[DaveinGermany]

It appears it's a generational/age issue (and isn't that also a bone of contention too?) from the comments I've seen. I admit I enjoy top gear so may be slightly biased in my views but I concur with the majority of folk, the word supposedly used can be seen as offensive when directed as a personal insult to an individual, but it's contextually offensive to my mind. So in generic usage as in a nursery rhyme which the Clarkson case claims to be or in colloquial usage such as books & culture it's just another aspect of our language, admittedly with some negative overtones but at the end of the day just another word.