Google+
This blog has moved. Please go over to this link to see my new website.

Thursday 29 December 2011

Stuarts' Daily Word Spot: X-Rated


X-Rated: a film classification used in UK, USA, France and Australia in the early days of film censorship and rating. In UK, in 1982, it was replaced in by the 18 certificate, and it was applied to films felt unsuitable to be seen by people under 18 years of age due to sexual, violent or nude content. In US, much the same situation applied initially, but because 'X-rated' was not trademarked, it quickly became a tool for the pornographers to use to advertise their films, frequently being converted to XX or XXX to indicate the level of hardcore pornography peddled.
In more general terms, it's become a symbol of something outrageous or risqué, something to titillate and excite, usually in a sexual manner. It is still sometimes applied to violent entertainment as well.

'The bikini that girl's almost wearing should be X-rated, is you ask me.'

'I'd tell you what I heard about Barbara and Trevor the other night at Joanna's, but it's X-rated.'

A question to ponder:
How is it that we put a man on the moon before we decided it would be a good idea to fit suitcases with wheels? 

1170 - Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, was assassinated inside Canterbury Cathedral by followers of King Henry II, and later became a saint and martyr in the Anglican Church and the Roman Catholic Church. The story is that Henry never intended his death and that his statement, 'Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?' was misinterpreted by the subjects who went on to do his bidding. However, if those were his actual words, it's difficult to know what else he might have meant.

English: Screenshot of Barbra Streisand from t...
Image via Wikipedia
1955 - Barbra Streisand's first recording of 'You'll Never Know' was made, when she was aged 13.

Enhanced by Zemanta

No comments: