Bastard

If your child happens to be adopted...this probably isn't the word to use in a heated argument with your spouse.

I prefer the more humorous sounding - "Ya bastid."

an orphan? come on...

The term bastard has been around a long time and like most great insults has a variety of uses. Used as it is intended, the actual meaning of the word can be quite harsh. Insulting a person for something out of their control is never too kind. However, it can also be used among friends as a term of endearment or a simple reminder of ignorance or stupidity.In response to EDT: Thanks for your thoughts. I'm also adopted and my parents were always open with me about the situation. However, it was never suggested that I should keep that private because of what others might think. I never had a problem with insults from others growing up. The only time I remember getting a little upset about my "bastard" status as a child was when an ignorant peer unwittingly asked, " Is it true that you're an orphan?"

I think my adoptive parents were always worried this was the appellation that was going to applied to me throughout my childhood, as I am, quite literally, "a bastard". My parents were always open with me about my adopted status (they purposely didn't want to know too much about my origins, other than the fact that I was healthy and came from reasonably accomplished people, but the natural assumption was that my birth had been illegitimate), but they were from an older generation where illegitimate birth carried a great stigma, and they always told me, "You don't want to tell other people you're adopted." When I became old enough to understand what sex was, and what "illegitimate birth" was, it bothered me not at all, although the admonition not to tell anyone I was adopted, with its implication that there was something shameful about my origins, probably wasn't the healthiest message to impart to me as a kid, although my parents did it with the best of intentions in order to protect m... Read more

Here we have another great word that we got from our friends the Middle English who acquired it from the Norman Invasion and the Normans' Old French.  The word has passed from polite language to vulgarism that makes it even more attractive.  It can be used both as an insult and as a term of endearment.  That is quite a word.

.......a pix is worth a thousand words...

Personally, when this word has been applied to me, I've usually taken it as a sign that I was doing my job well.

Probably one of my most often used terms.

Best used in the Southpark context: "You killed Kenny, you bastards!"Or even better, on the occasions where they accidently kill Kenny themselves, since the statement is mandatory, they completely deadpan: "We killed Kenny, we're bastards."

In certain circles, it's more complimentary than insulting. . .a little low on the list. . .

One of the best, and it works well with adjectives... dumb bastard, phoney bastard, geeky bastard etc. etc. etc.

I always call my friends bastards...

I will use this on occasion too. It can be effective at times.

A Furry (Animals with human qualites) I created always uses this word. ; )

In my book, if you're not a bastard, your a dumbass.

Very insulting. And, a profanity too.

I've used this one more times than I care to remember. My cousin's two-year-old daughter has picked this word up and she's been referring to him as bastard. He's trying his best to deprogram that one out of her vocabulary.