Cack

Cack is a vulgar British slang term primarily used to refer to feces or excrement. It is also employed as an adjective to describe something of poor quality, disappointing, or worthless, and can function as an intensifier in phrases such as "absolute cack" or "complete cack." The term is generally confined to informal speech and is considered crude or offensive in formal contexts. Its usage is most common in the United Kingdom and Ireland and among speakers of British English.

The etymology of cack is uncertain. It is treated as a crude word with unclear origins and is often discussed alongside other coarse terms for bodily waste. The term has spawned related forms in slang, including cack-handed, a British expression meaning clumsy or inept, reflecting how such vocabulary can broaden into descriptive slang beyond its original meaning.

In everyday communication, cack is typically avoided in professional, academic, or formal writing, where more neutral terms like feces, waste, or poor quality would be preferred. Its presence in popular culture, online discussions, and casual dialogue illustrates how coarse language can persist in informal registers, sometimes used for emphasis or humor but generally discouraged in polite or inclusive communication.