What the hell is a "douchebag" and how did the word end up being used?

[UnquietDad]

It sounds like some vile teenage Americanism. And now the Grauniad is using it.

I thought it was slang for a fanjo.

i dunno but i have a nasal douche atm

Can't they just say cunt then?

so i imagine it's calling someone 'a washbag' lol how offensive

I think most of Da Guide reads as if it was written by 14-year-olds, especially the inexplicable 20-page "Clubbing" section.

well timmy mallet is on the list so it must mean Cunt.

I thought douche was French for shower

I always think it turns up in "Blinded by the Light", whose next line I hear as "wrapped up like a douche, another runner in the night."

I'm surprised at the Grauniad to be honest. Why not Cocks of 2008?

Yes, that Rungren song hilarious.Always sounds like that.

Blimey, why on earth would someone want a vag wash?

Jeez I haven't hear the term "doucebag" since well.. Highschool... in America.

Sorry, douchebag.

Is it not the bag containing the wash stuff? I think there is squeezing and using a hose involved .

You can buy them in the equivalent of Boots.

I hate the word but it seems to be commonly used in the US.

As for using it in the Guardian:

I think it's what CoolYourJets said and I agree that it's a really gross term and I thought it was a bit odd when I saw it in the Guardian. V odd

The Blinded by the Light line is "Cut loose like a deuce /Another runner in the night." Manfred Mann misheard it and kind of fudged their version, which is the one that sounds like "douche".

As we are in pedants' corner:

I would argue that just because it has a literal meaning, this doesn't mean it hasn't gone on to attain its own, less offensive connotation through general use as slang.

Other examples might include "twat" and "dickhead" and "berk". I think they're all less strong than what they were adapted from.

Why shouldn't the Grauniad use any of those words in a jocular piece?

Are there any other jokey-but-originally-offensive abusive terms like that?

What did "berk" originally mean PadDad? I didn't realise it had an offensive origin.

Douchebag does sound very literal though. It's not that the Guardian shouldn't use it, it's just that it conjures up quite a repulsive image! As the OP said, it sounds like a vile teenage Americanism.

Berk = Berkeley Hunt. Rhyming slang.

it is a nasty put down in the States.