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  3. One of the greatest strengths of the English language is any noun can be an insult if delivered in the right tone.

One of the greatest strengths of the English language is any noun can be an insult if delivered in the right tone.

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  • Jon Roach, ♻️ Duke of YorkF Jon Roach, ♻️ Duke of York

    @afewbugs hahaha our kids used to do this as a way of ending a conversation they were bored with.

    "You're a <last noun used in the preceding sentence>."

    It made no sense whatsoever and eventually I called them out on it when I could stop laughing.

    Jules she/herA This user is from outside of this forum
    Jules she/herA This user is from outside of this forum
    Jules she/her
    wrote last edited by
    #18

    @FourT4 "Your Mom is a last noun used!"

    Jon Roach, ♻️ Duke of YorkF 1 Reply Last reply
    0
    • CarstenC Carsten

      @Flisty @afewbugs

      I am now imagining someone sensuously feeding a lover baked beans. Thanks a lot.

      FragarachF This user is from outside of this forum
      FragarachF This user is from outside of this forum
      Fragarach
      wrote last edited by
      #19

      @CarstenBoll @Flisty @afewbugs

      Steady on old thing, you don't feed them to the object of your affection, you persuade them to bathe in beans. In public.
      Or so I'm told ...

      FlicF 1 Reply Last reply
      0
      • CarstenC Carsten

        @c0dec0dec0de @Flisty @DamonHD @afewbugs I figured it's because you'll end up moving about like one of those shopping trolleys with a wonky wheel.

        FlicF This user is from outside of this forum
        FlicF This user is from outside of this forum
        Flic
        wrote last edited by
        #20

        @CarstenBoll @c0dec0dec0de @DamonHD @afewbugs yeah what the US calls trolleys we call trams. This is a shopping trolley/cart situation

        FlicF 1 Reply Last reply
        0
        • FragarachF Fragarach

          @CarstenBoll @Flisty @afewbugs

          Steady on old thing, you don't feed them to the object of your affection, you persuade them to bathe in beans. In public.
          Or so I'm told ...

          FlicF This user is from outside of this forum
          FlicF This user is from outside of this forum
          Flic
          wrote last edited by
          #21

          @Fragarach @CarstenBoll @afewbugs red nose day is coming up ...

          1 Reply Last reply
          0
          • FlicF Flic

            @CarstenBoll @c0dec0dec0de @DamonHD @afewbugs yeah what the US calls trolleys we call trams. This is a shopping trolley/cart situation

            FlicF This user is from outside of this forum
            FlicF This user is from outside of this forum
            Flic
            wrote last edited by
            #22

            @CarstenBoll @c0dec0dec0de @DamonHD @afewbugs I once raced in a shopping trolley down a street in Brisbane when on a trip there as a student. Classic international activity apparently

            1 Reply Last reply
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            • QuixoticgeekQ Quixoticgeek

              @cassana @afewbugs the crazy thing with this is you can also use it to describe being drunk. "Got utterly trousered yesterday" "totally gazebod"...

              JenJ This user is from outside of this forum
              JenJ This user is from outside of this forum
              Jen
              wrote last edited by
              #23

              @quixoticgeek @cassana @afewbugs or mix and match!

              "You're totally tabled, you utter biro!"

              Cassana 🍻C 1 Reply Last reply
              0
              • JenJ Jen

                @quixoticgeek @cassana @afewbugs or mix and match!

                "You're totally tabled, you utter biro!"

                Cassana 🍻C This user is from outside of this forum
                Cassana 🍻C This user is from outside of this forum
                Cassana 🍻
                wrote last edited by
                #24

                @jetlagjen @quixoticgeek @afewbugs The funny thing is that it only works with a solid British accent. I used to get mistaken for Canadian when talking English for a long time, but then I moved to the UK, and all that shifted to modern RP with hints of Essex and London. And suddenly this magical world of creative vocabulary and wordplay opened up to me.

                JenJ 1 Reply Last reply
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                • Jules she/herA Jules she/her

                  RE: https://mstdn.social/@sodslawyer/116056688380387248

                  One of the greatest strengths of the English language is any noun can be an insult if delivered in the right tone.

                  Ludwig VielfrassL This user is from outside of this forum
                  Ludwig VielfrassL This user is from outside of this forum
                  Ludwig Vielfrass
                  wrote last edited by
                  #25

                  @afewbugs also nearly every alliterative “verbing the noun” construction sounds like an euphemism for masturbation.

                  Piers CawleyP OblomovO 2 Replies Last reply
                  0
                  • Jules she/herA Jules she/her

                    RE: https://mstdn.social/@sodslawyer/116056688380387248

                    One of the greatest strengths of the English language is any noun can be an insult if delivered in the right tone.

                    Wonderdog 🏳️‍🌈C This user is from outside of this forum
                    Wonderdog 🏳️‍🌈C This user is from outside of this forum
                    Wonderdog 🏳️‍🌈
                    wrote last edited by
                    #26

                    @afewbugs See Australian usage of "mate" ...

                    Simon LandmineS 1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • Jules she/herA Jules she/her

                      @FourT4 "Your Mom is a last noun used!"

                      Jon Roach, ♻️ Duke of YorkF This user is from outside of this forum
                      Jon Roach, ♻️ Duke of YorkF This user is from outside of this forum
                      Jon Roach, ♻️ Duke of York
                      wrote last edited by
                      #27

                      @afewbugs exactly this. "You're a dog brush", that sort of thing.

                      1 Reply Last reply
                      0
                      • QuixoticgeekQ Quixoticgeek

                        @cassana @afewbugs the crazy thing with this is you can also use it to describe being drunk. "Got utterly trousered yesterday" "totally gazebod"...

                        robR This user is from outside of this forum
                        robR This user is from outside of this forum
                        rob
                        wrote last edited by
                        #28

                        @quixoticgeek @cassana @afewbugs you got wallpapered, didn't you

                        1 Reply Last reply
                        0
                        • Jules she/herA Jules she/her

                          RE: https://mstdn.social/@sodslawyer/116056688380387248

                          One of the greatest strengths of the English language is any noun can be an insult if delivered in the right tone.

                          GJ Groothedde 🇪🇺E This user is from outside of this forum
                          GJ Groothedde 🇪🇺E This user is from outside of this forum
                          GJ Groothedde 🇪🇺
                          wrote last edited by
                          #29

                          @afewbugs I should say this is, in fact, a strength of any language. 🤷🏻‍♂️

                          1 Reply Last reply
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                          • Cassana 🍻C Cassana 🍻

                            @afewbugs New grammar module:
                            British english insultative vocative: “You (insert random creatively applicable noun).
                            Emphatic insultative vocative: “you absolute …”
                            This one is of course related and regularly combined with the common exclamatory vocative: "Oy!", e.g., "oy, you absolute disco light!"

                            Piers CawleyP This user is from outside of this forum
                            Piers CawleyP This user is from outside of this forum
                            Piers Cawley
                            wrote last edited by
                            #30

                            @cassana @afewbugs note that, without the “you”, exactly the same nouns can be used as a term of affection.

                            “Hello, gazebo!” — affectionate
                            “You table!” — insulting

                            As Pete Seeger noted, English is crazy.

                            1 Reply Last reply
                            0
                            • Ludwig VielfrassL Ludwig Vielfrass

                              @afewbugs also nearly every alliterative “verbing the noun” construction sounds like an euphemism for masturbation.

                              Piers CawleyP This user is from outside of this forum
                              Piers CawleyP This user is from outside of this forum
                              Piers Cawley
                              wrote last edited by
                              #31

                              @lerxst @afewbugs “Are you verbing the noun in there Billy? You’ll go blind if you’re not careful!”

                              Doesn’t have to be alliterative.

                              1 Reply Last reply
                              0
                              • Cassana 🍻C Cassana 🍻

                                @jetlagjen @quixoticgeek @afewbugs The funny thing is that it only works with a solid British accent. I used to get mistaken for Canadian when talking English for a long time, but then I moved to the UK, and all that shifted to modern RP with hints of Essex and London. And suddenly this magical world of creative vocabulary and wordplay opened up to me.

                                JenJ This user is from outside of this forum
                                JenJ This user is from outside of this forum
                                Jen
                                wrote last edited by
                                #32

                                @cassana @quixoticgeek @afewbugs that's delightful! I hope you're having fun with it.

                                Although it only works in British accents, it does work in *all* of them.

                                "Ahm bluddy loo rawlled, eh?" (Cumbria)

                                "Ye buzz seat!" (West Midlands)

                                "We'll gan get bridged" (Geordie)

                                "He is such a bookcase!" (RP)

                                1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • Wonderdog 🏳️‍🌈C Wonderdog 🏳️‍🌈

                                  @afewbugs See Australian usage of "mate" ...

                                  Simon LandmineS This user is from outside of this forum
                                  Simon LandmineS This user is from outside of this forum
                                  Simon Landmine
                                  wrote last edited by
                                  #33

                                  @caity @afewbugs That's not just limited to Australia - still practiced in the UK, too ...

                                  1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • Ludwig VielfrassL Ludwig Vielfrass

                                    @afewbugs also nearly every alliterative “verbing the noun” construction sounds like an euphemism for masturbation.

                                    OblomovO This user is from outside of this forum
                                    OblomovO This user is from outside of this forum
                                    Oblomov
                                    wrote last edited by
                                    #34

                                    @afewbugs @lerxst «verbing my noun» especially

                                    1 Reply Last reply
                                    0
                                    • Jules she/herA Jules she/her

                                      RE: https://mstdn.social/@sodslawyer/116056688380387248

                                      One of the greatest strengths of the English language is any noun can be an insult if delivered in the right tone.

                                      Amro has beenA This user is from outside of this forum
                                      Amro has beenA This user is from outside of this forum
                                      Amro has been
                                      wrote last edited by
                                      #35

                                      @afewbugs
                                      Haha, not only the English language. My mom freaked when I called my brother "een aangebrand stuk protoplasma" = a piece of burnt protoplasm in my teens.
                                      🤷‍♀️

                                      1 Reply Last reply
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