Parental Guidance), the latter omitting or replacing dialogue such as Tony Manero (])'s comment to Annette (]) ''"It's a decision a girl's gotta make early in life, if she's gonna be a nice girl or a cunt."''<ref></ref> This differential persists, and in '']'' (1991), ] (]) meets ] (]) for the first time and passes the cell of "Multiple Miggs", who says to Starling: ''"I can smell your cunt."'' In versions of the film edited for television the word is dubbed with the word ].<ref></ref><br/>
<!-- In view of the now-entrenched use of this word in movies, it is recommended that any further additions to this chronological list be the subject of restraint, i.e. ask yourself "What makes this use of the word NOTABLE?". NN and unreferenced uses will be removed with extreme prejudice -->
More recently, us of the word "cunt" in film is still capable of generating controversy; in 2002 ]'s film '']'' was given an "18" rating by the ], ensuring that young people of the age depicted in the film were unable to view it legally. This rating was imposed because of the language used, with an estimate of twenty uses of "cunt".<ref>{{cite web | url = http://film.guardian.co.uk/censorship/news/0,,804490,00.html | title= Loach tells sweet sixteens to ignore BBFC | accessdate = 2008-03-06 |format= |work= }}</ref>

====Comedy====
In their ] dialogues, ] and ], particularly Cook, arguably made the word more accessible in the ]; in the 1976 sketch "This Bloke Came Up To Me", "cunt" is used 31 times.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.phespirit.info/derekandclive/live_02.htm | title = Derek & Clive - "This Bloke Came Up To Me" | accessdate = 2008-04-06}}</ref> The word is also used extensively by ] comedian ], which ensures that his ] act has never been fully shown on ] television.<ref name = "Chubby"/> Australian comedic singer ] makes extensive use of the word, most notably in the songs ''Caring Understanding Nineties Type'' and ''You Can't Say "Cunt" in Canada''.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.ozmusic-central.com.au/oztabs/uvw/wilson_kevinbloody/Caring%20Understanding%20Nineties%20Type.txt | title = Caring Understanding Nineties Type | accessdate = 2008-04-06}}</ref> The word appears on ]'s list of the ].

====Popular music====
In 1977, during a concert at ]'s ], ] introduced a song by stating, "If this song don't put the cunt back in country, I don't know what will." The comment was quoted widely in the press, and Carter spent much of the next decade trying to live the comment down.<ref>{{cite book |author=Chapman, Marshall |title=Goodbye, little rock and roller |publisher=St. Martin's Press |location=New York |year=2003 |pages= |isbn=0-312-31568-6 |oclc= |doi=}}</ref> However use of the word in lyrics is not recorded before the ] band ]' 1978 version of '']'', which marked the first known use of the word in a ] Top Ten hit, as a line was changed to "You cunt/I'm not a queer".<ref>{{cite web | url = http://observer.guardian.co.uk/omm/ttremastered/story/0,,2127431,00.html | title = The OMM top 50 covers | accessdate = 2008-03-16}}</ref> The following year, "cunt" was used in the song "Why D'Ya Do It? from ]'s album ]: {{quote|Why'd ya do it, she screamed, after all we've said,<br/>
Every time I see your dick I see her cunt in my bed.<ref>{{cite news |first= Simon|last= Price|authorlink= |coauthors= |title= Arts Etc: Rock & Pop - Faithfull: foul-mouthed and fabulous |url= http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20020317/ai_n12601024 |work= ]|publisher= |date= March 17, 2002 |accessdate=2008-04-23 }}</ref>}}

Since then, the word has been used by numerous non-mainstream bands, such as Australian band ], who released an ] in 1993 ''"]"'', and a single in 1998 entitled ''"]"'', which was banned. The American grindcore band ], on being signed to a bigger label, shortened their name to AxCx.

==Linguistic variants and derivatives ==
Various ]s, ] forms and ]s are used to imply the word without actually saying it, thereby escaping obvious censure and censorship.

===Spoonerisms and acronyms===
Deriving from a dirty joke: "What's the difference between a circus and a strip club?"- "The circus has a bunch of cunning stunts...",<ref>{{cite journal |last= Dundes|first= Alan|authorlink= |coauthors= Georges, Robert A.|year= 1962|month= September|title= Some Minor Genres of Obscene Folklore |journal= The Journal of American Folklore|volume= 75|issue= 297|pages= 221-226|id= |url= |accessdate= 2008-03-18|quote= }}</ref> the phrase ''cunning stunt'' has been used in popular music. Its first documented appearance was by the English band ] who released the album '']'' in July 1975;<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.caravan-info.co.uk/backcatalogue/ | title = Caravan Information Service | accessdate = 2008-04-06}}</ref> the title was later used by ] for a ], and in 1992 ] released an ] with the same title. In his 1980s ] television programme, ] played a vapid starlet, ''Cupid Stunt'',<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/classic/kennyeverett/gallery/09.shtml | title = Classic TV - The Kenny Everett Television Show - Gallery | accessdate = 2008-03-16}}</ref> and more recently comedian ] has hosted a British television comedy ] ''Fact Hunt''.<ref>{{ cite web | url = http://paramountcomedy.com/comedy/news/article.aspx?id=245 | title = Al Murray To Be Pub Quiz Master | accessdate = 2008-03-16}}</ref>
There are numerous informal acronyms, including various apocryphal stories concerning academic establishments, such as the ''Cambridge University National Trust Society''<ref>{{cite web | url = http://standanddeliver.blogs.com/dombo/bill_oddie/index.html | title=My Chat with Graeme Garden, Full Blown | accessdate = 2008-03-18}}</ref>

See also '']''

===Puns===
The name ] is a frequent substitute for the unspeakable; it has been used in a scene from the movie ],<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084522/quotes | title = Porky's (1982) | accessdate = 2008-03-18}}</ref> for a character in the ] radio comedy ].<ref>{{ cite web | url = http://www.britishcomedy.org.uk/comedy/radioactive.htm | title = RADIO ACTIVE | Accessdate = 2008-030-18 }}</ref> and in the title of a 2004 exhibition at the ], "Has Anyone Seen Mike Hunt?"<ref name = Pretorius>{{ cite web | title = Etymology Of Cunt | url = http://www.tanyapretorius.co.za/content/infoholism/etymology/etymology%20cunt.htm| accessdate = 2004-04-23 }}</ref>
Apart from more directly obvious references, ] famously defined ''countryside'' on ] as the act of 'murdering ]'<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/des-kelly-my-life-in-media-519169.html | title = Des Kelly - My Life in Media | accessdate = 2008-04-06}}</ref> and in ], Donna and Gaz are perusing erotic novels when they come across ]. However, Gaz helpfully informs Donna that 'it doesn't say Count'.<ref>{{cite episode |title= Mate Date|episodelink= |series= Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps|serieslink= |credits= |network= BBC |station= BBC3|airdate= 2004-03-21 |season= 4 |number= 6|minutes= }}</ref> Similarly, in an episode of ], Sophie tells Tim that she can't see him as there's been a misprint on the title of one of the magazines she works on - "Total Cult".<ref>{{cite episode |title= Gone|episodelink= |series= Spaced|serieslink= |credits= |network= Channel 4|station= |airdate= 2001-03-30 |season= 2 |number= 5|minutes= }}</ref> In all these uses, the audience are left to make the connection.
Even Parliaments are not immune from punning uses; as recalled by former ] prime minister ]:
{{quote|Never in the House did I use the word which comes to mind. The nearest I came to doing so was when ], a member of the cavalleria rusticana, was raving and ranting on the adjournment and shouted: "I am a Country member". I interjected "I remember". He could not understand why, for the first time in all the years he had been speaking in the House, there was instant and loud applause from both sides.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://whitlamdismissal.com/speeches/00-05-24_politicians-humour-debate.shtml | title = That Politicians Have Lost Their Sense Of Humour | accessdate = 2008-03-18}}</ref>}}and ] used a variation of this same gag on BBC TV's '']''. "Stuart Adamson was a Big Country member... and we do remember".<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115286/quotes | title = Never Mind the Buzzcocks (1996) | accessdate = 2008-03-18}}</ref>

===Rhyming slang===
Several celebrities have had their names used as euphemisms, including footballer ],<ref name = Partridge>{{cite book | last = Partridge |first = Eric| coauthor = Tom Dalzell, Terry Victor | title = The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English | publisher = Taylor & Francis | location = New York| year = 2006 |isbn = 041525938X }}</ref> actor ],<ref></ref><ref></ref><ref>Anonymous ''Dirty Cockney Rhyming Slang'' Michael O'Mara Books Ltd. ISBN 1-84317-035-3</ref> singer ],<ref name = Pretorius/> and 1970s motor-racing driver ], whose name was once used to introduce the radio show ] as "the show that is to panel games what James Hunt is to rhyming slang".<ref name = Pretorius/>
A canting form of some antiquity is ''berk'', short for "]" or "Berkshire Hunt",<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/berk | title = Berk - Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary | accessdate = 2008-04-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.everything2.org/index.pl?node_id=99938 | title = Cockney rhyming slang@Everything2.com | accessdate = 2008-04-06}}</ref> and in a ] sketch, an ]c man replaces the initial "c" of words with "b", producing ''silly bunt''. Scottish comedian ] claimed to have worked for a firm called "Lunt, Hunt & Cunningham".<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.transdiffusion.org/emc/tvheroes/haldaneduncan/chic_murray_remembered.php | title = TV Heroes: Part 09: Chic Murray Remembered | accessdate = 2008-04-23}}</ref>

==Other meanings==

The word "cunt" forms part of some technical terms used in seafaring and other industries.

===Nautical usage===
]
A '''cunt splice''' is a type of ] used to join two lines in the ] of ships. The two ends are side spliced together with a gap between the two parts, forming a short section where the two lines lay side-by-side when taut.<ref name="falconers">William Falconer, '''' (London: Thomas Cadell, 1780), 1243.</ref> In recent times its name has been ] to "cut splice".

The ''Dictionary of Sea Terms'', found within ] 1841 maritime ] ''The Seaman's Friend'', defines the word '''cuntline''' as "the space between the bilges of two casks, stowed side by side. Where one cask is set upon the cuntline between two others, they are stowed ''bilge and cuntline''."<ref name="seamans">Richard Henry Dana, Jr., '''' (Boston: Thomas Groom & Co., 1879; Dover Republication 1997), 104.</ref> The "bilge" of a barrel or cask is the widest point, so when stored together the two casks would produce a curved V-shaped gap.

The glossary of '']'' by ], first published in 1944, defines '''cuntlines''' as "the surface seams between the strands of a rope."<ref name="ashley598">Clifford W. Ashley, ''The Ashley Book of Knots'' (New York: Doubleday, 1944), 598.</ref> Though referring to a different object than Dana's definition, it similarly describes the crease formed by two abutting cylinders.<ref name="ashleynote">Examples of Ashley's usage of "cuntline" are found in the descriptions for illustrations #3338 and #3351.</ref>

===US military usage===
U.S. military personnel refer privately to a common uniform item, a flat, soft cover (hat) with a fold along the top resembling an invagination, as a '''cunt cap'''.<ref name = Dickson>{{cite book |title= War Slang: American Fighting Words and Phrases Since the Civil War|last= Dickson|first= Paul|authorlink= |coauthors= |year= 2004|publisher= Brassey's|location= Dulles, VA|isbn= 978-1574887105|pages= 145}}</ref> The proper name for the item is ] or overseas cap, depending on the organization in which it is worn.

===Hot-metal printing===
In the traditional hot-metal printing industry, a '''cunt lead''' was a term that was formerly used to describe a small additional inter-line gap, usually of less than 1]. The term is derived from the term ] which describes more generally inter-line gaps (from the strips of lead that were used to provide the separations).

===Others===
*'''Cunt hair''' (sometimes as '''red cunt hair''')<ref name = Dickson/> has been used since the late 1950s to signify a very small distance.<ref name = "Morton"/>
*'''Cunt-eyed''' has been used to refer to a person suffering from ].<ref name = "Morton"/>

==Notes and references==
{{reflist|2}}

== Further reading ==
*
*'']'', a 1998 book by ]
*'']'', a 1999 novel by ]
*''Lady Love Your Cunt'', 1969 article by ] (see ''References'' above)

==External links==
*
*

{{SevenDirtyWords}}

]
]
]

]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]

Revision as of 21:36, 29 May 2008

nathe.

its that simple

Cunt: Difference between revisions Add topic