politics

Too Many Cucks

Niall O'Donnell 16 Comments

Cuck seems to be the insult du jour, especially since the American presidential election. It’s primarily used by members of the alt-right movement, though I’m loathe to dignify those who identify themselves so with anything approaching membership of an actual political movement. The alt-right claim that they’re offering an alternative to traditional conservative politics in the United States, but to be honest, they just seem to me to be a formless mass of vaguely-connected misogynists, racists, and people who generally seem to be unhappy with themselves, and project that self-loathing outwards. All that seems to unite the alt-right is hatred.

Hatred and fedoras.

What do they mean when they call people cucks? It’s become a kind of catch-all insult, but I have heard it described as referring to people who support the advancement of others over the advancement of their country. Which seems like a really tortuous attempt to link its use with its original meaning. Cuck is an abbreviation of cuckold, which for most of its history, has referred to a man whose wife is having an affair with another man/men. It comes from the old French cucuault meaning cuckoo, the bird that lays its eggs in other birds’ nests. Continue reading →

The NY Mets are my Favourite Squadron

Niall O'Donnell 2 Comments

You wouldn’t say The Mets is my favourite team, would you? It’d be wrong, and sound strange, wouldn’t it?

But what about this:

Manchester United is my favourite team, or Manchester United are my favourite team?

I imagine that some of you chose the first, and some the second. And as is often the case with English, both are correct. Though how natural it sounds depends on where you’re from. Generally in British English, groups are referred to as plural words, but in American English they’re treated as singular words (unless the words are clearly plural with an s at the end, like the Mets or The Beatles). Continue reading →

Brexit: A Political Portmanteau

Niall O'Donnell 21 Comments

I won’t spend too much time on my thoughts about the UK’s referendum. I’ll just say I’m sad. Sad because I have an idealistic belief in nations working together for their mutual benefit. Because I think that the British people who’ve suffered and been ignored in recent years were lied to by the rich and powerful into voting against their own interests.

So tonight I’ll try not to think too much about what’s going to happen to the UK, to the EU, and to me (I’d better remember to bring my passport if I want to drive to Belfast!)

Instead, I want to look at that word: Brexit. Continue reading →