son of a whore
4
9.9
- noun
- /sʌn əv ə hɔr/
- Offensive
:
hijo de puta
- Vern, you little son of a whore, why can't you behave?
Examples
-
"You son of a whore!" he yelled at Preacher.
Fiction book (2001) -
You called me a son of a whore?
-
You son of a whore!
Fiction book (1997) -
Laugh at your mother, son of a whore!
Fiction book (1998) -
Vern, you little son of a whore.
-
You really are one stupid son of a whore, I see, Ellinas.
Blog text (30) -
You will go to China to fetch another, you clumsy son of a whore!
-
You worthless son of a whore! Get out of my sight!
-
"Son of a whore!" the angry man yelled when he saw the mess.
Synonyms
∞
8.0
A very rude word for a person you strongly dislike or who treats others badly
665
9.9
A rude word for a person who is cruel or very annoying
1
9.9
A child born when the parents are not married
A very rude word used to insult someone
A rude insult people use as a joke or to hurt someone
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase’s meaning is directly derivable from its parts: combining 'son' with 'whore' yields the literal idea 'child of a whore', which in English functions as a strong personal insult. This compositional insult logic is common cross-linguistically, so an average B1 learner who knows the constituent words will understand the offensive meaning (even if they may not fully appreciate its pragmatic severity).
Etymology
Son of a whore comes from the simple image of naming someone's mother a 'whore' to shame the person. Because a mother's reputation once reflected on her child's honor, this was a strong personal attack, so today the phrase is used as a very offensive insult meaning 'a dishonorable or contemptible person'.