Is "squat" a bad word? (and I'm not talking about leg day in the gym)

[Pergamum]

If I were to write about doubts during life and include the word "squat" in my testimony, would this be objectionable? Is "squat" a bad word (or at least a crude or slang one)?

Here is the example:

Sure, if no God existed there would be no hell. If no God exists, that means that perhaps multiplied millions of souls will be spared an eternity of suffering. But do you know what else it means? It means this: that the multiplied evils of this world will go unanswered. That Jesus, Hitler, and my boyhood dog all died the same (regardless of how they lived) and shared a common fate.

The good guy in life does not always win…in his life. Often, it seems that he rarely wins. But we can believe that, yes, there is a day when he shall win.

However, as a youth I doubted this. And it drove me to despair. When I read the Sermon on the Mount when I was young, where it said, “The Meek shall inherit the earth.” Do you know what I thought? I thought, “Ya right..the meek don’t inherit squat!”

 

[jambo]

It's probably an expression more geared up for American usage. In the UK it is usually 'diddly squat' but I don't think anyone would be offended by hearing it.

 

[Edward]

One meaning is a bowdlerized version of the Anglo-Saxon word for defecation. It would be a narrow case where the Anglo-Saxism would be inappropriate but this word would be.

Technically speaking, it would be a vulgarity, not a profanity, and it could be that many of the listeners would not be sophisticated to understand what they were actually hearing.

 

[earl40]

In Philippians 3:8 the word dung is used in a testimony.

 

[whirlingmerc]

In ordinary use people hear it as 'nothing'
The etymology is another thing
I would say no. Not at this point

 

[Pergamum]

It's probably an expression more geared up for American usage. In the UK it is usually 'diddly squat' but I don't think anyone would be offended by hearing it.

What distinguishes diddly squat from normal squat?

 

[Pergamum]

One meaning is a bowdlerized version of the Anglo-Saxon word for defecation. It would be a narrow case where the Anglo-Saxism would be inappropriate but this word would be.

Technically speaking, it would be a vulgarity, not a profanity, and it could be that many of the listeners would not be sophisticated to understand what they were actually hearing.

So, if my hearers are unsophisticated rubes, then all is okay?

 

[Romans922]

Given that it is a euphemism of "diddly s***", I would think it not the best choice of words and I would just assume use a better word so as to be above reproach.

 

[NaphtaliPress]

I've heard it from the pulpit and cringed; but just the once.

 

[Jack K]

It wouldn't bother me. I hear it as meaning "nothing." So I guess I'm an unsophisticated rube. But it seems there are enough people here who would be bothered by it that, having heard from them, I would now avoid it.

 

[Edward]

So, if my hearers are unsophisticated rubes, then all is okay?

Yes, but if you use the Anglo Saxon version, perhaps you could become one of the 'edgy' postmodern megachurch pastors.

 

[nick]

Didn't realize it replaced the s-word. I wonder how many other words out there I use that have a "history" I'm unaware of.

 

[Edward]

What distinguishes diddly squat from normal squat?

Just adds emphasis. Sort of like (omitting the Anglo - Saxonism) 'You don't know ...' compared to 'You don't know jack ...'

I wonder how many other words out there I use that have a "history" I'm unaware of.

Going to journalism school in the 70s certainly broadened my vocabulary. But I'm not sure that PB is the place to demonstrate my skills.

 

[NaphtaliPress]

And the moderators thank you.

Going to journalism school in the 70s certainly broadened my vocabulary. But I'm not sure that PB is the place to demonstrate my skills.

 

[VictorBravo]

Didn't realize it replaced the s-word. I wonder how many other words out there I use that have a "history" I'm unaware of.

To give an example and slightly derail the thread, look up the etymology of "nice."

If you don't want to bother, consider that it comes from the Latin "nescius" which means "ignorant." In English it used to mean "stupid," "ignorant," even "wanton."

Then it came to mean "overly fastitious." Which led to "fine" as in a "fine (or overly narrow) distinction."

Which over time, came to mean "good" or "pleasing."

But I still am wary should someone call me a nice guy.

 

[Steve Curtis]

To give an example and slightly derail the thread, look up the etymology of "nice."

If you don't want to bother, consider that it comes from the Latin "nescius" which means "ignorant." In English it used to mean "stupid," "ignorant," even "wanton."

Then it came to mean "overly fastitious." Which led to "fine" as in a "fine (or overly narrow) distinction."

Which over time, came to mean "good" or "pleasing."

But I still am wary should someone call me a nice guy.

I'll take "nice" over the alternatives any day!

However, Vic's example goes to show that we can become so sensitive as to what a word used to mean that we are effectively muzzled by a desire not to offend. Whether "squat" has etymological roots in a more vulgar word is not (I don't think) commonly considered when it is used in the vernacular today. A word means (today) what people think it means (today). This is why we often use dead languages to preserve important concepts, which require precision - contemporary vocabulary is just too fluid.
In today's English, no, squat is not a "bad" word. Your hearers/readers would probably understand your meaning just fine - and without offense.

 

[Edward]

To give an example and slightly derail the thread, look up the etymology of "nice."

That would make a good insult. "He's a nice guy, in the historic sense".

 

[aadebayo]

Must admit that I have only just read about the word having any likelihood of causing offence. Very interesting.