Is there a story behind "Your mother" comebacks?

Question

I've been pondering that question for about thirteen years now.

Answer 1

Not really. It just so happens that people from all walks of cultures don't take well to their family being insulted.

Answer 2

your mom came up with it

Answer 3

the idea is the worst thing you can do when insulting someone is to insult their mother

so to indicate that the persons mother was fat/ugly/old etc is the ultimate insult (supposedly)

and after a while people just said 'your mother' instead of the full insult i guess

Answer 4

Yeah, it just means that in the heat of argument, instead of debating, a person results in blasting the mama because they give up arguing with the person.  I guess they figure they will make that person look stupid, or make them shut up if they attack their mother.  Also, in some cases I've heard people say "you're momma" because they aren't intelligent enough to come up with a comeback.  LOL!  That's funny.

Answer 5

A mother insult is a reference to a person's mother through the use of phrases such as "your mother" or other regional variants, frequently used to insult the target by way of his or her mother.

Although the phrase has a long history of including a description portion, such as the old, mostly harmless insult - your mother wears combat boots. The phrase "your mother" by itself, without any qualifiers, has become commonly used as an all-purpose insult or an expression of defiance. Most people take offense to having their mother insulted.

Answer 6

Don't think there is a istory - just that for most people their mother is one of the most important and significant person in their lives so to insult one's mother is as bad if not worse than insulting that person...