Prudie would prefer we not use the term "butt" to describe the derrière, but substitute "keister," "tushie," "rear-end," or some other synonym. Let's not forget "gluteus maximus," "backside" (my personal favorite), tuches (loan-word from Yiddish), and "rump."

It's a shame, really, because all the word "butt" means is the end of something (e.g., the "butt of a joke" is a punchline, a "butt joint" in carpentry is formed by joining the end of one piece of wood to another). So as far as the the root meaning of the word, the word "butt" itself is no worse than "rear end" in an etymological sense.

On the other hand, I admit that the usage of the word butt has coarsened over time in this culture, and I do hear it used more often by my kids and my kids' friends, and I, too, am not wild about it because when I was growing up, "butt" was not quite a curse-word, but it was definitely considered impolite and usually drew a reprimand from an adult.

To me, it's all in the way that you use it, but there's nothing inherently wrong with the word butt itself. It's a matter of usage and tone.

we were & still are only allowed to say "sit-upon" in front of her.

Her only curse word was in German for "oh, my house"

She is the only person I have ever know to say "bowel movement"

We were also not allowed to say "fart", "sex" or "breasts"

Sissie said as she sat on her butte on the Butte. The endless complicatons of the English language are amazing.

JP

with a tip o the hat to Tom Robbins.

"Butt" is an insipid ugly word which is just ONE example of the way English adult speakers (North Americans?) have slowly lost their dignity by *infantilizing* how they speak. It's not cute, hip or funny. It's dumb and it's vulgar. I also believe that many people take their linguistic cues from celebrities, many of whom are themselves immature and uneducated. I'm definitely with "Prudence" on this one.

We've always refered to our derriers as "butts". We also called it a "rear-end", but we decided it sounded too seventies, so we started calling it a butt. What's so vulgar about that? Better than saying "ass".

And what are you planning to call (pardon the expression) a "butt" after you decide that the word sounds too first-decade-of-2000's?

mgarmais:

And what are you planning to call (pardon the expression) a "butt" after you decide that the word sounds too first-decade-of-2000's?

Well, now that I'm an adult, I don't care as much about keeping up with the trends. As a kid and teenager in the 80's we basically found any word from the 70's nerdy (as any kid and teenager would). So I guess "butt" stuck. Still better than saying "ass" I say.

Is "penis" an equally insipidly ugly word? How about "pecs"? Or "abs"?

I have a bigger problem with Prudie saying in one paragraph to treat it like the non-issue it is, then in the next paragraph turning an ANOTOMICAL (albeit abreviated) word into something ugly. "Butt" is short for "buttocks" the anatomical term (no not the latin name for the muscle). Would it be better to refer to them as "gluts"?

Buttocks is the appropriate usage. Different people are offended by different words. I prefer social civility and try to avoid using words in public that might be offensive to someone else. It is not always easy to know what is offensive. I don't consider a private conversation between a mother and child to be subject to the same restraints as is public conversation. I am of the opinion that Prudie and some others are over-reacting to the b word. But However, that is just my opinion.

People have been lamenting the degradation of language essentially since the dawn of language. I'm certain that people living in the Victorian age would be absolutely horrified at some of the "vulgar" terms we regularly use now that aren't considered vulgar at all.

This is especially true for words that refer to certain parts of our anatomy or for certain sexual acts. Using cute little euphanisms often either makes the euphanism turn "dirty" in people's minds. Not only that, but people know what you're doing and chances are that the word they substitute in their head is worse than the word you avoided using.

Either way, I see nothing with the word butt. It's currently very acceptable in the US today.

The normal, everyday word is "butt," and I don't see anything inherently vulgar about it personally. If you're looking for an alternative to use with your children, however, I nominate "bum."

I don't think it carries any vulgar connotation to American ears, and yet it's not as overtly euphemistic and shame-implying as "tushie" and the like.

But for godssake go with the clinical for genitalia. We don't need another generation of pee-pees, whizzers, down-theres, wieners, and hoo-has.

C'mon....be honest. I've heard you curse like a sailor on shore leave. Was it the rock music? ROFLMAO!

>:-P

Hubby raised me, don't forget how young I was when I got married.

That's what happens when you marry a Marine, you learn to talk like one.

No, the rock music doesn't make me curse, the rock music makes me want to sacrifice the innocent, do illegal drugs & worship something evil. LOL!!!!!!!!!!!

HA! I figured as much about hubby's influence! :-)

I tell my kids to make sure they don't piss me off when I'm cranking up the Metallica because it makes me want to turn violent. Now they like Metallica more than I do! LOL!! >:-P

Imagine how proud I was when son bought his very first CD with his own money. It was Pink Floyd, "The Wall"

It's cool to share the same music tastes as your kids. The first concert we took the kids to was John Melloncamp when they were young. We have all seen Tool, Godsmack & Korn together as a family outing.

I taught grandson to call hubby "papa poopyhead" & "butthead". Right now the two of them call each other cockatoo. The neighbor just got a cockatoo, so we took grandson over to see it & that started the new name.