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Originally Posted by bob_a_builder
Thank you 'HomeAlone' that was my point. not quite the 'homely' image the word seems to be taking on , you little scamps indeed !
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And what if someone called you a "berk"? Surely the mildest of epithets, yes?
Trouble is, "berk", comes from the Rhyming Slang "Berkley Hunt"...
And "gay" meant "happy" before it was taken over by the homosexual community, didn't it?
Well, actually back in the 17th Century it had the meaning of "Addicted to social pleasures; often euphem: Of Immoral Life 1637" (Shorter OED).
The meanings and implications of words change. Language grows, evolves, adapts and changes. What "Bugger" may have meant in the past is *not* what it means now.