Good ideas and conversation. No ads, no tracking. Login or Take a Tour!
AnSionnachRua · 4104 days ago · link · · parent · post: Do you use the word "Retarded" as an insult?
I do, with great frequency. In Ireland, retard generally only means "stupid," and no longer has any real connotations of mental disability (such people are referred to as 'disabled'). But anyway, it's all part of the euphemism treadmill. 'Idiot,' for example, used to have a meaning similar to 'retarded'. Then it became used as a pejorative, and people have to come up with a different word.