![]() ![]() In the BBC TV comedy show Till Death us do Part (1965-1975) the bigoted patriarch of the family, Alf Garnett (played by Warren Mitchell) repeatedly referred to his son-in-law, Mike Rawlins ( Anthony Booth) as a "randy scouse git". John Lennon calls Walter Raleigh "such a stupid get" in The Beatles song, " I'm So Tired". The word has been ruled by the Speaker of the House of Commons to be unparliamentary language. In parts of northern England, Northern Ireland and Scotland get is still used in preference to git. A shortening of beget, get insinuates that the recipient is someone's misbegotten offspring and therefore a bastard. It was popularly used by the British army in the First World War at Gallipoli, the Egyptian and Mesopotamian campaigns, where the British would abuse their Turkish adversaries by shouting the vulgar phrase siktir git! (fuck you), mistakenly believing that git was part of the offensive expression meaning “you” (but in a derogatory way).Īn alternative suggestion for the etymology is that it is an alteration of the word get, dating back to the 14th century. The word git first appeared in print in 1946, but is undoubtedly older. Typically a good-natured admonition with a strong implication of familiarity, git is more severe than twit or idiot but less severe than wanker, arsehole or twat when offence is intended. Īs a mild oath it is roughly on a par with prat and marginally less pejorative than berk. Git / ˈ ɡ ɪ t/ is a term of insult denoting an unpleasant, silly, incompetent, annoying, senile, elderly or childish person. Unlicked CubĪ version of this story ran in 2018 it has been updated for 2021.For other uses, see Git (disambiguation). “A vulgar address or nomination to any person whose name is unknown. “A ragged fellow, whose clothes hang all in tatters.” 24. “A poor sneaking fellow, a man of no spirit.” 22. “An ill-dressed shabby fellow also a mean-spirited person.” 21. “A low mean fellow, employed in all sorts of dirty work.” 20. “A large relaxed penis, also a dull inanimate fellow.” 18. “A punning appellation for a justice,” or a punny name for a judge. ![]() “A large head metaphorically a stupid fellow.” 16. “A lewd graceless youth, one naturally of a wicked disposition.” 15. “A lazy fat woman … a frowzy old woman.” 11. “A poor, miserable, emaciated fellow.” 9. “A lewd woman, or one that plays with her tail also an impotent man, or an eunich.” 6. ![]() A Blowse, or BlowsabellaĪn unkempt woman: “A woman whose hair is dishevelled, and hanging about her face a slattern.” 4. “One who slanders another behind his back, i.e. (And if you need more inspiration, here's some Victorian slang for good measure.) 1. Below are some of the tome's most hilarious, vivid, and archaic insults, arranged in alphabetical order for your put-down pleasure. The anthology is filled with slang words and terms of the kind dictionary scribe Samuel Johnson had previously deemed unfit for his influential A Dictionary of the English Language (1755). And there’s more where that came from if you browse through English lexicographer Francis Grose's A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, first published in 1785. For history buffs and word nerds, “You jerk” just doesn't have the same ring as “You unlicked cub,” an insult from Georgian England. ![]()
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