Worst insult

[dr greg]

As a writer of period fiction I'm always keenly interested in the slang of the past: an English friend of mine was telling me his father's worst insult was to call a man a 'ponce' which meant a man who lived off the prostitution of his wife/woman, as distinct from a pimp or brothel owner. The word has degraded over the years to colloquially mean an effeminate man, if used at all by Gen X Y or whatever arse-end of the alphabet is being used today. The word in Australia to describe this practise was 'bludger' a word my father used with great distaste also. This word has also degraded to mean any lazy person, particularly those supposed to be having a free ride on welfare, it is rarely used about the idle inherited rich though, gee what a surprise...anyway, point of the story...what is the US equivalent of the word, if indeed the practise is/was frowned upon

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Slacker? [huh]
There's probably some worse words I could come up with,...but I'm in too good of a mood right now to think up insults. lol ​

 

[ortega76]

As a writer of period fiction I'm always keenly interested in the slang of the past: an English friend of mine was telling me his father's worst insult was to call a man a 'ponce' which meant a man who lived off the prostitution of his wife/woman, as distinct from a pimp or brothel owner. The word has degraded over the years to colloquially mean an effeminate man, if used at all by Gen X Y or whatever arse-end of the alphabet is being used today. The word in Australia to describe this practise was 'bludger' a word my father used with great distaste also. This word has also degraded to mean any lazy person, particularly those supposed to be having a free ride on welfare, it is rarely used about the idle inherited rich though, gee what a surprise...anyway, point of the story...what is the US equivalent of the word, if indeed the practise is/was frowned upon

Ha ha. I used the word "ponce" the other day to mean effeminate. I believe I used it as "F*$#ing Ponce".

 

[Johnnysan]

Ya learn somethin' new every day...

I thought I knew all of the derogatory words in the book, but "ponce" is a new one. Thanks for broadening my horizons, fellas!

 

[LolitaHaze]

Oh my! I have a friend who's last name is PONCE! Hahahaha :eusa_clap

 

[dr greg]

slango

In this country it is pronounced poonce with shortened vowels, as in NOT soon boon or loon, you know i can't think of another word that rhymes with it...

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

In this country it is pronounced poonce with shortened vowels, as in NOT soon boon or loon, you know i can't think of another word that rhymes with it...

Once?​

 

[dr greg]

nope

as in good or would should could

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

I think I know what a "Four-flusher" is, although in this age of low-flow facilities, it may have a new meaning.

Another one is "Blackguard" of which I have no clue of the etymology.

Another one I'm not sure of is "Jackleg" which I've only seen P.J. O'Rourke use.

My Dad would refer to coarse young men as "Yobboes."

Mom had several choice words, but they were all in German and I never asked her to spell them. lol

 

[dr greg]

Jackleg?

heard of blacklegs=strikebreakers, but not that...still nobody knows the answer to my original question as to that behaviour tho.

 

[LizzieMaine]

"Jackleg" is a dialect word that originally referred to a traveling preacher who had no formal ordination, and would go from town to town subsisting on the contributions of the faithful. Evidently enough of these guys were con artists that the word picked up the general connotation of a phony or a shyster. Thus, a "jackleg lawyer" or a "jackleg politician".

Me, I've always liked "muttonhead," which was my grandfather's word for anyone who annoyed him.

 

[jake_fink]

For further anthropology of the word ponce please see Withnail & I immediately.

You'll like it.


In my neck of the woods the worst thing a guy could be called was a scab.

 

[nightandthecity]

Withnail! Great film! The most accurate representation of the 60s I've seen.

But I digress. In Britain "Ponce" can mean effeminate but it's got subtler nuances....it's more someone who is full of themselves, narcissistic (a bit like some of us here perhaps..but lets not follow that chain of thought....)

Funnily enough, I think most people in Britain are still aware of its original meaning (pimp).

 

[DanielJones]

Y'all may find what you're looking for here:
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=636
or here:
http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine/zenith/134/slang.htm#
and one more:
http://home.earthlink.net/~dlarkins/slang-pg.htm

Cheers!

Dan

 

[Rosie]

Me, I've always liked "muttonhead," which was my grandfather's word for anyone who annoyed him.

My mom uses this lol I always get a kick out of it.

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

I like "Chowderhead," too.

And don't forget "Knucklehead." lol

 

[Sefton]

I like "Chowderhead," too.

And don't forget "Knucklehead." lol

And of course; Numbskull, Maroon, ignoramous...

 

[Salv]

There's also a UK insult that sounds like ponce but is IMO much worse: nonce, which means child-molester. I have no idea how this meaning of the word came about before anyone asks, but the Wikipedia claims it may be derived from nancy, as in an effeminate or homosexual man.

 

[Paisley]

Food as Insult?

My brother uses "muttonhead."
Then there's chowderhead, fathead and meathead.
My best guy friend uses snacks rather than main courses to describe knuckleheads: nuts, ding dongs, and fruitcakes.

 

[DanielJones]

Crazy people are sometimes refered as daffodills. Of course I've alway prefered loon.

Cheers!

Dan