Twat

[twaht]

The word twat has various functions, its primary meaning being a vulgar synonym for the human vulva, vagina, or clitoris. It is also widely used as a derogatory epithet, especially in British English. The word is usually considered vulgar in all contexts.

Pronunciation

In British English, "twat" is often pronounced /twæt/ (to rhyme with bat). In other areas (e.g. Australia, New Zealand and North America) it is also pronounced /twɒt/ (to rhyme with watt), as was common in English usage in the past.

Origins

The word possibly originates from the Old Norse þveit meaning cut, slit, or forest clearing.

Historical usage

Robert Browning famously misused the term in his 1841 poem "Pippa Passes", believing it to be an item of nun's clothing:

Then owls and bats

Cowls and twats

Monks and nuns in a cloister's moods

Adjourn to the oak-stump pantry

Its meaning was in reality the same then as now, Browning's misconception probably having arisen from a line in a 1660 satirical poem, Vanity of Vanities:

They talk't of his having a Cardinalls Hat

They'd send him as soon an Old Nuns Twat

Another mistaken (or perhaps dialectal) use was in Edward Bulwer-Lytton's 1870 science fiction novel The Coming Race, in an apparent satire on Darwin:

Among the pithy sayings which, according to tradition, the philosopher bequeathed to posterity in rhythmical form and sententious brevity, this is notably recorded: "Humble yourselves, my descendants; the father of your race was a 'twat' (tadpole): exalt yourselves, my descendants, for it was the same Divine Thought which created your father that develops itself in exalting you."

Usage

Although sometimes used as a reference to the female genitalia, the word twat is more often used in various other ways:

As a derogatory insult, similar to uses of the word 'dick' as a pejorative - 'you twat!'
A fool, synonymous with the word twit - 'You are a real twat and a half' (often used in the UK)
To express annoyance - 'I caught my twatting knackers in it!'
To hit something (or someone) hard or violently - 'I twatted him one'
In its past tense form, to be drunk or otherwise intoxicated - 'Let's get twatted'
Gay men, especially in the UK and NYC, call each other "twats", sometimes as an insult, sometimes as a sign of comradery, similar to the use of "nigger" by black persons in the USA (both the insult and the comradery options apply), example, "...[exclisitive], you twat!" (negative), or, "...[purr], you're such a twat." (positive)

In Northern England, 'twat' is seen as an equally offensive, if not more offensive word than 'cunt', whereas in Southern England, 'twat' is taken as being as offensive as words such as 'dick' or 'knob'.