Faggot: The History

Faggot or fag, in modern English usage, is a generally term for a homosexual man.

Origin
The word has been used since the late sixteenth century to mean "old or unpleasant woman", and this would appear to be a likely derivation. Female terms, it should be noted, are often used with reference to homosexual men. The application of the term to old women may possibly be a shortening of the term "faggot-gatherer", applied in the nineteenth century to people, especially older widows, who made a meagre living by gathering and selling firewood. The primary traditional meaning of the word is indeed 'a bundle of sticks for burning' . Another meaning, especially common in Wales, is a kind of pork meatball covered in gravy.

Earliest Written Uses
The earliest known reference to the word in print was in the 1914 Jackson and Hellyer A Vocabulary of Criminal Slang, with Some Examples of Common Usages which listed the following example under the word, drag:
"All the fagots (sissies) will be dressed in drag at the ball tonight."
The word was also used by a character in Claude McKay’s 1928 novel Home to Harlem, indicating that it was used during the Harlem Renaissance. Specifically, one character says that he can't understand:
"a bulldyking woman and a faggoty man"

Religious Use
The New Oxford Review, a Catholic magazine, caused controversy by its use and defense of the word in an editorial. During the correspondence between the editors and a homosexual reader, the editors clarified that they would only use the word to describe a practicing homosexual. They defended the use of the word, saying that it was important to preserve the social stigma of homosexuality, which the word preserves.

Reference: Wikipedia

Ergi: The History

Ergi and argr are two Old Norse terms of insult, denoting effeminacy or other unmanly behavior. Argr is "unmanly" and ergi is "unmanliness".

Origin
To accuse another man of being argr was called scolding, and thus a legal reason to challenge the accuser in holmgang. If holmgang was refused by the accused, he could be outlawed, as this refusal proved that the accuser was right and the accused was unmanly and cowardly. If the accused fought successfully in holmgang and had thus proven that he was not unmanly, the scolding was considered an unjustified, severe defamation, and the accuser had to pay the offended party full compensation.

Reference: Wikipedia

Git: The History

Git is a relatively mild British slang term, used to denote a silly, incompetent, stupid, annoying, childish or senile elderly person.

Origin
The word git first appeared in print in 1946, but undoubtedly predates it. The etymology of the word is a contraction of "illegitamate" dating back to the 14th century. A shortening of 'beget', 'get' insinuates that the recipient is someone's misbegotten offspring and therefore a bastard i.e. illegitimate. In parts of northern England, Northern Ireland and Scotland 'get' is still used in preference to 'git'.

Use
'Git' is frequently used in conjunction with another word to achieve a more specific meaning. For instance a "smarmy git" refers to a person of a slimy, ingratiating disposition; a "jammy git" would be a person with undeserved luck. The phrase "grumpy old git", denoting a cantankerous old man, is used with particular frequency.

In Entertainment
The word was often used in the sitcom Til Death Us Do Part where Warren Mitchell as Alf Garnett would frequently describe his son-in-law played by Tony Booth as a "Scouse git". Micky Dolenz penned the Monkees song "Randy Scouse Git" on the Headquarters album after hearing the term on the programme. The group's British record company at the time felt uncomfortable with the use of the word so the song was issued as "Alternate Title" in the United Kingdom. John Lennon also uses it in the Beatles White Album song, "I'm So Tired." He says, "And curse Sir Walter Raleigh, He was such a stupid get," using the archaic version to rhyme with "cigarette."

Reference: Wikipedia

Pissant: The History

A pissant can refer to an inconsequential, irrelevant, or worthless person, especially one who is irritating or contemptible out of proportion to his significance. Its origin is with pismire, a 14th-century word for ant.

Origin
The original pissant is any of a certain group of large ant species, commonly called wood ants, that make mounded nests in British and European forests. The pissant name arises from the urine-like odor produced by their nesting material and the formic acid that constitutes their venom.
Southern fire ants are also commonly referred to as pissants. This is primarily because most southerners in the US will tell that if you mess with fire ants they'll sting the piss out of you. Alternately, large black wood ants in the south can be referred to a pissants, lending to the phrase "... pissanting around."

Pissant in Politics
In conversations with his advisors during the Vietnam War, U.S president Lyndon B. Johnson often referred to Vietnam as "that damn piss-ant little country." The word is used by lesser public figures as well: a Virginia politician once silenced a heckler by saying "I'm a big dog on a big hunt and I don't have time for a piss-ant on a melon stalk."

Reference: Wikipedia

The Fangul: The History

This is done by keeping one hand straight, placing it under the chin, and 'throwing out' that hand toward the receiver of the gesture.

Origin
"Fangul" is not an Italian word, but its probable origins are in the Italian word "Vaffanculo", which means "Go fuck yourself". In Italian culture this gesture means "Chi se ne frega?" or "Who cares?". If done with less intensity, it can also simply mean "No" or "None".

In Italian-American culture, on the other hand, the gesture means "Screw You!". There is a subtle difference between the offensive version of the gesture and the innocuous version. In the "Screw You" version, the fingers are kept stiff and together and the motion is quick and abrupt. In the less offensive "I don't care" version, which has its root in Europe, the fingers fan out and the motion is gentle/nonchalant.

Reference: Wikipedia

The Moutza: The History

A "moutza" is the most traditional gesture of insult among Greeks which consists of extending all fingers and presenting the palm towards the to-be-insulted person. An even more offensive version is achieved by using both hands to double the gesture, smacking the palm of one hand against the back of the other, in the direction of the intended recipient. The closer the gesture is to the other man's face the more threatening it's considered.

Origin
The origin of the gesture can be traced back to the Middle Ages, particularly in the penal code of Byzantium, whereby a chained criminal was paraded around town would have his face spread with cinder. Cinder in medieval Greek was called moutzos. And, because cinder was wiped on the person's face first by collecting it in the palm and then by extending open the fingers, the gesture itself became insulting, to be known as moutza, after the name of the material applied.

Reference: Wikipedia

The Corna: The History

The corna is a gesture with a vulgar meaning in Mediterranean countries and a variety of meanings and uses in other cultures.



Meaning

In contemporary Italy the stretched fingers, are placed behind someones head, or explicitly pointed at a person the conveyed meaning is that this person is being cheated on by his wife or her husband. The gesture is also common in Spain, Portugal and Brazil, Albania, Slovakia and Czech Republic, and Greece and has the same meaning.



Superstition

When confronted with unfortunate events a person wanting to avoid that fate could resort to the corna to ward off bad luck. It is a more vulgar equivalent of knocking on wood. Interestingly, superstitious ones can alternatively "touch iron", which is not considered as vulgar. These gestures are meant to somehow conjure some supernatural power to protect the performer of the gesture. Such gestures are typically used when a black cat crosses one's path, when seeing a hearse, or when encountering any situation, object or person believed to bring about bad luck. It was once thought to prevent or distract the effects of the Evil Eye, that is of intentional or directed curses. Historically the gesture was pointed at people suspected of being witches. The gestures could also refer to the "Devil's" 666 number, as the three fingers form the shape of three 6 digits.



Popular Use

President of the Italian Republic Giovanni Leone shocked the country when, visiting Naples during an outbreak of cholera, shook the hands of the patients with one hand, and with the other, behind the back, made the corna. This act was well documented, as all journalists and photographers were right behind him, a fact that had escaped President Leone's mind in that moment. The gesture was interpreted especially as offensive for the patients.

Other Uses
The gesture is often used by supporters of sports teams, without evoking vulgar or Satanic associations. The University of Texas, is one such team, where it is known as Hook 'em Horns, an approximation of the shape of the horns of a Texas longhorn steer. Additionally, Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana , utilizes the Fork 'em Demons, as well as the University of South Florida and the New Mexico Lobos.

In baseball, the gesture, especially when the forearm is rotated, indicates "two outs." In the common signal for "two" the fingers were too close together for distant outfielders to distinguish the two fingers from one. Elston Howard is commonly credited with originating this use.

Conspiracy theorists claim a similar sign is used for Freemasonry, the Illuminati, or Satan worship, by extending the thumb outward. This is also the primary sign for the Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13 street gang found throughout Central America and the U.S.

In Turkey the sign is popular as a nationalist symbol for the Turkish people. It signifies wolf's ears, because of many legends that state wolves were guardians of ancient Turkish tribes near Western China.

Reference: Wikipedia

The Finger: The History

The origin of this gesture is possibly thousands of years old. It is identified as the digitus impudicus ("impudent finger") in Ancient Roman writings and reference is made to using the finger in the Ancient Greek comedy The Clouds by Aristophanes. It was defined there as a gesture intended to insult another. The widespread usage of the finger in many cultures is likely due to the geographical influence of the Roman Empire and Greco-Roman civilization. Another possible origin of this gesture can be found in the first-century Mediterranean world, where extending the digitus impudicus was one of many methods used to divert the ever present threat of the evil eye.

There is a popular story about English bowmen waving fingers at the French knights who did not manage to cut them off during the Hundred Years' War. However, this is a confusion with the origins of the V sign, which are themselves in question. Another possible origin is the phallic imagery of the raised middle finger (the middle finger being the longest finger on the human hand).

In 1886, Hall of Fame baseball pitcher Charles "Old Hoss" Radbourn slipped his little finger fastball into the Boston Beaneaters team picture. The split-second art of photography could turn the once-boring painted portrait into a spontaneous work of rebellion, humor and spunk. Americans everywhere quickly got into the act.

Throughout the 20th century, the finger has penetrated all levels of society. Roughhewn farmers did it, hippies did it, and even the Vice President of the United States got into the act. At a campaign stop for Senator Bob Dole in 1976, Nelson Rockefeller was heckled by protesters telling him what they thought of his Vietnam war policy by casting their middle finger votes. Never one to back down, Nelson flipped it back.



Reference: History of the Finger and Wikipedia

Fuck: The History

Flen flyys and freris
The usually accepted first known occurrence is in code in a poem in a mixture of Latin and English composed some time before 1500. The poem, which satirizes the Carmelite friars of Cambridge, England, takes its title, "Flen flyys", from the first words of its opening line, "Flen, flyys, and freris" (= "Fleas, flies, and friars"). The line that contains fuck reads "Non sunt in coeli, quia gxddbov xxkxzt pg ifmk". Removing the substitution cipher on the phrase "gxddbov xxkxzt pg ifmk" yields "non sunt in coeli, quia fvccant vvivys of heli", which translated means "they are not in heaven because they fuck wives of Ely". The phrase was coded likely because it accused some Church personnel of misbehaving; it is uncertain to what extent the word "fuck" was considered acceptable at the time.

Anglo-Saxon
An Anglo-Saxon charter granted by Offa, king of Mercia, dated A.D.772, granting land at Bexhill, Sussex to a bishop, includes the text:

Þonne syndon þa gauolland þas utlandes into Bexlea in hiis locis qui appellantur hiis nominibus: on Berna hornan .iii. hida, on Wyrtlesham .i., on Ibbanhyrste .i., on Croghyrste .viii., on Hrigce .i., on Gyllingan .ii., on Fuccerham 7 and on Blacanbrocan .i., on Ikelesham .iii.;

Then the tax-lands of the outland belonging to Bexley are in these places which are called by these names: atBarnhorne 3 hides, at Wyrtlesham 1, at Ibbanhyrst 1, at Crowhurst 8, at Rye 1, at Gillingham 2, at Fuccerham and at Blackbrook 1, at Icklesham 3.

The placename Fuccerham looks like either "the home (hām) of the fucker" or "the enclosed pasture (hamm) of the fucker", who may have been a once-notorious man, or a locally well-known stud male animal.

The Word in Entertainment

Perhaps the earliest usage of the word in popular music was the 1938 Eddy Duchin release of the Louis Armstrong song "Ol' Man Mose". The words created a scandal at the time, resulting in sales of 170,000 copies during the Great Depression years when sales of 20,000 were considered blockbuster. The verse reads:

He kicked the bucket,

Yeah man, buck-buck-bucket,

He kicked the bucket and ol' man mose is dead,

Ahh, fuck it!

Buck-buck-bucket,

He kicked the bucket and ol' man mose is dead.

The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger featured an early use of fuck you in print. First published in the United States in 1951, the novel remains controversial to this day due to its use of the word, and offers a blunt portrayal of the main character's reaction to the word, and all that it means.

One of the earliest mainstream movies to use the word fuck was director Robert Altman's irreverent antiwar film, MASH, released in 1970 at the height of the Vietnam War. During the football game sequence about three-quarters of the way through the film, one of the MASH linemen says to an 8063rd offensive player, "All right, bud, your fuckin' head is coming right off."

Use in Politics

Fuck is not widely used in politics, and because of this, any use by notable politicians tends to produce controversy. Some events of this nature include:

During a 1971 debate in the House of Commons, Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau mouthed the words "fuck off" under his breath at Conservative MP John Lundrigan, while Lundrigan made some comments about unemployment. Afterward, when asked by a television reporter what he said, Mr. Trudeau famously replied "Oh, I don't know... fuddle duddle, or something like that". "Fuddle duddle" consequently became a catchphrase in Canadian media associated with Trudeau.

In late 2003, US presidential candidate Senator John Kerry used the word fuck in an interview with Rolling Stone. Referring to his vote in favor of the resolution authorizing President George W. Bush to use military force in Iraq, Senator John Kerry stated, "I voted for what I thought was best for the country. Did I expect Howard Dean to go off to the left and say, 'I'm against everything'? Sure. Did I expect George Bush to fuck it up as badly as he did? I don't think anybody did."

In June 2004, US Vice President Dick Cheney told Senator Patrick Leahy to either "fuck off" or "go fuck yourself" during an exchange on the floor of the Senate, to which Patrick Leahy cried foul.

In February 2006 (Australia), New South Wales Premier Morris Iemma, while awaiting the start of a COAG media conference in Canberra, was chatting to Victorian Premier Steve Bracks. Not realizing cameras were operating he was recorded as saying "Today? This fuckwit who's the new CEO of the Cross City Tunnel has ... been saying what controversy? There is no controversy." The exchange referred to the newly appointed CEO of a recently-opened toll road within Sydney.

Use in Marketing
In April 1997, clothing retailer French Connection began branding their clothes "fcuk" . Though they insisted it was an acronym for French Connection United Kingdom, its similarity to the word "fuck" caused controversy. French Connection fully exploited this and produced an extremely popular range of t-shirts with messages such as "fcuk this", "hot as fcuk", "mile high fcuk", "fcuk me", "too busy to fcuk", "fcuk football", "fcuk fashion", "fcuk fear", "fcuk on the beach", etc. The company recently announced that the "fcuk" label is to be phased out.

Freedom of Speech
In 1971, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that the mere public display of fuck is protected under the First and Fourteenth Amendments and cannot be made a criminal offense. In 1968, Paul Robert Cohen had been convicted of "disturbing the peace" for wearing a jacket with "FUCK THE DRAFT" on it. The conviction was upheld by the Court of Appeals and overturned by the Supreme Court.

Reference: Wikipedia