[rarestia]

Does anyone not remember when the word “retard” meant “to slow?”

[luvbach1]

Does anyone not remember when the word “retard” meant “to slow?”

Yes, and it still does.

[Sacajaweau]

you mean like.....”retard the growth of mold”?

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Does anyone not remember when the word “retard” meant “to slow?”

Do musical transcriptions or sheet music still use the word 'ritard'? Or has PC crept all the way through every facet of modern society?

[Dr. Sivana]

Does anyone not remember when the word “retard” meant “to slow?”

Yes, it does mean that. Here's the problem. Mentally handicapped children were put in retarded classes, etc., and at some point the word became an epithet: "You retard!" Or, "That's retarded!" Once the word was used that way, and retarded children (adj. + noun) simply became "retards", yes it became offensive. The reason it happened with retard and not idioy probably has to do with the fact that the term idiot is rarely used to describe people who are literally idiots.

So, new words get adopted. "Slow" doesn't work, who remembers the "Slow Children at Play" signs? Euphemisms get invented ("Rides the short bus.") The word "special" or "differently abled" just invites ridicule and caricature pronunciation. Any new word (I always thought "handicap" was a better word for this class of things) is likely to over time undergo the same treatment as retard did.

But yes, "You retard" on a bottle cap is a cruel insult. The word "a**hole" still has a normal meaning, and all of us have one, but to be called that is stil insulting.

[4yearlurker]

Right. The Coke “You’re gay” cap will mean the winner is happy.

[MrB]

Depends on how you pronounce it -

“to slow” is pronounced “rih TARD”
the insult is pronounced “RE tard”

And, if you’re “trilingual”, you say “that’s ritarted, sir”.