Git is a relatively mild slang term used in British English to denote a silly, incompetent, stupid, annoying, or childish person . It is usually used as an insult, more severe than twit but less severe than a true profanity like wanker or arsehole, and may often be used affectionately between friends. Example: "Justin is a Git. " The word git first appeared in print in 1946, but undoubtedly predates it. It is originally an alteration of the word get, dating back to the 14th century.

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  • Git is a relatively mild slang term used in British English to denote a silly, incompetent, stupid, annoying, or childish person . It is usually used as an insult, more severe than twit but less severe than a true profanity like wanker or arsehole, and may often be used affectionately between friends. Example: "Justin is a Git. " The word git first appeared in print in 1946, but undoubtedly predates it. It is originally an alteration of the word get, dating back to the 14th century. A shortening of beget, get insinuates that the recipient is someone's misbegotten offspring and therefore a bastard. In parts of northern England, Northern Ireland and Scotland get is still used in preference to git. The g is hard as in get. Git is frequently used in conjunction with another word to achieve a more specific meaning. For instance a "smarmy git" refers to a person of a slimy, ingratiating disposition; a "jammy git" would be a person with undeserved luck. The phrase "grumpy old git", denoting a cantankerous old man, is used with particular frequency. An "old git" may be either a grumpy elderly person (male) or someone behaving thus. The word was often used in the sitcom Til Death Us Do Part where Warren Mitchell as Alf Garnett would frequently describe his son-in-law played by Tony Booth as a "Scouse git". Micky Dolenz penned the Monkees song Randy Scouse Git on the Headquarters album after hearing the term on the programme. The group's British record company at the time felt uncomfortable with the use of the word so the song was issued as "Alternate Title" in the United Kingdom. The word git was also frequently used in the British science fiction comedy Red Dwarf, mainly by Arnold Rimmer. John Lennon also uses it in the Beatles White Album song "I'm So Tired". He says, "And curse Sir Walter Raleigh, He was such a stupid get," using the archaic version to rhyme with cigarette. The word was used self-deprecatingly by Linus Torvalds in naming the git source control package. The word had become sufficiently inoffensive by the 1990s to occur many times in the Harry Potter books. A Monty Python sketch from 1970 features a man at a party becoming rather uncomfortable speaking with (and especially introducing) fellow party-goer Snivelling Little Rat-Faced Git, in addition to his wife, Dreary Fat Boring Old Git. They speak of their children, including Dirty Lying Little Two-Faced and Ghastly Spotty Cross-Eyed, and invite him to a disemboweling party.
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  • Git is a relatively mild slang term used in British English to denote a silly, incompetent, stupid, annoying, or childish person . It is usually used as an insult, more severe than twit but less severe than a true profanity like wanker or arsehole, and may often be used affectionately between friends. Example: "Justin is a Git. " The word git first appeared in print in 1946, but undoubtedly predates it. It is originally an alteration of the word get, dating back to the 14th century.
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  • Git (British slang)
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