Gypped! Holy crap, never put two and two together on that one... bleh.

I know! I clued into that one pretty late, too, and I was super disappointed about it! I actually only figured it out after the first time I heard "jewed", and then I was like, "Waaaaait a minute..."

i guess i'm pretty literal. i (think i?) use words like "rude", "incompetent", "lazy", "lying", "false", "disappointing".

There's value in that, but I also think there's active value in using metaphors, both because they can be a little more emotionally satisfying sometimes, and because they can actively work to influence the way people think about things (like the inherent ablism of "lame" as a complaint or insult). I just want to use metaphors that reflect how I really feel and think and value qualities, characteristics, and people in the world.

I have a friend who has replaced his bad habit of calling things "gay" with calling them "republican."

As in "That's soooo republican!"

this reminds me of dan savage's substitution of "leotarded" for "retarded".

Interesting. I think this will lead to you using a lot of long, descriptive phrases about stuff you dislike, rather than learning new insults, but it's not necessarily a bad thing.

The etymology of "jerk" is probably unclear enough that it might be safe. I'm also not a fan of what Ani called excessive hygiene, which, aside from the ew factor, would allow "douchebag". I also never liked "bitch", but I admit to a basic apathy toward dogs that makes it also a candidate. Ex-coworker Justin liked to call people "meatballs" or "meatheads", which I still use, if only in my mind. "Boor". "Sketchy". "Manky." "Elbow licker".

I like "bourgeois" and sparkymonster turned me on to "bourgie". I've heard people getting a lot of mileage out of "emo" recently, though I have mixed feelings about that one.

There are also all kinds of short, sweet descriptive terms: self-centered, annoying, loud, smelly, entitled, ignorant...

Re: douchebag

I have also seen the argument that, as douching removes good bacteria and therefore opens the way to more serious fungal/bacterial issues that douches are, indeed, actively harmful to women and equating something to a douchebag is often an accurate metaphor.

For the record, bourgeois is also a family surname. So that might also be insulting to that family.

A lot of the older insults have lost initial context and currently I think they get used without realizing the history. I never realized the context of gypped until I saw it spelled out in your post. Similarly growing up in Southern LA "jewed" wasn't the pejorative it might be here. It was used in the same context as shrewd. I didn't appreciate how insulting it was until I moved here. Oddly, I don't think I've ever used lame for a human in the physical sense. Always with horses but that might be atypical.

Insults that align with my values:
stupid
ignorant
irrational
jerk
jackass
rude
moron

I'm noticing a trend here, although I would never use 'retarded' as an insult. I guess a century ago I would not have used 'moron' either.

Occasionally I have used "extruded plastic dingus," a phrase from the movie The Hudsucker Proxy, as an epithet. It's great because it sounds rude and kind of dirty, but doesn't actually denigrate any particular human characteristic or group of people.

For quite a while I've been torn about my sex-negative defaults. But I lack options that really have that visceral quality when I say them. And I certainly would have to do some serious reprogramming to STOP saying them. Then when I did, I'd still have 2 other people in the house who may not feel a need to reprogram, which makes my own reprogramming that much more challenging.

However, I do find that certain new turns of phrase can catch on at my house. We are clearly susceptible to memes. I could see if one or two catch on. Only if they find said new word(s) appropriately satisfying to say. "Elbow Licker" seems a good start.

I am going to keep reposting this until it becomes a thing:



INHJ, IHLJ "That's some seriously advanced bullshit right there."

Edited at 2011-06-08 07:52 pm (UTC)

I think this may be a new favorite. :: prepares to use it rigorously::

if this forces you to go through a period of highly poetic insults, i'm not sure that will be a bad thing! :) or if it forces you to think hard about exactly what it is you're trying to insult, even better...

are you trying to just avoid insults that secretly contain ideas counter to your values, or are you trying to promote other values by shoehorning a lot of complex emotional implications about broad topics into the small space of your insult the same way that ones that you dislike do?

are you trying to just avoid insults that secretly contain ideas counter to your values, or are you trying to promote other values by shoehorning a lot of complex emotional implications about broad topics into the small space of your insult the same way that ones that you dislike do?

Both! Can I have both?

"capitalist!"
(gets a fair bit of use in my household, though I may be even more fond of "profiteer!")

I have been trying to replace "lame" in my own vocabulary as well. I usually use "weak" instead, as I feel like "weak" connotes a relative state. It has been argued to me that the use of weak is also abelist as some folks have a disability characterized by their physical weakness. I don't know what to do about my brain habits in the face of that. Any insult that is a characteristic that could be viewed as negative which someone involuntarily has would, of course, sometimes sting that person. Avoiding all words for which that's true is difficult, but I am trying to raise my own awareness, as well.

In terms of other insults that are more neutral: I like chum sucker or scum sucker. Those both sound like unpleasant things to be. You could also go really classy and pull insults out of literature:

Mendicant! Fop! Lewdster! Bootless Canker-Blossom!

These, of course, have some of the same problems as insulting words our culture tends uses today, but they are farther removed from people's consciousness.

Then there's the route of making up your own or using words other folks made up: Santorum and Belgium fall into that category, though, of course, they're also insulting by pulling the erstwhile senator and the country into disrepute by association.

Part of the intent of insults is to sting people by associating them with groups considered undesirable and lesser by many. It's difficult to build up an insult structure that doesn't go to that place.

Ooh, there is also the quotation or contextual insult. One must be well-read to pull that off, though, and the object of one's insult must be well-read or one must get a thrill out of being too educated to be understood.

Hmmmm, so what's your take on the phrase "pig fucker" instead of "fucker"?

Oh, that one can definitely stay.

The most likely time when I want to insult someone or something is when I'm frustrated with them. In those circumstances, I've found that "Seriously????" (dripping with sarcasm) is very satisfying. I also find this aligns with well with my efforts to focus more on being critical of behavior rather than insulting the person (or people) in general.