"douche" vs. "douche-bag"

[James A. Landau]

My daughter (who is 17) referred to a male acquaintance as a "douche".  This
surprised me, since I am acquainted with the term "douche-bag" as a derogatory
term for a male whom one holds in contempt, but not with any slang use of the
term "douche" without the suffix "bag."

This term (or these two terms) is likely to be more widespread than usual
through November, judging by the existence of the Web site www.
johnkerryisadouchebagbutimvotingforhimanyway.com
(a site I recommend only for the connoisseur of political correctness and/or
incorrectness).

"John Kerry is a douche bag"   717 GOOGLE hits
same phrase without the word "bag"  91 GOOGLE hits
"George Bush is a douche bag"   7 GOOGLE hits
"George Bush is a douche"         2 GOOGLE hits

which proves (as if anyone doubted) that the Kerry supporters and the Bush
supporters don't speak the same language.

             - James A. Landau