What’s the worst insult?

‘Something about my mum’


Imagine you’re really, really mad at someone and you want to say something more hurtful than “well, you’re an idiot”. What do you say? Here’s the most offensive insults, all in one article, according to Londoners.

Batou, bar manager, 29

“Son of a bitch. Or something about my mum.”

Gemma, student, 20

“I’d say cunt, but personally it wouldn’t offend me.”

Dimitri, web design, 25

“Calling me ‘some foreigner’, or something to do with where I come from.”

Sophie, English teacher, 31

“If a guy called me a cunt I would be offended, but not so much if it was girl. In general any swear word from a guy I would find offensive. It’s really intimidating.”

Karla, conference producer, 26

“Cunt.”

Flora, graduate, 23

“I guess I would say cunt, but I would be more offended by someone calling me a slut.”

Biswas, market seller, 25

“Probably ‘dumb’. I hate people calling me stupid.”

Helda, IT developer, 33

“I don’t know about English, but calling someone ‘son of a bitch’ in Portuguese is pretty bad.”

Evan, student in America, 20

“Cunt. It’s a classic.”