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Bozo, Prune, Pilchard, Doughnut.
Doughnut!
You people are absolute stars.
I'm calling bullshit on Spoon being racist slang. Maybe in London town, but certainly not in the gentle North.
Dingbat, dope, spanner, numbskull, pea-brain.
Or how about philistine (I see that one catching on in playgrounds).
I've never heard of spoon being racist either.
It's just a funny word, like spud.
Careful, spud is racist against the Irish.
Pudding (You great pudding!)
Earhole ( slightly better in Cockney when the 'h' is dropped)
What is a 'wazzock', by the way - is that rude?
Or perhaps it's cockney 'not-rhyming, slang ie 'Belt & Wazzock - coon'.
That's the trouble with 'not-rhyming' slang, you never know when you're swearing, eg:-
Apples & Pears - C**t
Trouble & Strife - Cock
Gary Glitter - paedophile
'Spoon' is undoubtedly used as rhyming slang (wooden spoon) for 'coon' in the North of England and has been for decades and decades.
A spoon (from the cutlery draw) carries no negative connotations so we must assume the word, when used as an insult, is referring to something else that does have such connotations.
My guess is that, as well as meaning 'coon' in some contexts, it's employed as an avoidance of 'spastic' or 'spaz' in the same way 'spanner' is used.
Ostensibly mild insults can sometimes be quite serious ones: the oft-used and fairly innocent 'berk' is derived from the rhyming slang for 'c**t'.
If I'd used it it would have been in the spaz category.
It also rhymes with goon and loon. That's the sort of thing it means to me, and apparently most people.
Quote: zooo @ October 9 2010, 2:42 PM BSTThat's the sort of thing it means to me, and apparently most people.
Most ignorant people, yes. I made a statement, then backed it up with a link from a reliable source.
By all means question a post, tell me why I'm wrong, etc. But bring something tangible to the debate.
Something other than: I've never heard it used that way, so it can't be true. Really, what sort of argument is that?
Quote: zooo @ October 9 2010, 2:42 PM BSTIf I'd used it it would have been in the spaz category.
So, sometimes it means 'spastic'.
Sometimes it means 'coon'.
And also, whether by design or otherwise, it's a contraction of 'spastic coon' - which is an expression that would appeal greatly to many children.
I can accept that Egg & Spoon is racist rhyming slang, but I can't see anything on the internet which suggests the Spoon as an insult is a derivative of that. I would be very surprised if it was used up north in this way as it is very rare that derivatives of cockney RS filter up.
I certainly had it explained to me when I was young that they could 'only use' spoons i.e. weren't clever enough to hold a knife and fork.
Quote: Ming the Mirthless @ October 9 2010, 3:07 PM BSTit's a contraction of 'spastic coon' - which is an expression that would appeal greatly to many children.
I think maybe you meet the wrong sort of children.
Quote: Nat Wicks @ October 9 2010, 3:09 PM BSTI can accept that Egg & Spoon is racist rhyming slang, but I can't see anything on the internet which suggests the Spoon as an insult is a derivative of that.
The nature of slang is to condense words/phrases, etc; make 'em as short as possible.
You've said yourself you can accept that 'egg and spoon is racist rhyming slang'.
So then, is it really such a push to believe that phrase, over the years, has become just 'spoon'?