Date:    Mon, 9 Mar 1998 18:48:13 -0500
<br>From:    frank abate  abatef[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]COMPUSERVE.COM 
<br>Subject: Re: butt
<br>
<br>RE the comment on _butt_ as "one of the ugliest words in the language":
<br>
<br>It strikes me that while _butt_ may seem ugly (even "butt-ugly"), we do u=
<br>se
<br>_but_ with (I'm pretty certain, usually) the same pron.  Is this a case o=
<br>f
<br>semantics causing a reaction that is not a problem purely in terms of the=
<br>
<br>sound?  This would be interesting to me, as I've been wondering lately wh=
<br>at
<br>it is about certain words that makes them taboo, disgusting, or repulsive=
<br>
<br>to people.  (I suppose almost anything that has its origins in slang will=
<br>
<br>seem less than desirable to some.)
<br>
<br>While _butt_ has a coarseness about it, at least in the way it is typical=
<br>ly
<br>used, what do folks make of _buns_, now the most common term for that par=
<br>t
<br>of the anatomy in fitness product advertising ("Buns of Steel", etc.)? =
<br>
<br>This seems to have supplanted _derriere_, once common among the fitness
<br>types.
<br>
<br>Just some stray thoughts,
<br>
<br>Frank Abate
<br>