American rude word?

[stoo_pid]

Having just seen the Simpson's quiz I fell impelled to ask - is w@nker not a swear word in the States?

[Ouisch]

No, it's not.  In fact, on "Married...with Children", it was even Peg Bundy's maiden name.

[Quizmonster]

The point about this word is that - certainly until very recently - Americans seemed to be aware of only its secondary meaning, assuming it just meant someone despicable or stupid. The original - and 'rude' - significance was missed. I believe they've got it now, though!

[bernardo]

But isn't that an email address rather than a swear word?

[andy hughes]

The same applies in Australia - Paul Hogan's show featured a character called 'Leo ******' and I asked an Australian soap star during an interview if the meaning was the same there as here. They do know what it means, but ut doewsn't cause the same adverse reaction, it's seen as much milder than we think of it in the UK. In 'Mork And Mindy', a children's TV series in the USreference was made with no smut intended to a neighbour - 'Mr ******'. It's often gleefully rerun in the 'bloopers' programmes over here, where the impact is somewhat different. With increasing globalisation, as QM says, other nations are getting the idea.

[smorodina]

I believe the neighbour in 'Mork and Mindy' was called Arnold ******.

[Peter Pedant]

it came up in ER. The nurse turned med student has a husband who wont pay her alimony. The final line in the episode is "he is a w*nker". Corday is the only one to understand.

[dafyd]

The AB Swear-o-matic is having fun with this question...

[Kingaroo]

Okay, I'm an American and I just want to check -- does w@nker refer to a part of the m@le @n@tomy?

[Quizmonster]

Dear Kingaroo, if you click http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=19961119 the link will take you to an American idiom website which explains exactly.