Talk:your mother

RFV discussion: May 2020–February 2021

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your mother, yo momma etc.

Our definition:

Interjection

your mother!

A general purpose insult.

I have never heard of this in the sense that our definition seems to indicate. Does it exist? Of course, I have heard of it as part of an insult, e.g. "Your mother's so fat, ... etc.", or as a punchline or rejoinder "What's fat, stupid and ... etc.?" -- "Your mother!", but does someone say "Your mother!" without such a context, as other insults might be used? Mihia (talk) 09:52, 7 May 2020 (UTC)

I certainly heard it growing up in Texas in the '80s. If someone insulted you and you couldn't think of a snappy comeback, you could say "yo mama", even if you didn't predicate anything of her. Wikipedia's article Maternal insult agrees: "the phrase 'yo mama' by itself, without any qualifiers, has become commonly used as an all-purpose insult or an expression of defiance". I'm not sure whether it works with "your mother" instead of "yo mama", but it might. —Mahāgaja · talk 11:06, 7 May 2020 (UTC)

Thanks. I think, in that case, that "Yo mama/momma" is outside my zone. However, here in the UK, "Your mother!" would not make any sense to me at all. I would not understand it if someone said that to me with no more information. Mihia (talk) 22:37, 16 September 2020 (UTC)

I've never heard this in Canada. Andrew Sheedy (talk) 22:43, 16 September 2020 (UTC)

It's part of The Dozens (which is a black American thing so we didn't all grow up with it). I suppose I don't see why it's any less entry-worthy than "my God" or "the fuck". Equinox ◑ 01:17, 17 September 2020 (UTC)

As a Northeastern American I have heard these low grade insults but I did not generally hang out with people who used them. I can't remember how much I got them from media and how much I heard in person. Vox Sciurorum (talk) 12:05, 17 September 2020 (UTC)

Also from the Northeastern U.S., white, and I did hang out with (also white) friends who said this; my familiarity with it is as used between close friends, rather than strangers, and always humorously. Even more commonly “Your mom!”, heightened stress on the second word. It can actually take on quite complex meanings, for just two words, but I wonder whether we'd be able to find enough recorded consistent usage to get more specific than “general purpose insult”. --Struthious Bandersnatch (talk) 23:04, 1 December 2020 (UTC)

I have managed to cite yo momma, and one instance of "your mother" (which is much harder to search for.) I have changed it so that "yo momma" is the main lemma, and "your mother" the alternate form. Kiwima (talk) 22:07, 10 February 2021 (UTC)

RFV-passed Kiwima (talk) 14:09, 18 February 2021 (UTC)