The Power of the F Word: Does it Really Matter?

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iMacG5
I thought this was a social issue but maybe it belongs here.  Please don't be offended; just attempting some levity.

I'm wondering if the F word means as much to everyone else as it does to me.  When I was a kid I used it as much as possible to be one of the cool guys.  I'm 72 now and being cool is not a priority.  Actually, I'm one of you guys now and that's not exactly what I would call “cool”.  Well, the physical part that is.  Intellectually, I've learned tons from you and that IS cool.  I can write OK without the F word but speaking is a real problem.  Most often it's difficult to complete a sentence without including the F word. I mean WTF, my vocabulary is of reasonable size to effectively communicate with some other folks on some subjects. Not religion or politics of course but hockey, football, weather and the like.  But I just find it difficult without the F word.  It's like, “Where's  the F'n whistle you F'n moron?  I can't just ask that question and expect anyone to feel my emotion without the F word.  “Boy it's F'n hot today” or “man, I'm freezing my F'n tail off” are expressions that make sense to me.  I guess there's not much F'n sanity to most of what I say but it just feels smarter with that word.  WTF.  Let's face it.  We can use it as any part of speech, it's easy to pronounce even with a F'n lisp or accent from India or F'n China.  At the local volunteer firemen's picnic a guy comes walking out of the woods to his table and says in a loud voice “Who the F took my beer?”  It's a legitimate question and appropriately presented.  If he asked, “Did anyone see who mistakenly took my beer?”  the other folks would probably say “F 'im”. There are times, however, when it might be prudent to cautiously omit the word.  For instance you might say to your buddy, “Your wife must be a F'n saint to put up with your crap.”  A pause in the wrong place could send a wrong message. It's like when someone chastises us for our bad language and we respond “What're you, the F'n Pope?”  

My lovely wife of almost 51 years came into the room and looking over my shoulder read this note and said, “OMG, why would you write such a thing?”   Without turning around I said, “Nobody gives a F”.

Mike
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mild_mannered_super_hero

Heres a clip from one of my favorite movies....if you've never seen "A Christmas Story" you should watch the whole movie to get the full effect.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgx1sSfriIA

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Xerxes

As you said, it is the universal word. It fits all situations. It can be used as a noun, verb, adjective, and even an adverb. True, one just can't walk into a convent and say "What the F___ is up." Just avoid convents and you're fine ...lol



X_
christiesdad

Mac, Mac, Mac!
What can I say? You are new here, I assume, as I don't recall any of your posts. But that may be due to my inattention. What you have done though, as far as I am concerned, is attained status-ship among the great dissertationists in this forum. You now can walk with ease among the giants of wordsmiths, such as XERPES, MMSH, SINFULSOT, EDDIE, PRIME, and GUTENBERG. I stand in awe of your presentation and appreciate your contribution. I have tried to inject just such humor as you successfully did with your post and have failed.

I look forward to other posts in the future.

Jack

patri

Now see, I'm the opposite... I'll use it only in emotional emergency to deflate pressure built up with a bit of shock, but otherwise find it unnecessary and a bit much for my sensibilities. However, I find this page full of the F word fall down hilarious, though I don't think it went over very well.
https://www.meetanostomate.org/discussion-forum/viewtopic.php?t=5467

 
How to Manage Ostomy Leaks with LeeAnne Hayden | Hollister
Past Member

Too much f-word-ing or you'll get the Xerpes...

iMacG5
Hey Jack, you're way too kind but I'm so glad you got a giggle or two.  Thanks,  Mike
vulcanBMk2

The F word is a prerequisite for sane driving on British roads... Without it, I get nowhere very fast!!

moonshine

It would mean a lot more if I actually did it once in a while.

garfish

Who f'n cares? Sometimes called for, others not. Such as a funeral, I don't think the first thing you want to ask is "Who f'n died". But you might want to say "I'm glad he's f'n dead".

patri

In Good Housekeeping this month (July 2013) on page 83, there is an article on the stress-reducing effects of behaviors such as (#6 of 10 listed) using colorful language, including "the F-bomb" as the article calls it. What a coincidence that this post pops out of a surprised wife's husband and is made the topic of the month.

Past Member

If I spell the F word FUCT, as in you're FUCT...it's not really swearing right?

Xerxes

mtnbiker,

I don't know if you remember the "Honeymooners" with Jackie Gleason and Art Carney. It is kinda like when Ralph said to Ed..."We're going bowling, but we're not going bowling."

X_

Primeboy
The Honeymooners was one of the very best television comedy series ever. The dialogue was always rich. Here's a great line preceding Ralph's usual threat to send Alice off to the moon:

Ralph: What do you know about fishing? When have you ever caught anything?
Alice: Fifteen years ago. I caught 300 pounds of blubber.

There was no need to use the "F" word then to get a laugh. All the laughs were earned the hard way...with talent.

PB
weewee

Well, the F word is what a lot of people like to do as much as they can and while they can. Then, it applies to your work habits and daily living in many different ways. So, it's really not a bad word.

Oceanblue

I think the F word is a great word to use in the appropriate company. My grandmother would have hit me over the head with her rolling pin if I used it around her home.
I have a list of famous people who used the F word which is stuck on my garage wall.

For example.....Michael Angelo (painted the Chapel ceiling in Rome) may have said....You want F'n what on the ceiling.

The Mayor of Hiroshima......What the F'k was that.

General Custer.......Where the F'k did all these Indians come from.

Sorry if I offended anyone.

three

A "f_ _ _ ing" etymology lesson:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuck

61smiles

I grew up in a very strict religious home and had never even heard of the word before going into the military. There, it was used so often and pretty much in the same context as you mentioned, so it seems as natural as anything to me. I don't think of it as a cuss word. But nonetheless, I can't use it around a lot of people, including most of my family and the like. I was in the service for nine years and had gotten so used to hearing the F word on a daily basis that when I left, I was almost shocked to find how so many people were offended by it. To my surprise, even the word "s**t" was considered a bad word, and that still doesn't make sense to me. But then again, some people, like my sister, are easily offended. She won't allow me to use the word "pee". She says boys pee, but girls don't - they urinate.

Beaner

This is one for the archives! I f-ing loved it! Humor is such a wonderful thing! Beaner

Beaner

This is one for the archives! I f-ing loved it! Humor is such a wonderful thing! Beaner

Primeboy
I wonder if any of us ever used the "F" word in an employment interview and then managed to get hired. Just kidding. Apart from propriety, my primary issue with the "F" word is that it is used too much and without meaning. Maybe it would be better to just grunt instead. Still, at the end of the day, when all is said and done, I suppose you can take one thing to the bank: one man's garbage is another man's treasure. "F" away if it's your cup of tea.

PB
Immarsh

Love the freedom of hearing the "f" word, in adult humor.....but try going into a local high school, and those 17 year olds wouldn't know how to speak without using "the" word, in all its grammatical variations. Makes me think back more than 50 years ago...when uttering that word would have you in the principal's office....or worse. Today...the theory is, as long as the kids are not saying "it" to a teacher....it's okay...Sigh...

Now.....here's my pet peeve.....and it's not about the "f" word, which is reality. It's the use of the word "like"....and "fun"... Does anyone get irked when they hear...

It's "like" fun.....going to the beach...Or - I'm "like" so happy! My sister (a high school English teacher) and I were trying to wipe that pattern out of our language....but it's pervasive...it's on the radio...on TV...even commentators are using it..

It's almost as bad as..It's so fun! What happened to "much"? It's so much fun!

Now...isn't it "F----ing wonderful, that we have nothing "like" more important to do than talk about the way we "f----ing" talk. Or in this case write.

PB --- Loved your line from the Honeymooners.....yes...there can be talent without profanity...

patri

IMMARSH WRITES: "Now...isn't it "F----ing wonderful, that we have nothing "like" more important to do than talk about the way we "f----ing" talk. or in this case write"

Yes! Yes it is WONDERFUL..sorry...f'ing! wonderful! that here we are with time and energy and LIFE and wellbeing to spare so much so that a conversation about conversation is something that can be used to enjoy a bit of communion and mingling in an obviously well-working world and community. Moment of thanks to the powers that be, great point indeed!

iMacG5
Wow, patri!  The word "profound" falls short of the accurate description of your thought. Sincerely. Mike
iMacG5
Immarsh, I absolutely loved your reply.  Unfortunately I converse with about six people who cannot complete (and some begin) a sentence without the word "like".  Now,  it has reached

"EPIC"

proportions.  I only heard or read that word about sixteen times this week.

Respectfully,

Mike
Xerxes

Hey PB,

Correct me if I am wrong, but the derivation or origin of the "F" word goes back to the Dutch who placed certain unsavory people in the stocks for public viewing and the inscription over their heads. The F word was an acronym for a person "For Un Carnal Knowledge." I think I read that somewhere or perhaps it was "Let Copulation Triumph".... no, that was either King Lear or maybe CD. I will have to ask him.

X_

mild_mannered_super_hero
Can't say about the origin of the word itself... but here's the interesting history of the middle finger salute

A bit of interesting history.
Subject: Plucking the Yew! Before the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, the French, anticipating victory over the English, proposed to cut off the middle finger of all captured soldiers. Without the middle finger, it would be impossible for the English soldiers to draw the renowned English longbow and therefore incapable of fighting in the future. The famous bow was made of the English Yew tree and the act of drawing the longbow was known as "plucking the yew" or "pluck you". Much to the bewilderment of the French, the English won the battle and began mocking the French by waving their middle fingers at the defeated French and saying "We can still pluck yew. Pluck you". Since "pluck yew" is rather difficult to say, the difficult consonant cluster at the beginning has gradually changed to a labiodental fricative 'F' and thus the words often used in conjunction with the one-finger salute. It is also because of the pheasant feathers on the arrows used with the longbow that the symbolic gesture is known as "giving the bird". And yew thought that yew knew everything.
Xerxes

MMSH,

Thank you for this very interesting fact. I have always been interested in the origin of what now is of general acceptance and often 'colorful' usage.

X_

Primeboy

Hi X and MMSH. This surely is Etymology's Finest Hour on the Ostomate Forum! Unfortunately, there is little academic consensus on the origins of the "F" word. You both might be right; but, X, I am glad you will check with Jack, given today's emphasis on primary sources.

As Martha Stewart loves to say, "You can learn something new every day."

PB

bubby

You are the coolest. I 100% agree with the whole thing and get it. Regards, EX-Ostomate in brotherhood always, Jay. By the way... F--- it! ;LOL!

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