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{{Short description|Insult}}
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'''Wanker''' is slang for "one who wanks (])", but is most often used as a general insult. It is a ] term of English origin common in ] and other parts of the English-speaking world (mainly ]), including ], ] and ]. It is ]ous with the insult '']''.<ref>Words, Meaning And Vocabulary: An Introduction to Modern English Lexicology. Howard Jackson, Etienne Zé Amvela. Continuum International Publishing Group, 2000</ref>
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{{wiktionarypar|wanker}}
'''Wanker''' is a ] term of ] origin, which is also common in ], ], ] and ].


==Meaning== ==Meaning==
]
The term literally means "one who wanks" (]). The term is not generally taken to be an accusation of masturbation but rather as a general insult. This means that such non-sensical phrases at first hearing do not sound ridiculous, such as "He had his hands chopped off. What a wanker!" In particular, it may connote one (usually male) who is self-obsessed, or a show-off. It has similar meanings and overtones to ] pejorative terms like "jerk", "jerk-off", or "prick". As with many profanities, wanker is considered much less shocking today than a generation ago, though it is still an insult.
The terms ''wank'' and ''wanker'' originated in British ] during the late 19th and early 20th century.<ref name="early">A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English: Colloquialisms and Catch Phrases, Fossilised Jokes and Puns, General Nicknames, Vulgarisms and Such Americanisms As Have Been Naturalised. Eric Partridge, Paul Beale. Routledge, 15 Nov 2002</ref><ref>. ].</ref> In modern usage, it is usually a general term of contempt rather than a commentary on sexual habits. ''Wanker'' has similar meanings and overtones to American pejoratives like ''jerk'' or ''jerk-off''.<ref name="effingpot.com">Etherington, Mike: </ref> More generally, ''wanker'' can carry suggestions of ]ical and ] behaviour and this is the dominant meaning in Australia and New Zealand.<ref>Ludowyk, Frederick: </ref>


''Wanker'' may be indicated by a one-handed gesture,<ref>How to make a and how not to make it</ref> usually to an audience out of hearing range.<ref name="effingpot.com" /> It is performed by curling the fingers of the hand into a loose fist and moving the hand back and forth to mime male masturbation, which is equivalent to saying, "that person is a wanker".<ref>Rude Hand Gestures of the World: A Guide to Offending Without Words. Lefevre, Romana. Chronicle Books, 17 August 2011</ref>
The term "wanker" originated in British slang in the 1940's, based on the verb "wank".<ref></ref> However, by the 1970's, usage of the term had shifted from its literal origins, and it began to used as a generic insult. The evolution of this term's usage, from the specific act of masturbation to a general character descriptor, e.g. "contemptible person", is similar to the evolution of the American version, "jerk".


In the ], the term is understood but rarely used.
The modern usage of the term "wanker" refers to self-aggrandizement or ostentatious behaviour, specifically where the performer's impression of their own talent and ability manifestly exceeds that of the audience. Similarly, "wanking" can describe any showy activity that mainly pleases its participant{{cn}}, such as playing ], free-form guitar playing, drum solos, or progressive ] ] solos. It can also refer to private jokes, ], ], and esoteric references (common in ] and ] circles). In Britain the term is used a generic insult but in Australia this second meaning is predominant and it is rarely used as a general insult. For instance, someone who drives a beat-up car who almost crashes into another car would not be called a wanker, while someone who drives a sports car would be.


Related are terms such as "wanker's colic", for an undiagnosed visceral pain, and "wanker's doom", for excessive masturbation, from slang used in the ] and ] since the 1920s.<ref name="early" />
] The insult can be gestured by curling the fingers of the hand into a loose fist and moving the hand back and forth to symbolically imitate the act of male masturbation. It is sometimes enacted during altercations between motorists, where one motorist shows the "hand-shandy" in front of the rear-view mirror for the benefit of a recently-overtaken motorist.


==Differences in perceived levels of offensiveness==
Wanker can also have other meanings, depending on the context. It is also a slang term for penis used by American college students. This usage implies that the penis is primarily a tool for masturbation.<ref>Cameron, Deborah 'Naming of Parts: Gender, Culture, and Terms for the Penis among American College Students' in ''American Speech Vol. 67, No. 4'' p372</ref>
In December 2000, the ] published research on attitudes of the British public to pejoratives. It ranked ''wanker'' as the fourth most severe pejorative in English.<ref>{{cite web|title=Delete expletives? |work=Advertising Standards Authority, accessed via Wayback Machine |url=http://www.asa.org.uk/~/media/Files/ASA/Reports/ASA_Delete_Expletives_Dec_2000.ashx |format=PDF |access-date=14 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308152410/http://www.asa.org.uk/~/media/Files/ASA/Reports/ASA_Delete_Expletives_Dec_2000.ashx |archive-date=8 March 2012 }}</ref> The ] describes it as "moderately offensive" and "almost certain" to generate complaints if used before the ].<ref> . Retrieved 20 January 2007. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070221101517/http://www.bbc.co.uk/guidelines/editorialguidelines/advice/offensivelanguage/index.shtml |date=21 February 2007 }}</ref>


In Australia, it is considered mildly offensive but is widely accepted and used in the media.<ref name=whinger>], 2004. ''''. In Christo Moskovsky (ed), </ref>
According to the 1990 ], "Wanker" is the 53,492nd most common ] in the United States. <ref></ref>


Mary Cresswell, an American ], describes "wanker" as "somewhat more offensive in British use than Americans typically realize".<ref>{{cite web
In ], the term "wanker" is used as an abbreviation of West Banker, referring to someone who lives on the West Bank of the ] in the New Orleans metro area. The term is used derogatorily by those who live on the East Bank of the river (particularly Uptown New Orleans), but it does not carry the same meaning as that of the British usage.{{fact}}
| last = Cresswell
| first = Mary
| title = Word Of The Day: November 19, 1996
| url=http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=19961119}}</ref> The word was used twice to comic effect in '']'' episode "]", which caused no offence to American audiences, but prompted complaints on occasions when the episode was broadcast unedited in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite news|last=Dowell|first=Ben|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/jun/09/channel4.ofcom|title=The Simpsons: Channel 4 apologises for pre-watershed swearing|work=]|date=9 June 2008|access-date=9 June 2008|location=London}}</ref>


==In popular culture==
== Usage and social acceptability ==
"]" by ] is one of many songs about masturbation. It describes the singer: "I'm a wanker, I'm a wanker. And it does me good like it bloody well should", and it reached number 22 in the 1978 ]. It was banned by ] and every national radio and television service.<ref>''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music'': Indexes, Volume 10. Colin Larkin. Oxford University Press, 2006</ref>


] used the word in his 1984 cameo appearance on '']'' and has sometimes been credited with introducing the word to America.<ref> {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090206135705/http://www.philcollins.co.uk/playboy1086.htm |date=6 February 2009 }}</ref>
As with the word "jerk", the effect of the word often depends on the situation. In a potentially aggressive situation, such as a football game, for instance, using it might entail serious consequences.


In the film '']'', ] and ] both use the word out of earshot to describe fellow rock star Duke Fame after a chance encounter.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088258/trivia?tab=qt |title=''This Is Spinal Tap'' (1984) – Quotes|work=]|access-date=21 April 2013}}</ref>
In the ], the usage of "wanker" as an insult is considered stereotypically to be very English or British. Generally when seen on American television programmes and video games, it is primarily British people who use the term, sometimes to the confusion of any American in the vicinity.


On the American television show '']'', ]'s maiden name is Wanker and her family is from the fictional Wanker County.
In the episode "Phil the Shill" of the TV series '']'' broadcasted in 1985, a British character played by ] says, "You must take me for a right wanker, son..." – using the term in a context where 'idiot' would normally be used. His character erroneously (or perhaps disingenuously) explains the term as being "a twit, a tube, a tool...". This was the first time the term wanker was used in its proper context on American television.


On the British television quiz show '']'', contestants have to form the longest word possible from nine randomly selected letters. On one occasion, the letters permitted the spelling of "wanker" (or "wankers") and both contestants replied with the word, leading one to quip "we've got a pair of wankers". The sequence was edited out of the show (as is common with ] words), but has been shown as an outtake on other shows.<ref></ref> However, on a later occasion, "wanker" was offered, and this instance was left in and broadcast unedited.
In the ribald American ] '']'', the character Peggy's maiden name is Wanker; ]'s in-laws are therefore the Wankers. These fictional Wankers resided in the fictional Wanker County. An episode of '']'' also included a character called Arnold Wanker, though this aired before the understanding of the term was common throughout the U.S. and was less likely to be intentional, as the ''Married... with Children'' usage was. Chandler also referred to someone as a "wank" in an episode of '']''. In an episode of '']'' featuring the ] band ], one of them used the term twice, suggesting that American audiences would not be offended; when the programme was shown in the UK (pre-watershed in its usual slot) these moments were cut.


During the New Zealand national ] team's tours of Australia in the mid-1980s, Australian crowds extensively chanted "Hadlee's a wanker" while New Zealand fast bowler ] was bowling, supported by hand-written banners. The reference even continued after Hadlee had retired, including a "Hadlee's a wanker" banner appearing at an Australia v Croatia soccer game during the 2006 ] finals.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2015-11-04|title=Richard Hadlee's a wanker chant: the inspiration for fans reaction. Australia v New Zealand cricket tour|url=https://www.foxsports.com.au/cricket/australia/richard-hadlee-recalls-reason-for-australian-chant-that-haunted-then-inspired-him/news-story/91b3055e5fd9738eb22e08179710ab61|access-date=2020-10-15|website=Fox Sports|language=en-AU}}</ref>
As most Americans are familiar with the term nowadays, such "incidental" uses as the ''Mork & Mindy'' example have declined. However, there remains an American brand of bottled beer named Wanker.


The comedy show '']'' featured a character named Mr. Wanker who was Mindy's landlord.<ref>
In the UK, it is generally unacceptable to use it in front of minors, and would most likely incur some form of discipline for those who were to say it during daytime television in the United Kingdom. That said, an infamous out-take from the word game ] records a moment when both contestants offered the word ''wankers'' as their answer, much to the embarrassment of the host of the show, the late ]. It is generally allowed to be used on television only after the ].
{{cite video
| title=Mork & Mindy
| medium=TV
| location=USA
| publisher=]
| url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVQbgaHBojw
}}</ref> This was broadcast on American TV and later British TV.


Australian band ] released an album in 1998 entitled '']'' (which was an active website for a few months after its release). One of the themes in its lyrics is breaking down male society into two distinct cultures: ] (the subject of the ] released from the album) and wankers. Its third single, "]", offers examples of differences between the types and tells the listener to decide which one he is.
In addition, it is common, particularly in England, that people chant a small verse, aimed at another person, most often a male. The song is rather simple, and its origins linked to a popular ]. The song goes: ''(Name) is the captain of our ship, oh (name) is the captain of our ship. The ship is a tanker, (name) is a wanker, (name) has a very large/small ].''


] (formerly ]) band ]'s 1998 album '']'' contains a hidden instrumental track titled "Swatting Flies in Wanker County",<ref>{{cite AV media notes |others=Vixen |year=1998 |title=Tangerine |publisher=CMC International; Eagle Records |location=United States and United Kingdom}}</ref> written by then-member ].
A common use is in the phrase "The ]'s a Wanker", or "Who's the wanker in the black?", commonly chanted by ] supporters to express disapproval towards a referee, almost invariably following a decision unfavourable to their team.


In February 2009, ] member ] called ] a wanker live on air during ]'s ] show.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bono Calls Chris Martin A Wanker|publisher=Music-News.com|url=http://music-news.com/ShowNews.asp?nItemID=24741|access-date=1 March 2009}}</ref>
Humorous uses are common; a notable example being "Winker's Song <nowiki></nowiki>", a minor UK chart hit for cult comedian ]. The chorus of that song ("I'm a wanker, I'm a wanker") is perhaps more famous from its appearance in the cult TV comedy '']''. Similarly the line " not a wanker or a banker" in Devo's ''Triumph of the Will''. There is an obvious separation between the insult and the reality of the act.


During a live radio debate on 28 May 2010, the future ], ], urged conservative American radio host ] to "be proud to be a decent American rather than being just a wanker whipping up fear."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newstalk.ie/2010/programmes/all-programmes/the-right-hook/the-two-michaels/ |title=Michael Graham v Michael D. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227230214/http://www.newstalk.ie/2010/programmes/all-programmes/the-right-hook/the-two-michaels/ |archive-date=27 February 2012 |work=Newstalk.ie |date=28 May 2010 |at=15 min 25 sec}}</ref><ref> "The fact of the matter is, look, young people from the United States are travelling all over the world again. They're welcome in Europe, they're backpackers in hostels, people are talking to them because the image of the United States – we've got away from this war mongering – is getting better. The many mistakes Obama is making...at least 47 million people that the likes of you condemn to no health care in a country that I was proud to work in – these people are going to have some health care, so this is the issue, so therefore be proud to be a decent American rather than being just a wanker whipping up fear."</ref>
A related but less common slang term is ''wankered'' to mean "extremely drunk". This usage is almost exclusively found in the UK, primarily in youth culture.


When acting as the ombudsman on '']'' in 2011, ] presented a graph of the "wanker gap" for the first half of the program.<ref>{{cite news|title=Halftime Report: 12/28/11|url=http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/red-eye/index.html#/v/1352205221001/halftime-report-122911/?playlist_id=86926|access-date=29 December 2011 | work=]|date=23 September 2010}}</ref> Baker has never given an explanation of the meaning of the "wanker gap."
Also a product of youth culture, any activity or thing that is regarded as uninteresting or shabby can be described as ''wank'', ''a pile of wank'', ''a bag of wank'' or "a bunch of wank".


] wrote a science fiction book entitled '']'' in 1969. The title was changed to ''The Wannek'' due to its sounding like wanker.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://starling.us/wankh_vs_wannek.html|title=Wankh versus Wannek|website=Starling.us|access-date=10 April 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413123247/http://starling.us/wankh_vs_wannek.html|archive-date=13 April 2014}}</ref>
When the term ''wanker'' is not sufficiently abusive for the user, the variant ''wankhard'' may be used - this is a portmanteau and implies a greater degree of strength in the use of the epithet.


]'s song "]" contains a veiled reference to the term in the line "I'm a clever banker's face, with just a letter out of place." In live performances, singer ] would change to an explicit mention: "I'm a clever wanker's face, just a banker out of place."<ref>{{cite video|title=]|people=]|date=2012|publisher=EMI}}</ref>
Australian crowds at cricket matches will often join in the chant, "You are a wanker!" to mock umpires and opposition players (particularly following a dropped catch or fumble).


In January 2015 the then ] ] described British-born ] as "pornography-obsessed inadequates who only turn to radical Islam when they fail to make it with girls...They are literally wankers".<ref name=Boris>
== Wanker in popular culture ==
{{cite news |last=Gardner |first=Bill |date=30 January 2015 |title=Boris Johnson: Porn-obsessed Isil jihadis are 'literally w***ers' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/11378700/Boris-Johnson-Porn-obsessed-Isil-jihadis-are-literally-wers.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/11378700/Boris-Johnson-Porn-obsessed-Isil-jihadis-are-literally-wers.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |newspaper=Daily Telegraph |location=London |access-date=30 January 2015}}{{cbignore}}
*In the animated series ], both characters continually call each other Wanker.
</ref>
*In ] comic book series, one of the main characters, ] says "Wanker: Noun, the one who wanks."
* The word Wanker was used twice in ] throughout its lifetime, being used by Geoffrey the butler, and Lady Penelope, who only appeared in one episode. These two characters are both British, therefore when said in front of the likes of Will Smith, he pulls a confused face.
*In '']'' episode "]", ] and ] of ] both say the word ''wanker''. It was deleted from the UK version of the episode.
*In '']'' episode "]", ] disdains the first day of school as "a total wank", to which ] responds "If by wank you mean educational fun, stand back, it's wanking time!"
*In ] the main airline is called Juank Air.
*In ], a few episodes make reference to a theme park called "Wankyland"
*'The Winker's Song (Misprint)' by ], released as a single in 1978, humorously describes the singer's masturbation exploits: "I'm a wanker, I'm a wanker. And it does me good like it bloody well should." It is one of many in the ].
* The word was used twice in the film '']'', first by the irate rancher when her ] is stolen by the female ] agent, and again by the aforementioned agent when her superior is arrested in ] while having a phone conversation with her.
*An episode of "Mork and Mindy", starring ], contains a neighbourhood character called, "Mr. Wanker".
*The Australian band ] released an album titled www.tism.wanker.com in 1998
*In the "South Park" animated series (set in the United States) Grandpa Marsh refers to Civil War re-enactors as "a bunch of drunk wankers from Colorado".
* In "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", Spike often refers to many other characters as 'wankers'.
* After ] was beaten by ] in the ], ] was nicknamed 'the little winker' in the newspaper ], implicitly referring to 'the little wanker'. He had been picked up on a camera winking at the team bench at after ] had been sent off.


] is a long running character in '']'', based on a ] male ].


Inspired by controversy about ]' 2003 song "]" connected to ]'s ], the British composer ] wrote, in the style of ], a four-part ] on the riff of that song to the words "Donald Trump is a wanker."<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729231304/https://www.edp24.co.uk/going-out/anti-trump-classical-composer-and-performer-ben-comeau-headed-to-norwich-for-concert-1-5799203 |date=29 July 2020 }} by Stacla Briggs, '']'', 28 November 2018</ref><ref>{{YouTube|RZxCAqCUgug|Fugue on "Donald Trump is a Wanker", based on the "Seven Nation Army" theme}}</ref>

==See also==
* ]


==References== ==References==
{{Reflist}}
<references/>


==Further reading== ==Further reading==
*Jenny Cheshire, 1991, ''English Around the World: sociolinguistic perspectives'', ], {{ISBN|0-521-39565-8}}.
*Tony McEnery, 2005, ''Swearing in English: Bad Language, Purity and Power from 1586 to the Present'', ], {{ISBN|0-415-25837-5}}.


==External links==
* Karen Stollznow, 2004, Whinger! Wowser! Wanker! Aussie English: Deprecatory language and the Australian ethos. In Christo Moskovsky (ed), Proceedings of the 2003 Conference of the Australian Linguistic Society.
{{Wiktionary|wank|wanker}}
* Jenny Cheshire, 1991, English Around the World: sociolinguistic perspectives. Published by ], ISBN 0521395658.
*{{commonscat-inline}}
* Anthony McEnery and Tony McEnery, 2005 ,Swearing in English: Bad Language, Purity and Power from 1586 to the Present. Published by ], ISBN 0415258375.
* Etymology online *
* 19 November 1996. "Wanker." The Mavens' Word of the Day. Random House, Inc. *, 19 November 1996. Random House, Inc.
*
]
]


{{Gestures}}
]
{{Sexual slang}}

]
]
]
]
]

Latest revision as of 16:08, 1 June 2024

Insult This article is about the pejorative term. For other uses, see Wanker (disambiguation). Not to be confused with Wanka (disambiguation).

Graffiti calling a rival group "Wankers", in Bethnal Green, East London

Wanker is slang for "one who wanks (masturbates)", but is most often used as a general insult. It is a pejorative term of English origin common in Britain and other parts of the English-speaking world (mainly Commonwealth of nations), including Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. It is synonymous with the insult tosser.

Meaning

"Wanker" hand gesture

The terms wank and wanker originated in British slang during the late 19th and early 20th century. In modern usage, it is usually a general term of contempt rather than a commentary on sexual habits. Wanker has similar meanings and overtones to American pejoratives like jerk or jerk-off. More generally, wanker can carry suggestions of egotistical and self-indulgent behaviour and this is the dominant meaning in Australia and New Zealand.

Wanker may be indicated by a one-handed gesture, usually to an audience out of hearing range. It is performed by curling the fingers of the hand into a loose fist and moving the hand back and forth to mime male masturbation, which is equivalent to saying, "that person is a wanker".

In the United States, the term is understood but rarely used.

Related are terms such as "wanker's colic", for an undiagnosed visceral pain, and "wanker's doom", for excessive masturbation, from slang used in the RAF and British prisons since the 1920s.

Differences in perceived levels of offensiveness

In December 2000, the Advertising Standards Authority published research on attitudes of the British public to pejoratives. It ranked wanker as the fourth most severe pejorative in English. The BBC describes it as "moderately offensive" and "almost certain" to generate complaints if used before the watershed.

In Australia, it is considered mildly offensive but is widely accepted and used in the media.

Mary Cresswell, an American etymologist, describes "wanker" as "somewhat more offensive in British use than Americans typically realize". The word was used twice to comic effect in The Simpsons episode "Trash of the Titans", which caused no offence to American audiences, but prompted complaints on occasions when the episode was broadcast unedited in the United Kingdom.

In popular culture

"The Winker's Song (Misprint)" by Ivor Biggun is one of many songs about masturbation. It describes the singer: "I'm a wanker, I'm a wanker. And it does me good like it bloody well should", and it reached number 22 in the 1978 UK charts. It was banned by BBC Radio 1 and every national radio and television service.

Phil Collins used the word in his 1984 cameo appearance on Miami Vice and has sometimes been credited with introducing the word to America.

In the film This Is Spinal Tap, David St. Hubbins and Nigel Tufnel both use the word out of earshot to describe fellow rock star Duke Fame after a chance encounter.

On the American television show Married... with Children, Peggy Bundy's maiden name is Wanker and her family is from the fictional Wanker County.

On the British television quiz show Countdown, contestants have to form the longest word possible from nine randomly selected letters. On one occasion, the letters permitted the spelling of "wanker" (or "wankers") and both contestants replied with the word, leading one to quip "we've got a pair of wankers". The sequence was edited out of the show (as is common with risqué words), but has been shown as an outtake on other shows. However, on a later occasion, "wanker" was offered, and this instance was left in and broadcast unedited.

During the New Zealand national cricket team's tours of Australia in the mid-1980s, Australian crowds extensively chanted "Hadlee's a wanker" while New Zealand fast bowler Richard Hadlee was bowling, supported by hand-written banners. The reference even continued after Hadlee had retired, including a "Hadlee's a wanker" banner appearing at an Australia v Croatia soccer game during the 2006 World Cup finals.

The comedy show Mork & Mindy featured a character named Mr. Wanker who was Mindy's landlord. This was broadcast on American TV and later British TV.

Australian band TISM released an album in 1998 entitled www.tism.wanker.com (which was an active website for a few months after its release). One of the themes in its lyrics is breaking down male society into two distinct cultures: Yobs (the subject of the first single released from the album) and wankers. Its third single, "Whatareya?", offers examples of differences between the types and tells the listener to decide which one he is.

Hard rock (formerly glam metal) band Vixen's 1998 album Tangerine contains a hidden instrumental track titled "Swatting Flies in Wanker County", written by then-member Gina Stile.

In February 2009, U2 member Bono called Chris Martin a wanker live on air during Jo Whiley's Radio 1 show.

During a live radio debate on 28 May 2010, the future President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, urged conservative American radio host Michael Graham to "be proud to be a decent American rather than being just a wanker whipping up fear."

When acting as the ombudsman on Red Eye w/Greg Gutfeld in 2011, Mike Baker presented a graph of the "wanker gap" for the first half of the program. Baker has never given an explanation of the meaning of the "wanker gap."

Jack Vance wrote a science fiction book entitled Servants of the Wankh in 1969. The title was changed to The Wannek due to its sounding like wanker.

Iron Maiden's song "El Dorado" contains a veiled reference to the term in the line "I'm a clever banker's face, with just a letter out of place." In live performances, singer Bruce Dickinson would change to an explicit mention: "I'm a clever wanker's face, just a banker out of place."

In January 2015 the then Mayor of London Boris Johnson described British-born jihadists as "pornography-obsessed inadequates who only turn to radical Islam when they fail to make it with girls...They are literally wankers".

Cockney Wanker is a long running character in Viz, based on a stereotypical male Cockney.

Inspired by controversy about The White Stripes' 2003 song "Seven Nation Army" connected to Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, the British composer Ben Comeau wrote, in the style of J. S. Bach, a four-part fugue on the riff of that song to the words "Donald Trump is a wanker."

References

  1. Words, Meaning And Vocabulary: An Introduction to Modern English Lexicology. Howard Jackson, Etienne Zé Amvela. Continuum International Publishing Group, 2000
  2. ^ A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English: Colloquialisms and Catch Phrases, Fossilised Jokes and Puns, General Nicknames, Vulgarisms and Such Americanisms As Have Been Naturalised. Eric Partridge, Paul Beale. Routledge, 15 Nov 2002
  3. wank. Online Etymology Dictionary.
  4. ^ Etherington, Mike: The very Best of British The American's guide to speaking British
  5. Ludowyk, Frederick: Anatomy of Swearing
  6. How to make a Wanker gesture and how not to make it
  7. Rude Hand Gestures of the World: A Guide to Offending Without Words. Lefevre, Romana. Chronicle Books, 17 August 2011
  8. "Delete expletives?". Advertising Standards Authority, accessed via Wayback Machine. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 March 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
  9. BBC – Editorial guidelines, definition of offensive language . Retrieved 20 January 2007. Archived 21 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  10. Karen Stollznow, 2004. Whinger! Wowser! Wanker! Aussie English: Deprecatory language and the Australian ethos. In Christo Moskovsky (ed), Proceedings of the 2003 Conference of the Australian Linguistic Society
  11. Cresswell, Mary. "Word Of The Day: November 19, 1996".
  12. Dowell, Ben (9 June 2008). "The Simpsons: Channel 4 apologises for pre-watershed swearing". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 9 June 2008.
  13. The Encyclopedia of Popular Music: Indexes, Volume 10. Colin Larkin. Oxford University Press, 2006
  14. Phil Collins interview, Playboy magazine October 1986 Archived 6 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  15. "This Is Spinal Tap (1984) – Quotes". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
  16. snopes.com: Countdown
  17. "Richard Hadlee's a wanker chant: the inspiration for fans reaction. Australia v New Zealand cricket tour". Fox Sports. 4 November 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  18. Mork & Mindy (TV). USA: Henderson Productions.
  19. Tangerine (Media notes). Vixen. United States and United Kingdom: CMC International; Eagle Records. 1998.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  20. "Bono Calls Chris Martin A Wanker". Music-News.com. Retrieved 1 March 2009.
  21. "Michael Graham v Michael D." Newstalk.ie. 28 May 2010. 15 min 25 sec. Archived from the original on 27 February 2012.
  22. Newstalk Radio debate "The fact of the matter is, look, young people from the United States are travelling all over the world again. They're welcome in Europe, they're backpackers in hostels, people are talking to them because the image of the United States – we've got away from this war mongering – is getting better. The many mistakes Obama is making...at least 47 million people that the likes of you condemn to no health care in a country that I was proud to work in – these people are going to have some health care, so this is the issue, so therefore be proud to be a decent American rather than being just a wanker whipping up fear."
  23. "Halftime Report: 12/28/11". Fox News. 23 September 2010. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  24. "Wankh versus Wannek". Starling.us. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  25. Iron Maiden (2012). En Vivo!. EMI.
  26. Gardner, Bill (30 January 2015). "Boris Johnson: Porn-obsessed Isil jihadis are 'literally w***ers'". Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  27. "Classical Anti-Trump protest song composer headed to Norwich" Archived 29 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine by Stacla Briggs, Eastern Daily Press, 28 November 2018
  28. Fugue on "Donald Trump is a Wanker", based on the "Seven Nation Army" theme on YouTube

Further reading

External links

Gestures
Friendly gestures
Gestures of respect
Salutes
Celebratory gestures
Finger-counting
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