Mark DJ:
<<That phrase is used throughout the Harlem Cycle.
Mother-raper actually sounds worse to me than what it
replaces. Due to the ubiquity of motherfucker now, it often
seems more punctuation than a curse.>>
I don't think Himes used "moter-raper" to circumvent
censorship. I suspect this was a favorite term of his. Maybe
it was common in his formative years, though I have never
seen it used anywhere. As Mark says, "mother-raper" is not
quaint, it is at least as offensive as
"motherfucker", and it calls attention to itself, so it would
fail as a euphemism or cloak. Himes doesn't shy away from
foul language. His characters have a full repertoire and use
it well.
I am having deja vu about this discussion but I'm too lazy to
look it up in the archives.
Best,
MrT
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