Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle towards my hand? Come, let me clutch thee.

Macbeth, thane of Glamis and of Cawdor and king thereafter, clearly knew what a dagger was, but would he know anything about daggering? The dagger is an ancient instrument and daggerin' is a modern Jamaican dancehall phenomenon, which both owe their origin to vulgar Latin. Wikipedia defines vulgar Latin or sermo vulgaris as folk speech or the vernacular. It is also called 'popular' Latin.

'Dagger' comes from 'Daca', a vulgar Latin term for a 'Dacian' knife. The Dacians were the occupants of a large part of Central and Eastern Europe.

Daggerin' comes from Jamaica and is defined by the Jamaica Broadcasting Commission as "a colloquial term or phrase used in dancehall culture as a reference to hard-core sex or what is popularly referred to as 'dry' sex, or the activities of persons engaged in the public simulation of various sexual acts and positions". The Broadcasting Commission is not clutching daggering. In its concern for public morality and in an attempt "to bring a halt to the deluge of inappropriate content on the airwaves", the commission says that it has examined a number of songs, popularly referred to as daggerin' songs and "has found these recordings to be explicitly sexual and violent".

The commission directed, "There shall not be transmitted through radio or television or cable services, any recording, live song or music video which promotes the act of daggerin', or which makes reference to, or is otherwise suggestive of daggerin'."

Vulgar

Additionally, the commission stopped "any audio recording, song or music video which employs editing techniques of 'bleeping' or 'beeping' of its original lyrical content". In other words, daggerin' is pointedly vulgar and if you don't get the point made by the authority there will be some bloody financial and other sanctions that will leave the offending broadcaster severely wounded. Daggerin' is also said to mean hard-core sex as in the sentence, 'She cheated on me, but later she going get some daggerin' till she bawl.' In this case, the media will get some serious daggering if they don't stop the daggerin' music and videos.

I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.
Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible
To feeling as to sight? or art thou but
A dagger of the mind, a false creation,
Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?
I see thee yet, in form as palpable
As this which now I draw.

Daggers are different from knives, in that daggers are primarily used for stabbing and knives for cutting. While daggers might affect your health, daggerin' can affect your hilt. Daggers have something called a 'tang'. This is not the orange-flavoured drink or even a sharp, lingering flavour or odour, it is the projection that is part of the handle or the hilt. In the case of daggerin', some of us might already be over the hilt. Some people associate daggers with cowardice and treachery as in the stabbing to death of Julius Caesar. However, they are also used by those who engage in close combat with the enemy. British commandos had very slender daggers.

What about Jamaican dancehall 'daggeristas' and others elsewhere, 'daggero-types' who are now venturing into the realms? Historically, you can have the 'vigilante dagger', which is what I suppose the commission means by asking for volunteers to act as "citizen-based media monitor to assist in more comprehensive and effective monitoring of radio and television output".

'Daggerin' Unlimited'

Which brings me to the news that a reggae deejay, Adidja Palmer, aka Vybz Kartel, and his cohorts 'Daggerin' Unlimited' will now be marketing prophylactics with the tagline "Play Safe, Ramp Ruff Till Game Ova!!" which will be packaged in a 'cool black cube'. There will be a campaign to choose a daggerin' lady who will be a spokesperson for the brand. Jamaican television stations have already decided not to cover the Jamaican carnival celebrations because of the Broadcasting Commission's ban on daggerin', both as sound and spectacle. It will be interesting to see what happens to the advertising for Daggering Unlimited. I suppose that it will first have to be electronically tested.

Tony Deyal, armed with his stiletto, was last seen advising the Jamaican Broadcasting Commission that a dagger has two edges and for every cuss, there is a repercussion.