Git (slang)

Last updated

Git /ɡɪt/ is a term of insult denoting an unpleasant, silly, incompetent, annoying, senile, elderly or childish person. [1] As a mild [2] oath it is roughly on a par with prat and marginally less pejorative than berk . 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. [2] [3] [4]

The word git first appeared in print in 1946, but is undoubtedly older.[ citation needed ] 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).

An alternative suggestion for the etymology is that it is an alteration of the word get, dating back to the 14th century. [5] A shortening of beget, [6] get insinuates that the recipient is someone's misbegotten offspring and therefore a bastard. [7] In parts of northern England, Northern Ireland and Scotland get is still used in preference to git. [8]

The word has been ruled by the Speaker of the House of Commons to be unparliamentary language. [9] [10]

Notable usage

John Lennon calls Walter Raleigh "such a stupid git" in The Beatles song, "I'm So Tired". [11]

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". The phrase was later picked up by Micky Dolenz and used as the title of a song recorded by The Monkees in 1967. The song "Randy Scouse Git" was the first song written by Dolenz to be commercially released, and it became a number 2 hit in the UK where it was retitled "Alternate Title" after the record company (RCA) complained that the original title (which is not heard in the song itself) was actually somewhat "taboo to the British audience".

In comedy show Monty Python's Flying Circus , a sketch entitled "Mr and Mrs Git" features a couple at a cocktail party named A Snivelling Little Rat-Faced Git and Dreary Fat Boring Old Git. The humour comes as the couple makes small talk about the societal difficulties of having Git as a surname, while appearing oblivious to the more obvious issues of their absurd given names and other repulsive behaviours which are gradually revealed through the conversation. [12] American punk rock band the Gits derived its name from the sketch. [13]

The word "git" is frequently used as an insult in British sitcoms such as Only Fools and Horses , Blackadder and Red Dwarf .

It was in a self-mocking spirit that Linus Torvalds named his Git version control system. [14] [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monty Python</span> British surreal comedy group

Monty Python were a British comedy troupe formed in 1969 consisting of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin. The group came to prominence for the sketch comedy series Monty Python's Flying Circus, which aired on the BBC from 1969 to 1974. Their work then developed into a larger collection that included live shows, films, albums, books, and musicals; their influence on comedy has been compared to the Beatles' influence on music. Their sketch show has been called "an important moment in the evolution of television comedy".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Profanity</span> Socially offensive form of language

Profanity, also known as swearing, cursing, or cussing, involves the use of notionally offensive words for a variety of purposes, including to demonstrate disrespect or negativity, to relieve pain, to express a strong emotion, as a grammatical intensifier or emphasis, or to express informality or conversational intimacy. In many formal or polite social situations, it is considered impolite, and in some religious groups it is considered a sin. Profanity includes slurs, but most profanities are not slurs, and there are many insults that do not use swear words.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bitch (slang)</span> Pejorative slang word for a person or thing, mainly a woman

Bitch is a pejorative slang word for a person, usually a woman. When applied to a woman or girl, it means someone who is belligerent, unreasonable, malicious, controlling, aggressive, or dominant. When applied to a man or boy, bitch reverses its meaning and is a derogatory term for being subordinate, weak, or cowardly. In gay speech the word bitch can refer approvingly to a man who is unusually assertive or has the characteristics used pejoratively of a woman.

"Chinese fire drill" is a predominantly American slang term for a situation that is chaotic or confusing, possibly due to poor or misunderstood instructions. It may also be known as a Polish fire drill or, increasingly, simply as a fire drill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wetback (slur)</span> Derogatory term mostly referring to Mexican illegal immigrants to the United States

Wetback is a derogatory term used in the United States to refer to foreign nationals residing in the U.S., most commonly Mexicans. The word mostly targets illegal immigrants in the United States. Generally used as an ethnic slur, the term was originally coined and applied only to Mexicans who entered the U.S. state of Texas from Mexico by crossing the Rio Grande, which is the U.S. border, presumably by swimming or wading across the river and getting wet, i.e. getting their back wet, in the process.

Bloody, as an adjective or adverb, is an expletive attributive commonly used in British English, Irish English, and Australian English; it is also present in Canadian English, Indian English, Malaysian/Singaporean English, Hawaiian English, South African English, and a number of other Commonwealth of nations. It has been used as an intensive since at least the 1670s. Considered respectable until about 1750, it was heavily tabooed during c. 1750–1920, considered equivalent to heavily obscene or profane speech. Public use continued to be seen as controversial until the 1960s, but the word has since become a comparatively mild expletive or intensifier.

This glossary of names for the British include nicknames and terms, including affectionate ones, neutral ones, and derogatory ones to describe British people, Irish People and more specifically English, Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish people. Many of these terms may vary between offensive, derogatory, neutral and affectionate depending on a complex combination of tone, facial expression, context, usage, speaker and shared past history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flyting</span> Exchange of insults in the form of verse

Flyting or fliting, is a contest consisting of the exchange of insults between two parties, often conducted in verse.

A minced oath is a euphemistic expression formed by deliberately misspelling, mispronouncing, or replacing a part of a profane, blasphemous, or taboo word or phrase to reduce the original term's objectionable characteristics. An example is "gosh" for "God", or fudge for fuck.

<i>Maledicta</i> Academic journal

Maledicta, The International Journal of Verbal Aggression, was an academic journal dedicated to the study of offensive and negatively valued words and expressions, also known as maledictology. Its main areas of interest were the origin, etymology, meaning, use, and influence of vulgar, obscene, aggressive, abusive, and blasphemous language. It was published from 1977 until 2005. The publisher, founder, and editor-in-chief was Reinhold Aman.

Les goddams is an obsolete ethnic slur historically used by the French to refer to the English, based on their frequent expletives. The name originated during the Hundred Years War (1337–1453) between England and France, when English soldiers were notorious among the French for their frequent use of profanity and in particular the interjection "God damn". A more contemporary ethnic slur nowadays is "Les Rosbiff" from the Roast Beef.

A wordfilter is a script typically used on Internet forums or chat rooms that automatically scans users' posts or comments as they are submitted and automatically changes or censors particular words or phrases.

Profanity in Finnish is used in the form of intensifiers, adjectives, adverbs and particles, and is based on varying taboos, with religious vulgarity being very prominent. It often uses aggressive mood which involves omission of the negative verb ei while implying its meaning with a swear word.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Randy Scouse Git</span> 1967 single by the Monkees

"Randy Scouse Git" is a song written by Micky Dolenz in 1967 and recorded by the Monkees. It was the first song written by Dolenz to be commercially released, and it became a number 2 hit in the UK where it was retitled "Alternate Title" after the record company (RCA) complained that the original title was actually somewhat "rude to British audiences" and requested that The Monkees supply an alternate title. Dolenz took the song's title from a phrase he had heard spoken on an episode of the British television series Till Death Us Do Part, which he had watched while in England. The song also appeared on The Monkees TV series, on their album Headquarters, and on several "Greatest Hits" albums. Peter Tork said that it was one of his favorite Monkees tracks.

Kike, also known as theK-word, is an ethnic slur directed at Jewish people. The etymological origin comes from the ancient Greek word for circle, κύκλος.

Profanity in the Portuguese language – words and phrases considered vulgar, taboo, blasphemous, inflammatory or offensive – can be divided into several categories. Many are used as insults, and all express the utterer's annoyance. Considerable differences are found among varieties of Portuguese, such as those in Portugal and in Brazil.

Rosemary Estelle Woolf was an English scholar of medieval literature, known especially for her work on medieval English religious lyrics, The English Religious Lyric in the Middle Ages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tagalog profanity</span> Profanity in the language of the Philippines

Tagalog profanity can refer to a wide range of offensive, blasphemous, and taboo words or expressions in the Tagalog language of the Philippines. Due to Filipino culture, expressions which may sound benign when translated back to English can cause great offense; while some expressions English speakers might take great offense to can sound benign to a Tagalog speaker. Filipino, the national language of the Philippines, is the standard register of Tagalog, so as such the terms Filipino profanity and Filipino swear words are sometimes also employed.

Prick is a vulgar word for 'penis' as well as a pejorative term used to refer to a despicable or contemptible individual. It is generally considered offensive, though in the past it has been used as a term of endearment. Its history as a euphemism for 'penis' goes back to the 1500s and has been used in wordplay by Shakespeare and other writers who have combined the vulgarism with the standard meaning of the noun, which means the act of piercing or puncturing. Most linguists believe it has been used as a direct insult only since 1929.

The Polish language, like most others, contains swear words and profanity. Although some words are not always seen as pejorative, others are considered by some to be highly offensive. There is debate amongst scholars regarding the language's swear words that are considered to be the most derogatory.

References

  1. ↑ Ayto, John; Simpson, John (2005), The Oxford Dictionary of Modern Slang, Oxford University Press, ISBN   0198610521
  2. 1 2 "TV's most offensive words". The Guardian. 21 November 2005.
  3. ↑ Hughes, Geoffrey (2006), An encyclopedia of swearing: the social history of oaths, profanity, foul language, and ethnic slurs in the English-speaking world, M.E. Sharpe, p. 200, ISBN   9780765612311
  4. ↑ McEnery, Tony (2006), Swearing in English: bad language, purity and power from 1586 to the present, Routledge, p. 30, ISBN   9780415258371
  5. ↑ "git | Origin and meaning of git by Online Etymology Dictionary". www.etymonline.com. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  6. ↑ Grose, Francis (1785), Classical dictionary of the vulgar tongue, S. Hooper
  7. ↑ Harper, Douglas. "git". Online Etymology Dictionary .
  8. ↑ "Dictionaries of the Scots Language:: SND :: get n".
  9. ↑ Hughes, Geoffrey (2006), An encyclopedia of swearing: the social history of oaths, profanity, foul language, and ethnic slurs in the English-speaking world, M.E. Sharpe, p. 477, ISBN   9780765612311
  10. ↑ Hunt, M; Maloney, Alison (1999), Joy of Swearing, Michael O'Mara Books, ISBN   9781843171621
  11. ↑ "I'm So Tired". The Beatles.
  12. ↑ "Monty Python's Flying Circus: Just the Words" . Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  13. ↑ Johnson, Gene (2003) "Florida Man Held for '93 Slaying of Punk Singer – Mia Zapata of The Gits was strangled in July 1993", Yakima Herald-Republic , January 12, 2003
  14. ↑ "GitFaq: Why the 'git' name?". Git SCM Wiki.
  15. ↑ McMillan, Robert (19 April 2005), "After controversy, Torvalds begins work on git", InfoWorld , ISSN   0199-6649
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.