Just a bint

Bint n. Woman, in the loosest sense of the word. One step short of a prostitute, a bint is a bird with less class, less selectivity, more makeup and even more skin. Blokes don't talk to bints unless they've had at least eight pints of beer, which is why bints turn up in free-for-students nightclubs at 2:45am with their faked student ID and dance around their Moschino rucksacks. I am told by a few contributors that the word derives from the Arabic for "daughter of".

(From the English-to-American Dictionary.)


Bint
n.
Term of derision and insult shouted at at girls/women; "You daft bint" (ed: Roger took us to task for not mentioning that this word has it's origins in Arabic)

(From the Online Dictionary of Playground Slang. )


An Excerpt from the fascinating Language Hat.
Living as an expat in East Jerusalem, I struggled to learn Arabic and never succeeded, to my eternal shame. I still contend that the Arabic class I was in had a very bad atmosphere, and it never occurred to my callow self to seek tutoring. Anyway, everything seemed to mean something silly in Arabic if mispronounced or simply uttered. "Aaron" (the name) sounded like Airr-an (meaning, supposedly, "two dick", though all I know is that something sounding like "Airr" meant "dick" in Arabic), and "kuss" (Deutsch) sounded like a word all who've spent any time in an Arab country will recall.

Sadly, as I got through this comment, I realized my memories of mispronunciations in Arabic have been repressed and I can't remember what they meant. But to redeem it, I learned the word "bint" as a normal nice Arabic word before it was picked up by English speakers as an insult, and it gave great puzzlement, and then amusement to see it in English usage. Strange, considering Arabic has nice, long, evocative cursing (though I always contended that English had a monopoly on the short, sharp and coarse ejaculation, so perhaps someone wanted an Arabic word that was short and harsh).

Usage in pop culture
"You bleedin' mad bint!" (Hazel on Footballers Wives, to Amber)

"Get that dizzy bint out of here!" (Major Toms in "Standup Virgin soldiers")

Basil Fawlty on "Fawlty Towers" (not me, John Cleese) also calls Polly a "cloth-eared bint" to her face

Comments on a blog:
to unknown: never call someone leaving creative commentary on one of my poems a 'bint' (whatever that is, it didn't sound nice) unless you want me to rip out your tonge and cram a sprocket down your throat.
— hank

Elsa:
no bint isn't nice. it is an unimaginative british insult aimed mainly at women. although in some parts of the country it's used as a term of endearment.