Is “cock” a rude word?

When is cock a rude word? In poultry circles, almost never. In the House of Common, seemingly always.

So the Forager was delighted to read about Portsmouth North MP Penny Mordaunt’s little jape in which she said the “C word” (cock) six times and the “L word” (lay or laid) on five occasions in a spoof speech about hen welfare.

The speech was actually made in 2013. But it only came to light recently when she confessed all while picking up The Spectator magazine’s speech of the year award.

Ms Mordaunt explained that, while she normally focused on things like the UK’s place in the world and nuclear deterrent renewal, her sudden interest in poultry welfare was actually the result of a lost bet with fellow Royal Navy reservists.

Her speech included the phrases “cock welfare is one raised with me by many constituents” and “let us have no cock-ups on hen welfare”.

Whatever the context, the speech actually raised a number of pertinent issues, such as beak trimming, cage enrichment and the culling of male chicks. Disappointing then that Ms Mordaunt should be accused by Labour MP Kate Hoey of “trivialising Parliament”.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whbcy3KNzuY[/youtube]