Slurs
slurs, verbal harassment, etc.
…..
1. nigger, N-word, nig, spade, etc.
CP, 10/11/03: The conventions for expressive content words:
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/000035.html
ML, 9/22/04: Three vs. four asterisks at Boondocks:
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/001478.html
RS, 3/17/06: The N-word in the news again:
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/002934.html
AZ, 5/11/06: The hispanicization of American baseball, the status of Puerto Rico, and the achievements of Roberto Clemente:
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/003135.html
JM, 5/31/06: “What up, nick–?”:
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/003209.html
HH, 12/9/06: Linguistic cartoon update update:
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/003885.html
GP, 12/11/06: Nigger, nigger, on the wall:
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/003893.html
GP, 2/2/07: Taboos of the nation:
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004138.html
HH, 3/30/07: Oliver/Wilmore investigates: N-word!:
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004350.html
BZ, 3/30/07: More N-word meta-humor:
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004351.html
3/6/11: Obscenity and literary merit:
https://arnoldzwicky.wordpress.com/2011/03/06/obscenity-and-literary-merit/
1/25/12: “a word now shunned”:
https://arnoldzwicky.wordpress.com/2012/01/25/a-word-now-shunned/
nigger
3/26/12: Flat denial:
https://arnoldzwicky.wordpress.com/2012/03/26/flat-denial/
nig
4/16/12: Using a racial slur:
https://arnoldzwicky.wordpress.com/2012/04/16/using-a-racial-slur/
avoidance of nigger
6/12/12: Plain talk in the NYT:
https://arnoldzwicky.wordpress.com/2012/06/12/plain-talk-in-the-nyt/
using nigger; avoiding it
8/3/12: On the taboo/slur watch:
https://arnoldzwicky.wordpress.com/2012/08/03/on-the-tabooslur-watch/
avoiding nigger and nigga
11/2/15: David Hammons:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2015/11/02/david-hammons/
spade
11/3/15: Minstrelsy:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2015/11/03/minstrelsy/
coon
8/16/18: Book flash: New Work on Speech Acts:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2018/08/16/book-flash-new-work-on-speech-acts/
on racist slurs in general
7/22/19: The boys of Boris Beauville:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2019/07/22/the-boys-of-boris-beauville/
assorted anti-black slurs, but especially pickaninny (and references to watermelons)
9/21/19: Chocolate-covered amidst the statuary:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2019/09/21/chocolate-covered-amidst-the-statuary/
Rastus as a pejorative name for a black man
…..
2. Other ethnic and racial slurs
GN, 10/7/03: Fenimore Cooper, call your office:
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/000029.html
redskin
CP, 10/11/03: The conventions for expressive content words:
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/000035.html
redskin
BPo, 12/23/04: Kemosabe:
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/001742.html
kemosabe
RS, 7/17/05: Adverbial license:
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/002338.html
redskin
BZ, 8/16/06: Makaku, Macaco, Macaque, Macaca…
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/003458.html
macaca
ML, 8/19/06: More on macaca-gate:
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/003471.html
macaca
BZ, 9/22/06: Macaca-watch continues:
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/003606.html
macaca
DB, 1/21/07: Lumps in the melting pot:
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004072.html
ching chong
GP, 2/5/09: Pakigate, Sootygate, Gollygate: Pakigate, Sootygate, Gollygate
paki, Sooty, golliwog
GP, 2/6/09: Half golliwogs and other UK linguistic news: Half golliwogs
GP, 2/9/09: Racial epithets, pragmatics, and semantics: Racial epithets
2/20/12: The Chink files:
https://arnoldzwicky.wordpress.com/2012/02/20/the-chink-files/
chink
3/9/12: At 8:
https://arnoldzwicky.wordpress.com/2012/03/09/at-8/
slant, slope
4/23/12: me no likie:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2012/04/23/me-no-likie/
pidgin Chinese in things like No tickee no washee
8/30/12: Brief mention: Chink, the slur 8/30/12:
https://arnoldzwicky.wordpress.com/2012/08/30/brief-mention-chink-the-slur-83012/
Chinky
10/1/12: On the ethnic slur watch:
https://arnoldzwicky.wordpress.com/2012/10/01/on-the-ethnic-slur-watch/
Redskin
4/28/13: chicano:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2013/04/28/chicano/
etymology and history
10/30/15: French laundry, Hostess products, and incoherent ramblings:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2015/10/30/french-laundry-hostess-products-and-incoherent-ramblings/
French laundry (versus Chinese laundry)
11/23/15: Using an ethnic slur:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2015/11/23/using-an-ethnic-slur/
NYT: a slur for the Chinese, not identified
3/19/16: Cheech:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2016/03/19/cheech/
Chicano/chicano as derogatory of Mexican-Americans, since largely
8/16/17: Gay slurs in New Zealand:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2017/08/16/gay-slurs-in-new-zealand/
NZ offensive slang hori ‘Maori’
3/30/19: News for carnivorous penises:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2019/03/30/news-for-carnivorous-penises/
Jap’s eye for external urethral opening: both Jap and allusion to slant / slit eye
…..
3. fag(got), F-word, etc.
AZ, 7/4/06: Avoiding the other F-word:
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/003319.html
AZ, 1/23/07: On the offensive language beat: use vs. mention, avoidance:
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004086.html
GP, 3/6/07: Calling people faggot:
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004277.html
ML, 8/18/09: Think B4 you speak: Think B4 you speak
9/23/09: Lifting shirts:
https://arnoldzwicky.wordpress.com/2009/09/23/lifting-shirts/
shirt-lifter
ML, 11/5/09: The F word: The F word
GP, 2/12/11: That little faggot, he’s a millionaire: That little faggot
banned in Canada
11/24/14: fairy X
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2014/11/24/fairy-x/
including homosexual sense of fairy
11/4/15: Bullshido, bullshtein, and cork soakers:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2015/11/04/bullshido-bullshtein-and-cork-soakers/
cocksucker as anti-gay slur
12/6/15: Gay Porn Portal:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2015/12/06/gay-porn-portal/
cocksucker ‘fellator’, ‘gay man, queer’ neutrally, as anti-gay slur, as generalized insult
3/12/16: Fruit loops:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2016/03/12/fruit-loops/
fruit as well as fag and fairy
5/17/16: Pebbles:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2016/05/17/pebbles/
fruity
10/21/16: Another Spanish lesson:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2016/10/21/another-spanish-lesson/
butterfly (boy)
11/25/16: Swish Zwicky:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2016/11/25/swish-zwicky/
swish, nelly
1/8/17: The highly evolved fashion sense of faggots:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2017/01/08/the-highly-evolved-fashion-sense-of-faggots/
Italian frocio ‘faggot, queer’
1/31/17: fudge:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2017/01/31/fudge/
fudge-packer ‘homosexual man, faggot’ (from butt-fucking as the characteristic practice of faggots
2/8/17: The rarest of slurs:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2017/02/08/the-rarest-of-slurs/
red rider: dubious as anti-gay slur
4/4/17: Quick, Bruce, the blat!:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2017/04/04/quick-bruce-the-blat/
slurs for gay men: flit, fruit
4/15/17: The maiden, the monster, and the hero:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2017/04/15/the-maiden-the-monster-and-the-hero/
homo, sissy
4/16/17: Out gay male bands:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2017/04/16/out-gay-male-bands/
in-your-face uses of fruit, pansy, fag
4/17/17: Chub and chums in the morning:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2017/04/17/chub-and-chums-in-the-morning/
bum chum, butt buddy, asshole buddy
8/16/17: Gay slurs in New Zealand:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2017/08/16/gay-slurs-in-new-zealand/
fag(got)
9/26/17: In the faggot zone:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2017/09/26/in-the-faggot-zone/
faggot, fuckboy
11/18/17: Fruity Fruit Froot:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2017/11/18/fruity-fruit-froot/
11/25/17: Pillowtalk:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2017/11/25/pillowtalk/
shirt-lifter, pillow-biter
5/17/18: Deshagged and pedicured:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2018/05/17/deshagged-and-pedicured/
fag(got), fairy, fruit, flit, pansy, poof, queen, homo
5/30/18: Punks:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2018/05/30/punks/
9/14/18: Fruit cream tarts, one with pansy:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2018/09/14/fruit-cream-tarts-one-with-pansy/
fruit, tart, pansy
11/1/18: Sweet stuff:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2018/11/01/sweet-stuff/
fruit(y)
11/4/18: Panda Puffs and Fruity Pandas:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2018/11/04/panda-puffs-and-fruity-pandas/
fruity, poof
12/12/18: Meaty faggots:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2018/12/12/meaty-faggots/
4/8/19: Annals of cultural cluelessness:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2019/04/08/annals-of-cultural-cluelessness/
fruit
7/11/19: Three Pride moments:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2019/07/11/three-pride-moments/
fruit (in section on avocados)
7/22/19: The boys of Boris Beauville:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2019/07/22/the-boys-of-boris-beauville/
various slurs, but especially bumboy
4. Other sexual(ity) slurs
RS, 7/17/05: Adverbial license:
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/002338.html
dyke
5/29/11: sluts:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2011/05/29/sluts/
slut
5/19/12: New words from John Waters:
https://arnoldzwicky.wordpress.com/2012/05/19/new-words-from-john-waters/
blouse
10/7/13: bitch:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2013/10/07/bitch/
bitch
4/3/15: sluts:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2015/04/03/sluts-2/
9/4/18: Brush away the blue-tailed skink:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2018/09/04/brush-away-the-blue-tailed-skink/
skank
6/17/20: Smearing and taunting:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2020/06/17/smearing-and-taunting/
pussy
5. Other slurs
Jesse Sheidlower, 4/6/06, in Slate:
http://www.slate.com/id/2139453/
scumbag
BZ, 4/13/06: A brief history of “spaz”:
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/003020.html
BZ, 7/12/08: Times bowdlerizes column on Times bowdlerization: Times bowdlerizes column
scumbag
ML, 9/11/09: Parliamentary decorum: Parliamentary decorum
[an assortment of slurs and abusive terms]
AZ, 11/15/09: The rise of douche: The rise of douche
AZ, 12/20/09: Trash-talking:
https://arnoldzwicky.wordpress.com/2009/12/20/trash-talking/
AZ, 12/24/11: -tards:
https://arnoldzwicky.wordpress.com/2011/02/24/tards/
AZ, 12/27/11: Annals of slurs:
https://arnoldzwicky.wordpress.com/2011/02/27/annals-of-slurs/
mental retardation
AZ, 3/4/12: On the avoidance watch:
https://arnoldzwicky.wordpress.com/2012/03/04/on-the-avoidance-watch/
illegitimate, retarded
8/31/12: Spasticus Autisticus:
https://arnoldzwicky.wordpress.com/2012/08/31/spasticus-autisticus/
spastic
12/3/12: derpy:
https://arnoldzwicky.wordpress.com/2012/12/03/derpy/
derpy; general remarks on disparagements
10/7/13: dickhead, butthead, whatever:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2013/10/07/dickhead-butthead-whatever/
dickhead, butthead, asshole, etc.
3/18/15: Knob in a red top:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2015/03/18/knob-in-a-red-top/
British knob (‘penis’) as insult (similar to dick, prick)
6/25/16: Annals of invective: tweets from Scotland:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2016/06/25/annals-of-invective-tweets-from-scotland/
an assortment of British invective against Donald J. Trump
7/16/16: oiks, yobs, and prats:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2016/07/16/oiks-yobs-and-prats/
British slurs
7/17/16: More British slurs:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2016/07/17/more-british-slurs/
chav
12/4/16: International Day of Persons with Disabilities:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2016/12/04/international-day-of-persons-with-disabilities/
cripple, crip, ?handicapped, ?disabled
1/13/17: Sticks and stones:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2017/01/13/sticks-and-stones/
on slurs, and swearing in general
2/26/17: More piggery:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2017/02/26/more-piggery/
derogatory uses of pig, based on ‘greedy, dirty, or unpleasant’ in the stereotype of pigs
4/11/17: hockey puck:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2017/04/11/hockey-puck/
Don Rickles: dummy, inventive insult hockey puck
4/15/17: The maiden, the monster, and the hero:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2017/04/15/the-maiden-the-monster-and-the-hero/
asshole, stupid
5/3/17: A musical decline:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2017/05/03/a-musical-decline/
redneck, hillbilly, yokel, etc.
6/6/17: Griffy Dimwit:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2017/06/06/griffy-dimwit/
dimwit, dunce, …
8/21/17: Nazis and neo-Nazis:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2017/08/21/nazis-and-neo-nazis/
derogatory Nazi
9/29/17: douché!:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2017/09/29/douche/
douche, douchebag, douché
12/17/17: Moby Chick, Moby Duck, Moby Dip:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2017/12/17/moby-chick-moby-duck-moby-dip/
prick
4/14/18: Tail caps:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2018/04/14/tail-caps/
asshead, asshat
5/12/18: For Mothers Day:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2018/05/12/for-mothers-day/
motherfucker, mother
9/21/19: For gay peguins, science, and Canada!:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2019/02/21/for-gay-penguins-science-and-canada/
retard, libtard
5/1/19: Here we come a-frankerin’:
https://arnoldzwicky.org/2019/05/01/here-we-come-a-frankerin/
tosser, wanker ‘masturbator; fool’
…..
6. Other offensive language
ML, 7/10/08: Political castration: Political castration
nuts in “cut his nuts off”
