Ebbie - thank you for responding, & so logically and rationally. As was pointed out to me at the time, by Joe O in a PM, that particular word is far more offensive to American womanhood as a sexual belittler, as you state, than it is over here in England, where it is a much more vanilla word, I should estimate, than the F one which is so cheerfully bandied about on this forum. A cultural difference, in fact, of which I wasn't aware - & remember that Sweeney & I who were the ones at odds at the time were here, not there. I think I can genuinely assure you that no suppressed anti-woman thoughts were, even sub- or un-consciously passing thru my mind as I used the term [which was, you will recall, a rejoinder to being denounced as a 'turd', which is at least as offensive a term over here].

I do not rake up these old & now defunct and reconciled controversies in any spirit of renewed hostility or in order to revive them in any way; but to explain my use of this word, which I used in unawareness of how offensive it would be to you & Kat and others, about which I have now learned better & certainly shan't use it on here in such a fashion again now that I am better informed.