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| Is the T-word offensive? | Is the T-word offensive? |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| When David Cameron used a word that is similar to "twit" in a radio interview, his press officer broke into a sweat. So why does this word offend people? | |
| The OED says it's vulgar slang | The OED says it's vulgar slang |
| The recording studio at Absolute Radio erupted in giggles when Mr Cameron used the T-word on the breakfast show thus: | The recording studio at Absolute Radio erupted in giggles when Mr Cameron used the T-word on the breakfast show thus: |
| "The trouble with Twitter, the instantness of it - too many twits might make a twat," he said. | "The trouble with Twitter, the instantness of it - too many twits might make a twat," he said. |
| According to presenter Christian O'Connell, press secretary Gabby Bertin ticked the Conservative leader off as he left the studio for using a swear word. He thought at first that she meant another segment of his interview. | According to presenter Christian O'Connell, press secretary Gabby Bertin ticked the Conservative leader off as he left the studio for using a swear word. He thought at first that she meant another segment of his interview. |
| If he really is that innocent, unaware that the word refers to female genitalia, then Mr Cameron is in illustrious company. | If he really is that innocent, unaware that the word refers to female genitalia, then Mr Cameron is in illustrious company. |
| Robert Browning, in his poetic play Pippa Passes in 1841, uses the word erroneously, thinking it to be an article of nun's clothing: | Robert Browning, in his poetic play Pippa Passes in 1841, uses the word erroneously, thinking it to be an article of nun's clothing: |
| Then owls and batsCowls and twatsMonks and nuns in a cloister's moodsAdjourn to the oak-stump pantry | Then owls and batsCowls and twatsMonks and nuns in a cloister's moodsAdjourn to the oak-stump pantry |
| It is thought Browning took his (mis)cue from a 17th Century poem, Vanity of the Vanities, that made the same mistake. | It is thought Browning took his (mis)cue from a 17th Century poem, Vanity of the Vanities, that made the same mistake. |
| The first documented evidence of the word was in 1656 and it appeared in Bailey's dictionary in 1727, although it was not spoken in the refined social circles that Browning would inhabit 100 years later. | |
| "Browning, in his innocence, didn't know what it meant," says a spokeswoman for the Oxford English Dictionary. "It was pretty unspeakable in the 19th Century. | "Browning, in his innocence, didn't know what it meant," says a spokeswoman for the Oxford English Dictionary. "It was pretty unspeakable in the 19th Century. |
| "A lot of very rude vocabulary tends to not get into print, so it's difficult to get really early evidence. The F-word is a nightmare, although it goes back to the Middle England period." | "A lot of very rude vocabulary tends to not get into print, so it's difficult to get really early evidence. The F-word is a nightmare, although it goes back to the Middle England period." |
| Double meaning | Double meaning |
| There's nothing rare about the T-word in print nowadays, with authors like Germaine Greer, Norman Mailer and Henry Miller having used it in famous works. | |
| For everyone else it means 'total idiot' - but it's still offensive, it's a fight-starting word Tony Thorne | For everyone else it means 'total idiot' - but it's still offensive, it's a fight-starting word Tony Thorne |
| It has a second meaning, which is probably what Mr Cameron had in mind - as a term of abuse for a person regarded as stupid or obnoxious. The first known use of it in this sense was in the 1920s. | It has a second meaning, which is probably what Mr Cameron had in mind - as a term of abuse for a person regarded as stupid or obnoxious. The first known use of it in this sense was in the 1920s. |
| "The literal meaning, as female genitalia, is very rarely used," says slang expert Tony Thorne. | "The literal meaning, as female genitalia, is very rarely used," says slang expert Tony Thorne. |
| "Maybe people over 50, for them that is the main sense of the word, but for everyone else it means 'total idiot' - but it's still offensive, it's a fight-starting word. | "Maybe people over 50, for them that is the main sense of the word, but for everyone else it means 'total idiot' - but it's still offensive, it's a fight-starting word. |
| "If you call someone it to their face, unless they are a close friend and you are teasing them, it's a fairly offensive word - although not on the same level as the C-word or the F-word. | "If you call someone it to their face, unless they are a close friend and you are teasing them, it's a fairly offensive word - although not on the same level as the C-word or the F-word. |
| "It looks like 'twit'. People who aren't on the street and don't use street language are maybe not aware of how strong it is." | "It looks like 'twit'. People who aren't on the street and don't use street language are maybe not aware of how strong it is." |
| New media | New media |
| Mr Cameron falls into this category, trying to adopt street language but making "a mess of it", says Mr Thorne. | Mr Cameron falls into this category, trying to adopt street language but making "a mess of it", says Mr Thorne. |
| It's not a widely deployed term of abuse, he says, and there seems to be conflicting opinion about regional uses. | It's not a widely deployed term of abuse, he says, and there seems to be conflicting opinion about regional uses. |
| "It sounds to me more Yorkshire or Scouse, but it's also used by London cabbies. I think it's clearly used more by men, by men that used to be referred to as working-class." | "It sounds to me more Yorkshire or Scouse, but it's also used by London cabbies. I think it's clearly used more by men, by men that used to be referred to as working-class." |
| And thanks to the satirical character Nathan Barley - created by Charlie Brooker - it became shorthand for irritating media-types who live or socialise in fashionable Shoreditch, east London. | And thanks to the satirical character Nathan Barley - created by Charlie Brooker - it became shorthand for irritating media-types who live or socialise in fashionable Shoreditch, east London. |
| Although in some minds it is associated with "twit", that single vowel change from "i" to "a" can make all the difference. | Although in some minds it is associated with "twit", that single vowel change from "i" to "a" can make all the difference. |
| Twit makes it into Mr Thorne's book, 100 Words That Make Us English, because it's a "homely and comfortable" insult that is quintessentially English, he says. | Twit makes it into Mr Thorne's book, 100 Words That Make Us English, because it's a "homely and comfortable" insult that is quintessentially English, he says. |
| The other does not. | The other does not. |
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