Thursday, October 22, 2009
The Ugliest Word
Upfront, let's make it clear that I'm not including swear words. However, I feel this word is uglier than all but one of those - uglier even than the eff word. I contend the ugliest word in the english language is heifer. My stomach turns a little even typing it.
My closest friends growing up were part of a ranching family, so I spent a considerable amount of time around cattle. Even then, the word always bothered me. It seems that recently I've heard more people use the word as a derisive term for a woman. Ouch. As much of a hater as I am, I'd still have a really hard time calling someone that - even behind their back.
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8 comments:
Isn't a heifer a young calf...so couldn't you liken it to calling a woman a chick? I'm not sayin' its a good thing, I'm not from anything close to a ranching background. But, I am guessing that a heifer is a big woman? I guess I am just a city slicker.
We kept it simple with just the 4 and maybe 5 letter words. You get more more than one vowel in the disparaging word it was too much among my classmates during my formative years.
Not so much a young calf - those are just calves. Heifer is aged between a cow and a calf, of the female variety. Having grown up around cattle, the insult (while driven by principally by size) is so much more.
I don't have a problem using the word since for me it merely defines an animal classification. But I agree it has an ugly sound. Feels dirty when spoken.
Hmmm, the things you miss growing up in the city...I figured it was just a weight comment. Not like I was itching to use it or anything..."hey, Bridget! How's my sweet heifer this morning?" yeah that wouldn't work out well.
I wonder what would happen if we were to combine our two least favorite words?
Moist heifer.
I think the universe just exploded.
So I guess Heifer International (www.heifer.org) isn't your favorite charity then?
And I hate the word "Hefner." Hate that guy.
I was thinking about this on the ride home tonight. I hate the word "crotch"
Not as disparaging as heifer, but on the non-cussword ladder of words I hate, it is near the top.
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