Motherfucker

Freedom of speech sign held by a demonstrator at a protest in San Francisco, California.

Motherfucker (sometimes abbreviated as mofo, mf, or mf'er) is an English-language vulgarism. While it is usually considered highly offensive, it is rarely used in the literal sense of one who engages in sexual activity with another person's mother, or his or her own mother. Rather, it refers to a mean, despicable, or vicious person, or any particularly difficult or frustrating situation. Alternatively, it can be a term of admiration, for instance in the jazz community.

Variants

Like many widely used offensive terms, motherfucker has a large list of minced oaths. Motherhumper, motherfugger, mother f'er, mothersucker, mothertrucker, motherlover, mofo, fothermucker, motherflower, motherkisser and many more are sometimes used in polite company or to avoid censorship. The participle motherfucking is often used as an emphatic, in the same way as the less strong fucking. The verb to motherfuck also exists, although it is less common. Conversely, when paired with an adjective, it can become a term denoting such things as originality and masculinity, as in the related phrase "bad ass mother fucker". Use of the term as a compliment is frequent in the jazz community, for example when Miles Davis addressed his future percussionist Mino Cinelu: "Miles...grabbed his arm and said, 'You're a motherfucker.' Cinelu thanked Miles for the compliment."[1]

The word dates back at least to the late 19th century, with a Texas court in 1889 recording a defendant being called a "God damned mother-fucking, bastardly son-of-a-bitch"[2] and in 1917 a black U.S. soldier called his draft board "You low-down Mother Fuckers..." in a letter.[3]

In literature, Norman Mailer, in his 1948 novel The Naked and the Dead uses it occasionally, disguised as motherfugger,[4] and used it in full in his 1967 novel Why Are We in Vietnam?.[2] In Kurt Vonnegut's novel Slaughterhouse-Five the word is used by one of the soldiers in the story – leading to the novel being often challenged in libraries and schools. Vonnegut joked in a speech, published in the collection Fates Worse Than Death, that "Ever since that word was published, way back in 1969, children have been attempting to have intercourse with their mothers. When it will stop no one knows."[5]

The words "mother for you" or "mother fuyer", as minced oaths for "motherfucker", were used in blues and R&B records from the 1930s. Examples include Memphis Minnie's "Dirty Mother For You" (1935), Roosevelt Sykes' "Dirty Mother For You" (1936), and Dirty Red's "Mother Fuyer" (1947). The singer Stick McGhee, whose recording of "Drinking Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee" was a hit in 1949, claimed that he had originally heard the song as "Drinking Wine, Motherfucker". Later, Johnny "Guitar" Watson had a hit in 1977 with "A Real Mother For Ya".[6][7]

In popular music, the first mainstream rock release to include the word was the 1969 album Kick Out the Jams by MC5. The title track, a live recording, is introduced by vocalist Rob Tyner shouting "And right now... right now... right now it's time to... kick out the jams, motherfuckers!". This was quickly pulled from stores, and an edited version was released with the words "brothers and sisters" overdubbed on the offending word. At about the same time, the Jefferson Airplane released the album Volunteers, the opening track of which, We Can Be Together, included the line "up against the wall, motherfucker", a popular catch phrase among radical groups at the time. This attracted less attention. The word was strongly implied, but not said explicitly, in Isaac Hayes' huge 1971 hit song "Theme from Shaft". Though rarely broadcast, the word has since become common in popular music, particularly in hip hop.

The word appears in George Carlin's Seven Words You Can't Say on Television. In one HBO special, he comments that at one point, someone asked him to remove it, since, as a derivative of the word "fuck", it constituted a duplication.[8] He later added it back, claiming that the bit's rhythm does not work without it.[8]

The word has become something of a catchphrase for actor Samuel L. Jackson, who frequently utters the word in his movies.[9] His use of the word helped him overcome a lifelong stuttering problem.[10] Historically in India, the word 'Madarchodh' is used for Motherfucker, the word Madar being of Persian origin, as Madare Jendeh.[11]

Literature

See also

References

  1. ↑ Cole, George (2007). The Last Miles: The Music of Miles Davis, 1980–1991. University of Michigan Press. p. 90. ISBN 9780472032600. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  2. 1 2 Wickman, Forrest (2013-02-14). ""Motherfucker" etymology and origins: How it became badass to be a mofo". Slate.com. Retrieved 2016-11-03.
  3. ↑ Adriane Danette Lentz-Smith (September 2, 2011). Freedom Struggles (Reprint ed.). Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0674062054.
  4. ↑ Bruce Buschel. "Dear Jon Stewart: Thanks For The Ride, Motherfucker". Theconcourse.deadspin.com. Retrieved 2016-11-03.
  5. ↑ Vonnegut, Kurt (1992). Fates Worse Than Death. New York: Berkeley Books. p. 76. ISBN 0-425-13406-7.
  6. ↑ Peter Silverton, Filthy English: The How, Why, When And What Of Everyday Swearing, Portobello Books, 2011
  7. ↑ Jim Dawson, The Compleat Motherfucker: A History of the Mother of All Dirty Words, ReadHowYouWant.com, 2011, p.135
  8. 1 2 Carlin, George (1978). On Location: George Carlin at Phoenix (DVD). HBO Home Video.
  9. ↑ Jensen, Jeff (4 August 2006). "Kicking Asp". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
  10. ↑ "Samuel L. Jackson Needs Certain Swear Word To Stop His Stutter.". Huffington Post. 5 June 2013. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  11. ↑ "Madarchod ... - Hindi - English Translation and Examples". Mymemory.translated.net. Retrieved 2016-11-03.
  12. ↑ Dawson, Jim (2009). The Compleat Motherfucker: A History of the Mother of All Dirty Words. Los Angeles, California, United States: Feral House. ISBN 978-1-932595-41-3.
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