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Playing the dozens is an African-American custom in which two competitors -- usually males -- go head to head in a competition of comedic trash talk. They take turns "cracking on," or insulting, one another, their adversary's mother or other family member until one of them has no comeback. In the U.S., the practice can be traced back to chattel slavery, when violence among slaves was a property crime with potentially draconian consequences. Verbal sparring became a substitute for physical contention. While the competition on its face is usually light-hearted, smiles sometimes mask real tensions.
The dozens can be a harmless game, or, if tempers flare, a prelude to physical violence. But in its purest form, the dozens is part of an African-American custom of verbal sparring, of "woofin'" (see wolf ticket) and "signifyin'," intended to defuse conflict amicably, descended from an oral tradition rooted in traditional West African cultures. The dozens is a contest of personal power -- of wit, self-control, verbal ability, mental agility and mental toughness. Defeat can be humiliating; but a skilled contender, win or lose, may gain respect.
"Yo' mama," a common, widely recognized argumentative rejoinder in African-Amercan vernacular speech, is a cryptic reference to the dozens.
The term "the dozens" refers to the devaluing on the auctionblock of slaves who were past their prime, who were aged or who, after years of back-breaking toil, no longer were capable of hard labor. These enslaved human beings often were sold by the dozen.
(My wording from Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia.)
Yo' mama's so fat, when she hauls ass she gotta take two trips.
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The phrase "wolf ticket" is the result of a misunderstood African-American slang expression for the practice of verbal intimidation, "sellin' woof tickets," that was incorrectly transposed by whites. Over time, the corrupted nomenclature has become accepted terminology.
"Woofing," or "woofin'," like "signifyin'" and "talkin' trash," is part of the African-American oral tradition. The term is derived from the onomatopoeic expression of the sound of, for instance, a junkyard dog barking to ward off potential intruders.
"Sellin' woof tickets" is engaging in threatening or intimidating verbal aggression, usually without the intent of actually doing physical harm. In West African and African-American cultures, verbal sparring and physical displays traditionally were employed as proxies for physical violence to preserve life and maintain peace and order. Woofin' also can be a means of "calling someone out," of challenging an opponent to a verbal or physical match.
See also "playing the dozens."
A wolf ticket is also a counterfeit ticket or bogus entry pass to an event, like a rock concert or an athletic contest, sold by a scalper.
(My wording from Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia.)
"Man, Butterball's on the corner sellin' woof tickets. Let's go watch!"
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Motherfucker (also contracted forms mother and mofo and, phonetically, in African-American vernacular speech, muthafucka) is a common insult and profanity in the English language and is widely considered obscene and inappropriate. By virtue of its history of usage, motherfucker generally is regarded as African-American in origin. Literally, it accuses one of violating, perhaps, the oldest taboo known to humankind, incest. However, as with most epithets, its use is pejorative, rather than literal. Historically, it was a vicious taunt, a damning insult -- and a veiled allusion to the destruction of black male familial hegemony under chattel slavery. The power of the word was that it attacked one's sense of manhood. Regardless of its historical or cultural context, however, many consider motherfucker the mother of all curse words. The cause of countless barroom brawls and streetfights, it is purported to have sparked at least one prison riot.
Motherfucker has taken on additional meanings through continued use, its evolution being shaped primarily by, again, the African-American community. It has come to mean a formidable or inexorable force, as in the threat: "Payback is a bitch, but revenge is a muthafucka." It is also an expression of disgust or contempt: "Now, ain't that a muthafucka!" Motherfucker also has come to be used in some circles as a general pronoun.
The initials M.F. became a common, more polite substitute for motherfucker, as did the term Maryland farmer in the 1960s and 1970s. The result is an oft-recounted, if somewhat apocryphal, tale of the clueless Maryland Farmers Association writing a letter of protest to a prominent African-American in the news. It seems he called a Capitol Hill politician a "jive Maryland farmer," and the association's members were mightily offended.
The growing use of motherfucker in American popular culture may mean the term through time has become less offensive to some, but some see its increasing ubiquity as a sign of the general coarsening of American society.
See definition for examples of usage. My wording from Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia.
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