the new taboo

[Arnold Zwicky]

jimmy mullan reports on the much greater offensiveness of "cunt"
vs. "wanker".

to clarify my earlier message: i certainly heard both used of men
when i lived in the u.k.  but i never heard "cunt" used *to* a
man.  "wanker", on the other hand, had a range of teasing, friendly
uses, of the "hey, colin, you old wanker!" variety.  i can't
imagine such a greeting with "cunt" in it.

arnold (zwicky at csli.stanford.edu)