Is The Word "derp" Offensive?

[RoseOfGuadalupe]

I always thought of it as being kind of like awkward but kind of cute. Saying you're a derp means you're weird and I like it. Like kind teasing. Apparently my bff is really mad at me because she finds it offensive? I try not to say it around her any more, but she's really upset with me.

[Nihil Obstat]

Offer her muffins.

[Luigi]

As with all slang, the meaning is very fluid.

 

Your meaning - awkward but cute, weird and I like it - apparently doesn't match up with your BFF's meaning. Some people think of it as "full blown retard." It may depend in part on where you learned it, the situations, who said it, their vocal inflection when they said it. So if your friend learned it from "South Park," the word may have more negative connotations for her; if you learned it from other people who used it more 'cutely,' then it doesn't have such negative connotations for you.

 

Good idea not to use it around her any more.

[The Bus Station]

wut

[PhuturePriest]

[Nihil Obstat]

Ayyy lmao.

 

 

 

 

 

[Basilisa Marie]

I always thought of it as being kind of like awkward but kind of cute. Saying you're a derp means you're weird and I like it. Like kind teasing. Apparently my bff is really mad at me because she finds it offensive? I try not to say it around her any more, but she's really upset with me.

 

That's what derpy means. 

 

"Herp Derp" comes from "harp darp" OR South Park. (you can look it up on know your meme but fair warning for profanity and general internet cesspool stuff)

 

She's being over-sensitive, but don't say it around her if she doesn't like it. Maybe she thinks it's about making fun of people with mental disabilities, like "retard" does. But it doesn't have a strong connection to something offensive, like, say, the word "circle-jerk" does. 

[Gerard]

Well, after researching it a bit, I would have to say that I might find it insulting if used to describe me. But, with all slang, it has different meanings to different peope. Since you bff has told you what they believe it mean, it all boils down to how much you appreciate their feelings, I guess.

derp
dərp/
informal
exclamation
1.
used as a substitute for speech regarded as meaningless or stupid, or to comment on a foolish or stupid action.
"Lower tax rates and far lower job creation. Derp"
noun
1.
foolishness or stupidity.
"the derp heard outside apparently was only the tip of the iceberg"

[Ash Wednesday]

I never found it offensive, and I've used to term "derp" to describe myself. Some people are different about certain words, I guess. I had a friend who didn't like the word "buttload" and she thought it was gross.

 

So I told friend B to not use the word around her. (We were in college, okay?) And what does Friend B do? Uses the word BUTTLOAD in a very loud and obvious fashion the next time we meet the offended friend. *facepalm*

 

http://www.omgfacts.com/lists/10367/A-Buttload-is-an-actual-unit-of-measurement