Country Matters: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
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Specifically, how (at least in North American works) it's the one word nobody ''ever'' uses unless they want to break someone down and in the process make themselves look like a total and complete [[Jerkass]]. Even shows comfortable with using [[Seven Dirty Words|other swear words]] hesitate to use it, and Internet filters sometimes block other words that happen to [[Scunthorpe Problem|inadvertently contain it]]. Also known as "the [[T-Word Euphemism|C word]]". In North America, it is among the worst insults in the English language. It's virtually always used to express bitter, mocking contempt, and is more likely to be directed at women than at men. Calling someone this doesn't mean you think the person is subhuman slime; it means that you think that comparing him or her to subhuman slime [[Insult to Rocks|is a grievous insult to subhuman slime]]. Considering that the word's literal meaning is simply "female genitalia," the extremely negative connotations attached to "cunt" have [[Unfortunate Implications]]. Fortunately, another word, "pussy," exists as a slang word for that female anatomy which also has the benefit of sounding relatively cute and innocent.
In other English-speaking countries, it's nowhere near as mind-blowingly offensive (but still a strong expletive) and it's generally unisex or (as in Britain) mainly directed at men, being something like a stronger version of "asshole". In some situations (ie. among young [[Violent Glaswegian|Glaswegians]] or [[Land Down Under|Australians]]) it might even be a term of ''[[Vitriolic Best Buds|affection]]''. See ''[[Trainspotting]]'' where it's not a word, [[Just Add Bitch|it's a punctuation mark]]; it's also likely to be practically a catchphrase for any [[London Gangster]]. Other languages can have similar uses for the word. In the Dutch language, in particular, it's considered mostly harmless: you're having a cunt day when there's cunt weather outside and the cunt dog ate your cunt homework, which is, as the Dutch say with heartfelt compassion, "cunt for you".
When the two meanings combine, you can end up with some major [[Values Dissonance]] - for instance, the Englishman who can't understand why his Canadian friend just broke his nose; after all, he was only having a larf, right?
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{{quote|'''Playground girl:''' You were only in ''Seventeen'' once, and you looked ''fat!'' So stop acting like you're goddamn Christy Turlington!
'''Angela:''' ''Cunt!'' I am so sick of people taking their insecurities out on me. }}
* [[Mel Gibson]] is officially the first person to ever drop a C bomb in a PG-rated movie (unsurprising, as it was the 1990 film adaptation of ''[[Hamlet]]''). The line in question was the [[Trope Namer]] ("Do you think I meant
* [[Ryan Reynolds]] in [[Blade|Blade: Trinity]]: "You cock-juggling, thundercunt!" (Trying to decide if that was a [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]] or a [[Crowning Moment of Funny]]).
* ''[[24 Hour Party People|Twenty Four Hour Party People]]'' introduces [[Joy Division]] with a scene where Ian Curtis repeatedly calls Tony Wilson a cunt.
* Inverted in ''[[Hot Fuzz]]'', when a [[Swear Jar]] is shown. Each swear is given various rates, while some letters are replaced by [[Symbol Swearing]]. ''Except'' the word with the ''highest'' rate,
** In the extra features, Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost are on a promotional tour for ''[[Hot Fuzz]]''. They're about to do a TV interview.
{{quote|'''Edgar''': What words can we say on American TV?
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* In the ''Smith and Jones'' book based on the 1980s British comedy series, there's a mock front page of ''The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', in the style of a modern British tabloid, which includes a correction notice apologizing for the misspelling of [[wikipedia:Canute the Great|King Cnut]]'s name and assuring readers that the editor responsible has been fired. "Stupid cnut."
* In Ian McEwan's novel ''[[Atonement]]'' (and the film adaptation), Robbie uses the word twice in a short, obscene love letter which is accidentally delivered to Cecilia, the object of his affection. One thing leads to another, and in the end it doesn't turn out well for either of them...
** One of the tracks on the film's soundtrack makes a subtle reference to
* Its inclusion in ''[[Lady Chatterley's Lover]]'' was a major issue in the Penguin Books obscenity trial of 1963. A much more recent BBC play about the trial included an uncensored reading of the passages in question. Post-watershed, naturally.
* ''The Good-Morrow'', by 17th century metaphysical poet [[John Donne]]:
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** And later that same episode, the show demonstrated that it still knows how to use the word to shock.
{{quote|'''Emily:''' "Cook, any chance you could go and be a cunt over there?"}}
* ''[[The Thick of It]]'' is full of [[Cluster F-Bomb|Cluster F Bombs]], and the writers aren't afraid of
{{quote|"Tucker's Law: If some cunt can fuck something up, that cunt will pick the worst possible time to fucking fuck it up because that cunt's a cunt! I've got that embroidered on a tea towel at home."}}
** The film [[Spin-Off]], [[In the Loop]], turns the use of the word into an artform:
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*** And, when the last two shows combined and Peter Capaldi met ''[[Skins]]''...
{{quote|'''Mark:''' "Fuck off out of my house, you miserable Scottish cunt!"}}
* ''[[Sex and the City]]'' features prissy Charlotte using the euphemistic
* ''[[The United States of Tara]]'': One of Tara's alters defaces one of the murals she had been working on with "Die Yuppie Cunt". When Marshall and Kate discuss which alter did it, they repeat the word. A lot.
* Copious usage in ''[[Deadwood]]''.
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** Debbie and Pam drop the C-bomb a couple times too.
* ''[[Spartacus: Blood and Sand]]'' is not afraid to use this word as a part of being [[Darker and Edgier]] retelling of the story.
* ''[[House (TV series)|House]]'': Cameron, of all people, gets away with the "see you next Tuesday" variant, though [[It Makes Sense in Context]]
* All things considered, it was probably inevitable that [[Ashes to Ashes|Gene Hunt]] would turn out to be known in underworld circles as "Hunt the --" * disapproving glare*
* [[Dead Like Me]] has Delores Herbig using the "see you next Tuesday" variety, IIRC.
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'''Simon:''' Why am ''I'' the Invisible Cunt?
'''Nathan:''' You just are, man. Get used to it. }}
* HBO's [[Rome]] loves this word, frequently combining it with Roman blasphemy ("Juno's cunt!") [[Justified Trope|Justified]] in that ancient Roman curses were almost entirely scatological and the equivalent of "cunt" <ref>''cunnus'', [[In My Language, That Sounds Like...|which oddly enough is not believed by etymologists to be directly related to ''cunt'']]. According to [[That Other Wiki]], the former has cognates in Greek and Persian and has been traced to the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European word ''kutnos'', "crack", while the latter comes from the Germanic languages and one of two PIE roots - ''gon'', "create" or ''gune'', "woman".</ref> was one of the milder ones.
* Showtime's ''[[Californication]]'' has a scene where an obnoxious party attendant calls Karen a cunt and even presses his luck with her in front of Hank Moody (Catch You Next Tuesday). Hank then causally walks up to the man and in the words of Les Grossman, punches him in the face really f'in hard.
* ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' had a sketch about music executives trying to get Cee-Lo Green's single "Fuck You" changed so it can air on TV (as "fuck," like "cunt," is one of the seven words you can't say on TV). One of the executives (played by Gwyneth Paltrow) calls a female censor a "...world-class ''Country Strong''." (Also counts as a [[Incredibly Lame Pun]] and a [[Title Drop]] to the Gwyneth Paltrow movie of the same name).
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== Tabletop [[RPGs]] ==
* There was a sourcebook for the superhero [[Tabletop Game]] ''[[Silver Age Sentinels]]'' literally called
* ''[[FATAL]]'' has no problem with the word. This would not, in itself, be too bad. It then starts throwing around phrases like "mouth-cunt", "cuntress", "cunt-pipe" (really) and the name "Cuntrina".
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== Video Games ==
* Thoroughly averted in ''[[Grand Theft Auto San Andreas]]'', where this word is dropped several times through the course of the game. Considering the other [[N-Word Privileges|offensive words that are used]] and the overall [[Dead Baby Comedy|cringe worthy
** However, it's thrown in for attentive radio listeners in ''[[Grand Theft Auto III]]'': ([[Incredibly Lame Pun|Head Radio]] music station is hosted by none other than DJ Michael Hunt, who states his name pretty frequently. He never shortens it to "Mike," but the joke is pretty obvious.
* [[Rockstar Games]]' own ''[[Red Dead Redemption]]'' uses the word three times, two of which are in fairly quick succession.
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