Twat
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The word twat has various functions, its primary meaning being a vulgar synonym for the human vulva, vagina, or clitoris.[1] It is also widely used as a derogatory epithet, especially in British English. The word is usually considered vulgar in all contexts.
[edit] Origins
The word possibly originates from the Old Norse þveit meaning cut, slit, or forest clearing.[1]
[edit] Historical usage
Robert Browning famously misused the term in his 1841 poem "Pippa Passes", believing it to be an item of nun's clothing:[2]
- Then owls and bats
- Cowls and twats
- Monks and nuns in a cloister's moods
- Adjourn to the oak-stump pantry
Its meaning was in reality the same then as now, Browning's misconception probably having arisen from a line in a 1660 satirical poem, Vanity of Vanities:
- They talk't of his having a Cardinalls Hat
- They'd send him as soon an Old Nuns Twat
Another mistaken (or perhaps dialectal) use was in Edward Bulwer-Lytton's 1870 science fiction novel The Coming Race, in an apparent satire on Darwin:
- Among the pithy sayings which, according to tradition, the philosopher bequeathed to posterity in rhythmical form and sententious brevity, this is notably recorded: "Humble yourselves, my descendants; the father of your race was a 'twat' (tadpole): exalt yourselves, my descendants, for it was the same Divine Thought which created your father that develops itself in exalting you."
[edit] Usage
Although sometimes used as a reference to the female genitalia, the word twat is more often used in various other ways:
- As a derogatory insult, a pejorative - 'you twat!'
- A fool, synonymous with the word twit - 'You are a real twat and a half' (often used in the UK)[3]
- To express annoyance - 'I caught my twatting knackers in it!'[citation needed]
- To express shock - 'Oh twat!'[citation needed]
- To hit something (or someone) hard or violently - 'Let's get out there and twat it!'[4]
- In its past participle form, to be drunk or otherwise intoxicated - 'Let's get twatted'[citation needed]
In August 2008, the publisher of a children's book, My Sister Jodie by Jacqueline Wilson, decided to reprint the word 'twat' as 'twit' in future editions of the novel so as not to offend readers or readers' parents.[5]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b Dictionary definition and etymology of "twat"
- ^ Mark Liberman (2005-01-19). "Twat v. Browning". Language Log. http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/001812.html. Retrieved on 2005-07-30.
- ^ BBC - h2g2 - The Origins and Common Usage of British Swear-words
- ^ Red Dwarf: Polymorph scene 10 (transcription link)
- ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/aug/21/jacqueline.wilson
