Why are men called coots, and not women?

Men are coots; women are biddies.

It's a rooster/hen thing.

actually I think it was original bandycoot, wasn't it?

but my dictionary says bandicoot is an Australian marsupial, and a pretty little thing it is too.

http://members.iinet.net.au/~foconnor/mammals/photos/isoodon_auratus_1.jpg

Men are coots; women are biddies.

It's a rooster/hen thing.

Funny, coots, to me, are mudhens (Fulica americana). We used to hunt them way back when. Silly looking game bird and not much good eating.

So then . . . what is a biddy?

A biddy's a hen, too. Different genus, though.

I agree with jheem. It's a pretty common appelation for a man in the South. My maternal grandfather in South Carolina was referred to by one and all as "Pa Coot," or as "Cooter."

I remember as a little girl saying that the boys had "cooties." Any relation?

Nope. Cooties in that sense are body lice. Didja ever tell fortunes with a paper folded cootie catcher?

Sometimes it seems that everything has a sexual orientation. From the online etymology site:

coot c.1300, cote, used for various water fowl (now limited to Fulica atra and, in North America, F. americana), of uncertain origin (cf. Du. meercoet "lake coot"). Meaning "silly person, fool" is attested from 1766. Apparently unrelated to obsolete verb meaning "to copulate" (1667), which is, however, the source of cooter (1835), name of a type of Southern U.S. turtle that is said to copulate for two weeks at a stretch.

This doesn't answer the original question, but noting that the term old coot is prevalent in the same region as the cooter turtle, I'd bet the two are related.

From the same source, it seems tha cooties is an unrelated word:

cootie 1917, British World War I slang, earlier in nautical use, from Malay kutu "dog tick."

So now I must ask . . .where did we get the phrase "old bat?" Is that some sexual thing, too?

Didja ever tell fortunes with a paper folded cootie catcher?

Hmmm, we told fortunes with a folded paper (folded something like origami), but we didn't call them cootie catchers. I don't know if that is what you mean or not.

We made those things all the time! I still do! Kids are using them today, but sometimes all the folklore doesn't get passed down. I see one of my jobs as being an ambassador of children's folkloric pasttimes to the new generations. . . . string games, origami, paper footballs, urban legends, etc.

My son, now 18, got in trouble in the 2nd grade for having a cootie catcher which said someone was "stupid"... bad for the self-esteem you know.

My recently deceased step-mother is fondly referred to as The Old Bat or The Wicked Witch... I don't think men are ever referred to as Old Bats. Don't know why...

Is it English we are discussing here?

Where I come from coots are bald and biddies is derogatory.

Coots are always bald? I'd not noticed that.

Where I come from, "coots" aren't necessarily bald, but they are old (thus the relationship maybe?), crotchety, and curmudgeonly. "Coots" and "biddies" are both derogatory terms.

I had always thought it was "bitty" (though, I see I am wrong), coming from "Bitch," which is often associated with women.

I think there are more derogatory terms associated only with women than only with men, although I'm happy to be corrected . Even 'son of a bitch' insults the female in the equation!

The one that really annoys me though is that there are so many derogatory terms for a promiscuous woman (slag, slut, whore, slapper, tart, bike etc), yet I can't think of even one that only applies to men. Promiscuous men are usually called 'studs' or 'lucky b-----ds'.

I call men the above names too, though more to prove a point than to actually judge anyone. It's got a few people thinking, and that can only be a good thing. After all, if two people choose to sleep together after a first date, why is it only the woman who's easy? Aren't there two people involved?

Another way to look at it perhaps is that more is expected socially of women (higher morals etc) whereas men are considered as baser, so they'll want to jump into bed at the earliest opportunity. Therefore, a woman is looked down on as she should 'know better', but a man isn't condemned because he's incapable of better behaviour. So depending on how you look at it, these double standards can be offensive to both sexes!

BTW, I've heard of 'bald as a coot' but never really understood it since the coots in my local park are covered in feathers. Now I have a better idea.

From http://www-personal.umich.edu/~pfa/bald/words/coot.html :

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Popular name for the Coot (Fulica atra), from its pure white wide frontal plate, destitute of feathers. Used fig. and contemptuously as = bald-head.

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I think there are more derogatory terms associated only with women than only with men, although I'm happy to be corrected

I am sure you are right, Cat. Awhile ago I had looked up "woman" in the online Dictionary.com thesaurus (we have a long thread about it somewhere), and I was shocked at all the derogatory terms, compared to those for "man.". Look at the quality differences. While there are a few high-minded entries for "woman" ("lady"), there are so many more like "street walker" or "whore." "Man" have some negative ones as well (like "fraud" or "swindler"), but many more complimentary ones, such as "high priest" or "exec."

It's funny because just this morning I had a conversation with a single man whom I am trying to "set up" with a single female friend of mine. He complained that men, in the dating scene, have it much worse than women. I argued back that he was soooo wrong. I suppose it is all in the eyes of the beholder.

Quote "...He complained that men, in the dating scene, have it much worse than women. I argued back that he was soooo wrong. I suppose it is all in the eyes of the beholder..."

I suppose it depends how you define a "date". But a woman who approached a man - even a stranger - and said "How about it, big boy" or similarly subtle remark, would probably have an in-depth physical relationship in as sort a time as it took to find a venue.

A man trying the same tactic would get even more rapid, but rather different, results - usually a slapped face or a kick in the groin.

Perhaps the number of derogatory terms for a gender is based on the complexity and magnitude of the intellectual prowess of each. Also, I think we (as women) can use a person's name in a derogatory fashion and need not find additional words.

Perhaps the number of derogatory terms for a gender is based on the complexity and magnitude of the intellectual prowess of each.

I think you absolutely must be right, CW.

But a woman who approached a man - even a stranger - and said "How about it, big boy" or similarly subtle remark, would probably have an in-depth physical relationship in as sort a time as it took to find a venue.

Really? I am the proverbial matchmaker. When I try to set people up, I have found the men a whole lot fussier than the women. The women will often say, "I'll give it a chance," while the men want to see a picture and then I have had them refuse to meet the woman. These women weren't dogs or anything, but the men have said, "I just know we won't have any chemistry." From a picture?

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I think we (as women) can use a person's name in a derogatory fashion and need not find additional words.

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I remember how when my mother was angry with me she'd always use my full name. That was a clue to put a book in the seat of my pants!

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, "I just know we won't have any chemistry." From a picture?

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If she was clearly not what the man envisioned as his stereotypical Galatea, he'd say that, even if he was himself not Adonis. We men are way too visually oriented.

Yup - a bunch of old coots!