The fart’s fine lineage not withstanding, other reference works have been more standoffish. The esteemed Oxford English Dictionary unequivocally declared fart “not fit for proper use.” Nobody knows why the OED chose to close down this innocuous form of personal expression or how the decision was made. One can only imagine a group of eminent scholars gathered in their ivory tower, deliberating upon the fate of words, having a beer or two, and shooting the breeze.
“Personally, I favor letting off some rectal steam.” “No, no! I much prefer an anal escape of wind.”
“Really gentlemen, it’s hard to top voiding wind from the bowels.” “All in favor of the fart…”
And so the fart fell from grace—expelled from polite society and relegated to second-class status. Farting around (c. 1900) came to signify purposelessness; anything overly pretentious was arty- farty.” Farting off (c.1968) made you inattentive and neglectful, leading to one blunder after another, causing you to fart away (c.1928) or squander your opportunities.
The Random House Dictionary of the English Language defined a fart as “an irritating or foolish person.” One in his dotage was written off as an old fart. Worthless items and activities were not worth a fart in a windstorm (both 20thC). And when your mind went blank and you did something incredibly dumb, or experienced an inexplicable aberration in your software program, you had a brainfart (c. 1983). “I normally remember my social security number, but I had a brainfart.”
Read more – “Bawdy Language,” the Book
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