Red carpet ride for a rude word

Close-Up presenter Mark Sainsbury (left) used the word 'fugly' in a reference to Emma Thompson's character Nanny McPhee. Photos / Supplied

When is a swear word not a swear word?

When it is used on the Hollywood red carpet, says TVNZ.

Close-Up presenter Mark Sainsbury raised the question when he used the word "fugly" in a promotion for his show during Wednesday's 6pm news.

The word - which an online slang dictionary says is a contraction of the words "f***ing ugly" - was a reference to actress Emma Thompson's snaggle-toothed, mole-dotted appearance as the title character in the movie Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang.

The utterance on prime-time television has prompted queries to the Broadcasting Standards Authority.

But TVNZ says the word has become so popular it has lost its original sting and become a new term.

"Whilst a long time ago it might have been short for ... two words ... it is now being used regularly, particularly in entertainment circles, as simply an adjective. For example it is being used to describe an attitude or a dress," said TVNZ news spokeswoman Andi Brotherston.

"When you can say it live on the Hollywood red carpet on the way into the Oscars on ETV, for example ... then it is not a word that people consider to be offensive."

She said: "There was no way that we meant to try and offend anybody."

It appears viewers were more offended when Breakfast host Paul Henry referred to Scottish singer Susan Boyle as "retarded" last year.

Broadcasting Standards Authority chief executive Dominic Sheehan said the authority was flooded with hundreds of emails and phone calls after Mr Henry's "retarded" comment, whereas "fugly" generated only two inquiries on Thursday.

People who contacted the authority to complain were told they needed to go through TVNZ's internal complaints process first.

Mr Sheehan said "fugly" was not on the list of offensive words that were gathered in a recent survey of 1500 people, despite being commonly used.

"It is not even on anyone's radar ... - and they [survey respondents] have put a lot of words in there," he said.

But he could not recall "fugly" being used during a news programme.

"This is new territory for us."

"We haven't tested the word and we have never had a complaint about it."

He said the question of whether it was a swear-word was "fascinating".

"Fugly is in general parlance ... it is sort of a squished together word of two different parents."

As well as giving its original meaning, the online slang dictionary defines "fugly" as "extremely unattractive".

An unscientific poll of visitors to the website shows they rated it an average of 72 per cent vulgar on a scale from least vulgar to most vulgar.

The BSA survey found most swear words that were viewed as unacceptable, including the f-word, had decreased in offensiveness in the past decade.

People generally found swearing more offensive when it was a "real person" (as opposed to an actor) or a radio host speaking, and less offensive when the swearing was in the context of stand-up comedy or drama.

"Retard" made it on to the offensive list after Henry used it on television.

Ms Brotherston said television did not have hard and fast rules about which words were acceptable - it depended on the time, the programme and the person speaking.

FUGLY

Adjective (comparative fuglier, superlative fugliest)
Meaning: Extremely ugly
Usage: "Fugly?" "Like extra-double ugly with cheese. It's when ugly goes off the scale" - 1995, Tim Winton, The Riders.
Etymology: F***ing + ugly, also fat + ugly
- Source: wiktionary