I think it was this episode where Chandler uses the 'w' word. I've also seen a few other US items of the early 90s use the 'w' word, but few Americans I talk to now seem to know what it means...was it just a passing fad?
What word is that?
*Ahem* Highlight below to read. Small children should stop HERE!
The word is 'wank', the root of 'wanker', a medium level insult that roughly corresponds to American 'jerk'. It literally means to masturbate but that is not necessarily relevant. 'Wank' used on its own is also used as a synonym for something bad or worthless, which was I believe the sense in which Chandler used it.
God, I'm blushing... 
I think Giles or Spike might have used it a couple of times. So did one of the British immortals in Highlander: the Raven.
I was talking about American Americans using it, not fake-British Americans.
Anthony Stewart Head is English, though that's not his real accent he's using in Buffy.
omg...is Thande 5 years old or something?
Blushing over that?!
Well, it's a much ruder word in the UK than it is in the US. Certainly it's not a word to use in polite company. There was a huge outcry in the 80s when an episode of Mork and Mindy featured a character called Mr W***er. The British broadcaster hadn't checked the episode first and parents all across Britain nearly died of embarrassment as the episode went out at 5.30 in the afternoon and all their kids fell on the floor laughing.
There was once a character called Bolux in Lost In Space, & when me & a friend saw that episode we almost fall about laughing.
A couple things. First, what are the odds that Joey would "teach" a class about soap opera acting where one of his students happens to be auditioning for THE SAME EXACT ROLE that he is? Does that ever actually happen? It seemed a bit far-fetched to me.
Also, what are the odds that a class that was just told that they're "too ugly to be on TV" would end up applauding the person who just viciously insulted them, because they thought his "performance" was worthy of it? That would probably never happen in real life, and knowing people, one of the guys would probably track him down after the class and beat him up, and one of the women would attempt to sue him and the network for "emotional distress" she suffered after being told she wasn't good looking enough to get work on television!
I can picture either of those two things happening as a result of what Joey said. Sad but true!
I doubt it would happen at a GOOD acing school. I'm not too supprised it happened at Joey's school.