Is the Word 'Pimp' Still Offensive?

Feb. 12, 2008 — -- While it may be OK to pimp your ride, it's certainly not OK to pimp the daughter of a presidential candidate.

"Suggesting that someone is pimping out their own daughter is the lowest of the low," said Michael Silverstein, a professor of anthropology, linguistics and psychology at the University of Chicago.

MSNBC anchor David Shuster learned this the hard way last week, when he was suspended after he made an on-air remark suggesting that the Clinton campaign had "pimped out" Chelsea Clinton by having her call super delegates to promote her mother's candidacy.

Shuster, who apologized twice on the air for his pimp remarks, was lambasted both by the press and Hillary Clinton herself, who leapt to the defense of her daughter.

"I am a mom first and a candidate second. I found the remarks incredibly offensive," said Clinton in a statement provided to ABC News. "I can take whatever comes my way, that's part of what I signed up for as a candidate, as an office holder, but I think that there's been a troubling pattern of comments and behavior that has to be held accountable."

"Pimp-gate," as Shuster's comment and Clinton's response has now been dubbed by the national media, hasn't deterred Chelsea from helping out on her mother's campaign. Monday, the former first daughter ate breakfast with 21-year-old Wisconsinite Jason Rae, who is one of the 796 super delegates whose Democratic endorsement is still up for grabs.

But during a campaign in which Clinton has been chided by some critics for being overly sensitive or too emotional, several linguistic experts told ABCNEWS.com that her strong reaction to Shuster's remarks was merited, and that the use of the word "pimp" is exactly what Clinton said it was: offensive.

"To say that someone is pimping is really an extraordinarily negative description," said University of Chicago's Silverstein. "It takes a lot of work to use it so ironically that it becomes positive."