Motherfucker
Motherfucker (
Variants
Like many widely used offensive terms, motherfucker has a large list of
History and popular culture
The word dates back at least to the late 19th century. In an 1889 Texas murder case, a witness testified that the victim had called the defendant a "God damned mother-f—king, bastardly son-of-a-bitch" shortly before his death.[4][5] A later Texas court opinion from 1897 prints the word "mother-fucking" in full.[6][5] In 1917 a U.S. soldier called his draft board "You low-down Mother Fuckers" in a letter.[7]
In literature, Norman Mailer uses it occasionally, disguised as motherfugger, in his 1948 novel The Naked and the Dead,[8] and used it in full in his 1967 novel Why Are We in Vietnam?.[5] It appears twice in James Purdy's 1956 novella 63: Dream Palace.[9] In Kurt Vonnegut's novel Slaughterhouse-Five the word is used by one of the soldiers in the story – leading to the novel being often challenged in libraries and schools. Vonnegut joked in a speech, published in the collection Fates Worse Than Death, that "Ever since that word was published, way back in 1969, children have been attempting to have intercourse with their mothers. When it will stop no one knows."[10]
The words "mother for you" or "mother fuyer", as
In popular music, the first mainstream
The word appears in George Carlin's Seven Words You Can't Say on Television. In one HBO special, he comments that at one point, someone asked him to remove it, since, as a derivative of the word "fuck", it constituted a duplication.[14] He later added it back, claiming that the bit's rhythm does not work without it.[14]
The word has become something of a catchphrase for actor Samuel L. Jackson, who frequently utters the word in some films.[15] His use of the word helped him overcome a lifelong stuttering problem.[16]
Literature
- The Compleat Motherfucker: A History of the Mother of All Dirty Words by black culture and in American literature, film, comedy and music.
See also
- Incest
- Maternal insult
- Grass Mud Horse (word play on Chinese equivalent)
- Mat (Russian profanity)
- Madarchod
- Seven dirty words
References
- ^ "What does motherfucker mean?". Definitions.net.
- ^ Snakes on a Plane - The TV Edit - The famous line, retrieved 8 January 2023
- ISBN 9780472032600. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
- ^ M. H. Levy v. State, 28 Tex. Crim. 3208, 206 (Tex. Crim. App. 1889-11-13).
- ^ Slate.com. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
- ^ John H. Fitzpatrick v. State, 37 Tex. Crim. 1159, 22 (Tex. Crim. App. 1897-01-13) ("The deceased called the defendant a mother-fucking son-of-a-bitch just preceding the fatal shot").
- ISBN 978-0674062054.
- ^ Buschel, Bruce (23 June 2015). "Dear Jon Stewart: Thanks For The Ride, Motherfucker". Theconcourse.deadspin.com. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
- ^ Purdy, James (1957). Color of darkness; eleven stories and a novella. New York: New Directions. pp. 173, 175.
- ISBN 0-425-13406-7.
- ^ Peter Silverton, Filthy English: The How, Why, When And What Of Everyday Swearing, Portobello Books, 2011
- ^ Jim Dawson, The Compleat Motherfucker: A History of the Mother of All Dirty Words, ReadHowYouWant.com, 2011, p. 135
- ^ "Archived copy". Arlo.net. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ a b Carlin, George (1978). On Location: George Carlin at Phoenix (DVD). HBO Home Video.
- ^ Jensen, Jeff (4 August 2006). "Kicking Asp". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 18 January 2007. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
- Huffington Post. 5 June 2013. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
- ISBN 978-1-932595-41-3.