The C word has largely replaced the N word as the big social no-no.  Or is it the other way around?  It - the C word - was Noel Coward's favourite (as in 'you clumsy C), and it features in Chaucer and Shakespeare (in 'Henry V', where Henry's future queen is keen to learn English words for the various parts of the body).  Watching 'The Sopranos' eventually became slightly wearing. 
Elsewhere: nice exchange in Pinter's 'No Man's Land': 'A gentleman farmer?  A weekend wanker'.

Oh, and an increasing favourite of mine is 'fuckstick'. 

Best remembered, from my brief period in the army (1977), my Sergeant, referring to a Corporal: 'A fucking bionic wazzock'.

Thank you

Where does "twat" fit in?

Twat is stronger.  'Twot' is sometimes substituted.

The Russians do the best cursing, as in one of Solzhenitsyn's books when someone is referred to as 'a bitch's twat', meaning, of course, its vulva.

Doesn't Jack Nicholson in 'Cuckoo's Nest' refer to the nurse as a c***t?

Last edited by A Fine Sadness (2021-11-27 11:29:41)

Twat is, in terms of severity, up there with wanker. Ditto for cock, dick, dickhead and little shit. Fuckface is a good one I haven't heard for many years. Arsehole is of course the UK equivalent off asshole.

I was in the US as a young man and one of the first things I learnt was that it doesn't work to call a male a c***. Whereas in the UK it's mostly directed against males.

Incidentally berk is rhyming slang for the c word yet is generally considered far less offensive (probably because most people don't know its derivation).

Pronunciation puts another spin on these things, so if you’re from ‘Landon’ you might call someone a ‘facking cant’.

The Scots have some lovely words of their own such as 'radge' or 'radgie'.  Applies to their 'neds'. 

Back to London, aside from 'fackin' cant' we have 'barstard'. 

North/South divide.  Heard back in 1978 (Manchester): 'They're just a load of norvern barstards'. 

'Northern monkey' is also a nice one.  'Norvern' of course. 

Woof's 'spunkbubble' I remember as an army phrase.

Does anyone remember 'Derek And Clive Live' from circa 1975?  'A bloke came up to me the other day...'

Hahaha

Here's one in return:

I had a friend, now deceased, would be 70-ish now. Black guy from Baltimore, ex-Marine, dock worker. We became friends in ahem rehab.

AT one point he decided he swore too much, which was a little like the Atlantic concluding it was a little on the salty side.

For "motherfucker" he substituted "mamma-tamma."

There were two variations of mamma-tamma. The first, mammy-tammy, was a term of endearment (or at least bemusement). Example: "You won the lottery? You lucky mammy-tammy."

Mumma-tumma was bad. Very bad. He dropped his voice when he used it. Example: "This mumma-tumma smuggled in some drugs and three kids overdosed."

I guess the worse term of abuse from around 1974 was 'mong' - even 'spaz'.  Someone's father would drive one of those cars: a 'spaz chariot'.  Someone - very colourful, this - would be 'a mongolling snot-gobbler'.  Well, we were only thirteen or fourteen and dull as brushes. 
The more common Brit term of abuse now is 'prick'.  I think Americans use this, too. 
Does it all demonstrate poverty of language/imagination?  Perhaps.  But there are people who will happily pay to hear a stand-up like Chubby Brown do his stuff whilst objecting to someone mouthing off in a pub. 
Funny old world.

A favourite phrase of mine, seldom heard.

Tony Soprano to Dr. Melfi - 'Well, I'll be dipped in shit'.

We didn't use the term crumpet in my circle but sometimes said Billy Bunt as in 'the club was full of Billy Bunt' (plenty of girls)
We called each other 'tarts' and upon meeting up greeted each other with 'alright girls?' I don't know why and it might have been local.