this post was submitted on 03 Mar 2026
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Science Memes

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[–] imsufferableninja@sh.itjust.works 121 points 1 month ago (1 children)
[–] tyler@programming.dev 32 points 1 month ago (1 children)

The exact sentence I came to post. Apparently we all think alike.

[–] Davel23@fedia.io 15 points 1 month ago (1 children)
[–] kionay@lemmy.world 28 points 1 month ago
[–] superfes@lemmy.world 68 points 1 month ago (2 children)
[–] athatet@lemmy.zip 19 points 1 month ago

Shit piss fuck cunt cocksucker motherfucker tits fart turd and twat

There you go. I cust too much.

[–] jedibob5@lemmy.world 55 points 1 month ago (4 children)

So a lizard must be an excess of Liz?

[–] MonkeMischief@lemmy.today 38 points 1 month ago (3 children)

Oh no, people are gonna start being called "Rizzards" soon.

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[–] Dicska@lemmy.world 12 points 1 month ago

The opposite of Thin Lizzy.

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[–] VivianRixia@piefed.social 42 points 1 month ago (1 children)

So, calling someone a bast-ard, implies that their mother slept around on many beds that weren't the marriage bed. Does that mean it all comes back to calling your mother a whore?

[–] rockerface@lemmy.cafe 42 points 1 month ago (2 children)
[–] drosophila@lemmy.blahaj.zone 13 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I think in English there is also:

  • Comparing the subject to an animal, such as a dog.
  • Slurs for various minorities.
  • Names for 'vulgar' body parts, or the act of sex itself.
  • Names for human waste products.
  • Literal 'curse words', such as "damn" or "hell", which imply the subject will go to, or just allude to the existence of, the Christian hell.
  • Literal swears, as in oaths. This is pretty rare in modern English aside from "I swear to god... ". The word "gadzooks" is actually a minced version of "God's Hooks" (the nails used in the crucifixion), which was probably shortened from "I swear on God's Hooks". Its pretty funny how something that was probably deadly serious in the past has been diluted so much that now only cartoon characters say it.
  • Literal profanity, as in invoking the holy in an improper context. This has a lot of overlap with the previous two categories.

I don't really know anything about linguistics, but these seem like the categories to me. In addition to the "alludes to the sexual impropriety of the subject (if female) or the subject's mother (if male)" category.

[–] FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 9 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

“Yer daddy was a 2 pump chump!”

Edit: Not sure how that comes back to “mom’s a whore”

[–] darkdemize@sh.itjust.works 10 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Because she clearly needed more than two pumps.

[–] FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 10 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Most people do. Not her fault

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[–] melvisntnormal@feddit.uk 36 points 1 month ago (2 children)

ahh so that's why charizard is so hot

[–] tryagain@sopuli.xyz 13 points 4 weeks ago

¡Más chorizo!

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[–] stray@pawb.social 35 points 1 month ago (6 children)

It's not "too" something; it's just being strong (hardy) or remarkable in that trait. A lot of sources list it as derogatory, but it isn't so in all instances of use.

A wizard is not too wise, but very wise. Renard or Reinhardt is someone who gives good advice or makes good decisions.

The "must" in mustard is juice and pulp which you intend to ferment, because grape must was an ingredient. There's a lot of debate over whether the "ard" is the one in this post or ardens (burning).

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[–] TheTechnician27@lemmy.world 33 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

This is largely true. English takes '-ard' from Old French. MW defines it as:

one that is characterized by performing some action, possessing some quality, or being associated with some thing especially conspicuously or excessively

The main point is that it's generally just a pejorative suffix.

Citing the Trésor de la langue française informatisé, however, Wiktionary puts forward a surprisingly cogent counterargument and alternative etymology to the "packsaddle" one for "bastard".

[–] helvetpuli@sopuli.xyz 11 points 1 month ago (1 children)

French still has this feature, for instance a driver is a chauffeur, and a bad driver is a chauffard. Some one who goes overboard with partying is a fêtard, etc.

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[–] FosterMolasses@leminal.space 31 points 1 month ago (1 children)
[–] tigeruppercut@lemmy.zip 56 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (3 children)
[–] cori@lemmy.blahaj.zone 53 points 1 month ago (1 children)

people who confuse entomology and etymology bug me in ways i can't put into words

[–] tigeruppercut@lemmy.zip 23 points 1 month ago
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[–] lvxferre@mander.xyz 27 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (3 children)

The -ard is basically "fucking" + nominaliser (if necessary):

  • wizard - fucking wise one
  • drunkard - fucking drunk one
  • coward - fucking tail (the initial part is from Old French "coue" tail, itself from Latin "cauda" tail. Who shows the back in a fight? Someone running away!)

The "nominaliser" part is an artefact of the borrowing, the suffix is from French. Romance languages often use adjectives as if they were nouns, but that doesn't quite roll in English. In turn French borrowed it from Frankish, it's apparently cognate of English "hard".

The etymology of "mustard" is disputed. The first part is likely from Latin "mustum" must; it used to be prepared with young wine. The -ard is typically explained as ardens (fiery, hot). So basically "mustum ardens" hot must. ...Capsicum peppers are from the Americas, black pepper and long pepper were expensive, European mediaevalards didn't really have a lot of spicy flavours to work with, so... I guess mustard was spicy for them?

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[–] Hupf@feddit.org 27 points 1 month ago (1 children)
[–] hessenjunge@discuss.tchncs.de 10 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

The -ard here refers to the overabundace of regional channels: HR, WDR, SWR, NDR, BR, RBB, MDR, etc. pp.

[–] MurrayL@lemmy.world 25 points 1 month ago (2 children)

See also: haggard, laggard, braggart (this one changed to a ‘t’ for some reason), dastard, dullard, and a few others. It’s uncommon but it’s out there!

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[–] psycho_driver@lemmy.world 23 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Today I learned I might be too ret.

[–] Khanzarate@lemmy.world 18 points 1 month ago (1 children)

The root means "slow", BTW, so it does get to join that list.

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[–] null@lemmy.org 18 points 1 month ago (2 children)

So when people call me a retard they're saying I'm overly moist?

[–] GreenShimada@lemmy.world 24 points 1 month ago

That you have an excess of Ret, not Wet.

C'mon, retard, figure it out.

[–] Klear@quokk.au 8 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Retard means literally "delayed", ultimately from latin tardus (also see "tardy"), meaning slow. Doesn't seem like it comes from the same suffix.

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[–] CaptPretentious@lemmy.world 16 points 4 weeks ago (2 children)

They bring up wizard... But what about bards?

[–] Minizarbi@jlai.lu 26 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

Too b or not too b

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[–] Paulemeister@feddit.org 15 points 1 month ago (1 children)
[–] specimen@lemmy.world 15 points 1 month ago (2 children)

I think there’s a wacky Japanese comic book about this

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[–] dovahking@lemmy.world 14 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I love learning new stuff through memes.

[–] AllNewTypeFace@leminal.space 13 points 1 month ago

“-ard” would mean not so much “excessively” as “by their/its nature”; i.e. a seed/condiment whose very nature is mustiness, a person conceived out of wedlock (which was considered a black mark on one’s character back then), one who is habitually drunk, and so on

[–] mech@feddit.org 13 points 1 month ago (1 children)

This explains my University Report Card.

[–] Trex202@lemmy.world 9 points 1 month ago

Yes, it's too University Report C.

[–] fibojoly@sh.itjust.works 11 points 4 weeks ago

Un animal de bât is indeed a pack saddle animal, and bâtard is indeed a bastard so that's pretty cool. Never realised the connection! -ard in French is also often a negative suffix, like connard which would be a... "cuntard" if you will.
-asse is the feminine variant, although there are inconsistencies, such as pétard / pétasse which are probably related but one is a firecracker, while the other is a tart (the lady kind)

Rude language is always so much fun!

[–] Jessica@discuss.tchncs.de 10 points 4 weeks ago

Hazard is apparently too much danger

[–] froh42@lemmy.world 10 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Mallard ducks would be very confused about this post.

[–] xx3rawr@sh.itjust.works 10 points 1 month ago

They're very much filled eith "too much" malice

[–] Endymion_Mallorn@kbin.melroy.org 10 points 1 month ago (4 children)
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[–] csolisr@hub.azkware.net 8 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Do not investigate how do they call a person that retes

[–] protist@mander.xyz 18 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Apparently that one doesn't follow this rule, and is instead derived from the Latin word "retardare," meaning "to make something go slower."

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