Wanker
 |
Look up wanker in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
Wanker is a pejorative term of English origin, common in Commonwealth and ex-Commonwealth countries, including Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. It initially referred to an onanist but has since become a general insult. It is synonymous with tosser.
Contents |
Meaning
The term wanker originated from British slang in the 1940s.[1] Wanker literally means "one who wanks (masturbates)". In modern usage it is usually a general insult. It conveys contempt, not commentary on sexual habits. Wanker has similar meanings and overtones to American pejoratives like jerk(-off).[2] One connotation, implying egotistical and self-indulgent behaviour (and more analogous to American douche(bag)[3]), is the dominant meaning in Australia and New Zealand.[4]
Wanker may be indicated by a one-handed gesture,[5] usually to an audience out of hearing range.[2] It is shown by curling the fingers of the hand into a loose fist and moving the hand back and forth to mime male masturbation, which is equivalent to saying, "[you are a] wanker".
In the United States, the term is understood, but rarely used, and then more in a way suggesting the target is an idiot.[6]
Differences in perceived levels of offensiveness
In December 2000, the Advertising Standards Authority published research on attitudes of the British public to pejoratives. It ranked wanker as the fourth most severe pejorative in English.[7] The BBC describes it as 'moderately offensive' and 'almost certain' to generate complaints if used before the watershed.[8]
In Australia it is considered mildly offensive but is widely accepted and used in the media.[9]
Mary Cresswell, an American etymologist, describes 'wanker' as "somewhat more offensive in British use than Americans typically realize".[10] The word was used twice to comic effect in the Simpsons episode "Trash of the Titans", which caused no offence to American audiences, but prompted complaints on occasions when the episode was broadcast unedited in the United Kingdom.[11]
Popular culture
"The Winker's Song (Misprint)" by Ivor Biggun is one of many songs about masturbation. It describes the singer: "I'm a wanker, I'm a wanker. And it does me good like it bloody well should", and it reached number 22 in the 1978 UK charts. It was banned by BBC Radio 1.[12][dead link]
Phil Collins used the word in his 1984 cameo appearance on Miami Vice and has sometimes been credited with introducing the word to America.[13]
On the American TV Show Married With Children, Peggy Bundy's maiden name is Wanker, and her family hails from (fictitious) Wanker County, Wisconsin.
On the British television quiz show Countdown, contestants have to form the longest word possible from nine randomly selected letters. On one occasion the letters permitted the spelling of 'wanker' (or 'wankers') and both contestants replied with the word, leading one to quip "we've got a pair of wankers". The sequence was edited out of the show (as is common with risqué words), but has been shown as an outtake on other shows.[14] However, on a later occasion, 'wanker' was offered, and this instance was left in and broadcast unedited.
In the PC game Team Fortress 2 the sniper, being of Australian descent, often uses the word wanker in taunts such as "Thanks for standing still, wanker."
The comedy show Mork & Mindy featured a character called 'Mr Wanker' who was Mindy's landlord.[15] This was broadcast on American TV and later British TV.
In February 2009, U2 member Bono called Chris Martin a wanker live on air during Jo Whiley's Radio 1 show.[16]
During a live radio debate on 28 May 2010, the future President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, urged conservative American radio host Michael Graham to "be proud to be a decent American rather than being just a wanker whipping up fear."[17][18]
When acting as the ombudsman on Red Eye w/Greg Gutfeld in 2011, Mike Baker presents a graph of the "wanker gap" for the first half of the program.[19] Baker has never given an explanation of the meaning of the "wanker gap."
References
- ^ Online Etymology Dictionary
- ^ a b Etherington, Mike: The very Best of British The American's guide to speaking British
- ^ http://www.thefrisky.com/post/246-how-to-have-the-most-expensive-day-of-your-life/?sms_ss=facebook
- ^ Ludowyk, Frederick: Anatomy of Swearing
- ^ How to make a Wanker gesture and how not to make it
- ^ http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definitions/Wanker?cx=partner-pub-0939450753529744%3Av0qd01-tdlq&cof=FORID%3A9&ie=UTF-8&q=Wanker&sa=Search#906
- ^ "Delete expletives?" (PDF). Advertising Standards Authority. http://www.asa.org.uk/~/media/Files/ASA/Reports/ASA_Delete_Expletives_Dec_2000.ashx. Retrieved January 6, 2007. (pdf)
- ^ BBC - Editorial guidelines, definition of offensive language . Retrieved 2007-01-20.[dead link]
- ^ Karen Stollznow, 2004. Whinger! Wowser! Wanker! Aussie English: Deprecatory language and the Australian ethos. In Christo Moskovsky (ed), Proceedings of the 2003 Conference of the Australian Linguistic Society
- ^ Cresswell, Mary. "Word Of The Day: November 19, 1996". http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=19961119.
- ^ Dowell, Ben (2008-06-09). "The Simpsons: Channel 4 apologises for pre-watershed swearing". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/jun/09/channel4.ofcom. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
- ^ yearsofgold.org.uk
- ^ Phil Collins interview, Playboy magazine October 1986
- ^ snopes.com: Countdown
- ^ Mork & Mindy (TV). USA: Henderson Production Company. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVQbgaHBojw.
- ^ "Bono Calls Chris Martin A Wanker". Music-News.com. http://music-news.com/ShowNews.asp?nItemID=24741. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ^ Michael Graham v Michael D. Newstalk.ie, 2010-05-28. (Quote from 15 min 25 sec.)
- ^ Newstalk Radio debate "The fact if the matter is, look, young people from the United States are travelling all over the world again. They're welcome in Europe, they're backpackers in hostels, people are talking to them because the image of the United States – we've got away from this war mongering – is getting better. The many mistakes Obama is making...at least 47 million people that the likes of you condemn to no health care in a country that I was proud to work in – these people are going to have some health care, so this is the issue, so therefore be proud to be a decent American rather than being just a wanker whipping up fear."
- ^ "Halftime Report: 12/28/11". http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/red-eye/index.html#/v/1352205221001/halftime-report-122911/?playlist_id=86926. Retrieved 2011-12-29.
Further reading
- Karen Stollznow, 2004, "Whinger! Wowser! Wanker! Aussie English: Deprecatory language and the Australian ethos" in Christo Moskovsky (ed), Proceedings of the 2003 Conference of the Australian Linguistic Society
- Jenny Cheshire, 1991, English Around the World: sociolinguistic perspectives, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-39565-8.
- Tony McEnery, 2005, Swearing in English: Bad Language, Purity and Power from 1586 to the Present, Routledge, ISBN 0-415-25837-5.
- Etymology online
- "Wanker" The Mavens' Word of the Day, 19 November 1996. Random House, Inc.
- Websters Online Dictionary: Wanker
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
