What is it About the F-Word?

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If you don’t want to read the f-word numerous times, I suggest you move past this post and on to something else. You can see the disclaimer at the bottom of this post if you like before reading futher.

Still here? Ok, cool. I love language in all its forms including slang and curse words. I am well-versed enough in my vocabulary to not have to use curse words a lot. In fact, I’d say I use them mostly when I’m alone (getting cut off in traffic, for example) or with other guys.

But, in my most recent post, my friend Katya brought up the use fo the term “fuck me” as in, “I’m late again. Well, fuck me!” and it got me to thinking about the fact that I use the term fuck RARELY on its own. In fact, on its own, it seems almost vulgar, but put it in front of another word as an adjective or as a call to action, suddenly it’s interesting. Here are some examples:

Fuck Me!
The aforementioned has a few inferences, at least a couple of which seem to come from a happy place, but the use as mentioned above is the way I find it most beneficial. There was a scene in Weird Science where Gary backed into a bathroom stall in a black bar and mistakenly sat down on some stranger. He said, “Well, God damn!” To me, “Well, fuck me!” would’ve just been better.

Fucking ______
The use of fucking as a term that precedes another as an adjustive or adverb is particularly satisfying to me. Teamed with another curse word like, “This is fucking bullshit!” just makes the two more potent. You know that if someone or something is “fucking crazy” it is out of control. And “fucking great” is so much better than just plain great. You get the idea.

Fucked up
Another one of my personal favorite uses for the f-word is this phrase. “Man, that is seriously fucked up” is the form it often takes for me. Hard to compare that to “That is bad” favorably.

WTF?
The common internet acronym for “What the fuck?” I like this because it has that element of shock to it. Using it in a full sentence like, “What the fuck is going on around here?” is great, but just shortening it to “What the fuck?” is so much funnier and usually more to the point.

Ok, my disclaimer here. I hope I don’t offend anyone with the language used here. I certainly do not intend it. When curse words – or any words for that matter – are used in a context designed to inflict hurt on someone or to belittle another, I have no use for them. When they are used to enhance a feeling or make fun of yourself, I find them to be useful.

I’m also smart enough to realize that not only are they inappropriate, but completely useless in the wrong situation. As a result, we are fortunate the English language (as well as any other language you may care to utilize) has an ample supply of descriptive non-curse words completely at our disposal.

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