50+ Old Fashioned Insults We Should Bring Back
As Lesley M. M. Blume observes in Let’s Bring Back: The Lost Language Edition, while clothing fashions have a way of cycling in and out of popularity, when the sun sets on popular slang, it tends to remain buried forever. This isn’t always a bad thing — no one is jonesing for “Tubular!” and “Groovy!” to resurrect from the 1980s and 60s, respectively.
In some cases, however, where words have died, no equally worthy substitutes have risen in their places. This is particularly the case when it comes to our modern stock of insults and put-downs. If someone we meet or are apprised of in the news conducts themselves in an objectionable way, what words do we have at our disposable to call them? Jerk? Knucklehead? Perhaps we just resort to a set of tiresome, overused, meaningless expletives. Where’s the fun in that?
No, our storehouse of insults could surely use replenishing, and for this re-stocking operation there’s no better place to go than the slang of the 19th century – a time of truly colorful and entertaining verbiage. These old-fashioned put-downs have a flair that modern insults lack — they’re clever, nuanced, descriptive, and quite amusing (at least to the issuer and those who overhear, if not to the receiver!).
Utah Standard News depends on the support of readers like you.
Good Journalism requires time, expertise, passion and money. We know you appreciate the coverage here. Please help us to continue as an alternative news website by becoming a subscriber or making a donation. To learn more about our subscription options or make a donation, click here.
To Advertise on UtahStandardNews.com, please contact us at: ed@utahstandardnews.com.
Comments - No Responses to “50+ Old Fashioned Insults We Should Bring Back”
Sure is empty down here...