Public Address | Cafe | Hard News: We are all twatcocks now (updated with prizes!)

Ian Dalziel

Mon, 20 Dec 2010 12:18:49 +1300

hit the woad jack...

...died in the arse” remains a favourite and simply means to fail.
Is it definitely “died” and not “dyed”? Because the latter could be a sheep-farming metaphor.

you might be thinking of the expression dyed-in-the-wool and this raises daggy thoughts about blue arsed flies, and then…

giovanni tiso

Mon, 20 Dec 2010 11:31:06 +1300

What is this, the Passive-Aggression Hour with Graeme Edgeler? I love that show.

Graeme Edgeler

Mon, 20 Dec 2010 11:29:44 +1300

So let me just say, in response to Graeme, “nuh-uh” and possibly also “whatevs”.

I do think it would have worked better with faux-outrage.

[Edited to remove insane over-reaction]

Have you ever thought of writing an [edit...] where you didn't write the thing in the first place, but wanted to…

Emma Hart

Mon, 20 Dec 2010 11:05:35 +1300

[Edited to remove insane over-reaction]

So let me just say, in response to Graeme, "nuh-uh" and possibly also "whatevs".

Graeme Edgeler

Mon, 20 Dec 2010 10:51:25 +1300

I haven't read all the comments, or the social history of the Word of the Year, but surely it is gendered?

I suppose it's not surprising that as the various "others" ("that's so gay") have become more popularly acceptable (though still a way to go), that we'd try to find…

Lucy Stewart

Thu, 16 Dec 2010 13:03:00 +1300

Ok, seriously now NE-ers – shall we have a PAS holiday get-together?

We just bought a car yesterday. If you’re up for it, that is so on.

To be fair, if the weather in Amherst is anything like it has been in Pittsburgh, that is kind of nuts.

Oh, nothing…

Paul Williams

Thu, 16 Dec 2010 11:41:58 +1300

Don't forget "Cracking on" and "Cracking the shits". Which have nothing whatsoever to do with each other.

Indeed, or a near neighbour; "cacking oneself"... lots of scatological humour.

Perhaps, but subject them to twenty-five minutes of your best vein-popping, lung-busting impersonation of a drunk rabid drop bear with Tourettes? They'll…

Amy Gale

Thu, 16 Dec 2010 04:35:14 +1300

Ok, seriously now NE-ers – shall we have a PAS holiday get-together?

Jake Pollock

Thu, 16 Dec 2010 04:15:38 +1300

To be fair, if the weather in Amherst is anything like it has been in Pittsburgh, that is kind of nuts.

Amy Gale

Thu, 16 Dec 2010 03:51:12 +1300

died in the arse” remains a favourite and simply means to fail

Is it definitely "died" and not "dyed"? Because the latter could be a sheep-farming metaphor.

BenWilson

Wed, 15 Dec 2010 21:58:14 +1300

Don't forget "Cracking on" and "Cracking the shits". Which have nothing whatsoever to do with each other.

Craig Ranapia

Wed, 15 Dec 2010 21:42:09 +1300

Australians are far far less prudish.

Perhaps, but subject them to twenty-five minutes of your best vein-popping, lung-busting impersonation of a drunk rabid drop bear with Tourettes? They'll break just like a little girl.

True story.

Geoff Lealand

Wed, 15 Dec 2010 18:13:51 +1300

Well, my 17 year old daughter just called me a "twatcock", after I had called her a "tart little tart" . All in jest but it is starting to get around.

Lucy Stewart

Wed, 15 Dec 2010 15:07:04 +1300

Plus, Americans think you are nuts if you walk around hotels in bare feet

You think that's bad, try putting out the rubbish in bare feet and a t-shirt anytime after, ooh, Hallowe'en.

Paul Williams

Wed, 15 Dec 2010 14:47:01 +1300

Where I am, I ground my whole class to a halt by referring to oxygen levels in the Archaean as "pretty bloody low". I'm not even touching twatcock in public. (Well. For aspects of public that are not the Internet.)

Australians are far far less prudish.

Still, I found it…

nzlemming

Wed, 15 Dec 2010 13:12:49 +1300

But would rather like a Neenish tart.

I've never quite found where Neen is...

Danielle

Wed, 15 Dec 2010 11:27:43 +1300

I am wimpishly not even in the cold bit at all! But yesterday I was in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and the breeze was a bit nippy... ahem. I will shut up now. But would rather like a Neenish tart.

Jackie Clark

Wed, 15 Dec 2010 07:49:25 +1300

Represent, Danielle!

Amy Gale

Wed, 15 Dec 2010 07:20:01 +1300

You're in the cold bit? Come on over. I'll make Neenish tarts.

(See what I did there?)

Danielle

Wed, 15 Dec 2010 07:14:28 +1300

Lucy, I feel your pain. I have been in the US 3.5 days and have already let out far too many unwitting "Jesus Christ that wind is cold"s for anyone's liking. (Plus, Americans think you are nuts if you walk around hotels in bare feet or collect continental breakfast from…

Lucy Stewart

Wed, 15 Dec 2010 01:23:14 +1300

I will say it again – how old are we, people? If you want to let it rip, profaity wise, feel free to do so.

Where I am, I ground my whole class to a halt by referring to oxygen levels in the Archaean as "pretty bloody low". I'm not…

Jackie Clark

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 18:06:53 +1300

Well, educate them, Paul. Please. Someone has to. (With, of course, great respect to Sally Jones who is a very splendid person of Australian origins.)

Paul Williams

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 16:59:43 +1300

I will say it again – how old are we, people? If you want to let it rip, profaity wise, feel free to do so. You are in Australia, after all, which is, is it not, the home of much sweary goings-on.

Indeed, but they've got their own profanity and…

Jackie Clark

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 16:25:15 +1300

I will say it again – how old are we, people? If you want to let it rip, profaity wise, feel free to do so. You are in Australia, after all, which is, is it not, the home of much sweary goings-on.

nzlemming

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 16:03:53 +1300

Think of it as outreach ;-)

Paul Williams

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 15:54:10 +1300

Are there other PASers in Sydney? I'd love dearly to use the phrase but fear it'd simply be misunderstood.

Joe Wylie

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 15:50:25 +1300

. . . more or less “cuntocks” . . .
Cunthooks = literally, fingers.

Chafugginlooginat cunnox?

Ray Gilbert

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 15:41:03 +1300

I was thinking more about the last 2 words in the phrase, or is that just my cesspit of a mind?

nzlemming

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 14:42:35 +1300

Apropos of nothing much, I was reminded upthread of a word that my friends and I used to use back in our teenage years (70’s) which was, more or less “cuntocks”. I can’t remember its origin, any specific meaning, whether we coined it or not or even whether it might…

Tom Beard

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 13:56:55 +1300

Denis Welch, discussing words of the year on Nine to Noon, finds that the PA Word of the Year can't be repeated on polite radio.

So, "twatcock" is officially NSFRNZ?

Megan Wegan

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 13:28:50 +1300

Um – anyone else pick up on the obvious remasculanising done by this statement? (Is remasculanising actually a word?)

A shrinkage, if you will?

Ray Gilbert

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 13:13:50 +1300

I would suggest a useful twatcock shortening cum sanitisation

Um – anyone else pick up on the obvious remasculanising done by this statement? (Is remasculanising actually a word?)

Jacob Powell

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 13:01:01 +1300

I would suggest a useful twatcock shortening cum sanitisation – should you feel the situation, or your tender sensibilities require it – would be the simple twaco. This could be pronounced in line with whacko or loco or even taco; whichever suits your oral/aural fancy really.

As for collective nouns…

Paul Campbell

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 12:50:03 +1300

I heard that, what a ....

philipmatthews

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 12:42:43 +1300

Denis Welch, discussing words of the year on Nine to Noon, finds that the PA Word of the Year can't be repeated on polite radio.

http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon

3410

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 12:36:50 +1300

Nil ambipudenda carborundum ?

Carol Stewart

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 12:12:12 +1300

Nil twatcockum carborundum
Hmmm. Doesn't quite work. twatcock is irreducibly Anglo-Saxon

Tom Beard

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 11:54:28 +1300

I'm curious, is there a received actual definition of twatcock?

The @twatcock twitter user (not me, honest!) defines it as "the members of the sets Twat, Cock and the intersection Twatcock". The background image gives some good hints.

Genrally, it seems useful as a way of insulting anyone that one…

sally jones

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 11:36:13 +1300

While twatcock no doubt enriches the language, those whose opinions I value assure me that I'm still a cunt.

Cunt is so 2010. Twatcock is post-postmodern and new-newagey, perfect for the new decade, but such a mouthful (!). How about twock or twack, for those who prefer to swear in…

Geoff Lealand

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 11:00:54 +1300

Those with sensitivities could possibly use the substitute cattwock

Megan Wegan

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 09:48:33 +1300

maybe it’s “a gender neutral word for someone who is a cock”.

That's how I have been using it, certainly.

BenWilson

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 09:30:18 +1300

I'm curious, is there a received actual definition of twatcock? I can see what the words connote individual but that is not the same thing. So far, I've been using it to mean "someone who is a cock, and a cunt". But it struck me this might be wrong, maybe…

"chris"

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 09:27:01 +1300

I win stuff. And it is booze! W00t!

Lucky for some. I had my name erm, accessorized.

Megan Wegan

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 07:56:15 +1300

I go away from the internet for a day, and I win stuff. And it is booze! W00t!

Given their natural habitat, I’d suggest “a talkback of twatcocks”.

You just keep getting better and better, don't you?

DexterX

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 01:41:50 +1300

A true sign of twatcockery is that one is unaware of what one is – so there is a degree of swagger involved.

Twatcocks are almost always instrumnetal in creating fusterclucks.

The plural form would be a "swag of twatcocks"..

The phrase what a bunch of "swags" refers directly to…

Russell Brown

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 23:11:15 +1300

“a talkback of twatcocks”

A book should be called that.

recordari

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 22:39:27 +1300

I favour a convocation.

With that he cocked his twat, and departed.

Islander

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 22:33:10 +1300

Nah, the talkback lot go far beyond twatcockery – they's outerspaz

giovanni tiso

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 22:26:40 +1300

WILD applause!

Tom Beard

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 22:23:05 +1300

Given their natural habitat, I'd suggest "a talkback of twatcocks".

Islander

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 21:24:25 +1300

Ooh, we're talking collective nouns?
There's more than a few possibilities, depending on targets:
an arousal; an abyss; a baggage; a twitter; a slime; an annoyance, an hoor a hoot a slither etc. etc.
What a twatcockery fest we could have!

Jackie – right with you – I think creative…

Che Tibby

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 21:03:11 +1300

ok... i'll play.

the plural of twatcock?

a "fold".i.e. "in that room is a fold of twatcocks".

BenWilson

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 20:51:33 +1300

I'm certainly never going to pronounce the word like I'm from the UK. That's just final.

Edit: I don't know how this post ended up being in reply to Gio. Not intended.

Isabel Hitchings

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 20:50:49 +1300

"Total twatcock" alliterates nicely.

Heather Gaye

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 20:44:41 +1300

...whereas say Micheal Laws would be a "Twatcock".

..you mean "Twhatcock"

Jackie Clark

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 20:18:28 +1300

egregious twatcockery? that, my love, is fabulous

Tom Beard

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 19:41:12 +1300

I would suggest uber twatcock or massive twatcock

I quite like the sound of "steaming great twatcock" and "egregious twatcockery".

Kyle Matthews

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 19:03:36 +1300

*But* there was no discussion for the voting form itself because it seemed superfluous, given that we already had one. We’ll change things a bit once Matt has some time, but for now it might be worth looking at the home of the site once a day.

I think I've…

Geoff Lealand

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 18:52:06 +1300

But Technically Correct ;-)

DexterX

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 18:29:15 +1300

Developed further having regard to gender relevance and overall "F"fort – "Twatcock" and Sarah Palin a perfect match, Bob Jones is a "Cocktwat", whereas say Micheal Laws would be a "Twatcock".

DexterX

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 18:23:23 +1300

Hardly the word of the year in my universe.

Welcome to the new world horizon.

Jackie Clark

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 17:14:30 +1300

I would suggest uber twatcock or massive twatcock. And Geoff? How very dare you.

Jolisa

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 17:01:51 +1300

Can we use TC as the short version for bad drivers and stupid politicians?

That would of course be TC gone mad.

Joe Wylie

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 16:46:29 +1300

Monosyllabic words are more easily nuanced. For example, you can be simply a prick, or be upgraded to arch-prick, which suggests some kind of phallic bishop's mitre. But arch-twatcock? Not really.

Tom Beard

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 16:42:28 +1300

I do believe this to be the original pronunciation.

Robert Browning rhymed it with "bat". Then again, he thought it meant a piece of nun's clothing, so he may not be the best source.

Wiktionary suggest a "bat" sound for UK English and a "swat" sound for Australasia, but then…

Andre Alessi

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 16:34:32 +1300

I like the cadence and syllabic repetition of the phrase "What a twatcock!"

I guess this makes me an effete pointy-headed liberal after all.

Geoff Lealand

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 16:31:27 +1300

I had no idea we had so many wowsers on board. Colour me shocked.

Well, I am married to a woman with a really foul mouth and I love her for it.

Can't imagine you shocked, Jackie--let alone coloured-in.

recordari

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 15:37:45 +1300

wowsers
...a giant golf ball?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9i7kQDne2Ns

Jackie Clark

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 15:31:12 +1300

I had no idea we had so many wowsers on board. Colour me shocked.

giovanni tiso

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 15:27:55 +1300

Well, fock me.

Russell Brown

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 15:26:47 +1300

In Easy A they pronounce it ‘twot’

I do believe this to be the original pronunciation.

ange wither

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 13:47:23 +1300

In Easy A they pronounce it 'twot'

giovanni tiso

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 13:40:48 +1300

I'm sorry to intrude on the whole pronunciation thing, but if you don't pronounce twat like twat and cock like cock, doesn't the word instantly stop making sense?

Andre

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 13:40:40 +1300

It's just a shame that PA readers chose an abusive term for the WOTY. Its interesting but not that important whereas roflnui (as they tweet apparently) was maybe a bit more important because it mixed languages. Roflnui is rather PC – Kilgallon should use it more often.
Findlay McDonald (SST)…

Sacha

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 13:27:45 +1300

Easy A includes twat as a joke which works

How do they pronounce it?

Geoff Lealand

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 13:01:29 +1300

Currently showing in your local cinema, Easy A includes twat as a joke which works. A surprisingly funny and clever teen movie, even though I suspect most teens won't get the clever-dick historical and cultural references.

Can we use TC as the short version for bad drivers and stupid politicians?

st ephen

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 12:37:41 +1300

I do believe the vote was for "The Public Address Word of the Year 2010", so I'd have thought that equal dashes of (self-knowing) geekery and cliquery were par for the course.

In passing, while looking up the pronunciation of "twat", I came across Twayblade, which ought to mean "a…

nzlemming

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 11:46:43 +1300

Because frankly I just can't get my mouth around the double-glottal-swallow of "twotcock", whereas "twatcock" simply rolls off the tongue.

We had a thread about pronunciation which covered an awful lot of this ground, but I'd just say I rhymed "twat" with "swat" the first time I saw it and…

BenWilson

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 11:38:41 +1300

I did actually use it, in the heat of the moment, verbally, just the other day, without pausing for any effect. Admittedly I was in conversation with another PASer.

Jackie Clark

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 11:30:50 +1300

I am so sorry, Robyn. I didn't mean to offend you. As Russell points out...........yes, my pop culture reference failed. Sorry. Again.

Greg Wood

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 11:15:39 +1300

I'm completely convinced that when used to describe rudeybits, the word is pronounced "twot"; but when it's used to describe a person, it's pronounced "twat".

Because frankly I just can't get my mouth around the double-glottal-swallow of "twotcock", whereas "twatcock" simply rolls off the tongue.

nzlemming

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 10:55:02 +1300

No offence, I’m very sure. It’s a reference to an old joke involving the Lone Ranger, whose punchline is “What do you mean ‘we’, kemo sabay?”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTRBobzfOMI

Robyn Gallagher

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 10:26:46 +1300

Gio, there's so going to be a Wellington Whisky Wang-dang at someone's house, whether they like it or not.

Robyn Gallagher

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 10:25:06 +1300

It’s a reference to an old joke involving the Lone Ranger

Ah! Not being an old white man, I didn't get that :-)

Russell Brown

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 10:11:50 +1300

Just for purposes of disclosure, I do get a little something from this too.

Meet my new favourite dram: the Adelphi Fascadale 10 year-old, which comes from a certain island where there is but one distillery ...

I'm such an Adelphi fanboi. It's nice to have another one I can reasonably…

giovanni tiso

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 09:47:49 +1300

Tom, Megan, Hadyn — it'll save our kind sponsor some money if you three could nominate a joint delivery address for the courier.

I'm sure my house is somehow equidistant from all of theirs.

Russell Brown

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 09:45:17 +1300

Did you just call me “white man”, Jackie? I’m not sure what to make of that.

No offence, I'm very sure. It's a reference to an old joke involving the Lone Ranger, whose punchline is "What do you mean 'we', kemo sabay?"

Robyn Gallagher

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 09:39:32 +1300

Who's most of us, white man?

Did you just call me "white man", Jackie? I'm not sure what to make of that.

I just meant most users of "twatcock". I didn't mean it in a racial context (?) or a gender context either. And I don't think that makes me…

Joe Wylie

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 09:07:12 +1300

While twatcock no doubt enriches the language, those whose opinions I value assure me that I'm still a cunt.

Jackie Clark

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 07:44:56 +1300

I think at this stage most of us are using twatcock self-consciously, with a silent “see what I did there?” after it. Who's most of us, white man? Speakee for yourself. Anything profane that passes my lips – and there's a reasonable stream of it outside work hours – never…

Lucy Stewart

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 03:42:33 +1300

Not that there's anything wrong with that right? I for one would be pretty disappointed if we chose commonsensical but soul-sapping words like credit crunch every year. What are we, Herald readers?

And let's be fair, words like "vuvuzela" and "Eyjafjallajokull", let alone "#eqnz" are pretty unlikely to enter the…

chris

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 23:34:13 +1300

It will be interesting to see if/when it starts to get used automatically, in spoken language (not just online) and by people with no connection to PA System.

Yeah, I'm excited by the prospect of twatcock as a measuring stick to gauge the respective influence of individuals and the group/…

Robyn Gallagher

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 23:24:23 +1300

That Stephen Pinker quote was interesting. I think at this stage most of us are using twatcock self-consciously, with a silent "see what I did there?" after it.

It will be interesting to see if/when it starts to get used automatically, in spoken language (not just online) and by people…

3410

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 23:02:49 +1300

Where was the voting announced?

It's been on the Public Address homepage list of recent posts for the past week or so.

The thread, yes, but, like Kyle, I must say I never saw any indication of where the voting form was. Anyway, old news now... :)

Russell Brown

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 22:22:52 +1300

Where was the voting announced? I saw people talking about voting, but can’t recall ever seeing a link or an announcement, and I follow system reasonably fanatically.

It's been on the Public Address homepage list of recent posts for the past week or so. I tweeted the link four or…

Jan Farr

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 21:22:29 +1300

Too late, she cried!

Today's SST p A14 under the heading 'US Set to Throw the Book at Julian Assange' has this gem:

'Last week Eric Holder, the US attorney-general, said he was personally involved in the US investigation into the website [Wikileaks]. "People would be misimpressioned if they think…

chris

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 21:18:18 +1300

I am going to use it as much as I possibly can, out in the wider community, from now on. Hey, it's the holidays soon, and I can be as profane as I want. Huzzah!

It'll be interesting to see how it fares.

The surging and cycling of fashion is…

giovanni tiso

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 21:18:04 +1300

About a week or so ago, in the thread. Then you had to search the website for the form.

Kyle Matthews

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 21:11:09 +1300

Where was the voting announced? I saw people talking about voting, but can't recall ever seeing a link or an announcement, and I follow system reasonably fanatically.

peterpeasant

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 21:02:56 +1300

Rhymes with stopwatch?

Stephen Judd

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 20:54:32 +1300

we should defer to Stephen Judd for the pronunciation, since his was the “twat” in question. So to speak.

My "twat" rhymes with bat. A long-a "twat" has never passed my lips.

Of course now we'll discover that Twatcock is a fine old English surname pronounced "Twakko".

Anonymous Author

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 20:43:07 +1300

given the amount of twatcockery that has pervaded 2010
So right. So very, very right.

Hooray for twatcock; may it fit as snugly into the annals of modern vernacular as a digit fits a fingerless glove.

Jackie Clark

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 19:47:15 +1300

I am going to use it as much as I possibly can, out in the wider community, from now on. Hey, it's the holidays soon, and I can be as profane as I want. Huzzah!

recordari

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 19:02:33 +1300

I overheard myself using, but guessing that doesn't count either.

Sacha

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 18:44:05 +1300

e.g. at the supermarket

but Thordon doesn't count, right?

Christopher Nimmo

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 18:34:10 +1300

It strikes me that the two most intelligent columnists in the SST are both nominally sportswriters (Stephen Boock and Kilgallon), which seems like a terrible waste. The SST should really swap the roles of Boock and Michael Laws, whose tripe would be perfectly suited to the Sports section.

Kumara Republic

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 18:24:41 +1300

Steve Kilgallon effectively says, "take that, twatcocks!' to the so-called anti-PC brigade...

Like any good PR man, the kingpins of the "PC gone mad" tribe have subtly built this campaign against a concept that never existed on a fine tissue of outrageous lies, published in in-house journals like Britain's Daily…

Robyn Gallagher

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 18:22:50 +1300

Bonus points for the first use of twatcock in the wild – i.e. overhearing a stranger use it in public, e.g. at the supermarket.

Lilith __

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 18:03:22 +1300

On reflection, that should be “ambipudendal”: the “r” crept in by analogy to “ambidextrous”, but it really doesn’t belong in pudenda. So to speak.

On the contrary, ambipudendral has a nicely hermaphroditic ring. So to speak.

Tom Beard

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 18:03:06 +1300

See, I like twatcock (rhymes with stopwatch)

Not that I want to return to the pronunciation debate, but I heard it as rhyming with "hatblock" when I wrote it. That may just be because I'm English, but the UK sense of the word "twat" (as a general insult somewhere on…

Tom Beard

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 17:54:21 +1300

Can I change my vote to "ambipudendral"?

On reflection, that should be "ambipudendal": the "r" crept in by analogy to "ambidextrous", but it really doesn't belong in pudenda. So to speak.

Russell Brown

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 17:41:02 +1300

Can I change my vote to "ambipudendral"?

It's a fucking stunner, isn't t?

Heather Gaye

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 17:15:43 +1300

Has someone sent the press release to Dan Savage yet?

Ben McNicoll

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 17:14:37 +1300

Can I change my vote to "ambipudendral"?

Sacha

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 17:10:48 +1300

I thought Bruce's was a fair enough response. But then so was Giovanni's..

Bruce Thorpe

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 17:08:39 +1300

No distaste here, just a sense of HN and me drifting apart over time.

Jackie Clark

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 16:55:27 +1300

You can't please all the people all the time, eh Bruce? Never mind, love. The rest of us will use it enough to make up for your distaste for it.

Lilith __

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 16:51:11 +1300

It has eluded well-meaning but foul-mouthed PC liberals for decades

ambipudendral insult

Gold! :-) Now let's see how twatcock does at large in the community...

Bruce Thorpe

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 16:10:13 +1300

I have only become aware of the word in this column and was not sure of how it should be said, and had no idea who had ever used it. Hardly the word of the year in my universe.

giovanni tiso

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 15:44:17 +1300

I consider it more a PA System meme than a word that's entered the vocabulary of New Zealand English.

Not that there's anything wrong with that right? I for one would be pretty disappointed if we chose commonsensical but soul-sapping words like credit crunch every year. What are we, Herald…

Jackie Clark

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 15:43:40 +1300

I am so glad, being not so much scatological as profane in nature (thankyou Ben) that twatcock has taken it's proper place in our vocabulary. Fantastic word. Although I was a little disappointed to see that vajazzling scored the lowest.

Sacha

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 14:56:03 +1300

News of the win attracts one sceptical response from the local twitterverse.
twatcock? @publicaddress has jumped the shark

And a twitter search shows it has already been hurled at Sarah Palin and Bob Jones.

Sacha

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 14:53:09 +1300

Rofflenui, anyone?
Twitter encourages the shorter "roflnui" instead, for me. I checked its usage recently on another thread. And behold the similarly-limited spread of the other variant. Not that I'm biased :)

Robyn Gallagher

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 14:33:41 +1300

See, I like twatcock (rhymes with stopwatch) but I've never used it aloud (other than in a discussion about the word itself). I consider it more a PA System meme than a word that's entered the vocabulary of New Zealand English.

Let's check back in a year and see how…

giovanni tiso

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 14:01:47 +1300

Shouldn't that be "vuvuzuela" up there?

No, although about half the English speaking population in the world somehow felt that it needed to rhyme with Venezuela on account of their complete inability to comprehend that foreign languages are not all alike in their non-Englishness. I've found that a lot more…

Juha Saarinen

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 13:28:46 +1300

Shouldn't that be "vuvuzuela" up there?

Oh, and First Post!

Public Address

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 13:28:46 +1300

Discussion from blog post.