Joke on Liverpudlian speechways

[Wilson Gray]

FWIW, I now recall that the contest for the title "Upper-Class Twit of
the Year" was a Monty Python bit.

-Wilson

On 10/27/06, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at yahoo.com> wrote:
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at YAHOO.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Joke on Liverpudlian speechways
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Without committing myself on that question, I'll bet there are speakers who regard "twit" and "twat" as mere variants of one another, vulgar or not.
>
>   JL
>
> Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
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> Sender: American Dialect Society
> Poster: Wilson Gray
> Subject: Re: Joke on Liverpudlian speechways
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> This prime minister who referred to one of his subordinates as a
> "twat," was he, perhaps, an upper-class twit, to coin a phrase?
>
> -Wilson
>
> On 10/26/06, Chris F Waigl wrote:
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> > Sender: American Dialect Society
> > Poster: Chris F Waigl
> > Subject: Re: Joke on Liverpudlian speechways
> > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> >
> > > Yeah, flapping ! And "Worral" is a surname in the Liverpool area ! I'm still laughing !
> > >
> > > BTW, are the Brits more (or less) sexist than we are because they so often apply the word "c*** " to pests and fools of either sex ?
> > >
> > This is a discussion I've been having with a number of Brits lately.
> >
> > My own impression is that the sex-unspecific use of "cunt" is less
> > sexist than applying it to women only. Which is of course a totally
> > unsuitable measure of the respective sexism of Brits and Americans in
> > general. Be that as it may, "cunt" is extremely common here in England,
> > just a few degrees above the equally sex-unspecific "wanker".
> >
> > But then, I've also met a (sexist) Brit who was genuinely surprised that
> > some might wish to apply "twat" to a woman. For him, this was for men
> > only. (The prime minister is fabled to have called one of his male
> > cabinet ministers a twat. I have it from a good source, but haven't been
> > able to pin down the cite.)
> >
> > As for flapping, there's lots of it in Irish English, too.
> >
> > Chris
> >
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--
Everybody says, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange
complaint to come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-----
Whoever has lived long enough to find out what life is knows how deep
a debt of gratitude we owe to Adam, the first great benefactor of our
race. He brought death into the world.

--Sam Clemens

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org