<![CDATA[In Japanese, one word used for "ugly" is "busu" (「ブス」).]]>In Japanese, one word used for "ugly" is "busu" (「ブス」). (It really should go without saying that this is an offensive word, and not to be casually slung around other people!) How this word came to be is a rather fascinating look in the history of a notorious plant poison.

Japanese monkshood (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Aconitum_japonicum) is a plant with showy flowers and a very toxic alkaloid. The poison in monkshood is potent enough that the Ainu used it to tip their arrows for hunting bears and other game. Dried monkshood root is called "busu" (「附子」); in a diluted form, it was often used for its anesthetic, numbing qualities.

]]>https://postcall.pub/topic/ff122e0d-6e3a-4751-96b4-f0848589da12/in-japanese-one-word-used-for-ugly-is-busu-ブス-.RSS for NodeWed, 27 May 2026 18:35:39 GMTTue, 26 May 2026 18:20:24 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to In Japanese, one word used for "ugly" is "busu" (「ブス」). on Tue, 26 May 2026 18:26:38 GMT]]>As one theory goes, some wag noticed that the expression of a person whose facial muscles were paralyzed by a treatment with "busu" apparently resembled less than-appealing women he may have encountered; thus, the word "busu" eventually came to refer to people whose faces look like they were poisoned with monkshood, and then more generally to people with less-than-appealing facial appearance. (Relatedly, there is a kyogen play entitled "Busu", where monkshood is featured as a plot device. There are performances of it on YouTube, e.g. https://youtu.be/D-8cbbUPRNo)

The closest analogue of this derogatory term to modern times would be "Botox face": both botulinum toxin and monkshood have paralyzing qualities, that one treated by any of those toxins in inappropriate dosages has an unnatural facial appearance, and is thus subject to mockery.

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]]>https://postcall.pub/post/https://mathstodon.xyz/users/tpfto/statuses/116642283402649090https://postcall.pub/post/https://mathstodon.xyz/users/tpfto/statuses/116642283402649090Tue, 26 May 2026 18:26:38 GMT