The mention of "sumbitch" got me wondering.
"Bitch's son" goes back to Middle English in its written form, then degrades via "son of a bitch" and "sonuvabitch" to "sumbitch" in modern times.
One interesting ref in its use history, in Wikipedia (https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/son_of_a_bitch), is:
(pejorative, slang) An objectionable, despicable person.
1685 John Eachard, The grounds & occasions of the contempt of the clergy and religion enquired into, London, 9th ed. 1685, page 252: "There's that snarling cur, and son of a Bitch Boccaline."
I had always taken the expression as a pejorative that questioned the ancestry of the accused. In the dog world a perfectly acceptable and proper word that describes the female dog is: Bitch. Therefore a son of a bitch is the progeny of a female canine. The son of a bitch can and does mature sexually. In that case he may very well impregnate his mother in a perfectly natural chain of vents. That individual can then be accurately labeled as a mother fucking son of a bitch. An accusation of that sort applied to a human could be among the ultimate insults or the inoffensive utterings of a drunken companion.
Words like "Sumbitch" has become so common that it no longer carries the shock value that it once had in a pristine society.
Sorry about the crude ethology commentary. Hey I did not invent the lexicon so excuse please. ::)
When it comes to describing the wilfully retarded, I like to go with asshat, or fucktard.
Quote from: Icarus on August 16, 2016, 11:34:02 PM
Sorry about the crude ethology commentary. Hey I did not invent the lexicon so excuse please. ::)
No need to appologise IMO, Icarus, in a discussion of language. Or even when "rude" words are used "apprpriately" or for effect! It's only the gratuitous use of swear words that annoys me.