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New York, 12:20 AM
Thu Nov 12
59 posts in the last 24 hours
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12/19/08
Other possibilities inlcude nutcluster and tosser.
12/18/08
12/18/08
To my son, the phrase "peepeediaperhead" was the most offensive thing his cousin ever called him. Nine years later, it still rankles him.
Peepeediaperhead!!
12/18/08
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12/18/08
Just saying.
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12/18/08
"That dude is such a PONTZ"
12/18/08
12/18/08
Let it go. Douchebag works.
Change we don't need.
12/18/08
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12/18/08
You want the New Trendy Word™ that replaces "douche/bag" to not rely on the Seven Words You Can't Use on Television (or at least, the 4 of the 7 that are still monitored), so that posts will still be quoted elsewhere without those emasculating asterisks (f**k, etc).
Douchebag implies someone who is ultimately redeemable, or at least containable as a chronic irritant rather than a malignancy. Doing something douchey doesn't bring about the end of the world, it's merely fodder for temporary snark and ridicule. When douchebags become self-aware, and still decide to be douchey, they become something else, something more sinister, like a prick or a miserable fuck.
This is why my current favorite, fucknose, would not be a suitable replacement. It's too pejorative and indicative of someone who is either irredeemable, or a lost cause. Also, see Carlin above.
Is there a proper equivalent to douchebag? And if not, could that be the reason that, two years later, the word refuses to die?
I think we should narrow our focus. Douchebag is the oldest, dustiest form of the word. However, calling an action or behavior douchey, in my opinion, isn't quite ready for retirement. In these situations, the trouble usually starts when the commenters start overusing the term in question, which causes the bloggers/posters to question their own freshness. This self-consciousness can be responsible for retiring words and trends before their time.
I mean really, if douchebag/douchey has to go, shouldn't hipster have gone by now as well? But there are hipsters out there who still need their day in the sun, and god knows there are new douchebags lurking around every corner. What else can we call them? What else indeed...