Mother insult is a reference to a person's mother through the use of phrases such as "your mom", "ur mom", "yer mum", "ya mum", or "yo mama", frequently used to insult the target by way of his or her mother. Used as an insult, "your mom..." preys on the fact that people commonly love and revere their mothers, making the insult particularly and globally offensive. "Your mom" can be combined with most types of insults, although suggestions of promiscuity, obesity, incest, poverty, poor hygiene, unattractiveness, or stupidity are particularly common.^[1] Compared to other types of insults, "your mom" insults are especially likely to incite violence.^[2] Slang variants such as "yo momma", "yer ma" or "yer maw" are sometimes used, depending on the local dialect. Insults involving "Your mom" are commonly used when playing the dozens. Additionally, this phrase is frequently used in playful banter between friends. Although this may appear to be a recent phenomenon, one can trace its roots far back in history. Indeed, William Shakespeare utilized such a device in Act I Scene 1 of Timon of Athens: Look up mother in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... An insult is a statement or action which affronts or demeans someone. ... “Promiscuous” redirects here. ... Incest is sexual activity between two persons related by close kinship. ... A boy from an East Cipinang trash dump slum in Jakarta, Indonesia shows what he found. ... Hygiene refers to practices associated with ensuring good health and cleanliness. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... “Stupid” redirects here. ... For other uses, see Violence (disambiguation). ... The dozens refers to a verbal contest of often bad-natured, ribald trash-talk which occurs between two people. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... For other uses, see Timon (disambiguation). ...

Painter: "Y'are a dog."
Apemantus: "Thy mother's of my generation. What's she, if I be a dog?"

and in Act IV, Scene II of Titus Andronicus: Image File history File links Wikisource-logo. ... The original Wikisource logo. ... Title page of the first quarto edition (1594) The Tragedy of Titus Andronicus may be Shakespeares earliest tragedy. ...

Demetrius: "Villain, what hast thou done?"
Aaron: "That which thou canst not undo."
Chiron: "Thou hast undone our mother."
Aaron: "Villain, I have done thy mother."

Although the phrase has a long history of including a description portion (such as the old, mostly harmless insult "your mama wears Army shoes"), the phrase "yo mama" by itself, without any qualifiers, has become commonly used as an all-purpose insult or an expression of defiance. In the UK and Australia instead of "yo mama", "your mum" or "ya' mum" is more commonly used. Image File history File links Wikisource-logo. ... The original Wikisource logo. ...

Use as a retort

"Your mom" is also sometimes used as a sarcastic or tongue-in-cheek retort to either a mild criticism or even an innocuous statement. This often results in a sexual innuendo, as in the following example: Sarcasm[1] Mockery, sarcasm is sneering, jesting, or mocking a person, situation or thing. ... Sarcasm is the making of remarks intended to mock the person referred to (who is normally the person addressed), a situation or thing. ... Innuendo can refer to: For Innuendo as a figure of speech please see Double entendre. ...

KAI: What are you doing?

Christian: Your mom.

The classic "Your Momma" joke follows this guideline: Your momma is so (blank) she (blank), in which the first blank is substituted for fat, stupid, etc., and the second is an example of the first blank.

Example Yo momma is so stupid, she put a quarter in a parking meter and waited for a gumball.

It is also ocassionally used as a retort nonsensically; that is, when even though it would not make sense in the situation, it is used,(usually when nothing else can be thought of) as in the following example:

Speaker 1: I told you to knock before you enter my room!

Speaker 2: Your mom.

In popular culture

"Your mom" jokes became common in North American pop culture in the early nineties. The Pharcyde's 1992 track "Ya Mama" echoed it.^[3] Mexican film Y Tu Mama Tambien's title is an equivalent usage in Spanish ("and your momma too"). There is also a television show Yo Momma featuring contestants "playing the dozens". The Yo Momma-affiliated Web 2.0 community YoMomma.tv allows users to exchange mother insults in online battles. The Australian hiphop outfit Butterfingers released a song called "Yo Mama" that made number 17 on the 2004 Triple J Hottest 100.^[4] The Pharcyde is one of the most celebrated underground West Coast alternative hip hop acts. ... Movie poster for Y tu mamá también Y tu mamá también (literally And your mother, too, but released in anglophone markets under the original Spanish title) is a 2001 Mexican movie directed by Alfonso Cuarón that tells a coming-of-age story about the road trip of... For insult duels, see the dozens. ... The dozens refers to a verbal contest of often bad-natured, ribald trash-talk which occurs between two people. ... Web 2. ... Butterfingers is an Australian hip hop group, from Brisbane, Queensland. ... The Triple J Hottest 100 is an annual music poll, based on the votes of Australian youth radio station Triple J listeners, in order to determine their favourite song of the year. ...

In the early nineties, British comedy duo Newman and Baddiel of The Mary Whitehouse Experience added an extra layer of irony to the mother insult by using it extensively in their "History Today" routines in which two restrained elderly university professors debate history seriously until breaking into childish insults, often using the format "See that X? That's your mum that is." Rob Newman Robert Rob Newman (born 7 July 1964) is a British stand-up comedian, author and political activist. ... Baddiel (left) with Frank Skinner on the sofa in an episode of Baddiel and Skinner Unplanned David Paul Baddiel (born May 28, 1964, Troy, New York, USA) is an English comedian, novelist and television presenter. ... The Mary Whitehouse Experience was a UK topical comedy show, both on radio and TV, in the late 80s/early 90s. ...

Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wiktionary (a portmanteau of wiki and dictionary) is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 150 languages. ...

See also

• The dozens
• Fighting words
• Maledicta
• Taunt
• Chav
• Yo Momma - TV series

The dozens refers to a verbal contest of often bad-natured, ribald trash-talk which occurs between two people. ... The fighting words doctrine, in United States constitutional law, is a limitation to freedom of speech as granted in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution In its 9-0 decision, Chaplinsky v. ... Maledicta (ISSN US 0363-3659) is a scholarly journal dedicated to the study of offensive and negatively-valued words and expressions. ... A taunt is a sarcastic remark, challenge, or insult intended to provoke a response of some kind from the one it is directed at. ... Look up chav, charva in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For insult duels, see the dozens. ...

External Links

• YoMomma.tv Online community for uploading and exchanging mother insults

References