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I'm just curious, as the term "your mom" as an annoying answer/reaction to any question/comment is also used in other languages. So what is its etymology?

UPDATE

I even found a reference on Serverfault.

Maybe it wasn't that clear what I meant, so I give two examples taken from the urban dictionary:

Guy 1: I'm going to tie my shoes

Guy 2: YO MOMA'S GONA TIE HER SHOES!!!

and

Girl 1: That Girl is a slut.

Random Guy 1: YO MOMA'S A SLUT!!!

I even remember an Episode from Miami Vice (season 3, maybe episode 22) where Crocked asks for the whereabouts of a suspect and he gets a kind of "Your Mom" as an answer.

Here's another reference:

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    In Mexico, foreigners are advised never to say madre (standard Spanish for mother). Use the less controversial term mama or mamá instead. There are a few idioms or set phrases where it is acceptable, but they are so specific that it is better not to use the term at all.
    – Henry
    May 20, 2011 at 19:17
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    @mbx, That's a different question. I'm withdrawing my former answer then. Sorry for the misunderstanding.
    – Alain Pannetier Φ
    May 22, 2011 at 22:34
  • Is this perhaps derived from the Russian all-purpose expression fuck your mother?
    – Brian Hooper
    May 31, 2011 at 20:49
  • @Brian Hopper I don't think so since it seems to be used even without the sexual context. As I described it can be used as answer to anything - just like 42 or meh.
    – mbx
    May 31, 2011 at 21:28
  • @mbx, I'm no authority on the subject, but I was under the impression that the Russian phrase meant about that...
    – Brian Hooper
    May 31, 2011 at 21:36

2 Answers 2

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Presumably people are generally assumed to be rather annoyed if the chastity of their mother is questioned?

Even the great rap-star Bill Shakespeare (from the West midlands massive) used it:

Demetrius: “Villain, what hast thou done?”
Aaron: “That which thou canst not undo.”
Chiron: “Thou hast undone our mother.”
Aaron: “Villain, I have done thy mother.”

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    Sadly his wide range of "your mother is so fat" jokes have been lost
    – mgb
    May 20, 2011 at 18:16
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    The Wikipedia article Maternal Insult includes this exchange, and is rather good. It also points out the Spanish equivalent “Y tu mamá también!” (“And your mother too!”)
    – PLL
    May 21, 2011 at 14:49
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Some people trace it to a centuries old African-American game of trading insults called "the dozens". https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/The_Dozens

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