Monday, April 24, 2006
The dirty word in 43 Down
It's interesting how words that were once considered offensive can enter slip into the vocabulary. According to this article in Slate, if you finished a recent New York Times crossword puzzle, your answer for 43 Down, clued as "Scoundrel," was SCUMBAG. The word's offensive origin is mostly forgotten and is now just used to describe someone who's despicable.
Another word that's in common usage, despite it's origin, is sucks. Used in the right (or wrong) way, it's still offensive but doesn't have the same sting that it once did.
But Americans seem to be more likely to forget or ignore a word's origin than other cultures. Tiger Woods recently discovered this when he used the s-word (no not that one). And President Bush discovered this a few years ago when he used a word that's considered a racial slur elsewhere.
Another word that's in common usage, despite it's origin, is sucks. Used in the right (or wrong) way, it's still offensive but doesn't have the same sting that it once did.
But Americans seem to be more likely to forget or ignore a word's origin than other cultures. Tiger Woods recently discovered this when he used the s-word (no not that one). And President Bush discovered this a few years ago when he used a word that's considered a racial slur elsewhere.
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